President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu said that 85 years ago, on June 12–13, 1941, the Stalinist regime launched the first wave of deportations — one of the greatest tragedies in the country’s history, TRIBUNA reports.

“Tens of thousands of innocent people were torn from their homes — entire families were broken apart and countless destinies were shattered by a system that tried to suppress our national identity. Today, we bow before those who suffered then and before their strength to preserve their dignity, faith, and hope.

In their memory, we have a duty to defend the values for which these people paid a terrible price: freedom, identity, and the right to live without fear. Because a nation that knows its history is stronger and harder to divide. Therefore, commemorating the deportations is about both the past and the democratic future that we are building together,” the head of state said.

Maia Sandu invited citizens to visit the exhibition of railway carriages titled “State Terror in Soviet Moldova. Scale, Victims and Perpetrators”, open from June 12 to July 6 at the Great National Assembly Square in Chișinău and at the North Railway Station Square in Bălți.

“By knowing and speaking the truth, we honour the memory of all those who were forced to leave their native places and can prevent the spread of lies by those who deny or distort the horrors of the Soviet era,” the official stressed.