#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

Events Archive

COMMEMORATIVE WALKING TOUR

September 8, 2024

Mereni village, Anenii Noi district

On September 8, 2024, in Mereni village, Anenii Noi district, the Commemorative Walking Tour took place, an event organized by the National Museum of History of Moldova, in partnership with the Institute of History of the Moldova State University, the Association of Former Deportees and Political Detainees from Moldova, the Sybir Memorial Museum in Białystok (Poland), the Genocide and Resistance Research Center in Vilnius (Lithuania), the Museum of History and Ethnography in Mereni and the open-air Museum Complex in memory of the victims of political repressions.

In the Republic of Moldova, this action takes place for the first time, as part of an international project "Memorial Peloton", and aims to honor the memory of all the victims of totalitarian regimes and the dramatic events that took place in Central Europe after the signing of the secret Hitler-Stalin protocol, on August 23, 1939.

The Commemorative Walking Tour started in the courtyard of the open-air Museum Complex in memory of the victims of political repressions, in the presence of the survivors of Stalinist repressions and deportations from Mereni, and gathered around 30 historians, museographers, lawyers, painters, civil society representatives and media from the Republic of Moldova, Poland, and Lithuania. The greeting from the coordinators from the Republic of Moldova was addressed by the Associate Professor, Dr. Ludmila Cojocaru, head of the Museum of Victims of Deportations and Political Repressions, NMHM and Mr. Alexandru Postica, President of the Association of Former Deportees and Political Detainees from Moldova, both speakers mentioning the importance of involving Moldovan society in European commemorative projects. On behalf of the European partners, the greeting was addressed by the coordination of the "Memorial Peloton" project, Dr. Piotr Poplawski, Sybir Memorial Museum in Białystok (Poland), who emphasized the importance of the participation of the Republic of Moldova, together with Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia in the common effort of edification a European memory.

Among the guests of honor at the event in Mereni was Mr. Liudas Gintautas Dabkus, Attaché of the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Chisinau, who reiterated the importance of involving the local communities in the Republic of Moldova, especially the young generation, in historical knowledge and the promotion of democratic values in the society of the Republic of Moldova.

The Commemorative Walking Tour included four stops at the most representative places of memory in the Center sector of Mereni, under the coordination and guidance of University Professor, Dr. Hab. Gheorghe Postică, National Museum of History of Moldova. The participants of the walking tour had also the opportunity to visit the household of some descendants of the former deportees from the village of Mereni - the Baciu family, who told about the sufferings and cases of anti-communist resistance of the people of Mereni during the Soviet occupation. At the end of the walking tour, the participants were invited to the opening of the photo-documentary exhibition "Childhood in the Gulag", presented by Associate Professor, Dr. Ludmila Cojocaru and Associate Professor, Dr. Virgiliu Bîrlădeanu, Head of the Contemporary History Section, Institute of History of the Moldova State University.

The conclusions and future projects, articulated within the framework of the "Memorial Peloton" actions in the Republic of Moldova, were presented by the General Director of National Museum of History of Moldova, University Professor, Dr. Hab. Eugen Sava and the representatives of partner institutions: University Professor, Dr. Hab., Wojciech Śleszyński, Director of the Sybir Memorial Museum in Białystok (Poland) and Dr. Arunas Bubnys, General Director of the Genocide and Resistance Research Center in Vilnius (Lithuania).

The "Memorial Peloton" originated from the Sybir Memorial Museum in Białystok, Poland, in 2017, and after 2022, expands to other European countries marked by the dramatic events that took place after the signing of the secret protocol of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact on August 23, 1939, secretly dividing Europe between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. This year, 2024, the commemorative action takes place in Riga/Latvia (August 21), Vilnius/Lithuania (August 23), Białystok/Poland (August 24), Mereni/Moldova (September 8).