War Remembrance in the Republic of Moldova: Commemoration, state-formation and belonging

Abstract

The thesis examines the practices and spaces of Second World War commemorations following the fall of the Soviet Union. Drawing on the case of the Republic of Moldova, it addresses two dimensions of the topic: the temporal - how remembrance of the Second World War is transmitted with the passage of time - and the spatial - how symbolic changes to war monuments and cemeteries have occurred in post-Soviet Moldova. It employs the concept of "symbolic appropriation" in order to examine the recurrence of certain themes and symbolic representations: emergent religious elements such as signs and practices; inclusive commemorations of "all the dead"; and syncretism of Soviet war memorabilia and revived national symbols. By exploring the interaction of various agents and narratives at the local, national and international levels, the thesis provides a comparative framework in which to analyze the role of Soviet spaces and commemorative practices in the post-Soviet context.