#Exhibit of the Month

This clay vessel was discovered in 1982 by archaeologist V. Sorochin during excavations of a burial mound (no. 1) located in the village of Speia, Dubăsari District. It originates from grave no. 5 and is dated to the 4th millennium BC, belonging to the Usatovo culture.
The vessel was found in a child's grave. The burial pit had an oval shape, and the deceased was laid in a crouched position (similar to the fetal posture), on the left side. A total of five vessels were uncovered in this grave: three near the back, one at the feet, and one in the pelvic area.
The cultural attribution of this funerary complex was determined based on the burial rite and grave goods. This culture is characterized by the specific construction of the burial pit, as well as the positioning and orientation of the deceased toward the east and northeast.

The vessel is shaped from clay mixed with finely crushed shell. Its walls curve gradually toward the top, with the widest diameter at the shoulder area. It has a short neck, a slightly flared rim, and a flat base. The surface is carefully polished, in some areas to a lustrous finish. The interior is reddish-brown, while the exterior is yellowish-brown with gray spots. The rim features groups of perforations, three of which are preserved in their original state. The diameter of the holes is 0.35 cm. The space between the groups of perforations is decorated with cord impressions. The transition from the neck to the shoulder is adorned with three horizontal lines made with cord, from which, in five places, three vertical lines descend, each 5 cm long, executed using the same technique. At the time of discovery, these lines were filled with a white paste. The space between the groups of lines is decorated at the top with short vertical lines (0.5 cm long), and in the center with a meander ornament made of two parallel lines impressed with cord. The base of the vessel retains the imprint of a textile.
Vessel dimensions: Height: 22 cm; Rim diameter: 15.7 cm; Maximum diameter: 22 cm; Base diameter: 10 cm.

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Exhibitions

„War after War. Armed anti-Soviet resistance in Lithuania in 1944-1953”

October 19th - November 5th, 2018

The National Museum of History of Moldova opened the photo-documentary exhibition of the Museum of Genocide Victims from the Genocide and Resistance Research Center of Lithuania entitled „War after the War. Anti-Soviet Armed Resistance in Lithuania in 1944-1953". The openikng event took place on Friday, October 19, 2018, at 16.00.

The event is organized by the National Museum of History of Moldova in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in the Republic of Moldova under the State Program „Recovery and historical valorization of the memory of the victims of the totalitarian-communist regime in the Moldavian SSR during the years 1940-1941 and 1944-1953 ".

At the opening ceremony, moderated by Dr. Elena Postică, Deputy Director of the National Museum of History of Moldova, took the floor: E.S. Kestutis Kudzmanas, Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to the Republic of Moldova; Terese Birute Burauskaite, Director of the Genocide and Resistance Research Center in Lithuania; Eugenius Peikstenis, director of the Museum of Genocide Victims and Lithuanian Population Resistance in Vilnius; Prof. univ Anatol Patrencu, Director of the State Program „Recovery and Historical Valorisation of the Memory of the Victims of the Totalitarian-Communist Regime in the Moldavian SSR".

In 1944-1945, Europe, together with the whole world, was intoxicated with the idea that finally the German Nazism was defeated and the war, which had claimed millions of lives, destroyed entire cities, came to an end.

In Lithuania, as in other Baltic states, which lost their independence in 1940 and had already experienced what the "Soviet paradise" was like a different mood prevailed. It was then that a national war broke out in Lithuania, which was aimed at the re-establishment of the state. Thousands of men gathered in the forests in the hope that they should not staying there for too long - till the decisions of the Peace Conference implementing the principle of self-determination of the nations were made. Unfortunately, their expectations did not come true, and for nine years, from 1944 to 1953, Lithuania fought its war quite alone.

In 1945, there could be up to 30,000 partisans in Lithuanian forests led by the former officers, students and teachers. Large partisan detachments numbering even up to 200 men were being formed, battles with the Soviet army resembled armed conflicts between regular armies. During the first two years of the armed resistance, in 1944-1945, about 10,000 partisans were killed and the total number of the dead amounted to over 20,000. All in all, over 50,000 people were engaged in the guerrilla war, about 140,000 persons were imprisoned and 118,000 people were deported.

At the beginning there was certain spontaneity, however, little by little, with great difficulties, the structure based on the military territorial principle was formed. By 1948, three regions, each containing districts with its military formations (corps, platoon, squad) were formed all over Lithuania. Structural sub-units had staffs subordinate to them, which were headed by officers (with the exception of certain districts) at least till 1948.

Partisans drew up military standard documents whereby they sought to maintain discipline, avoid self-wilfulness and unnecessary bloodshed as much as possible. Military uniforms and appropriate recognition badges also served as a disciplinary measure.

In February 1949, after five years of striving for that, the highest authority of partisans - the Presidium of the Council of the Movement of the Struggle for Freedom of Lithuania (LLKS) was founded. Unlike the former attempts, all partisan leaders within the territory of Lithuania who participated in the constituent assembly became subordinate to it. The political Declaration by the Council of the Movement of the Struggle for Freedom of Lithuania, the document which currently constitutes a legal act of the Lithuanian legal system, united Lithuania of 1918 and Lithuania of 1990.

Aspirations for freedom, independence and democracy constituted the main values, which Lithuania inherited from the generation whose motto was as follows: "Give your Fatherland all that you are obliged to..."