#Exhibit of the Month

This remarkable portrait of Mihai Eminescu, created by artist Alexandru Gușanov, is based on one of the four known photographs of the poet. The photograph that inspired this portrait was taken in 1869 in Wenceslas Square, Prague, when Eminescu was only 19 years old. The oval composition and harmonious color palette highlight the prominent personality and charisma of the young poet, capturing an expression that conveys both melancholy and intellectual depth.
Alexandru Gușanov (1929-2005), a Moldovan painter of Ukrainian origin, distinguished himself through his extensive work, comprising approximately 5,000 pieces - portraits, landscapes, and still life paintings. Settled in Moldova since 1945, Gușanov graduated from the Republican Art School "I.E. Repin" in Chișinău in 1952. His works were showcased in numerous national and international exhibitions and were highly appreciated in countries such as France, Hungary, Russia, and Yugoslavia. The artist dedicated a significant part of his career to creating portraits of historical and cultural figures, including Dimitrie Cantemir, Mihail Kogălniceanu, and Alexei Mateevici, which are part of the National Museum of History of Moldova's collection.

The subject of the portrait, Mihai Eminescu (1850-1889), is the most significant poet in Romanian literature, whose works reflect profound thought, sensitivity toward nature, and national identity. At the age of 19, when the photograph that inspired this portrait was taken, Eminescu was in the midst of his intellectual formation, preparing to become the iconic voice of Romanian culture. Among his most famous works is the poem Luceafărul (The Morning Star), a masterpiece of universal literature.

Virtual Tour

Branch Museums

Museum of Victims of Political Repressions and Deportations

Museum of the Victims of Deportations and Political Repressions was created by Government Decision no. 605 of July 2, 2010 as branch of the National Museum of History of Moldova.

On June 13, 2012, in an exhibition space in the basement of the National Museum of History of Moldova, was opened the first exhibition of the Museum of the Victims of Deportations and Political Repressions entitled "Soviet Moldova: between myths and gulag".

Exhibition "Soviet Moldova: between myths and gulag" presents the totalitarian phenomenon in the overall history of the Soviet era. By using specific museological techniques, the authors of the exhibition have tried to present to the public the two components of Soviet society: the illusory world of those who embraced the "Soviet dream", believing naively in the ideals of freedom and justice, the "bright future" shaped by Soviet propaganda and the world of people who lived through the hell of communist camps and prisons. The exhibition brings together about 700 museum pieces: photographs, documents, letters from Siberia, vintage posters, personal belongings of former deportees and political prisoners, lists of confiscated property, memoirs written by witnesses and survivors of the Soviet gulag. For the first time are exhibited materials and documents from the archives of the former KGB with reference to the repressed people for their political and religious beliefs.

According to some incomplete data, 31 677 persons were sentenced for "political crimes" between 1920-1951 in MASSR and MSSR, of which over 5000 were sentenced to death. Other 3000 died in prisons and isolators. About 60 thousand people were deported during nationwide deportations: in June 1941, July 1949 and 1 April 1951. Museum materials presented in the exhibition "Soviet Moldova: between myths and gulag" speak about the drama of these persons with incredible destinies.

This is not a usual exhibition, it is a small memorial of sorrows and humiliations of the victims of the red terror, an exhibition that recalls contemporaries of communist totalitarian past that needs to be known, but must remain in history and never repeat again.