1946–1947 Famine could be recognized as crime against humanity in Moldova

The famine triggered in 1946–1947 on the territory of today’s Republic of Moldova will be explicitly recognized as a crime against humanity committed by the Soviet totalitarian regime. A group of MPs from the PAS faction has registered in Parliament a draft law that establishes a regulatory framework for the legal and memorial recognition of the famine. The initiative also provides for amendments to the Criminal Code so that the public denial, justification or downplaying of this tragedy will be punishable by up to five years in prison.

The draft law sets out obligations for central and local public authorities regarding the promotion of memory policies, research, education, and the commemoration of the famine’s victims. The document also provides for priority access to relevant documents and information from archives, as well as for the Government’s responsibility to adopt implementation measures, including commemoration programs and the development of memorial infrastructure.

One of the proposed amendments concerns supplementing Article 176¹ of the Criminal Code by explicitly introducing the terms “deportations or the famine” both in the title of the article and in its content. Thus, the public denial, contestation, approval or justification of these historical atrocities would constitute a criminal offense and be punishable by imprisonment from six months to five years.

In the explanatory note, the authors argue that the years 2026–2027 will mark 80 years since the induced famine of 1946–1947, an event with major humanitarian, demographic and social impact, confirmed by historical research and archival documents. They state that this tragedy was part of the repressive policies promoted by the Soviet totalitarian regime and that its consequences continue to affect the collective memory and documentary heritage of the Republic of Moldova.

According to the initiators, one of the main causes of the famine was the policy of excessive taxation and compulsory requisitions imposed after the re-establishment of the Soviet administration in Bessarabia. Although the 1946 grain harvest was insufficient for the needs of the population, the authorities continued to carry out forced collections of agricultural products, without putting in place effective support measures for the affected population, which led to a large-scale humanitarian catastrophe.

The authors of the draft underline that, unlike Ukraine and the Baltic states, the Republic of Moldova currently lacks a framework law defining the legal and memorial status of the induced famine, as well as explicit legal provisions sanctioning the public denial or justification of this tragedy. They consider that the adoption of the draft will contribute to strengthening historical memory policies and to eliminating existing legislative gaps.

The authors of the draft are MPs Liliana Nicolaescu-Onofrei, Igor Chiriac, Natalia Davidovici, Adrian Belîi, Eugeniu Sinchevici, Veronica Roșca, Ina Coșeru, Vitalie Jacot, Doina Gherman and Radu Marian.

The legislative initiative largely incorporates the provisions of a previously drafted law of the Ministry of Culture, which recognizes the organized famine of 1946–1947 as a crime against humanity and condemns its denial or minimization. The new element introduced by the MPs is the amendment of the Criminal Code so that the public denial, justification or downplaying of the famine organized by the Soviet regime is classified as a criminal offense and punished by imprisonment for up to five years.