One of the important sources of the fragmentation of current Moldovan society has its roots in history, or rather in the different interpretation of important historical events, and June 28 belongs to this category. On June 28, 1940, Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina and Hertsa Region were occupied by the Soviet Union, and the people treat this day differently, with epithets raging from “celebration to catastrophe”. The participants in IPN’s public debate “June 28, 1940 between celebration and catastrophe” discussed the context of that turning point for the fate of Moldovan society, as well as the reasons, actions and consequences of that distant day 84 years ago.
The permanent expert of IPN’s project Igor Botan said that the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, also known as the Stalin-Hitler Pact, was a nonaggression treaty between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed in Moscow on August 23, 1939 by the head of government and foreign minister of the USSR Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop.
“The pact, through the secret protocol, meant the division of the spheres of influence in Europe between the two powers. Basically, this nonaggression pact between the two great powers stipulated, between the lines, that each of the two signatory states was free to act according to its own political and territorial interests, provided that it did not do so to the detriment of the other side, and the core of the problem was actually the control over the European space between the two states,” explained the expert.
Igor Botan said that the ultimatum is usually a communiqué containing the irrevocable conditions that a power, a state, a proxy puts on another in order to solve a litigious situation on which their relations depend. “So, it is a diplomatic note by which a state presents another state with a definitive condition whose rejection entails the taking of coercive measures. Ultimatums are mainly used in politics and are sometimes preceded by a declaration of war,” noted the expert.
Political commentator Anatol Țăranu, a doctor of history, said that the problem of Bessarabia in international relations begins in 1812, when it was annexed by force of arms by the Tsarist Empire. “It was an act that was perfectly in line with the political and diplomatic realities of that period. At that time, the one who had the force of arms, who was strong also dictated the legal conditions of the relations with other states. We should remember here that the Principality of Moldavia, which existed at that time and which included the territory of Bessarabia, was later annexed by the Tsarist Empire. So, the Principality of Moldavia was not part of the Ottoman Empire, but was in suzerainty relations with the Empire. It was a situation of semi-dependence on the Ottoman Empire. That is the Principality of Moldavia enjoyed limited sovereignty and when Tsarist Russia annexed Bessarabia, in fact, the negotiations were not with this state that had sovereignty, but between the Ottoman Empire and the Tsarist Empire. Turkey did not have the legal right, even for that period, to do what it did – that is to cede a part of the Principality of Moldova to Tsarist Russia,” stated Anatol Țăranu.
The doctor of history noted that on March 27, 1918, as a result of the events that were happening in Russia, including the revolution, through the vote of the People’s Council – the representative body of Bessarabia at that time – this territory voluntarily became part of Romania. “It actually returned home to its space of ethnocultural and historical origin. In fact, the Act on Bessarabia joining Romania was legally recognized at the Paris Conference of 1920, a congress that put an end to World War I. At that congress, an agreement was signed recognizing that Bessarabia was part of Romania. This was the legal basis of Bessarabia’s belonging to Romania,” said the commentator.
According to him, the Soviet Union, during the interwar period, constantly contested the belonging of Bessarabia to Romania. But there were moments in the diplomatic struggle around the Bessarabian issue, when the USSR actually showed its willingness to recognize Bessarabia as part of Romania, under certain conditions. “They did not go beyond the initiative. But there are documents showing that the Soviet diplomatic service was ready to discuss this issue seriously. So, the Soviet Union understood that Bessarabia is Romanian land, that it belongs to Romania, but of course, for political and geopolitical reasons, the Soviet Union did everything possible not to recognize this and then, in 1940, it returned to the Bessarabian issue and, by force of arms, regained this territory,” stated Anatol Taranu.
Ion Varta, a doctor of history, said that the Peace Treaty of October 28, 1920, signed at the Paris Peace Conference, gave legitimacy to the historical act of March 27, 1918. That is the great powers recognized that, in fact, this territory had previously been seized against its will. When “returning home”, this territory returned to normality. However, under the Russian imperial occupation administration, the population of Bessarabia was actually denationalized.
“We were the most uneducated population after the Roma. The 1897 census showed that only 6.1% of the majority Romanian population was literate. Here, if we exclude the representatives of the aristocracy and the clergy, the literate peasants represented about 4%. But they didn’t study books in Romanian. They had been attending schools for one or two years, the so-called parochial or ministerial schools. There they started with the Russian alphabet, that is they were uneducated anyway. This was the dramatic aspect in which the Bessarabian Romanians found themselves, estranged and torn away from the matrix,” explained the historian.
According to him, with the reunification of this territory and the return to Romania, a lot of changes were witnessed. From a legal point of view, Bessarabia entered the European circuit. Western-type administrative institutions were established. “Finally, the whole of Bessarabia was profiting from those events and changes were instituted. There were constituted, by organic law, first, and then by royal decree, 738 communes with communal councils elected in perfectly valid competitions, between different political parties. That is Bessarabia entered a modern European circuit. From a cultural point of view, we had a real cultural revolution because, being almost totally illiterate, we were finally able to train our children in our mother tongue... At the end of our presence in the composition of the Kingdom of Romania, we were over 50% literate, including the adults who attended evening schools. Under the Soviets, when they reannexed, the locals were put in the category of illiterate population because they did not know the Russian language. Changes occurred in all respects,” stated Ion Varta.
The public debate entitled “June 28, 1940 between celebration and catastrophe” was the 39th installment of the project “Impact of the Past on Confidence and Peace Building Processes”. IPN Agency implements the project with the support of the German “Hanns Seidel” Foundation.
Impactul trecutului
See related articles:
- 100 years under sign of MASSR. IPN debate
- Igor Boțan: Oppressive regime in Transnistrian region speculates on historical factors
- Alexandru Postica: Language problems and economic interests are persistent challenges in Transnistrian region
- Anatol Țăranu: Vulgar Moldovenism born in MASSR continues to live in Moldova’s realities
- Anneli Ute Gabanyi: Moldova has always been of great geostrategic importance for Russia
- Igor Boțan: Moldova’s biggest threat comes from disinformation campaigns
- Ion Valer Xenofontov: Ideas from secret protocol to Soviet-Nazi pact still used today
- Moldova from Ribbentrop-Molotov to Independence. IPN debate
- Igor Boțan: Soviet’s actions in relation to the Bessarabians in 1940 are ‘occupation” not “liberation”
- Historian Dumitru Lisnic: Soviets brought their own people to Bessarabia for administrative positions
- Anatol Petrencu: Soviets imposed their way of thinking and way of life in MSSR
- Ex-history teacher from Șerpeni: Village in 1944 was completely destroyed
- Effects of Iasi-Chisinau Operation 80 years later. IPN Debate
- Igor Boțan: Soviets’ 1940 actions in relation to Bessarabians were not “liberation”
- Anatol Țăranu: Annexation of Bessarabia on June 28, 1940 was an agreement between two dictators
- Andrei Curăraru: Deportations were aimed at creating society without values
- Lidia Pădureac: Soviet state committed crimes against humanity
- Alecu Reniță: Deportations must keep us vigilant and as far away as possible from Russia - a struggling monster
- Decapitation and uprooting of nation through deportations. IPN Debate
- Igor Boțan: Propaganda must be combated by imbedding critical thinking
- Nicolae Mihai: In totalitarian regimes, citizens no longer enjoy rights and freedoms
- Festive practices and identity engineering in (post)totalitarian regimes. IPN debate
- Virgiliu Bîrlădeanu: In Russia there is an authoritarian regime with totalitarian tendencies
- Igor Boțan: All legislatures in Moldova were pro-European or had periods when they promoted accession
- EU enlargement after collapse of USSR: causes and effects. Moldova’s lesson. IPN debate
- Andrei Curăraru: EU’s ambition is to become an important political center
- Anatol Petrencu: Collapse of Soviet Union was a triumph for countries annexed by force
- Cristian Manolachi: We must discern in avalanche of political messages. 2024 is a complicated election year
- Political mythologies in history and in actuality. IPN debate
- Igor Boțan: Political mythology in Ukraine war has been exploited to the maximum
- Virgiliu Bîrlădeanu: Authoritarian regimes are effective in disseminating propaganda
- Valentin Constantinov: Today we speak Romanian due to verticality of population of Bessarabia in 1812
- Igor Boțan: Literary language and official language are brought to highest level that unites us all
- Vasile Șoimaru: We are Romanians on both banks of the Prut
- Long path home of the Romanian language. IPN debate
- Statements about Russia terrorist attack: Terror breeds only terror
- Igor Boțan: Moldovan authorities must ensure communication with citizens from left bank of the Nistru
- Alexandru Cerbu about war of 1992: Bodies were lying on the streets in Tighina as in Bucha
- Victor Juc: The Nistru armed conflict was caused deliberately
- 32 years of an unfinished war. IPN debate
- Igor Boțan: Danger of repeat of horrors that society experienced under communist regime still exists
- Virgiliu Bîrlădeanu: We must detach ourselves from Soviet past and build a European society
- History, an international antidote to political repression. IPN debate
- Flori Bălănescu: In the absence of a Nuremberg-type trial, we cannot talk about condemnation of communism
- Alexandru Postica: Victims of political repression receive far too small recompence against terror they went through
- Role of history in forming person and modernizing society. IPN debate
- Igor Botan: You cannot build a future if you don’t know your past
- Ana Bîtcă: By informing students about political repression, we want to avoid repeat of past mistakes
- Igor Boțan: The Gulag was Bolsheviks’ solution for controlling population’s protest movement
- Ludmila Cojocaru: Soviet system meant repression, extermination, enslavement of population
- Lidia Pădureac: The Gulag was used to destroy people’s uprightness
- GULAG phenomenon: genesis, manifestation, lessons. IPN debate
- Igor Boțan: Budapest Memorandum would have been very important if those who signed it had considered it binding
- Radu Burduja: Ukraine must draw conclusions after signing Budapest Memorandum
- Ion Negrei: Russia no longer enjoys credibility internationally
- Failure of Budapest Memorandum. IPN debate
- Igor Boțan: Ukraine is key to final Transnistrian conflict settlement
- Natalia Albu: Frozen conflicts mean also a low level of quality of human life
- Octavian Țîcu: Moscow wants Moldova to be Transnistrized
- Frozen conflicts: genesis, dangers, settlement. IPN debate
- Igor Boțan: Phenomena that occurred in USSR before World War II were typical also for MASSR
- Virgiliu Bîrlădeanu: Thousands of people were executed only because they were regarded as a possible source of opposition
- Stalinist repression in MASSR and memory of victims of totalitarian communist regime. IPN debate
- Igor Boțan: To better understand how Union of 1918 occurred, we should analyze circumstances in which this occurred
- Alexandru Arseni: Governments in Chisinau and in Bucharest should recognize Union of 1918
- Ion Varta: After Russian Empire collapsed, Romanian national movement evolved into national liberation movement
- Great Union of 1918: lessons for past, present and future. IPN debate
- Igor Boțan: When we speak about collapse of Constituent Assembly, we should consider consequences of this for Bessarabia
- Nicolae Enciu: Soviet society was constituted as an antipode of Western society
- Collapse of Constituent Assembly and of chance to democratize Soviet Russia. Effects on country and world. IPN debate
- Anatol Petrencu: In current Russia, there is no democracy
- Igor Boțan: Romania is also obliged to make effort for Moldova to manage to integrate into EU
- Alecu Reniță: Russia is a threat not only to ex-Soviet states, but also to whole Europe
- Igor Șarov: A continuous struggle is led to secure European integration desideratum
- European genealogy tree of Moldova. IPN debate
- Igor Boțan: Cold War ended because everyone realized what Soviet power actually was
- Ion Valer Xenofontov: Cold War lesson - to win with modesty and to lose with grace
- Anneli Ute Gabanyi: USSR wanted to impose same thinking system on people
- Lessons of Cold War. IPN debate
- Vitalie Stoian: Warsaw Part always intervened inside its borders, not outside them
- Anatol Țăranu: Warsaw Treaty was nothing else but “collective policeman”
- Igor Boțan: Warsaw Pact was a reply to reply
- Warsaw Pact: History without propaganda. IPN debate
- Radu Burduja: NATO was and will remain a successful alliance
- Igor Boțan: Soviet Union became totalitarian and wanted to conquer whole world
- Victor Juc: NATO enlargement occurs at request of states that consider themselves vulnerable
- NATO: History without propaganda. IPN debate
- Igor Boțan: Russians’ rhetoric on use of nuclear weapons shows that things go bad
- Pavel Moraru: Signing of Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact led to start of World War II
- Mihai Țurcanu: Russia wants to change international order by force
- Truth and lie about beginning of World War II. IPN debate
- Virgiliu Pâslariuc: European development model is a security and prosperity guarantee
- Price and effects of Independence. Comparative study (1877 vs. 1991. IPN debate
- Ion Varta: Russian factor was every time fateful for our national interest
- Igor Boțan: Role of intellectuality in obtaining Independence was prolific
- Ion Negrei: Putsch of October 1917 didn’t enjoy support among population of Bessarabia
- Igor Boțan: We are witnessing third stage of dismemberment of Soviet Union
- Marin Gherman: Communism was a catastrophe for previous century
- USSR: Born and Destroyed by Putsches. IPN debate
- Stalinization and de-Stalinization of Moldovan society. IPN debate
- Ludmila Cojocaru: Keeping memory of Stalinist crimes necessitates effort from state and society
- Igor Boțan: After Stalin’s death, Stalinization is only a kind of phantom
- Florin Abraham: Historical memory cannot be built without state support
- Igor Boțan: Stalinist elites devour each other, this being an essential quality of Stalinism
- Octavian Țîcu: Stalinization – imbedding of a series of features typical of Soviet Union
- Stalinization and de-Stalinization in European context. IPN debate
- Florin-Răzvan Mihai: Putinism poses a big threat
- Ion Manole: Passivity of international community to crimes of communism generated Ukraine war
- Kakhovka Dam: Why are laws and customs of war powerless? IPN debate
- Igor Boțan: Possession of nuclear weapon makes Russia ignore international law norms
- Anatol Petrencu: Some nations fight without scruple
- Igor Boțan: Those who took part in deportation of people from Bessarabia were ideologically indoctrinated
- Viorica Olaru: The Kremlin administration is similar to the KGB
- “Stalinist deportations: echo of the past, for present and future”. IPN debate
- Alexandru Postica: Deportations should be treated in a broader context
- Mihail Druță: It is justified to celebrate Europe Day on May 9
- Anatol Țăranu: Moldova cannot become European state by keeping Soviet symbols
- Igor Boțan: It is a big mistake to reveal World War II events that suit only a particular side
- Victory Day: between reconciliation, antagonization and destabilization? IPN debate
- Igor Boțan: Acknowledging organized famine is important for learning lessons
- Museographer of Avdarma: 800 people died from hunger in this village in 1946-1947
- Famine of 1946-1947. Vasile Șoimaru: People were dispossessed of everything and were murdered
- Lidia Pădureac: While Moldovan SSR was dying from starvation, Soviet Union was exporting grain
- Organized famine of 1946-1947: victims, murderers, memory. IPN debate
- Igor Boțan: Fascism, in its milder version, and Bolshevism were heresies of socialism
- Virgiliu Bîrlădeanu: Society should be attentive so as not to allow authoritarian-totalitarian deviations
- Alexandru Cosmescu: Fascism, Stalinism and Nazism created external enemies in order to achieve their goals
- What do Fascism, Nazism and Stalinism have in common? IPN debate
- Alecu Reniță on 1903 pogrom: Authorities failed to stop bloodshed
- Pogrom of 1903: executioners, victims and lessons. IPN debate
- Andrei Kushko: Not Moldovans, but imperial functionaries triggered Chisinau program
- Igor Boțan: Chisinau program was an outburst of anti-Semitism in Russian Empire
- Igor Boțan: Accession to EU is alternative to Russian world for Moldova
- Ion Negrei: Moldova should connect to European space for good
- Anatol Țăranu: There are affinities between aggressive policy of Russian empire and current regime of Putin
- Fate of peripheries of empires. Quo vadis, Moldova? IPN debate
- Mihai Țurcanu: “Stockholm syndrome” replaced feeling of national identity in many compatriots
- Igor Boțan: Putin’s drama is that he does not have ideology or economic force or army
- Maria Pilchin: Putin teaches his people to die because he was unable to teach them to live
- What did we celebrate and why did we celebrate on February 23? IPN debate