The 100th anniversary of the creation of the Moldovan Democratic Republic was celebrated by a march in Chisinau by members of the Youth Movement “Urmasii lui Stefan” (“Stephan’s Followers”) and the National Movement “Voievod”. The participants marched from the Triumphal Arch to the Monument to Ruler Stephan the Great, where they laid flowers, IPN reports.

Chairman of the Youth Movement “Urmasii lui Stefan” Dumitru Roibu said the current situation in the country is similar to that 100 years ago as there were challenges then too and they led to the liquidation of the Moldovan Republic by the Romanian authorities. “Now we urge the young people and society to know their past and history. For us, it is a reason for celebrating as it is a period of 100 years of Moldovan statehood on this territory and the state succeeded in time despite particular interruptions and difficulties,” stated Dumitru Roibu.

Nicolae Pascaru, chairman of the National Movement “Voievod”, noted that this event should be mandatorily celebrated. Many young people do this and this is welcome. “It is important to transmit this virtue to the young people because we cannot be a sovereign country without history. If we do not protect this independence, we cannot build a healthy political environment and a healthy economy,” he said.

The Moldovan Democratic Republic was a state whose independence from the Russian Empire was proclaimed by the People’s Council of Bessarabia, which was the representative body of the population from the region, on December 2, 1917. On January 24, 1918, the republic declared its independence, while on March 27, 1918, the People’s Council voted the union with Romania.