Victims of the organized famine from 1946–1947 to be commemorated in central Moldova settlement

The victims of the organized famine from 1946–1947 will be commemorated on April 16, this year, in the village of Mingir, central Hancesti district. President Maia Sandu and Culture Minister Cristian Jardan will attend the event.

In the village of Mingir, over 1,400 victims have been documented. The event aims to preserve the memory of those who suffered.

The actions dedicated to the Day of Commemoration of the Victims of the Organized Famine of 1946–1947 will start in the morning at the cemetery in Mingir, where a religious service will be held and a monument and commemorative plaques dedicated to the victims of the organized famine will be consecrated.

The event will continue at the Mingir Memorial Complex, where a minute of silence will be held in memory of those who suffered. Afterwards, official speeches will be delivered by the mayor of Mingir commune, Ilie Chitanu, President Maia Sandu, Culture Minister Cristian Jardan and the president of the Association of Former Deportees and Political Prisoners, Alexandru Postica. The speeches will be followed by a flower-laying ceremony.

Additionally, at the Mingir Community Centre, the concept of the Famine Museum will be presented and a scientific conference titled, The Famine of 1946–1947: Historical Research and Memorial Evocations, will be held.

The event will conclude with the performance, Children of the Famine, staged by actors of the Mihai Eminescu National Theatre.

The activities are organized within the framework of the Compass of Memory campaign.

The victims of one of the most tragic chapters in our nation’s history—the organized famine of 1946–1947—are annually commemorated on the third Saturday of April. This was one of the greatest humanitarian catastrophes to strike the territory of today’s Moldova in the 20th century. The famine was not an unavoidable natural disaster, but a tragedy exacerbated by the authoritarian and repressive policies of the Soviet regime.

According to data provided by the National Archives Agency, in just a few months, more than 123,000 people died of hunger, representing about 5 per cent of the population of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (RSSM). Proportionally, Soviet Moldova was the worst hit region in the entire Soviet Union, with a mortality rate ten times higher than in Russia and five times higher than in Ukraine.