Exhibition “State Terror in Soviet Moldova: Scale, Victims and Perpetrators” inaugurated in Great National Assembly Square

The fourth edition of the railcar exhibition “State Terror in Soviet Moldova: Scale, Victims and Perpetrators” was inaugurated today in the Great National Assembly Square. Through documents, photographs, period objects and testimonies, the exhibition reconstructs the suffering of deported families and the memory of those who experienced Soviet state terror.

The exhibition can be visited until July 6, between 09:00 and 21:00. This year’s edition has a special significance, as it is organized in the context of marking 85 years since the first Stalinist deportations. On the night of June 12–13, 1941, thousands of people were taken from their homes and deported to Siberia and Kazakhstan in cattle wagons, as part of one of the most tragic repressive operations of the Soviet totalitarian regime.

The exhibition “State Terror in Soviet Moldova: Scale, Victims and Perpetrators” reconstructs the suffering of deported families not only from Bessarabia, but also from the left bank of the Dniester (the Great Terror in the Moldavian ASSR, 1937–1938), and it transcends the Stalinist period by evoking repression and resistance in the years 1953–1989. Moreover, the exhibition is designed in such a way that it also includes the famine of 1946–1947 as a method of Soviet state terror in Bessarabia and in the territory on the left bank of the Dniester.

Present at the inauguration, Speaker Igor Grosu said that the memory of these tragedies is an anchor that must remind us each time what authoritarian, criminal regimes can lead to.

“This is a sad anniversary, because we commemorate and remember our grandparents and great-grandparents who went through this ordeal. Many of them never returned. Those who did return carry the scars of those atrocities. We thank those who had the courage and the strength to put these testimonies on paper, so that we, today’s generation, and our children can know, understand and pass them on. This is important because any society, any nation, any people without memory, without knowing its own history, is like a leaf in the wind. The memory of these tragedies is an anchor that must remind us each time what authoritarian, criminal regimes can lead to. And the worst thing, which we unfortunately still experience today, is that such regimes still exist in our proximity,” said Igor Grosu.

He welcomed the organization of a similar exhibition in Bălți and mentioned that such events should also be organized in the south of the country, emphasizing that it is important to talk as much as possible about the effects of these historical tragedies in order to prevent their repetition.

“I am glad that such an event is also organized in Bălți. I urge you to take it further, to the south, to Cahul. I strongly encourage us to speak more, to commemorate, and to make use of the eyewitnesses of those tragedies who have the courage to speak, to pass on to the younger generation what happened, so that we never again allow such things to occur in the history of our nation,” the official said.

At the same time, Igor Grosu announced that a draft law will be put forward to include in the legislation of the Republic of Moldova sanctions for those who deny the atrocities of the Stalinist regime.

Minister of Culture Cristian Jardan said that the exhibition organized in the Great National Assembly Square is a sign of respect for the victims of the deportations and a history lesson about the tragedies that totalitarian regimes can bring.

“It is, first and foremost, a sign of respect for the victims of the deportations. On this night, it is 85 years since thousands of families from the territory of today’s Republic of Moldova were taken to Siberia. At the same time, it is also a history lesson about the tragedies and the damage that totalitarian regimes can bring. We must learn from our past, a recent past which, unfortunately, was hidden from us for decades. These tragic events were spoken about only in whispers and only at home,” said the Minister of Culture.

Cristian Jardan also mentioned that the exhibition presents testimonies about the organized famine of 1946–1947. “It is also an exhibition in which we bring into discussion the great tragedy of 1946–1947, when we speak about the hunger that was provoked or organized, when at least 130,000 people fell victim to a true genocide. We must remember. When we want to have a future ahead of us, we must know our recent past, learn from those sad events in order not to allow their repetition ever again,” the Minister of Culture specified.

Cristian Jardan stressed the importance of organizing a similar event in the north of the country, in Bălți.

“This year, our exhibition is also taking place in Bălți, for the first time. In the square of the northern railway station in Bălți, a railcar has also been set up with the same exhibition. It is a symbolic and powerful moment through which we honor the victims of the thousands of deportees from the north of the country,” the official underlined.

Director of the National Archives Agency Igor Cașu said that the fourth edition of the exhibition “State Terror in Soviet Moldova: Scale, Victims and Perpetrators” comes with several new elements for visitors.

“Together with several state institutions, we considered it appropriate to use this occasion, when we commemorate the deportations, to remind people of all forms of state terror. It is a term, by the way, that is well established in Russian historiography. Thus, the exhibition aims to commemorate all the victims of the Soviet regime, practically from the beginning to the end. The exhibition reflects all social groups, all ethnic groups, without distinction. We devote special attention to the women’s revolt in the spring of 1946. We have other new elements as well. There is a map of the 1951 deportation. I invite you to come and talk to those who survived and who provide extraordinary testimonies; it is a unique opportunity to discover them,” said Igor Cașu.

The President of the Association of Former Deportees and Political Prisoners, Alexandru Postică, shared harrowing testimonies about the terror and repressions of the Stalinist regime.

“We must remember that in 1940 there was that occupation which generated unimaginable repressions, never before seen on this earth. Our parents and grandparents were forced to flee to Romania. Some were killed and thrown into lime pits. Others were deported. Others were subjected to famine and died by the hundreds of thousands. Others were unjustly imprisoned in penitentiaries, as well as in psychiatric hospitals. Almost 25% of the population suffered directly from the Soviet occupation. Today we commemorate 26,000 people who suffered as a result of the first wave of deportations of June 13, 1941,” said Alexandru Postică.

The exhibition program includes, in addition to daily visiting, several special events. On June 21, thematic films from the collections of the National Archives about Soviet repressions will be screened, and on June 28 a theater performance will be staged. On July 6, a special event dedicated to the deportations of the night of July 6–7, 1949 will take place.

The exhibition 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 state institutions. The mass deportation operation from the Moldavian SSR on the night of June 12–13, 1941 affected 18,392 people and formed part of a wider action to “cleanse” the new territories occupied by the USSR in 1939–1940, following the Ribbentrop–Molotov Pact.

The mass deportation of July 6–9, 1949 was the largest on the current territory of the Republic of Moldova. The operation targeted more than 11,000 families; the contingent of those forcibly displaced in cattle wagons totaled 35,796 people, including 11,889 children, 14,033 women and 9,864 men.