Moldovan parliament speaker invites citizens to exhibition on Soviet terror in Moldavian Soviet Republic

An itinerant exhibition titled, Soviet Terror in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, will be inaugurated on the Great National Assembly Square (PMAN) on July 5 at 20:00. Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu urged citizens to attend the exhibition, as well as other events organized in the memory of the victims of the 1949 deportations.

Speaker Igor Grosu invited all citizens to visit the exhibition and participate in the commemorative events.

‘’I invite all citizens to visit the exhibition, as well as other events, in order to keep alive the memory of those who suffered nightmare moments from a barbaric regime. Their pain must not and cannot be forgotten,’’ said Grosu.

He informed that, also on July 5, in Mereni, central Anenii Noi district, an international conference dedicated to political repressions and the deportations of July 6, 1949, would take place in the Open-Air Museum Complex.

According to the cited source, on July 6, at 8:00, a memorial rally will take place at the monument to the deportation victims nearby the Chisinau Railway Station for those who were torn from their homes and sent to Siberia.

‘’Also on Sunday, at the Mihai Eminescu National Theater, a documentary play titled, The Siberian Files, will take place, followed by a symbolic march of actors and spectators to the Great National Assembly Square, where candles will be lit in memory of the victims,’’ Grosu concluded.

MP Valentina Ghetu also spoke on this subject at the plenary meeting. She talked about the suffering of the deported: people driven from their own homes, starved, humiliated and silenced—not for real deeds or guilt, but simply because they were considered dangerous by a regime that wanted to destroy the identity of this people.

‘’These people did not break any law. They were persecuted, because they were considered a threat by a regime that wanted to destroy the identity roots of this nation. Yet, they remained people of dignity, faith and integrity. Many of them never returned. Many came back, but for years the state turned its back on them,’’ said the lawmaker.

The MP also launched a strong message to the pro-Russian opposition, saying they avoid historical truth.

On the night of July 5 to 6, 1949, the Soviet regime orchestrated one of the largest deportation operations in the history of Moldova and the entire Eastern European region. Around 40,000 people, including women, children and the elderly, were forced to leave their homes and sent under inhumane conditions to camps in Siberia.

This action is part of the Stalinist repressive policy of 'cleansing' the population, particularly targeting wealthy peasants (called 'kulaks') and other social categories considered 'enemies of the people' or potential opponents of the Soviet regime. The deportations aimed to eliminate any resistance to collectivization and impose total control over the territory and the population.