“The second resonant initiative of the PSRM is the one treated in this article, about the glorification of the Soviet-Nazi victory concerning the fourth partition of Poland. In this regard, the PSRM’s intention to stage a march on the territories of Romania and Bulgaria can generate an international conflict...”
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What really happened on September 20?

On September 20, 2023, the executive secretary of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM), Igor Dodon, launched a unique, absolutely unusual initiative for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova – the start of the motor race “Victory in Our Hearts”. On this occasion, the leader of the PSRM stated: “I’m sure that the memory of the Great Patriotic War and the Victory will always live in the hearts of the Moldovan citizens. We remember! We are proud!”

The first normal reaction to the exhibition of pride by Igor Dodon is to wonder: what really happened during the war on September 20? The memory doesn’t suggest something special in this regard. Therefore, a second question appears normally – why did the Socialist leader decide that September 20 is suitable for evoking a great victory and where did he drew his inspiration from? The answer to this question is offered by a press release issued by the PSRM: “This nice initiative appeared ten years ago, in Khanty-Mansiysk, and was later replicated all over Russia and in a number of CIS states”. As we see, this response is absolutely insufficient to understand on what occasion this nice initiative appeared.

Evidently, curiosity cannot be satisfied in such circumstances and responses to one more question will be looked for – why did that initiative that appeared in Khanty-Mansiysk at a distance of 75 years of the end of World War II and that was allegedly replicated by a series of CIS states should be reproduced also in the Republic of Moldova? Were the Moldovans co-participants in any victory scored ever on September 20?

What kind of victory is always there in Socialists’ hearts?

If we consult the history textbooks and the online press, we will find only one response to the first question of those formulated above: “On September 20, there was set a demarcation line between the rivers Pissa, Narev, Vistula, the railway along the San river, and a protocol was signed the next day, which stipulated the order and time limit for withdrawing the German troops to the West according to the set line”. So, the fourth partition of Poland between Nazi Germany and Stalin’s USSR occurred on September 20, 1939.

The same day, on September 20, 1939, the units of tanks brigade No. 29 led by brigade commander Semyon Krivoshein approached Brest to open negotiations on the transfer of Brest and the Brest Fortress by the Nazis to the Soviets, in the exact way stipulated by the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact and the secret Protocol. After the necessary documents were signed on September 22, a joint military parade of the units of the Nazi and Soviet armies was staged. The Nazis and their propaganda named such kind of joint parades, which also took place in Grodno and Pinsk, victory parades. They were to end with meetings in Berlin or Moscow, as the two commandeers of the Nazi and Soviet troops - Heinz Guderian and Semyon Krivoshein – wished each other. For Soviet censorship, the victory parades became a kind of nail in the coffin, especially after the Nazis’ attack on the USSR, and they had to work hard to diminish the importance of these, naming them modestly joint marches.  

Today, it matters less if Brest hosted a victory parade or a joint march of the Nazis and Soviets as the essence of the Soviet-Nazi aggression does not change depending on the type of event. What really matters is that in 84 years, a political party and its leaders, on the occasion of the fourth partition of Poland, organizes in Chisinau a motor race titled “Victory in Our Hearts”. This victory, as it was mentioned, was based on the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact and the secret Protocol, which stipulated the intention of the two totalitarian regimes.

Even if, chronologically speaking, in accordance with the mentioned documents, the Nazis attacked Poland on September 1, while the Soviets on September 17, 1939, on September 20 already the two  victorious armies set the demarcation line between the regimes of Hitler and Stalin, which wanted to become neighbors. Several weeks later, based on the same secret Soviet-Nazi Protocol, the Baltic States were forced to accept toy host Soviet military bases on their territories. On November 30, 1939, the USSR attacked Finland and was expelled from the League of Nations on December 14. The events continued in 1940, when, according to the secret Protocol, the Baltic States were occupied and Bessarabia was annexed. This is what victory is in the hearts of the Moldovan Socialists, which they intend to annually glorify on September 20, when the first demarcation line was set and the other lines were set later, until June 1940. 

Coincidence? Don’t think so!

Those who believed that the Moldovan Socialists celebrate only the Day of Victory over fascism on May 9 were seriously wrong. From this year, 2023, they will replicate the Khanty-Mansiysk tradition of celebrating victory together with the Nazis, on September 20. It is an undisputable phenomenal fact and, respectively, a correct interpretation should be found to realize the possible consequences. Someone can wonder if the motor race initiated by Igor Dodon on September 20 and the setting of the Soviet-Nazi demarcation line the same day, 84 years ago, is a sheer coincidence? I don’t think so! The point is Igor Dodon planned an international diversion when he stated that: “The goal of this action [motor race] is to popularize the heroic deed of the Soviet liberating soldiers, to combat the falsification of history and to protect the historical truth. The automobilists will travel on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, including Transnistria, and will reach Romania and Bulgaria”. A question appears here: will the authorities or Romania and Bulgaria really allow the fourth partition of Poland to be glorified on their sovereign territories? Given that Poland is a partner of the first two states within the European Union (EU) and NATO, something like this is unimaginable.

We must admit that there is a very powerful mystical element in this story. The point is on September 20, 2023, at the motor race to glorify the victory. Igor Dodon showed to be nuts not about the Soviet car models “Pobeda”, but rather about the favorite car of the Nazi leader – Adolf Hitler. This coincidence of preferences can be explained only by Dodon’s mate and member of the Moldovan branch of the Russian imperial movement, Alexandr Dugin – the famous promoter of Russian mysticism and fascism. Surely, without Dugin’s involvement, it is impossible to realize how the PSRM could declare itself a national social-patriotic party? Isn’t this a method of evoking national socialism?   

Recommendation

In the recent past, the PSRM has become extremely prolific in the launch of all kinds of initiatives. This September alone, it managed to launch two highly resonant initiatives. The first initiative refers to the holding of parliamentary hearings on the organization of torchlight processions on the National Army Day. After an elementary analysis, it turned out that Russia and North Korea are world champions in the organization of torchlight processions and the PSRM simply venerates these states. In Russia, torchlight processions are held regularly, with a high frequency, including by the ruling party “United Russia”. On the other side, North Korea, with which the leaders of the PSRM established the warmest relations of friendship, is considered the country of torchlight processions, these being staged on any occasion: the reelection of Kim Jong to the supreme post; celebration of the anniversary of the establishment of the totalitarian regime; starting and ending of congresses of the only ruling party, etc. Respectively, from the PSRM’s perspective, Russia and North Korea are states with fascist regimes. This thing really deserves being debated in Parliament for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova to clearly realize what fascism is and what the difference between Nazism and bolshevism is and what similarities are there between them.

The second resonant initiative of the PSRM is the one treated in this article, about the glorification of the Soviet-Nazi victory concerning the fourth partition of Poland. In this regard, the PSRM’s intention to stage a march on the territories of Romania and Bulgaria can generate an international conflict. The Republic of Moldova does not need something like this, primarily ahead of the eventual debates in the EU on the opening of accession negations. In such circumstances, it would be right for the Moldovan authorities to do their best for the announced procession to glorify the Soviet-Nazi victory not to leave the Republic of Moldova.

Finally, the recommendation to the authorities is to definitely accept to hold the parliamentary hearings requested by the PSRM, but to combine the two mentioned subjects – the role of torchlight processions in estimating the degree of fascisation of societies and the glorification of the Soviet-Nazi victory.