You already know that I joined the International Women's Club of Moldova. And that I was thrilled to be able to join its Book Club. And that I was even more thrilled that the September selection was short stories by Pushkin. (I've never read Pushkin, but had planned to while here (and in advance of visiting the Pushkin Museum in town) Even better was the venue selected for discussing the short stories: Dolna.
Here are some photos taken while on the drive to Dolna. Was a beautiful day to explore the countryside.
The cemetery honors unknown Romanian soldiers who were killed by Soviet forces.
I hope I don't garble this history, but I believe it had to do with the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact of 1939 (the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact) -- and the fate of Romania as a result of this agreement. There were negotiations regarding Bessarabia (the region of Romania that also includes much of modern-day Moldova) After the Romanians decided to cede this area to the Soviets, they had negotiated a timeframe for evacuation. Romanian soldiers were given a week (4 days?) to leave this area of Bessarabia -- but as soon as the soldiers had packed up -- the Russians came in and slaughtered them. This awful fate led to the creation of these cemetaries honoring the unkown soldiers.
But as I was reading in my Lonely Travel guide book, later in 1941 Romanian forces allied with Germany attacked the Soviet Union. After Bessarabia and Transdniester were part of Romania, thousands of Bessarabian Jews were rounded up in labor camps in Transdniestr, and then deported to Auschwitz.
At the Ethnic Festival on Sunday I learned of a Jewish Museum that I must visit. (The Jewish population here was once as high as 35%, I believe.) There is also a memorial in memory of those slain in a 1903 Pogrom in a nearby park. Still much more to learn and explore here in Chisinau
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