#Exhibit of the Month

With the establishment of the Soviet regime after the territorial abduction, the Red Terror broke out in Bessarabia. Starting from June 28, 1940, on the territory of Bessarabia, then of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (August 2, 1940), state bodies carried out a series of mass political repressions - under the pretext of political, social, religious and national reasons - in the form of deprivation of freedom, deportation, expulsion and other coercive measures. The first victims of this terror were the national elites: mayors, teachers, judges, lawyers, officials, former members of the Council of the Country, accused of "anti-Sovietism", "counter-revolutionary activity", belonging to political parties in Romania, etc. They were the target of the first arrests and imprisonments of the Soviet repression organs. Later, from 1941, the deportations of the native population to Siberia and to labor correction camps followed, the deportations of the civilian population from July 5-6, 1949, as well as those from April 1, 1951. According to the data of the Commission for the Study and Assessment of the Totalitarian Communist Regime in the Republic Moldova, established on January 14, 2010, the number of victims deported and subjected to repressions in the years 1929-1951 was assessed at over 90 thousand people. In a barbaric way, the repression bodies also attacked the participants and supporters of the resistance movement in the SSR, considering them state criminals, traitors, bandits, robbers. Leaders of resistance organizations were usually sentenced to capital punishment by firing squad, and active members to 25 years in prison, serving their sentences in labor camps and prisons. The territory of the Soviet empire was littered with a hideous network of correctional labor camps and prisons called the GULAG. Millions of people were imprisoned in the GULAG system of the Soviet Union, many of them remained forever in the lands of Siberia, in mass graves and cemeteries without crosses. Most of the camps were correctional labor colonies, where inmates were subjected to labor in mines or in the construction of roads, canals, railways or buildings. Prisoners worked under threat of starvation or execution. Tens of thousands died each year from grueling work, unbearable conditions, summary executions and inadequate food.

A shocking testimony of the Soviet gulag is the exhibit "Political Detainee's Coat", displayed in this showcase. Museum piece - unique, it was purchased from the former political prisoner Vasile Cojocaru, domiciled in the city of Chisinau. It entered the heritage in 1995, during a period of intense activity of the museum's collaborators regarding the collection of pieces with the theme of communist repression.

Vasile Cojocaru was born in 1926, in the village of Chioselia Mică, Baimaclia district (currently, Cantemir district). On June 16, 1951, he was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment by the Military Court of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the SSR, according to article 54-1 (a) of the criminal code of the Ukrainian SSR - "treason", and escorted in a special camp in Kazakhstan, with prohibitions on rights and confiscation of property. Obviously, we ask ourselves the question: What guilt is hidden under this accusation of "traitor to the fatherland", which crippled his whole life?

In July 1941, his father, Cojocaru Petru Grigore, born in 1886, was arrested and qualified as an "enemy of the people" (he was a member of the National Peasant Party), all his wealth being confiscated. On August 15, 1942, as a "dangerous social element", he is imprisoned in the correctional camp in the city of Mariinsk, Kemerovo region, where he dies under unclear circumstances, most likely he was executed. Vasile, 14 years old, and his mother were left on the roads, without means of subsistence. Eventually, the house is returned to them and they start a new household. But in 1944 he was drafted into the Soviet Army and sent to the front line of the 2nd Belorussian Front, where he was wounded twice, becoming a war invalid, 2nd degree. Returning home in 1948, he found his mother on the road and ill. He dares to ask the authorities for part of the confiscated wealth, to which he receives a threat - that he will be sent in the footsteps of his father. For three years he was persecuted for this "daring", as in 1951, although he defended the Bolshevik country at the cost of his health, he was arrested and convicted. Here, in fact, is what is hidden under this accusation of "treason", imputed to this citizen. In 1956, he was released from detention and sent to Armenia, the city of Yerevan, the place of residence indicated by the camp authorities. For many years in a row he was pursued by the security organs, being far from home, as political prisoners were forbidden to return to their place of residence. Come home later. Through the certificate of 28.02.1992, issued by the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Moldova, he is rehabilitated at and restored to rights. On July 25, 1991, his father was also rehabilitated.

The clothes on display - the waistcoat and trousers - are part of the prisoners' summer clothes, which also included a round cap, which the museum does not have. They are made of thick cotton fabric. The vest has long sleeves, collar, closes with four buttons, having two patch pockets on the sides. The pants close with buttons, have two side pockets. On both pieces is applied the number "CEE 893" - the holder code of Vasile Cojocaru. Three capital letters and three numbers are written in black paint on a piece of white cloth. The prisoner's number was applied in four places on the coat. One number was applied to the cap, another - to the back of the waistcoat, the third - near the heart, and the fourth - to the trousers, above the right or left knee. These four places, in fact, were also considered as sighting targets, in case the prisoner escaped. The number also applied to prisoners' winter clothes (down jackets, padded trousers, hats). As for footwear, the prisoners wore - in spring, summer and autumn - a kind of large galoshes made of rubberized fabric, less often, kirza boots, and in winter - felt. Usually, new arrivals were given second-hand clothes - old stuff with a terrible smell.

The exhibit has an indisputable museographic value. It gives the public the opportunity to see and understand the consequences of the establishment of the communist totalitarian regime in the SSR. By exhibiting it, we pay tribute to all the victims of the Red Terror in Bessarabia, on the eve of June 13 and July 5-6 - days when the two waves of deportations of our natives took place.

Virtual Tour

History

The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most important museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific prestige.

The Museum was established on December 21, 1983, when there was issued the Order of the Ministry of Culture No. 561 “On reprofiling of the Museums” (on the basis of the Joint Decree of the Central Committee of the CPM and the Council of Ministers of MSSR “On the utilization of the historical monument – the edifice of the former Chisinau Boys’ Gymnasia where S. Lazo studied” from 29th of November, 1983).

The State Museum of History of MSSR was created on the basis of the Republican Museum of Military Glory, into which it was incorporated, and the historical collection of the State Museum of History and Regional Studies of MSSR. It was housed in the restoring historical building of the former Chisinau Boys’ Gymnasia No.1, where formerly the Republican Museum of Military Glory had been located.

On October 22, 1991, by the Order of the Ministry of Culture No. 231 “On perfection of the republican museums’ activity”, the State Museum of History of MSSR was renamed to the National Museum of History of Moldova.

In 2006 the National Museum of History of Moldova was reorganized into the National Museum of Archaeology and History of Moldova through absorption of the Museum of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, according to the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Moldova No.1326 “On the measures of optimization of infrastructure in the field of science and innovation” from 14th of December, 2005.

According to the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Moldova No. 184 of 13 March 2013, the National Museum of Archaeology and History of Moldova is renamed as the National Museum of History of Moldova.

At present the National Museum of History of Moldova is subordinate to the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova, its scientific activity being coordinated by the Academy of Sciences of Moldova.

The Museum collections, which initially consisted of the collections of the Republican Museum of Military Glory and the State Museum of History and Regional Studies of MSSR, every year were enriching with items of real scientific value through research, donations, and acquisitions. Besides, in 1989 – 1995 and 2006 – 2007, large transfers of collections from a number of broken up museums – the Republican Museum of Friendship Among the Peoples, the Museum of History of the CPM, the Republican Museum of History of the Komsomol, the Republican Museum of G.I. Kotovsky and S.G. Lazo, the Republican Museum of the History of Religion, the Memorial Museum of Bulgarian Volunteers, and the Museum of Archaeology of The Academy of Sciences of Moldova – also contributed to the growth and diversity of the Museum property.

Today the National Museum of History of Moldova owns 348,619 items, the diversity of which covers the history of Moldova over the centuries, from prehistoric times to the present, telling about the land, facts, events, and outstanding people.

In 1991 the first permanent historical exhibition “Pages of Centuries-old History of Moldova”, covering the period from the oldest times to 1940, was opened to the public. It was located in three rooms of the 1st floor, with an area of 645 sq. m., containing about 900 exhibit items. The exhibition illustrated the features of the area between the Prut and Dniester in the context of the history of medieval Moldavian state. As to the period after the dismemberment of Moldova in 1812, in the exhibition there was presented only the history of Bessarabia.

In 1997 the permanent historical exhibition was redesigned in content, placement, and by the method of presentation. It expanded to the entire first floor, occupying six rooms with an area of 1,400 sq. m. Chronological framework of the exhibition includes the period from the Paleolithic to the end of the fifth decade of the twentieth century.

In 2006 – 2007 the museum was in a new process of rebuilding of the permanent exhibition, intending to make radical changes in terms of vision and the content of exhibits, representing the section of prehistory and ancient history. Underlying these changes are the collections transferred from the former Museum of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova. Of course, the current formula of the permanent exhibition is an intermediate. Now there is conceptually and thematically developing a new vision of the exhibition of the National Museum of History of Moldova.

In August 1990, in the ground floor of the Museum there was open to the public the Diorama of the Iasi – Chisinau Operation, and in 1994, in the basement – the exhibition of items made of precious metals “Treasure-house”.

The Museum also offers the public diverse temporary exhibitions, which complement the permanent exhibition and contribute to the promotion of the Museum cultural and historical property. From its opening, the Museum has organized over 650 temporary exhibitions (at the Museum, outside the Museum, and abroad), based on its own collections as well as in collaboration with other cultural and research institutions.

The Edifice

The National Museum of History of Moldova from the very beginning was located in the historical building of the former Chisinau Boys’ Gymnasia No.1, later the Boy’s Lyceum named after B.P. Hasdeu (in 1945 – 1963 in the premises there was housed the frontier detachment “Nistru”, and in 1963 – 1977 – the Polytechnic Institute), that was in the process of restoration.

The earthquake of 1977 has played a tragic role in the history of this monument, causing serious damage that could lead to a total destruction of the building. Restoration work, started in 1979, was halted because, due to the severe destruction, the building was beyond repair.

The old building was demolished and replaced by a new one (the construction lasted from 1980 to 1987), which retained only the exterior of the historical monument, built in eclectic style, and decorative elements of the gymnasia assembly hall, repeated in three domical rooms of the new building.

Thus, the new museum edifice, taken in operation in 1987, is a modern two-storey monumental building facing the 31 August, 1989 Street. It has 12 exhibition rooms and a diorama, with a total area of 5,700 sq. m.

#Exhibit of the Month

Political prisoner coat

History

#Exhibit of the Month