84 years since first wave of Stalinist deportations

Today we mark 84 years since the first wave of Stalinist deportations, which took place on the night of June 12-13, 1941—a tragedy of immense proportions for the population of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. This operation was organized by Soviet authorities in the context of a policy to purge 'anti-Soviet elements,' leading to the forced deportation of over 30,000 people to Siberia and Kazakhstan.

The victims included officials, teachers, priests, educators, doctors, merchants, wealthy peasants, and former members of Romanian administration. Historical documents show that in the first wave of Stalinist deportations, about 30,000 people, including about 5,000 children, were torn from their homes and forcibly sent to Siberia and Kazakhstan.

The transportation was conducted in inhumane conditions: people were packed into freight wagons without water, food, or any possibility of hygiene. Families were often separated—men were sent to labor camps, while women and children were sent to special settlements (the so-called 'labor colonies').

The deportees were transported in inhumane conditions to regions like Tomsk, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Altai and Northern Kazakhstan. Due to the cold, lack of food, water, and medical assistance, at least 1,000 people died during the journey or in the first months of exile.

This operation was just the beginning. Between 1941 and 1951, in multiple waves, over 100,000 people were deported from territories annexed by the USSR (including the Moldavian SSR).