The vice-rector of “Ștefan cel Mare” University of Suceava Ștefan Purici said that since the National Congress of Romanian Historians held in Alba-Iulia in 2022 until now, the academic performance improved significantly. “During the two years, there were published numerous works, volumes, both scientific and volumes of documents, specialized journals that aim not only to know and popularize the past, but also to integrate the results of the research of Romanian historians into international research. From this point of view, the universities of Romania and the Republic of Moldova publish works in foreign languages, especially in English, with the aim of making the Romanian past known to the general public or to specialists from outside the borders of Romania and the Republic of Moldova,” Ștefan Purici stated at a public debate staged by IPN News Agency.

The vice-rector of “Ștefan cel Mare” University said that the institution publishes a history journal that promotes the history of Bukovina, the history of Romanians, but also universal history worldwide. Also, after 2022, a number of conferences were organized, including together with the former Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, which is now an integral part of the Moldova State University of Moldova, conferences dedicated to Nicolae Iorga or conferences dedicated to World War I. There are scientific events where researchers from the left or right bank of the Prut come up with new approaches, with new information and conclusions that are based on the historical realities of the time.

Ștefan Purici stressed that after 1990, they have endeavored to restore the historical truth. “I remember that I participated in a conference organized under the aegis of the Council of Europe, probably in 2010. It was a European conference dedicated to the studying and teaching of history in schools and universities. There, the representatives of Russia gave as an example historians from the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine who, the Russians said, try to falsify the past of these territories and remove everything that was written in the Soviet period, considering that the diminishing of Russia’s role, the role of the Soviet Union in this space leads to increased interethnic tensions, at a time when, in fact, the historians from the Republic of Moldova or the historians from Ukraine sought to rediscover, to establish the identity of those territories and to present the past, the history as it was,” stated the vice-rector.

He also said that at the fourth edition of the Congress, the initial stage of which will take place in Chisinau, many issues will be addressed and these discussions are expected to be fruitful as historians from various university centers, research institutes, both from Romania and from the Republic of Moldova, will participate in the workshops and sections. “This dialogue will certainly ensure the accumulation of deeper and more extensive knowledge of our past,” concluded Ștefan Purici.

The public debate entitled “National Congress of Romanian Historians, fourth edition, Chisinau-Suceava” was the 19th installment of the project “Double integration through cooperation and information. Continuity”, funded by the Department for Relations with the Republic of Moldova of the Government of Romania. The content of this debate does not represent the official position of the Department for Relations with the Republic of Moldova.