Eternity Memorial flame remains off during Chișinău peace march
Moldova is marking the 82nd anniversary of what participants described as the country’s liberation from German-Romanian occupation, but commemorations in Chișinău were overshadowed by controversy after the Eternal Flame at the Eternity Memorial Complex was left unlit.
Thousands of citizens, representatives of public organisations and political parties joined a Peace March through the Moldovan capital, walking from the Academy of Sciences to the Eternity Memorial Complex to lay flowers. The event was organised by the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) and the For a Free Motherland Public Council.
Participants carried replicas of the Victory Banner and banners reading: “Moldova remembers its liberators” and “Moldova is a neutral country. We choose peace.” Communist parliamentary faction leader Diana Karaman said the annual events reflected public demand for the preservation of historical memory.
“Thousands of our citizens come out not only on 9 May, but also on 24 August, a day of particular importance for Moldova, because it was on this day that our country was liberated from fascism.”
When the procession reached the memorial, however, participants discovered that the gas supply to the Eternity Memorial flame had been turned off and the flame was not burning. Karaman responded by proposing that dozens of memorial candles be lit in honour of those who fought in the war.
“We always find a way out of the situation. So today, before the start of our event, we will light candles of remembrance. This will be our Eternal Flame for today, because unlike the representatives of the authorities, we are not traitors, we do not betray the history and the feat of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers. We honour it and will pass it from generation to generation.”
Communists accuse authorities of abandoning historical memory
Speaking at the rally beside the memorial, Diana Karaman sharply criticised the Maia Sandu administration and accused the authorities of hostility towards the Soviet wartime legacy.
“Because the authorities are supporters of fascists, while we are the heirs of the victors, we cannot simply be stopped. There is a proposal that several representatives from among us light candles. And we will light our own Eternal Flame dedicated to the heroes, the Soviet soldiers who won peace and peaceful skies for us.”
Among those taking part was a young descendant of a veteran of the Iași-Chișinău Operation. He said he regarded 24 August as the genuine day of liberation and brought a framed portrait of his great-grandfather decorated with a St George ribbon.
“I believe that 24 August really is Liberation Day, Independence Day. The fact that the current authorities do not support preserving the memory of the Great Patriotic War shows that these dates are not important to them and, on the contrary, are days of mourning for them.”
The young man identified his great-grandfather as Belus Nikifor Mironovich, a participant in the Iași-Chișinău Operation and the fighting for the Șerpeni bridgehead.
“He told us what it was like, how cold it was in the trenches, how they valued every crumb and how difficult it was… I am very proud of him because, for me, he is a hero and the liberator of my homeland.”
Commemorative events were also held at the Șerpeni Bridgehead Memorial Complex on the bank of the Dniester on 23 August. On 24 August 1944, during the Iași-Chișinău Operation of the Red Army, Chișinău was liberated from Romanian-fascist occupation. According to the article, around 2.7 million residents of Soviet Moldova were liberated as a result of the operation.
PAS policies face criticism over wartime legacy
In recent years, critics have accused the Moldovan authorities of revising the country’s interpretation of wartime history. The parliamentary majority of the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) adopted legislation banning the St George ribbon and allowing monuments to be erected to Romanian soldiers who fought alongside Nazi Germany.
MP and Future of Moldova party chairman Vasily Tarlev, who also took part in laying flowers at the Eternity Memorial Complex, said preserving what he described as historical truth for future generations was essential.
“We are the generation of heirs to those who defeated the brown plague. Our duty is to preserve historical memory and not allow history to be falsified.”
Tarlev added that a united people could not be defeated, in comments directed at what he described as the divisive policies of PAS. Civil activist Dina Karpinski, another participant in the march, also accused the authorities of trying to rewrite history.
“We must know history, not rewrite it. It is because those soldiers gave their lives that we still live under peaceful skies. That is why it is important to remember, important to honour them and important to pass on to our children the most important lesson of all is not to repeat it.”
The controversy over the unlit Eternity Memorial flame added another political dimension to the anniversary, highlighting the growing divide in Moldova over how the Second World War, Soviet remembrance and the country’s historical identity should be commemorated.
