Prime Minister, 86 years after Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina

Exactly 86 years ago, on June 28, 1940, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina were occupied by the Soviet regime – the beginning of one of the hardest periods in our history. The message was delivered today by Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu, who emphasized that the occupation marked the destinies of hundreds of thousands of people.

According to the official, that period was marked by arrests, deportations, famine, and years in which people lived in constant fear.


“Thousands of families were torn apart, and tens of thousands of people were ripped from their homes and sent far away, without knowing if they would ever return. The consequences of the occupation affected hundreds of thousands of people. Some were deported, others died of hunger, or were arrested and persecuted. Almost every family in the Republic of Moldova bears such a wound in its own history. My grandfather was deported. I never had the chance to know him. He returned home after years of suffering and forced labor, gravely ill, and died far too early. As in my family, such stories are preserved in thousands of families and are passed down from generation to generation,” Munteanu noted.


The Prime Minister underlined that it is our duty to preserve the memory of those who suffered as a result of the Soviet occupation.


“We commemorate all those who suffered during those years. We keep their memory alive and we must call things by their name. What happened then brought immense pain, and its consequences were felt for generations. History cannot be changed, but it can be understood. Freedom, dignity, and peace are not things to be taken for granted. They must be defended by each and every one of us,” Munteanu stressed.


Exactly 86 years ago, on June 28, 1940, the Soviet Union occupied Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and the Herța region. These Romanian territories were annexed by Soviet troops following an ultimatum given by Moscow to Bucharest two days earlier. Under the pressure of arms, the Kingdom of Romania was forced to cede the provinces, with a total area of over 50,000 square kilometers and a population of four million people, most of them ethnic Romanians. The Soviet occupation was followed by three waves of mass deportations and arrests in 1941, 1949, and 1951.