A cemetery of Moldovans with about 20 graves and crosses was discovered in Moldovanca village of Irkutsk region of the Russian Federation. The discovery was made during the fourth edition of “Memory Expeditions” staged in Kranoyarsk and Irkutsk region of Russia during September 20 - October 1, 2017, IPN reports.
In a news conference at IPN, project coordinator Octavian Tacu said there are a number of hypotheses as to the graves and crosses, but it is sure that there was one Moldovan name on a cross. Even if trees were felled in the region, the crosses weren’t touched. They also found cellars. “The village existed during 1951 – 1958. It was a rather large community of about 200 Moldovans who were deported to Novochunka village. They had to daily walk by 5 km to taiga to cut down trees and then to return. They asked the authorities to allow them to stay in the wood. They thus built a village in the Siberian taiga,” stated Octavian Tacu.
Film director Violeta Gorgos, a member of the expedition, said the potential of the expeditions will be presented in two documentaries that will represent the “journal” of the “Memory Expeditions”. The participants in the expeditions will be the protagonists of the films. There will be made two episodes, one about the Moldovan community met there and the other one will continue to treat the theme of deportations. The films will be shown in December.
Journalist Mariana Rata said that when she reached Siberia, many of the stereotypes that existed in her head disappeared. “When we got there, I saw expats who went there to find a better life. The deportees, even if they left as a result of a tragedy, managed to distinguish themselves there. My message is not to hurry to formulate ideas based on sad ideas. Some people lived well there and some found internal warmth to continue their life there,” she stated.
Maria Butcu, a master’s degree student at the Faculty of History of the State University of Moldova, considers the expedition is a considerable accomplishment given that she could see the phenomenon of deportation from another angle there. “I’m glad that our project had two subjects – of deportees and of the Bessarabian diaspora. We were welcomed with full tables. It’s good that they develop our customs and traditions there. The fact that they celebrate lay and religious holidays together is a proof of this,” said the student.
This year the expedition embraced two administrative units of Russia, with a geographical area of about 1,400 km. The ten-member expedition that included four students was hosted by the Association of Moldovans in Kranoyarsk.
The “Memory Expeditions” project was initiated in 2013 and is supported by higher education establishments of Moldova and Romania. Its goal is to annually organize expeditions for young historians, journalists and historians by profession to different places in the post-Soviet area where Moldovans or Romanians lived or live.
The project was thought up as an investigation of the places of deportations and an applicative study of the way in which the various communities of Moldovans-Romanians in the post-Soviet area appeared and developed.
