Wine and Speed: The Post-Soviet Holidays in the Republic of Moldova (2001–2009)

Abstract

In the context of the forceful dispute over national identity in Moldova, the Communist government of 2001–2009 aimed to articulate a project of “Moldovan identity” which was raised to the level of a state ideology. In the spirit of Soviet propaganda, this project was implemented through public holidays and celebrations. The following analysis examines two case studies—the Wine Festival and the Independence Cup—by discerning the performative practices designed as part of the nation-building project in Moldova between 2005 and 2009. Organized at the official level, but with the strong assistance of mass media, these public events were intended to win the support and attention of Moldovan society by employing rituals and performances similar to those of the Soviet period. The paper addresses the characteristics and mechanisms of these performative practices, and considers why this nation-building project did not achieve its goals, but instead caused tension and disputes. One of the main aims is to understand how the Communist government sought to redefine “the Moldovan nation”.

Keywords:

• Post-Soviet Holidays
• Nation-Building
• Performance
• Republic of Moldova
• Communist Government

Acknowledgements

Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the 7th National Conference of the Romanian Society of Cultural Anthropology (September 2010, Bucharest) and at the International Symposium “We & Others. Identity Constructions in the History of Romanians (Fourteen to Twenty-First Centuries)” (April 2011, Jassy). I would like to thank the audiences of these venues for their useful comments and suggestions. My special thanks I want to address to the editors Rozita Dimova and Ludmila Cojocaru and to anonymous reviewers of History and Anthropology for their assistance and support in elaborating the final version of this paper.

Notes

With the support of the 14th Army, a separatist republic was self-proclaimed in the Transnistrian region.

In 1918, the Sovnarkom adopted the Gregorian calendar, according to which 14 February would immediately follow 31 January.

The celebrations for the Red Army and the Border Guard instituted by the Soviet government in 1920 were augmented in 1933 with a celebration for the Air Force (on the third Sunday in August), in 1936 with a celebration for Railway Workers (on the first Sunday in August) and in 1939 with a celebration for the Marine Military Navy (on the last Sunday in June). Voluntary military associations implemented campaigns to train the population for any future war; this explains why, in 1937, the staff of the Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow included 350 riflemen, snipers and trained machine-gunners.

In November 1935, a month after he declared that “the life has become better and jollier”, Josef Stalin ordered the return—“for the Soviet children”—of the New Year tree, and then ordered a national commemoration for the 100-year anniversary of the death of the great Russian poet A.S. Pushkin (Александров 1937). Thus, by 16 December 1935, national and republican committees had been established, as well as departments to organize the celebrations in cities, towns and rural localities, in state institutions, kolkhozes, factories, schools and universities. The official commemorative programme, both in the centre and at the outskirts of the empire, included solemn meetings, sessions, conferences and other events. The streets of all villages were decorated with posters and stands, which were illustrated with thematic content that would focus the people's imagination onto the new festive sensibility. In Moscow, a meeting and a flower-laying ceremony at the site of the “new” monument of the poet directed the symbolic content of the ceremony towards the act of establishing, which would emphasize the capacity of the political regime to generate new ideas, and to signify and immortalize its own efficiency in immemorial achievements. On 13 February 1937, the Academy of Sciences organized a conference that presented Pushkin in terms of his dominant ideology, suggesting that he was a “materialist and atheist”, an “enemy of ignorance”, and a “great realist, whose true image was hidden by obscurants and coward liberals” (Александров 1937, 494). Andrei Bubnov, the chairman of the Commissariat of Education, announced at the inauguration of the celebrations by radio to all country: “Pushkin is ours! Only in the country of socialist culture is the name of the immortal genius surrounded by love; only in our country have the creations of Pushkin become a national patrimony. Pushkin belongs to the people who, under the guidance of Lenin and Stalin, have constructed a socialist society. He belongs to the nations of the USSR that, under the flag of Lenin and Stalin, are now advancing towards Communism” (Александров 1937, 492–493).

The placement of the mummified corpse of the leader of the global proletariat in a Mausoleum in Red Square made the place a sacred centre of the Soviet Empire; it was visited by thousands of piligrims.

In order to emphasize their vision of ethnic, religious, historical and cultural identity, the authorities initiated a series of changes to the form and content of official celebrations. For example, in 2007 Independence Day was renamed as the Day of the Republic, which resulted in the key non-governing parties expressing their opposition: “Our nation celebrates Independence Day, not the Day of the Republic” (Serafim Urechean, president of the political party Alianța Moldova Noastră); “We voted for independence, and that is the event we should celebrate” (Mihai Ghimpu, vice-president of the Liberal Party). The original name of the holiday was reinstated at the beginning of 2010. New celebrations were also instituted: 27 April became National Flag Day, while 2 March became Commemoration Day for the Heroes Fallen for the Integrity of Moldova in 1991–1992. Many political debates followed a presidential decree dated 24 June 2010, which declared 28 June as the Day of Soviet Occupation.

Vladimir Voronin declared on 30 January 2009 that “650 years ago on the map of Europe appeared a new state—Moldova, Moldavia. This country had some changes of delineation and borders, sometimes it disappeared, but every time it reappeared again and again. And every time—under the same name! … It took our ancestors many efforts and long centuries of hard challenge for the continuous thread of our country and nation to see Moldova sovereign, European, modern and independent, a country that is again ready for a long independent journey in history, a country where all changes will only be done for the best” (Republica Moldova 2009).

On 7 April 2009, mass demonstrations took place in the Republic of Moldova which resulted in a fall of the Communist government.

This expression was traced by the government from the Soviet ideology concept “многонациональный советский народ” (the multinational Soviet people).

The director of the Moldova-1 television station, Adela Railean, said in an interview for Moldova-1 on 23 August 2008: “For us, the television people, this project—the Independence Cup—is one of the most important. We highly appreciate it, and now we are working hard on it for the fourth year in a row. The most important fact for us is that this project is the first to bring the entire country together, as the participants are to visit all the corners of the country. The project perfectly fits in with the series of events dedicated to the Day of the Republic”.

From a Moldova-1 television report on 23 August 2008.

From a Moldova-1 television report on 23 August 2008.

From the live broadcast of the prize-giving ceremony for the participants of the rally at the Great National Assembly Square, 24 August 2008.

National Wine Day was instituted by the Parliamentary Decree of the Republic of Moldova no. 1005-XV of 19 April 2002, according to which it must be organized on the second Sunday of October.

On 8 October 2005, Vladimir Voronin stated that: “The Wine Festival has become a celebration characteristic of Moldova. From year to year, the festival becomes more and more important and becomes some sort of business card for Moldova” (BASA-Press 2005); Petru Lucinschi, the ex-president of the Republic of Moldova, in an interview in 2007, said: “One should know that wine and the Moldavian people are synonyms” (inteview broadcast by Moldova-1).

Remarkably, the communities of Moldavian diaspora are often divided according to their adhesion to either the “Moldovan” or “Romanian” identity. Between 2001 and 2009, the Communist government preferred to establish and maintain relationships only with the segment of the diaspora loyal to its official ideology.