Press Release
on the organization of a live-streamed interview with the university lecturer Virgiliu Bîrlădeanu, doctor of history, head of the Contemporary History Department of the Institute of History “Reasons, forms and effects of anti-Soviet resistance”. The interview as part of IPN Agency’s project “100 years of USSR and 31 years without USSR: Nostalgia for Chimeras” that is supported by the German Foundation “Hanns Seidel”.
Each nation or region that was under Soviet occupation had own periodization of the anti-Soviet resistance. At the same time, this resistance had also different forms of manifestation, from inactive, nonviolent ones to the armed ones. The anti-Soviet and anti-communist resistance was massive and was often crushed with cruelty and had significant effects on the dissolution of the USSR and should be recognized, in particular, as an antidote to nostalgia for the USSR. The “Reasons, forms and effects of the anti-Soviet resistance” was the title of a video interview conducted by IPN with university lecturer Virgiliu Bîrlădeanu, doctor of history, head of the Contemporary History Department of the Institute of History.
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Virgiliu Bîrlădeanu said that not many anticipated the collapse of the colossal Soviet Union, but this didn’t stop those who consciously became involved in resistance movements to continue fighting and not losing hope. “Many of the rebellions were occasional, depending on the arising provocations or the created situation. A series of revolts were staged in 1953 -1954. Tyrant Stalin died and the people in a number of concentration camps rose to obtain freedom. Movements were created among workers due to the difficult economic situation, as it happened in Brasov, where the people took to the streets to ask for better conditions. The spontaneous revolts showed that the claimed Soviet wellbeing didn’t exist in the Soviet Union,” noted the historian.
Virgiliu Bîrlădeanu said that when the USSR fell, the states and societies that were in the vanguard of the anti-communist resistance movement created platforms that ensured the change.
“In Lithuania, where this collective memory existed, where there was continuous cultural resistance, the people were ready for the dismemberment of the Soviet Union when this occurred. Their attitude was already formed and the people who became involved did it consciously, being from among intellectuals, not from among nomenclaturists. Regrettably, we were unable to keep this national renaissance and society democratization tendency and the national nomenclature in 1994 returned to power. Evidently, this marked us and we didn’t pass the exam of democratization and transformation of the economic and social society and we lost three decades. I say this with absolute certitude,” stated Virgiliu Bîrlădeanu.
He explained why some people are yet nostalgic for the so-called wellbeing in the Soviet Union, saying that this wellbeing was enjoyed by the nomenclaturists, not yet by the largest part of the population. “Namely for this reason, in the 1990s the people staged a revolt against the injustice of the state that created a special situation for nomenklaturists and this became suffocating for society, which no longer accepted the social injustice.”
According to him, form one government to another, the historical narrative suffered insignificant changes and these are unable to influence the opinion of the nostalgic for the USSR.
“This is how the governments were. We do not have what to say about the time of Voronin and the subsequent period, when the people were preoccupied and tried to introduce another historical narrative. We, the historians, always tried to speak. Society should know these historical truths. We must come and insist on these themes we consider important. Regrettably, the government is not always receptive to historians’ messages. Sometimes it does not understand why an institute of history or well-grounded synthesis studies are necessary,” said Virgiliu Bîrlădeanu.
The historian considers problems also exist with regard to memorial and history policies.
“In Chisinau City, there is no place, square, monument or at least something where to commemorate such a tragic history page as the famine of 1946-1947. Recently, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova recognized the Ukrainian Holodomor as national genocide, but what do they do at the local level? In Kyiv, there is an extraordinary memorial that reminds the Ukrainians of this tragic page in their history, which mobilizes them and motivates them somehow. In our country, if this does not happen, who should come and do this instead of our government?” asked the historian.
He warned that the government and society are more receptive when particular events are commemorated and detach themselves during the rest of the year.
“The government considers that until the next commemoration date, it is free from taking consistent measures that would bring about results in society, would cause an echo. The attitude of those who are nostalgic could also change. If you talk to them now and tell them about things we are discussing now, they retort, do not admit and say that something like this didn’t happen. This is so because we don’t speak about this every day and if attempts are made to persuade them, it is easier for them to disagree,” added Bîrlădeanu.
The historian noted that in many cases the altering of society’s perception of such phenomena as the anti-communist resistance and national renaissance depends on the intellectual elite and the political class, which need to show more will and involvement.
The interview is part of the series “100 years of USSR and 31 years without USSR: Nostalgia for Chimeras”. IPN News Agency holds this series with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
The following deliverables were produced:
- Record of live-streamed video (55:54 min.) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPImgH7qeXo;
- - News item #1 from the interview „Anti-communist resistance movements created platforms for national renaissance” - https://www.ipn.md/en/anti-communist-resistance-movements-created-platforms-for-national-renaissance-7967_1093729.html;
- News item #2 from the interview: “Virgiliu Bîrlădeanu: Governments kept indifferent attitude to anti-communist resistance movement” - https://www.ipn.md/en/virgiliu-birladeanu-governments-kept-indifferent-attitude-to-anti-communist-resi-7967_1093731.html;
- Interview transcript „Historian Virgiliu Bîrlădeanu: Anti-Soviet resistance was platform that ensured changes”- https://www.ipn.md/en/historian-virgiliu-birladeanu-anti-soviet-resistance-was-platform-that-ensured-c-7978_1093744.html
Valeriu Vasilica, director of IPN