The organized famine staged in 1946-1947 by the Soviet authorities in the former Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic should be recognized as an act of genocide. The starvation and killing by starvation were one of the tactics of the Soviet policy used in the occupied territories, historian Mariana S. Țăranu stated in an interview with journalist Vitalie Guțu that was published on the page “Organized Famine”, which is available on a social network site, IPN reports.

Mariana S. Țăranu approved of the commendation by Moldova’s Parliament of the Holodomor in Ukraine. The Statement on the condemnation of the Great Famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine was adopted by the Legislature on November 24 this year on the occasion of the commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the start of this tragedy of the people of Ukraine. The Holodomor was declared an act of genocide and has been condemned by 64 countries so far.

A number of historians in the Republic of Moldova earlier made a call to Parliament, the Presidential Office and the Government in Chisinau to declare the famine organized by the Soviet authorities as a crime against humanity, to recognize the status of victims of the totalitarian regime of those who suffered as a result of the famine, to rehabilitate the memory of the victims of famine, to build a memorial complex.

Mariana S. Țăranu is the founder of the Virtual Famine Museum and author of the book “An unrecognized genocide” and one of the authors of the documentary “Killed by starvation”.

To extend the research area, the author currently analyzes the problem of organized famine in Romania, where the counties Iasi and Valsui and the regions Fălciu, Bărăganului and others were hit the worst. “The breaking of the front in Moldova in August 1944 meant the extension of the stealing by the Red Army across Romania. The caused damage was huge, but the food taken away by force of arms mattered as much. Moreover, the Romanian state was forced to supply the Soviet front with food products. In fact, during the first years after World War II, the famine affected a number of states, but everything depended on authorities’ capacities to manage it,” stated Mariana S. Țăranu. She noted that the famine in the territories occupied by the Soviets was used as a political instrument.

IPN earlier wrote about this year’s decision by the authorities to institute the Day of Remembrance of Victims of Organized Famine on the third Saturday in April. In August 2022, IPN staged a public debate titled “Was famine of MSSR of 1946-1947 organized or not? Could and wanted Soviet authorities to prevent devastating effects of this?”