The disputed Soviet genocide of millions of civilians before and during World War II was designed to eliminate domestic opposition to the Soviet Union.

"During the war the Soviets committed genocide against at least nine of their distinct ethnic- linguistic sub-nations, including ethnic Germans, ethnic Greeks, Crimean Tatars, and Balkars." [1]

The Soviets killed 5 million to 8 million people in Ukraine by starving them (see genocide).

The actual number (if any) of those killed or starved for political, ethnical or other reasons, is technically unknown. For those who believe the Soviet genocide to have happened, the number is widely debated and commonly changed back and fourth (sometimes for political reasons).