Moldovan Socialists Accused of Political Pressure on Academia

The contemporary history volumes would cover "the most explosive historical material," said history researcher Anatol Taranu, from the 1918 reunification with Romania to the interwar period, Soviet domination and the war in rebel Transnistria following Moldovan independence in 1991.

The history of Moldova is arguably inseparable from the history of Romania. Both countries share the same language and culture, a fact the Socialists, like the Soviet Union before, would like to get away from.

"That is the fundamental problem, because it is about the identity of this space," Taranu told BIRN. "History is the basic element of an identity."

History institute starved of funds

On March 6, dozens of academics and researchers mainly from the History Institute at the Academy of Sciences of Moldova - which sought funding for the multi-volume history - and the Institute of Romanian Philology 'Bogdan Petriceicu-Hasdeu' staged a protest against what they said were government efforts to politicise academia.

"Our field of research went against the political message of the government," historian Ion Negrei told those gathered on Chisinau's Grand National Assembly Square in front of government headquarters.

"Through premeditated actions, they seek the systematic liquidation of the field of research. Now we are in the final stage when we are forbidden to schedule any research."

The director of the History Institute of the Academy of Sciences in Moldova, Gheorghe Cojocaru (R) and the historian an researcher Nicolae Enciu (L) participating a radio show on historical themes. Photo: Nicolae Enciu`s Facebook page

Gheorghe Cojocaru, the head of the History Institute, said the contemporary history part of the project was...