The famine of 1946-1947 was organized by the then Soviet authorities. This is implied by the decision adopted by Moldova’s Parliament on April 7, 2022 by which the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Organized Famine of 1946-1947 was instituted. The same official document shows that the Soviet authorities could have saved the about 200,000 lives of the Moldovans who died then, but they didn’t do it. Why does the nostalgia for a state that starved and killed the own citizens by famine persist? These aspects were discussed by the experts invited to IPN’s public debate “Was famine of MSSR of 1946-1947 organized or not? Could and wanted Soviet authorities to prevent devastating effects of this?”.
Igor Boțan, the standing expert of IPN’s project, said that famine is a social disaster that leads to malnutrition and death of many people. “If we consider who is to blame for famine, there are surely objective factors, such as drought, but there are also factors related to the public authorities. Famine in the Republic of Moldova, like the Holodomor in Ukraine, has the elements of an organized famine as food is a primary necessity of the citizens, while those who are exposed to famine lose will to resist social experiments,” stated the expert.
According to him, the authorities are responsible for the food security of a state. In the Republic of Moldova, the President at the start of June called a meeting of the Supreme Security Council where it was set the task of working out a food security strategy and a plan of measures for regulating the export of products in 2022-2023. There was a drought and the farmers formulated recommendations. The international efforts to prevent a feminine are led by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
As to nostalgia, the expert said this is nothing else but a wish full of regrets for something from the past that is no longer achievable. “In the Soviet period, they made public only things that presented the then regime in a positive light, while such negative things as the organized famine, the deportations in three waves and the sufferings experienced by our compatriots were hidden. Only in the recent past, Moldovan historians started to conduct researches and these helped form the whole picture. Those who are nostalgic should treat this nostalgia, which is an absolutely normal feeling, in a decent way, by trying to recognize all the elements of the regime that was established in the Republic of Moldova in 1940 and was then reestablished in 1944,” stated Igor Boțan.
Vasile Bumacov, doctor habilitate of technical sciences, ex-minister of agriculture, said that even if he is not a historian, he has the right to pronounce on this issue as he lived and worked in a number of countries where nostalgia has other explanations than in our country. “I think nostalgia is a normal phenomenon for each person. Each time, also as a minister, I tried to determine why this nostalgia exists in our society, why the people are nostalgic for a system that died, that was inefficient and was a terrorist one. I reached the conclusion that it does not go to the system. The people are nostalgic for their youth,” stated Moldova’s ex-ambassador to Japan.
According to him, a part of nostalgia is based on recollections of people’s youth, while the rest of nostalgia is based on lie. “In the Soviet period, they spoke only about good things and even exaggerated, while the bad things were hidden, like the organized famine. But the people form in their youth. What entered their head cannot be removed. We need a real education system based on historical truth. Our system continues to be a Soviet education system and we therefore have this problem with nostalgia,” stated Vasile Bumacov, noting that this nostalgia is the result of propaganda on TV, on social media.
Doctor of history Lidia Pădureac, of the Balti University “Alecu Russo”, said the narrative about famine should not leave room for interpretations as this will definitely lead to defective communication between generations. This famine was caused by a totalitarian regime, the Communist one. The deportations are specific of totalitarian regimes and this is proven by history.
She said that about 200,000 persons died in the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic in 1496-1947 according to official statistics. This was about 10% of the then population of the MSSR. But the figure was actually higher if only the left side of the Nistru River is taken into account, without the districts from the left side.
Lidia Pădureac noted the assertions that the Kremlin authorities didn’t know about what was going on in the MSSR are not true as archive documents show that information from the MSSR about the large number of those who suffered from dystrophy was permanently transmitted in 1946. The confessions of those who died from this hunger cannot be recovered and this is the most serious thing. “The historians are making effort to recover parts of those confessions and each case study, each family has the own story of survival. During those years, there was drought indeed, but the documents concerning harvests show that the shortage of food products wasn’t big and this could have been covered by the state. But the state imposed disproportionately large taxes that were collected in the form of agricultural products,” stated Lidia Pădureac
The public debate “Was famine of MSSR of 1946-1947 organized or not? Could and wanted Soviet authorities to prevent devastating effects of this?” was the second installment of the series “100 years of USSR and 31 years without USSR: Nostalgia for Chimeras” that was staged by IPN News Agency with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
Antinostalgia
See related articles:
- War as state ideologeme of Putin’s Russia. Op-Ed by Anatol Țăranu
- In new times with new symbols, Op-Ed by Victor Pelin
- Centenary of collapsed empire. Brief guide for the nostalgic. Op-Ed by Anatol Țăranu
- Z0ZZ – Year of centenary and of efforts to restore USSR... Op-Ed by Victor Pelin
- Octavian Țîcu: Moldova’s perspective is no other than European and alongside Romania
- Igor Sharov: Nostalgia for USSR can be cured by information and acknowledgement of history
- Why and how did USSR disappear? Why does it cause nostalgia yet? IPN debate
- Igor Boțan: Triumphal march of the pro-Soviet nostalgic was interrupted after April 7, 2009 youth protests
- Marin Gherman: Nostalgia for USSR in Ukraine is at lower level than in Moldova
- Igor Boțan: Government will be helped if it fulfills commitments
- Why did USSR appear and how did it work? Why does it cause nostalgia yet? IPN debate
- Virgiliu Pâslariuc: USSR collapsed, but post-Soviet space remained media and energy colony of Russia
- Russian world as substitute for USSR. Op-Ed by Victor Pelin
- Day of betrayal and nostalgia... Op-Ed by Victor Pelin
- Igor Boțan: Kremlin’s mistakes in relation to Ukraine are total
- Valentin Dolganiuc: Moldovans are not nostalgic for USSR; they are victims of propaganda
- Arcadie Barbăroșie: I think Moldova will ultimately unite with Romania
- Evolution of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and its influence on nostalgia for USSR. IPN debate
- Nostalgia ahead of apogee. Op-Ed by Victor Pelin
- Holodomor and Ukrainian identity construct. Lesson for Moldova. Op-Ed by Anatol Țăranu
- Historian Virgiliu Bîrlădeanu: Anti-Soviet resistance was platform that ensured changes
- Virgiliu Bîrlădeanu: Governments kept indifferent attitude to anti-communist resistance movement
- Anti-communist resistance movements created platforms for national renaissance
- Strange manifestations of nostalgia... Op-Ed by Victor Pelin
- Nostalgia for chimeras or whyt unionist project stagnates. Op-Ed by Anatol Țăranu
- Nostalgia for grandeur of empire. Op-Ed by Victor Pelin
- Nostalgia for government of enemies of the people. Op-Ed by Victor Pelin
- Neutrality as a status of vassalage of Moldova to Moscow. Op-Ed by Anatol Țăranu
- Nostalgia for red revolution... Op-Ed by Victor Pelin
- Main enemy of nostalgia for USSR. Op-Ed by Victor Pelin
- Anneli Ute Gabanyi: Before Fall of Berlin Wall, they didn’t speak about Red Army’s crimes in GDR
- Historian Virgiliu Bîrlădeanu: Bessarabians remember how they were thrown into minefields
- Igor Boțan: Russia takes revenge following destruction of myths it created
- Final stage of World War II: reality and myths about USSR’s and Anti-Hitler Alliance’s contribution. IPN debate
- Igor Boțan: In this war, they use all kinds of weapons, including energy ones
- Nicolae Negru: Russian propaganda in Moldova exists due to political forces fueled by Russia
- Anatol Petrencu: Russia will be defeated and will pay reparations
- USSR’s participation in World War II: about real victories and defeats, about what propaganda does not say, about what myths and nostalgia reveal. IPN debate
- Failure of attempts to resuscitate nostalgic feelings. Op-Ed by Victor Pelin
- Anatol Țăranu: Better life will eliminate any nostalgia for the past
- Marin Gherman: In Ukraine, the narrative of victory prevails
- Igor Boțan: Russia is going through a period of revanchism
- Who started World War II and why? Propaganda myths as source of nostalgia for USSR. IPN debate
- Soviet nostalgia resuscitates Romanophobia in Moldova. Op-Ed by Anatol Țăranu
- Valentin Constantinov: Dictators care only about personal power. IPN interview
- Distorted historical narrative as ideological weapon of Russian imperialism. Op-Ed by Anatol Țăranu
- Valentin Constantinov: Cult of Stalin’s personality was exposed in ten years
- Doctor of history: In Soviet period, propaganda hushed up repressive actions
- Valentin Constantinov: The further we are form Russia, the better we live
- Nostalgia for dictatorship and violence. Op-Ed by Victor Pelin
- Unpolished reality about petty baton passed by red army to Putin’s army. Op-Ed by Anatol Țăranu
- Igor Boțan: Russia has always had imperialistic ambitions
- Col. (Ret) Andrei Covrig: Vladimir Putin aims to destroy Ukraine
- Valentin Constantinov: No dismemberment of empires occurred without wars
- Nostalgia for military grandeur of USSR as explanation for approval of current invasions. IPN debate
- Nostalgias for Soviet militia born out of NKVD, Op-Ed by Victor Pelin
- Protest of nostalgic serf. Op-Ed by Anatol Țăranu
- Nostalgia for voting without elections... Op-Ed by Victor Pelin
- Fatal price of Russian imperial nostalgia. Op-Ed by Anatol Țăranu
- Boris Negru: Dismemberment of USSR should be regarded as a rule as empires appear and disappear
- Anatol Petrencu: Russia today is not at all attractive
- Igor Boțan: Atrocities in Bucha are effects of propagandistic exploitation of Soviet nostalgia
- Basic human rights and freedoms in USSR: Myths and realities. IPN debate
- Amnesia and moral degradation of nostalgic Communists. Op-Ed by Victor Pelin
- Russian and German models for learning lessons of history. Op-Ed by Anatol Țăranu
- Nostalgia at propaganda’s service. Op-Ed by Victor Pelin
- Nostalgia after empire and Gagauz factor in Moldovan politics. Op-Ed by Anatol Țăranu
- Igor Boțan: Gorbachev didn’t focus on economic recovery and USSR disappeared
- Grigore Belostecinic: Gorbachev really wanted to save Soviet Union
- Anatol Țaranu: Soviet system was built based on element of terror
- Why are the nostalgic wrong when they attribute role of demolisher of USSR to Mikhail Gorbachev? IPN debate
- Mykhailo Podolyak: Cooperation of post-Soviet countries with Russia will harm them
- The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in the mirror of the Kremlin’s imperialistic nostalgia. Op-Ed by Anatol Țaranu
- Ukrainian TV channel: Russia will attempt to annex territories of five countries in autumn
- Facts beat nostalgia. Op-Ed by Victor Pelin
- Nostalgia and the USSR centenary. Op-Ed by Victor Pelin
- Infarction and death of USSR. Birth of Soviet nostalgia. Op-Ed by Anatol Țăranu
- Anatol Petrecu: Nostalgic people should also accept hidden part about life in USSR. IPN interview
- Anatol Petrencu: We cannot accept aggressive policy of Russia
- Anatol Petrencu: Soviet Union was a state based on fear and blackmail
- Historian Anatol Petrencu: Those who are nostalgic for USSR idealize a criminal past
- Igor Boțan: There is clear evidence that famine of 1946-1947 in MSSR was organized
- Vasile Bumacov: Only agents of influence “believe” famine wasn’t organized
- Lidia Pădureac: Famine of 1946-1947 is a crime against humanity and does not have statute of limitations
- Iasi-Chisinau operation between Soviet nostalgia and Europeanization policy. Op-Ed by Anatol Țăranu
- 100 years of USSR and 31 years without USSR: Nostalgia for Chimeras. IPN debate
- Victor Juc: Bad state of affairs fuels nostalgia for earlier times
- Igor Boțan: We need a policy of communication on problems related to European course
- Rodica Ciobanu: We need to cultivate civic sprit of citizens