Victory Day, Europe Day marked through string of events in Moldovan capital

Moldova on May 9 marks both Victory Day and the commemoration of the heroes who fell in the Second World War, as well as Europe Day, through an extensive schedule of events organized in Chisinau.

Official ceremonies and conference dedicated to May 9

The events started early in the morning, at 08:00, with a flower-laying ceremony at the “Eternity” Memorial Complex. The country’s top leadership attended the ceremony.

Afterwards, the national scientific conference titled 9 MAY: Remembrance, reconciliation and European unity, will take place. The event is organized by the Ministry of Education and Research, in partnership with the Institute of History of the Moldova State University and the Memory Council.

Welcome messages will be delivered by President Maia Sandu; Dan Perciun, Minister of Education and Research; Cristina Gherasimov, Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration; Iwona Piórko, Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova; Cristian-Leon Turcanu, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Romania to Moldova and Paun Rohovei, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to Moldova.

Memory March and European Town 

Also in the first part of the day, the Party of Socialists has invited people of Chisinau to the “Memory March”. Participants will gather at the monument of Stephen the Great and Holy and will head towards the “Eternity” Memorial Complex to pay tribute to the heroes of the Second World War.

Starting at 13:00, the Great National Assembly Square (PMAN) will host the official opening of the European Village. Visitors will be able to discover topic-related pavilions, exhibitions, interactive activities, local product fairs and projects supported by the European Union in Moldova.

At the same time, educational workshops, topic-related quizzes and presentations of local initiatives funded by the European Union will take place.

In the inner courtyard of the government, on Veronica Micle Street, presentations and information activities will be organized. Citizens will be able to ask questions to cabinet members and other officials.

In the green area near Metropolitan Gavriil Banulescu-Bodoni Street, a special area will be set up for children and parents.

Concert on the Great National Assembly Square and official speeches

The schedule will end with a concert that will start at 19:00. Alternosfera, Gabriel Nebunu, the Romanian singer Minelli and other artists will take the stage.

At 20:30, President Maia Sandu and the President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides will address messages to the public on the Great National Assembly Square.

Traffic restrictions in the city center

Throughout the day, traffic restrictions will be applied in the capital. Road traffic will be suspended from May 8, 14:00, to May 10, 07:00, on Ștefan cel Mare și Sfânt Boulevard, between Metropolitan G. Banulescu-Bodoni Street and Alexandr Pushkin Street.

The measure is imposed in connection with the cultural and artistic events dedicated to Europe Day, held on PMAN.

The significance of May 9

In Moldova, the date of May 9 has a double significance: the commemoration of the victory over fascism and Nazism, and the celebration of Europe Day, marked annually in memory of the Schuman Declaration, considered the founding act of European integration.

Contacted by MOLDPRES, Igor Casu, Director of the National Archives Agency, noted that those who celebrate Victory Day on May 9 in the Soviet and Russian style share, explicitly or implicitly, the idea that Bessarabia is a “component part of historical Russia.”

“However, Victory Day in Europe is May 8, 1945, declared as such in the European Union, an achievement of all the Allies, from both East and West, which is also a Day of Reconciliation and peace, not of revenge and the exaltation of the past in order to justify present-day aggressions, such as the one of Russia against Ukraine after 24 February 2022,” Casu said.

The historian stressed that the problem is not the commemoration of the victory over Nazism, but the way Russia and its supporters in the post-Soviet space instrumentalize the date of May 9.

“An attempt is being made to manipulate a historical event, in order to justify present and future violence against an independent and sovereign state, Ukraine, and by extension against other states,” Igor Casu added.

International context

At the international level, May 8 and 9 are recognized by the United Nations as the Days of Remembrance and Reconciliation in memory of those who died in the Second World War.

Also on May 9, Victory Day in Europe is marked, commemorating the surrender of Nazi Germany. In the former USSR, however, this date was celebrated as Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War.

One of the theses promoted by Russian propaganda is that the Soviet Union was the main and only force that defeated Nazi Germany. Later, this narrative was used to strengthen Russia’s image as the leader of the anti-fascist struggle.

The thesis of so-called “denazification” has even become one of the official pretexts invoked by Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine.