“On the occasion of different anniversaries, the pro-Communist propaganda continues to manipulate public opinion so as to keep the Republic of Moldova in the toils of the myth about the golden epoch. This myth has been propagated against the background of the Ukrainian people’s fight for freedom, against the aggression of Russia that pretends to be aiming to “liberate” the Ukrainians from their own identity. Or, if it cannot “liberate” them, it can at least take from the Ukrainians the territories it considers presents of the people of Russia ...”
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Manipulation of the nostalgic

On the occasion of the 82nd anniversary of the occupation of Bessarabia on June 28, 1940 by the USSR, the pro-Communist propagandists in the Republic of Moldova could not refrain from dissemianting myths about the  benefits this enjoyed as a result of the given occupation. They abundantly used statistical data about the about 80 times growth of the investments in the basic capital in 1940-1990, about the impetuous development of agriculture in the period, etc. The goal of using statistics was simple – to put the words occupation and occupant in inverted commas for the reason that the “occupants” don’t invest, but only plunder the occupied territories. The used inverted commas serve as a proof of the fact that the pro-Communist propagandists have met with difficulties after in May 2019 they published the original text of the secret protocol of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. That’s why they disguise their attitude to the evidence of the occupation that was agreed with the Nazi regime of Hitler by ironizing this.  

If we admit that the statistics are correct, we should remember the price paid by the population of the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic (MSSR) for the investments in the economy:

• destruction of the spiritual life of the population – closure of 76% of the churches and 96% of the monasteries;  
• organization of three deportation waves in 1941, 1949 and 1951 during which approximately 70,000 people, who represented the economic and intellectual elites of Moldova, were deported;
• effective Russification of the Republic of Moldova following the physical destruction of its intellectuality.

Evidently, the pro-Communist propagandists avoid mentioning these well-known facts. If they do this, they should admit that the investments in the economy of the Republic of Moldova were made in a republic that was under continuous Russification and assimilation through the forced obliteration of the national identity of Bessarabians. 

Under such circumstances, the propaganda of the pro-Communist nostalgic should be combated so as to stop its spread in society. First of all, it should be noted that Bessarabia since 1812 had been in the prion of nations, as the idol of the Communists Vladimir Lenin justly named the Russian Empire. That’s why the use of statistical data about the investments in the economy after Bessarabia had been held in the prison of nations for over 100 years and only after it had been part of Romania for 22 years is something indecorous. We should bear in mind that during those 22 years Romania had the bad luck of being infected with the Communist propaganda and also with the response reaction – the fascism. Secondly, research based on statistics shows that the Russification promoted by the tsarist regime was actually replaced with assimilation by the Soviet regime. In this regard, it is not at all accidental that the dissolution of the Soviet empire was accompanied by processes called generically of national renaissance in the former Soviet republics. 

It is noteworthy that the pro-Communist propagandists say half-truths when they say that after 30 years of independence, the Republic of Moldova’s GDP now represents only 75% of that of 1990. The manipulation resides in the fact that they avoid mentioning that in the Soviet period, 40% of the GDP was ensured by the Transnistrian region that since 1992 has been under the occupation of the Russian Federation. It is additional evidence that the Communist nostalgic cannot avoid resorting to manipulation for achieving their goals.     

Where can effects of occupation and liberation from its yoke be seen?

We can form a judgment about the real effects of the presence in the prison of nations and about the consequences of the evasion based on the example of Finland. The latter was incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1809 following the Russian-Swedish war, only three years before Bessarabia was incorporated into this. While being in the prison of nations, Finland had been an agrarian province subject to Russification, similar to Bessarabia. But it was lucky to profit from the decree signed by Lenin on the recognition of independence. Later, during the Soviet-Finish war of November 1939 – March 1940, Finland managed to keep its sovereignty and independence after losing 11% of the territory and the lives of 26,000 soldiers. The human losses of the Soviets were five times larger, while the USSR, as an aggressor state, was excluded from the Nations League.

Leaving aside the historical processes and events, it is now import to mention that Finland became a state: with some of the highest human development and political freedom indexes; with a very developed and diversified economy; that during many years has been among the happiest states in the world. It is now appropriate to compare Finland not with the Republic of Moldova, but with the Republic of Karelia whose native population is ethnically related to that of Finland. The contrats is huge. On the one hand, Finland is one of the happiest countries on earth. On the other hand, Karelia is one of the most depressive regions of the Russian Federation. In fact, the ethnic kinship of the people of Finland and Karelia suggests that in similar political conditions, they should have had the same development level. The difference is that the province of Karelia was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1721, during the Great Northern War, and has formed part of Russia uninterruptedly for exactly 300 years. In this connection, we should note that in 1926, for example, the number of Karelian ethnics in the province represented 37%, while now constitutes 7%. At such a pace, they managed to Russify and as similar practically the whole province. Consequently, the curious ones can compare the living standards of the Finns in their independent and sovereign country and of the citizens of the Karelian Republic of the Russian Federation. Such a fate would have been followed by all the ethnic nations of the USSR if they further had formed part of the new historic community – the Soviet people.

Conclusions

“On the occasion of different anniversaries, the pro-Communist propaganda continues to manipulate public opinion so as to keep the Republic of Moldova in the toils of the myth about the golden epoch. This myth has been propagated against the background of the Ukrainian people’s fight for freedom, against the aggression of Russia that pretends to be aiming to “liberate” the Ukrainians from their own identity. Or, if it cannot “liberate” them, it can at least take from the Ukrainians the territories it considers presents of the people of Russia. About this, the Moldovan Communist-Socialists avoid saying anything. Under such circumstances, we can only hope that Ukraine’s fight will be a repeat of Finland’s fight of November 1939 – March 1940 and the long-term consequences will be similar.