Vandalism
In Orgeev-town unknown vandals desecrated the monument erected in honor of soldiers who died in World War II, January 2014
The topic of World War Two is a sensitive issue in Moldova in general.There are various underlying issues and controversies in Moldovan society, related to unionism and national identity, which are often expressed in vandalism and damage against monuments to antifascist forces and the Red Army in particular.
Several cases of vandalism were recorded, the vast majority of them were in Chisinau. On the night of May 9, 2013, unknowns have desecrated a monument to soldiers of the Great Patriotic War in Ohrei, by tearing off the memorial plaque to the fallen soldiers, whose names remained unknown. Memorial plaque, saying “Glory to Heroes!” was thrown by vandals onto a river bank. The monument was once again desecrated on January 3, 2014.
In Chisinau, vandals had desecrated a monument to Victims of the Holocaust, located at Jerusalem Street. Unknown criminals painted an anti-Semitic inscription on the monument. Presumably, this act of vandalism was committed between June 2 and 5. Criminals drew a Nazi swastika on a memorial slab.
On May 13, vandals scratched a swastika on a BMW X6. Owner of the vehicle believes that the attack was provoked by stickers on the vehicle, “Happy Victory Day” and “Thank you, grandfather for the Victory.
On September 1, 2013 Mayor of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca said that he intends to dismantle and move Soviet monuments to liberators from fascism, following Estonia’s example. Chirtoaca reminded that the Bronze Soldier in Estonia was moved from the centre of Tallinn to its outskirts. He believes that if similar action is taken in Moldova, it will be able to become a full member of the European community in the future .
On January 2, 2018, vandals desecrated a monument to Soviet tankers in Moldova. According to the head of the Moldovan Russian Historical-Patriotic Club, Alexei Petrovich, the Victoria memorial complex near the village of Leuseni has been attacked by Russophobes not for the first time. “Unknown bastards once again abused a combat vehicle - a T-34 tank, standing on a hill in honor of the heroes of the Iasi-Chisinau operation. The vandals doused the monument with red, blue and yellow paint, put inscriptions on the pedestal, and disfigured the granite slabs. The surrounding area has been turned into a trash can,” the activist wrote on his page on the VKontakte social network.
In November 2019, unidentified persons destroyed commemorative granite slabs on the walls of the long-term firing point 417 of the Stalin Line, located on the outskirts of the village of Koshnitsa, Dubossary district.
In July 2020, vandals smashed the facing tiles at the military burial site of the Great Patriotic War in the village of Gura Bicului. In April, they destroyed a memorial plate with the names of Soviet citizens shot during the Nazi occupation on the spot in one of the parks in Chisinau. In November of the same year, unknown people mutilated the monument to the Soviet commander Grigory Kotovsky in the city of Hincesti, which until 1990 was called Kotovsk.
At the end of January 2020, vandals destroyed the monument to Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Margelov in Dubossary. In May 2021, in Vulkanesti in Gagauzia, the Star of Eternal Flame was desecrated in memory of the Soviet soldiers who died during the liberation of Moldova during the Second World War.
In March 2021, vandals sawed for scrap a monument to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War in the Moldovan village of Ivancha. In February, a memorial was desecrated in the village of Ruska, Hincesti region.
Also in August 2021, the monument to the victims of the Holocaust in Kosouti was desecrated by vandals in Moldova. They damaged the elements of the memorial steles, scratched the inscriptions and beat off the foundations of the memorial. In the same month, unknown vandals destroyed the memorial of glory near the village of Korpac in northern Moldova. It is noted that the memorial sign was erected in honor of the soldiers of the 3rd Soviet Guards Uman Airborne Division, the first to reach the state border in the Prut River area in March 1944.
In early March 2022, the Victoria memorial complex near the village of Leuseni in the Hincesti district of Moldova was once again desecrated by vandals. The front part of the pedestal was covered with yellow and blue paint, symbolizing the national colors of Ukraine, and commemorative plates were completely covered with paint.
