#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.

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Exhibitions

„Icons from private collections from Chișinău”

July 21, 2016 - February 19, 2017

On July 21, 2016, the National Museum of History of Moldova and the International Club of Collectors from Moldova opened the exhibition „Icons from private collections from Chișinău", which will be on display until December 31, 2016.

This is a new practice for Moldovan collectors to collaborate with public institutions in order to display to a larger public the antiques they have collected over the years. Besides the tendency to collect objects of different categories, including ritual artifacts, the merit of collectors, as well as public institutions, is the safeguard and preservation of heritage assets. In case of icons, their collection and conservation in private collections was perhaps the most appropriate way to salvage them from imminent danger of total disappearance in certain historical periods.

The exhibition has on display 127 icons painted on wood, oil and tempera, dated with the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Most exhibited icons are of Russian origin, but there are also some examples created in Bessarabia.
The exhibition is divided into several distinct sections and presents a grouping of religious icons of the Mother of God, of the Saviour and St. Nicholas. The public will familiarize with the most representative Mariological icon types: Hodighitria, Eleusa, Oranta, Aghiosoritissa. Among displayed icons with Christological theme are: Jesus Christ Pantocrator, Christ the High Priest, the Holy Veil, the Icon of the Resurrection etc. A remarkable collection of icons with the image of St. Nicholas will be displayed, protection icons, icons with several registers and icons dedicated to holy martyrs and pious saints, such as icons with the image of St. John the Baptist, Saints Samon, Gurie and Aviv, St. Evdokia, St. Fotinia, St. Catherine, St. Tatiana etc.

All icons in the exhibition are displayed the first time to the visiting public, which makes the exhibition extremely valuable.

Exhibition „Icons from private collections from Chișinău”