#Exhibit of the Month

The Chișinău Diocesan Girls' School opened its doors on May 3, 1864, addressing a pressing need: in Bessarabia there were no institutions dedicated to the education of clergy's daughters. According to the 1864 circular, teaching was conducted in the Romanian language, a provision applied throughout the diocese. The school's first headmistress was Anastasia Rizo, of noble origin, invited by Archbishop Antonie.

The curriculum, approved by the Ministry of Public Education and the Chișinău Diocese, combined theoretical subjects with practical training. Students studied religion, reading and writing in Romanian, Slavonic, and Russian, arithmetic and exercises in calculation, world history and geography. The program was complemented by church singing and practical skills such as sewing, embroidery, knitting, as well as household management - baking bread and prosphora, preparing meals and preserves, caring for livestock, and cultivating gardens.

The composite, taken in 1911 at the studio of Z. N. Sumovski in Chișinău, depicts 29 graduates and 13 teachers. At the center are portraits of Bishop Serafim (Ciciagov), headmistress N. R. Mihelson, teacher V. E. Bejerian, and priests F. Ghiliarov and P. Jurikas. Among the teaching staff was Paraskovia Vasilievna Cuciurenko, a calligraphy teacher for 37 years, who in 1911 became senior educator and assistant headmistress. For her dedication, she was awarded the gold medal "For Long Service."

On the reverse of the vignette is a label from the store and workshop of frames, paintings, mirrors, and window glass owned by A. D. Kon'gova, Chișinău, Gogol Street no. 37, near the State Bank.

This graduation composite was donated at the end of 2025 to the National Museum of History of Moldova by the Dadiștian family from Drochia.

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Events Archive

The opening of the exhibition "War Up Close"

August 21, 2024

On August 21, 2024, at the National Museum of History of Moldova, the opening of the exhibition of virtual reality "War Up Close", organized in collaboration with the Office of the Republic of Moldova of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, took place.

The event was opened by the general director of the National History Museum of Moldova, Dr. Hab. Eugen Sava, who emphasized the efforts of the organizers to present a special and authentic project, which illustrates the devastating reality of the unjustified war triggered by the Russian Federation in Ukraine. He also mentioned that the exhibition uses peak technology, including panoramic photos, images captured by drones and 3D modeling, to transform suffering into sensitivity and provide a visceral experience.

Dr. Brigitta Triebel, director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation office in the Republic of Moldova, welcomed the guests at the event, offering an incursion to the main purpose of the exhibition: to bring to the global attention the extent of the human and material disaster, through images that surprise both civil infrastructure affected, as well as the devastated destinies of the millions of Ukrainians.

The Minister of Culture of the Republic of Moldova, Sergiu Prodan, was also present at the event, noting that this exhibition is not only a window to a grim world, but also a call to consciousness, an urge not to forget what is happening in the immediate vicinity, presenting a tragic vision of some actions initiated for personal reasons, where the suffering is carried by those whose existence is just beginning.

The president of the National Congress of Ukrainians in the Republic of Moldova, Dmitro Lecarțev, stressed the hope that this approach will inspire action and solidarity, reminding that each life matters and that together we can bring the change.

About the steps that were undertaken until this special presentation and the work behind the exhibition, Sophia Bilenko, project manager "War Up Close", told us, with the exhibition, together with the Serhii Vorobiov. She specified that each image, every detail, invites the visitor to discover and feel the tangible nature of this tragedy, to reflect on the human suffering and, most importantly, to tend towards the idea of uniting voices in the name of peace and democracy.

#Exhibit of the Month

Vignette of Graduates and Teachers of the Chișinău Diocesan Girls’ School, 1911

The opening of the exhibition "War Up Close"

August 21, 2024

#Exhibit of the Month