Moldova between Past and Present: Experiences and Views of Soviet and Romanian Rule

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

Accusations of political influence on the historical narratives discussed and presented in Moldova's public sphere and educational institutions fuel ongoing debate about the country’s experience under Soviet and Romanian rule. This panel focuses on factors shaping post-World War II Soviet rule in the region and on the memories of Soviet and Romanian rule in Moldovan society today. Sophia Kalashnikova Horowitz explores how post-1944 political policing of territories held by the USSR in the interwar period differed from that in territories that had belonged to Romania. Anna Vichkitova reconstructs the turbulent 1990s through oral histories, tracing how Moldovans grappled with economic and socio-political crises and how that influenced the memory of the late Soviet era. Finally, Kateřina Fuksová analyzes the controversy surrounding Moldova’s new history textbook, illustrating how contemporary political conflicts influence state narratives about World War II and the Holocaust. These papers investigate how Moldova’s history and the process of its interpretation shape the country’s socio-political landscape.

Sub Unit

• History: 1945-1990

Chair

• Emma Carol Friedlander, Harvard U

Papers

• The Role of Informers in the Political Police Enforcement of Soviet Policies on the Left and Right Banks of the Dniester, 1944-1952 - Sophia Kalashnikova Horowitz, Harvard U

• Authoritarian Public Opinion and Intelligence Disclosure: Soviet Domestic Disclosures during the Prague Spring and Sino-Soviet Border Dispute - Suzanne Freeman, MIT

• Colonial Urban Visions? Alexei Şciusev’s General Plan for Chișinău - Abigail Karas, U of St Andrews (UK)

Discussant

• Vladimir A. Solonari, U of Central Florida