The Congress of Moldovan Soldiers of October 20-27, 1917 is a significant historical event. The congress took important decisions, including the declaration of the autonomy of Bessarabia and creation of the People’s Council, which was the first legislative body. The issue was developed in an international conference staged in Chisinau by the Ministry of Defense, the Center of Military Culture and History, the Romanian Cultural Institute “Mihai Eminescu” and other organizations. The event bought together historians, politologist, researchers and people of science, IPN reports.
Attending the event, Minister of Defense Gheorghe Galbura said the 100th anniversary of the event that marked the fate of Bessarabia is an occasion for seeing to what extent the lessons of history were learned. “Only an exam of conscience can make us understand our big responsibility towards strengthening the patriotic feeling and promoting the national history,” stated Gheorghe Galbura.
Academician Valeriu Matei, director of the Romanian Cultural Institute “Mihai Eminescu”, said that the Congress of Moldovan Soldiers 100 years ago adopted in Chisinau crucial decisions that decisively influenced the history of our country. Among these is the declaration of the autonomy of Bessarabia and the convening of its representative legislative body, the People’s Council, which successively adopted important decision, including the one about Bessarabia’s union with Romania. The nations and people that were occupied by the Tsarist Empire didn’t have many chances of freeing themselves from captivity if only as a result of cataclysms like World War I.
Gheorghe Cojocaru, director of the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, said that without this big meeting of the military in Chisinau, Bessarabia wouldn’t have known the process of national self-determination that ended with the union with the motherland Romania. “The main decisions taken by the Congress of Moldovan Soldiers included the declaration of the autonomy of Bessarabia and creation of the People’s Council. These were taken on October 21 and 23, 100 years ago. The discussions about the legitimacy of the People’s Council continue today. Some continue to challenge its legality and thus challenge the whole work done by the People’s Council,” he stated.
Director of the Institute of Legal and Political Research of the Academy of Sciences Valeriu Cusnir said that if a parallel is drawn with the year 1917, which preceded the great union, we see that now Moldova also faces poverty, corruption, injustice, exodus, protests and anti-protests, division of society. The significance of those events is inestimable as a society that will know the historical truth based on scientific research will be better informed and could not be manipulated so easily.
The international scientific conference “100 years of the Congress of Moldovan Soldiers: October 20-27, 1917” is held on October 24-25.
