#Exhibit of the Month

The work In Memoriam. In Memory of the Heroes Who Fell at the Nistru (1992) was developed within the Center for Culture and Military History and published under the auspices of the Government of the Republic of Moldova, the Bureau for Reintegration, and the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Moldova. Authors: Gheorghe Bălan, Vitalie Ciobanu, Gheorghe Cojocaru.

This work provides a retrospective of the events that led to the outbreak of the war on the Nistru, accompanied by photographs of the heroes who lost their lives in the battles to defend the independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova.

On March 2, 1992, the political conflict in the Nistru region escalated into a true fratricidal war. Under the fabricated pretext of "defending Russia's southern borders," political adventurers from the former Soviet metropolis encouraged Transnistrian separatism by arming secessionist paramilitary groups. At the same time, thousands of mercenary Cossacks and prisoners released early from jails, along with tanks and missiles, were sent against Independent Moldova, in a desperate attempt to revive the fallen empire.

Russia's undeclared war against the Republic of Moldova left behind hundreds of dead and wounded, shattered families, and villages in ruins. More than 50,000 peaceful residents from the conflict zone were forced to flee their homes, seeking refuge from the horrors of war.

For the sake of freedom and the future, Moldova's defenders faced death, enduring the hardships and humiliations of war.

During the Nistru war, 198 soldiers of the National Army and 89 personnel from the Ministry of Internal Affairs lost their lives, while 40 combatants went missing without a trace, and nearly 300 were left disabled.

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

„Artistic representations on archaeological artifacts”

June 7 – September 7, 2018

Throughout its evolution, mankind has not once demonstrated that, besides the effort for vital survival it was always attracted to spiritual issues, which were often rendered by anthropo- and zoomorphic images, reflecting various beliefs, traditions and aspirations, but also superstitions.

The archaeological heritage of the NMHM holds a rich and extensive collection of artifacts from various materials: chalk, stone, bone, burned clay, bronze, copper, which represent multiple and varied anthropomorphic and zoomorphic images. The objects impress by the uniqueness of the shapes, decor, dimensions and the role they played in people's lives.

119 heritage pieces from this collection are displayed in the temporary exhibition "Artistic representations on archaeological artifacts". The oldest pieces, which show the predilection of the prehistoric man to art, are human and bison figurines discovered in the grotto of Cosăuți, Soroca district, which are made of chalk and are over 20 thousand years old. The most "recent" exhibited pieces are three stools of stove, ornamented with the image of the bicephal eagle and a rampant lion, dated to the 15th-17th centuries and which were discovered in Chişinău and Râşcani.

Depicted in realistic or highly schematic style, the representations of humans and animals found on archeological artifacts are artworks of long-lived communities, carrying information as well as "secrets". Interpreted in a cultic, magical-religious or purely aesthetic key, the pieces in the exhibition are clear testimonies of the manifestation of the ability, intelligence, imagination and openness to beauty of the people from ancient times to the present.

Through this exhibition we wish to familiarize the public with the cultural-artistic representations made by man throughout history on various objects that have been discovered in the archaeological research process, especially in the space between the Prut and Nistru Rivers. The evolution and decline of civilizations can also be traced and studied through these artifacts.

Authentic, unique, important and very beautiful, the exhibited pieces make an arc over time, giving visitors a journey through millennial art and culture, witnesses and messengers of whom they are.