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With the support of [[Stalin]], Kaganovich was a member of the [[Politburo]] by 1930.  He implemented the plans for collectivisation and destruction of the [[Christian]] Religion in Ukraine by confiscating food from the peasants.  This caused a devastating famine in which between seven and thirteen million people died.  This famine became  known as the "[[Holodomor]]".  The [[Soviet]] government covered up the tragedy by falsifying census statistics and forbidding any mention in the press.  In December 1931, he ordered the [[Cathedral of Christ the Savior]] to be destroyed.  This Cathedral was a great symbol of Russian [[Christianity]].  He was also involved in the [[great purge]]s which ended all opposition to Stalin.

With the support of [[Stalin]], Kaganovich was a member of the [[Politburo]] by 1930.  He implemented the plans for collectivisation and destruction of the [[Christian]] Religion in Ukraine by confiscating food from the peasants.  This caused a devastating famine in which between seven and thirteen million people died.  This famine became  known as the "[[Holodomor]]".  The [[Soviet]] government covered up the tragedy by falsifying census statistics and forbidding any mention in the press.  In December 1931, he ordered the [[Cathedral of Christ the Savior]] to be destroyed.  This Cathedral was a great symbol of Russian [[Christianity]].  He was also involved in the [[great purge]]s which ended all opposition to Stalin.

When Stalin died, Kaganovich opposed his successor [[Nikita Kruschev]].  As a result, he was expelled from the Communist Party and forced into retirement.<ref>http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSkaganovich.htm</ref> A relative described his last moments as follows: "He died in July 1991. The television set was broadcasting the latest news of [[perestroika]], showing [[Gorbachev]] and [[Yeltsin]]. The maid heard him say, 'It's a catastrophe.' When she looked around, he was sitting in front of the television set dead."<ref>Edvard Radzinsky, "Stalin: The first In-Depth Biography Based on Explosive New Documents from Russia's Secret Archives," page 582.</ref>

When Stalin died, Kaganovich opposed his successor [[Nikita Kruschev]].  As a result, he was expelled from the Communist Party and forced into early retirement.<ref>http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSkaganovich.htm</ref> A relative described his last moments as follows: <blockquote>"He died in July 1991. The television set was broadcasting the latest news of [[perestroika]], showing [[Gorbachev]] and [[Yeltsin]]. The maid heard him say, 'It's a catastrophe.' When she looked around, he was sitting in front of the television set dead."<ref>Edvard Radzinsky, "Stalin: The first In-Depth Biography Based on Explosive New Documents from Russia's Secret Archives," page 582.</ref></blockquote>

==References==

==References==