The anniversary of Holodomor is usually marked in late November, when the food shortages began resulting in the death of millions. It was orchestrated by Dictator Josef Stalin to force peasants to give up their land and join collective farms. Ukraine, known as the breadbasket of the Soviet Union, suffered mostly.

Ukrainians admit collectivization carried out in Ukraine was an attempt to break the back of Ukrainian nationhood, and stamp out opposition to Soviet rule.

At the opening of an 80-feet tall monument to mark the 75th anniversary, President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko paid tribute to those who were victims to the 1932 famine, which lasted until 1933.

"We bow our head in a great respect before all who were the victims of the Stalin's regime - Russians, Belorussians, Kazakhs, Crimean Tatars, Moldovans, Jews, and dozens and dozens of other nationalities," he added.

Moscow considers the intensified spotlight on the famine part of Ukraine's continued intensions to stick a wedge between our capital and Moscow. But the Ukrainian officials say that Moscow is not being accused of engineering the famine.

Kostyantyn Hryshchenko, Ukrainian Ambassador in Russia, speaking at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Moscow, reported that Ukrainians wish to reflect on the past together to formation a more just and more modern world together.

"We do not think that Russia and the Russian nation - who themselves suffered tremendous losses; were also victims of Stalin terror; and lost millions of persons then - are in anyway to blame for this tragedy," he mentioned.

The President of Russian Federation Dmitri Medvedev turned down an invitation to be present at the Kyiv ceremonies, instead sending a message that was posted on the Kremlin's Web site. He noted that the events of the early 1930s, "are being used to achieve immediate short-term political purposes," adding that, "In this regard, the thesis on the centrally planned genocidal famine of Ukrainians,' is being gravely managed." Still, he said, "The most difficult pages of our common history undoubtedly need to be fully explained."