PHOTO // Performance “1946”, presented as part of exhibition “State Terror in Soviet Moldova: Scope, Victims and Perpetrators” in Great National Assembly Square

Performance “1946” of the Republican Theatre “Luceafărul” was staged in the Great National Assembly Square (PMAN), in front of the exhibition “State Terror in Soviet Moldova: Scope, Victims and Perpetrators”. The event gathered around 300 people and was dedicated to the memory of the victims of the organized famine of 1946–1947, one of the most tragic pages in the recent history of Bessarabia.

The performance, directed by Slava Șambriș, is based on the testimonies included in the volume “The Book of Famine”. Through these stories, the play brings back to the public’s attention the experiences of those who lived through the organized famine, the fear, the losses and the silence imposed by the Soviet regime.

The event was attended by Speaker Igor Grosu, Minister of Culture Cristian Jardan, as well as numerous citizens who came to commemorate the victims of the organized famine and Soviet repressions.


“I have listened to the harrowing testimonies of those who survived political repression, deportations and famine. These tragedies are part of the collective memory of our people. Just a little over half a century ago, our people suffered and lived through a nightmare, they were tortured, humiliated and died for nothing. I would like as many people as possible to become informed about this dark period of our history, so that we imprint in our collective memory what a dictatorship can do,” said Igor Grosu.


Cristian Jardan underlined that the performance is built from the testimonies of people who lived through the organized famine of 1946–1947.


“A play about fear, hunger, loss and about a suffering that has profoundly marked this country. These are things that are not easy to talk about, but we must do it, because this tragedy was part of our history and left its mark on many families. I thank the actors of the Republican Theatre ‘Luceafărul’ and director Slava Sambriș for such a performance with a powerful emotional impact,” said Jardan.


The event is part of the special program of the exhibition and is dedicated to the memory of the victims of the organized famine of 1946–1947. This is its fourth edition, organized in the context of commemorating 85 years since the first Stalinist deportations from Bessarabia and 80 years since the organized famine.

Through documents, photographs, period objects and testimonies, the exhibition reconstructs the experience of deportations, the organized famine, the Great Terror in the Moldavian ASSR and other forms of repression and resistance during the Soviet period. The exhibition can be visited daily, in the Great National Assembly Square in Chișinău and in the North Station Square in Bălți, between 09:00 and 21:00, until 6 July.

The event is organized by the Ministry of Culture and the National Archives Agency, with the support of the Association of Former Deportees and Political Prisoners, the Moldovan Railways, the State Chancellery, the “Blue Frame” project, regional museums and other partner institutions.