The Chișinău Independence Day Parade is one of the events of the Independence Day of Moldova held by the

Moldovan National Army The Moldovan National Army () is the senior branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova composed of the Moldovan Air Force, Air Force and the Moldovan Ground Forces, Land Forces. The National Army is considered to be the regular duty mil ...

. The parade is held in

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

on August 27 every 5 to 10 years on

Great National Assembly Square Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" * Artel Great (bo ...

History of Moldovan military parades

Before 1991 parades in the

Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic or Moldavian SSR (, mo-Cyrl, Република Советикэ Сочиалистэ Молдовеняскэ), also known as the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldovan SSR, Soviet Moldavia, Sovie ...

were held in honor of the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

, and until 1969

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...

. In 1976, Chișinău hosted a parade in honor of the 50th anniversary of its integration into the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, held in the presence of General Secretary

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...

and First Secretary

Ivan Bodiul Ivan Ivanovich Bodiul (; – 27 January 2013) was a Soviet and Moldovan politician prominent in the Moldavian SSR, particularly during the Brezhnev era. He was primarily responsible for the controversial decision to amend the Anthem of the Mo ...

. The final military parade in the Moldovan SSR took place in 1989 in honor of the

, which was marred by protests that occurred in the capital. On the morning of 7 November, a group of 100 people from the

Popular Front of Moldova The Popular Front of Moldova (PFM; , FPM) was a political movement in the Moldavian SSR, one of the 15 union republics of the former Soviet Union, and in the newly independent Moldova, Republic of Moldova. Formally, the Front existed from 1989 to ...

took candles and stood in front of Soviet tanks preparing for the parade. As a result, the mobile column of the parade was interrupted and abruptly canceled by the ruling authorities, with the leaders of

Communist Party of Moldova The Communist Party of Moldavia (, PCM, Moldovan Cyrillic: ; ) was the ruling and sole legal political party of the Moldavian SSR. It was one of the fifteen republic-level parties that formed the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) until ...

left the central stage immediately. Moldova would not hold another military parade until 2001.

Independence parades

2001

In 2001, Moldova celebrated the 10th anniversary of independence. It was the first parade since the fall of the USSR and was ordered by President

Vladimir Voronin Vladimir Voronin (; born Vladimir Bujeniță, 25 May 1941) is a Moldovan politician. He was the third President of Moldova#Republic of Moldova (1991–present), President of Moldova from 2001 until 2009 and has been the leader of the Party of ...

in early July.

2011

2011 celebrated the 20th anniversary of independence. Acting President

Marian Lupu Marian Lupu (; born 20 June 1966) is a Moldovan economist and politician who was the President of the Parliament of Moldova between 2010 and 2013. From this position he served as Acting President of Moldova from 2010 until 2012. Personal life ...

, who signed the order for the parade that April delivered the holiday address during the parade. Inspecting the parade from a

GAZ-24 The GAZ-24 "Volga" is a car manufactured by the Gorky Automobile Plant (Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod, GAZ) from 1970 to 1985 as a generation of its Volga marque. A largely redesigned version (practically, a new car in a modified old body) – GAZ- ...

cabriolet parade car was the

Minister of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

of Moldova

Vitalie Marinuța Vitalie Marinuța (born 16 June 1970) is a Moldovan politician and former military officer who served as Minister of Defense of Moldova between 25 September 2009 and 27 February 2014. Education * Bachelor of Science in International Relations, ...

while the officer commanding the parade was Brigadier General Vitalie Stoian from the National Army's General Staff. Dress rehearsals took place three, seven and ten days before the parade, with the first rehearsal on August being attended by

Prime Minister of Moldova The prime minister of Moldova () is Moldova's head of government. The prime minister is formally appointed by the president of Moldova and exercises executive power along with the Cabinet of Moldova, cabinet, subject to Parliament of Moldova, p ...

Vlad Filat Vladimir Filat (born 6 May 1969), commonly referred to as Vlad Filat (), is a Moldovan businessman and politician, founder of Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova. He was Prime Minister of Moldova from 25 September 2009 to 25 April 2013. He also ...

. It was the first time

military equipment A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

had been brought to the central square sine 1989. At the head of the parade were the

flag of Moldova The national flag of the Republic of Moldova () is a vertical triband of blue, yellow, and red, charged with the coat of arms of Moldova (an eagle holding a shield charged with an aurochs) on the centre bar. The reverse is mirrored. The flag ...

, as well as the military banners of the Emperor Stefan the Great, which were brought to Chișinău from

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

as a gesture on their part. The contingent of veterans of the

Transnistrian War The Transnistria War (; ) was an armed conflict that broke out on 2 November 1990 in Dubăsari between pro-Transnistria (Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, PMR) forces, including the Transnistrian Republican Guard, militia and neo-Cossack unit ...

was led by

Division General Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

Ion Costaș Ion Costaș (born 22 February 1944) is a Moldovan military officer and a former minister of interior (1990–1992) and Defence (1992). He is a leader of the Democratic Forum of Romanians in Moldova. Biography Ion Costaș was born in 1944 in t ...

, a former

Minister of Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

(1990–1992) and Defence (1992). A new, more western style marching formula was used for the parade as well as new military uniforms were used during the parade.

2016

2016 celebrated the

silver jubilee Silver Jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark. Royal Silver Jubilees since 1750 Note: This ...

of Moldovan independence. It was the first to use a revised format that was similar to the

Great Union Day Great Union Day (; also called Unification Day or National Day) is a Romanian national holiday celebrated on 1 December to mark the 1918 Great Union (the unification of Transylvania, Bassarabia, and Bukovina with the Kingdom of Romania). The ...

Parade in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

. The following 6 foreign contingents took part in the parade for the first time:

Odesa Military Academy The Odesa Military Academy is a modern higher military institution of the inter-services Armed Forces of Ukraine. The academy conducts language training for servicemen and employees of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, advanced training of military per ...

(

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

), the

Michael the Brave 30th Guards Brigade The Michael the Brave 30th Guards Brigade () is a primarily Guard of honour, ceremonial, as well as combat unit of the Romanian Armed Forces established in 1990. The Brigade also has a military music band, a Exhibition drill, drill team detachment ...

and the Asociatia Traditia Militara contingent (

), the Representative Honor Guard Battalion of the Polish Armed Forces (

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

), the Grand Duke Gediminas Staff Battalion (

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

), and a 4-man group from the Royal Irish Regiment (

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

). Servicemen of the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...

were also invited to the parade. More than 2,000 soldiers, as well as veterans of the army marched in the parade. The commander of the parade was the Chief of the General Staff of the Moldovan Armed Forces, Brigadier General Igor Cutie. During the 2016 parade, Moldovan police fired tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters who were participating in the 2015–16 protests. Opposition parties previously had called for rallies to disrupt the military parade, launching an "I'm not afraid" campaign on social media. Opposition lawyer Anna Ursaki said the following in favor of protests: "If the authorities have the right to organize parades, to have a feast during the plague, when people are miserable, we have the right to protests".

2021

2021 marked the 30th anniversary of independence. The action plan for the parade was approved by the government in June and President

Maia Sandu Maia Sandu (; born 24 May 1972) is a Moldovan politician who is serving as the sixth president of Moldova since 2020. She is the founder and former leader of the Party of Action and Solidarity and was Prime Minister of Moldova, prime minister o ...

signed the corresponding decree on July 23. It costed 2 million

Moldovan leu The leu (, plural lei ; Currency symbol, sign: L; ISO 4217 code: MDL) is the currency of Moldova. Like the Romanian leu, the Moldovan leu is subdivided into 100 bani ( ban). The name of the currency originates from a Romanian word which means "li ...

. 1,200 participants (800 from the National Army and 420 from the security services) took part in the parade, which took place within a framework to stop the spread of the

COVID-19 pandemic in Moldova The COVID-19 pandemic in Moldova was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have reached the Republic of Moldova on 7 March ...

. The parade was led by Brigadier General

Igor Gorgan Igor Gorgan (born 2 August 1969) is a Moldovan military officer who served as the Chief of the General Staff of Moldova. Biography He was born on 2 August 1969 in Dubăsari. At the age of 18, he joined the Soviet Army, immediately attending the ...

, with Cristian Tabîrţa serving as chief standard bearer. The following dignitaries were in attendance: *Moldovan President

*Moldovan Prime Minister

Natalia Gavrilița Natalia Gavrilița (; born 21 September 1977) is a Moldovan economist and politician who served as prime minister of Moldova from 2021 until her resignation in February 2023 after failure to get her reform package enacted.

President of the Moldovan Parliament The president of the parliament of Moldova () is the speaker (politics), presiding officer of the parliament of Moldova. The current president of the Parliament is Igor Grosu since 29 July 2021. History Moldavian Democratic Republic Moldavia ...

Igor Grosu Igor Grosu (born 30 November 1972) is a Moldova, Moldovan politician who is the President of the Moldovan Parliament, President of the Parliament of Moldova since 29 July 2021. He has been a member of the Parliament of Moldova, Moldovan Parliamen ...

*Moldovan Defence Minister Anatolie Nosatîi *Romanian President

Klaus Iohannis Klaus Werner Iohannis (; ; born 13 June 1959) is a Romanian politician, physicist, and former teacher who served as the fifth president of Romania from 2014 until his resignation in 2025. Prior to entering Politics of Romania, national politics, ...

(who arrived in time for the start of the march past) *Romanian Defence Minister

Nicolae Ciucă Nicolae Ionel Ciucă (; born 22 September 1967) is a Romanian politician and retired general of the Romanian Land Forces. Ideologically a conservative, he served as Prime Minister of Romania between 25 November 2021 and 12 June 2023 after receiv ...

*Polish President

Andrzej Duda Andrzej Sebastian Duda (born 16 May 1972) is a Polish lawyer and politician who has served as the sixth president of Poland since 2015. Before becoming president, he served as a Member of the Sejm from 2011 to 2014 and before becoming Member of ...

*Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelensky Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

*Ukrainian Prime Minister

Denys Shmyhal Denys Anatoliiovych Shmyhal (, ; born 15 October 1975) is a Ukrainian politician and entrepreneur who has served as the 18th and current prime minister of Ukraine since 2020. Before his appointment as prime minister, Shmyhal was the governor ...

Parade composition

The parade has the following general composition: * *Veterans of the

Transnistria War The Transnistria War (; ) was an armed conflict that broke out on 2 November 1990 in Dubăsari between pro-Transnistria (Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, PMR) forces, including the Transnistrian Republican Guard, militia and neo-Cossack unit ...

and the Soviet-Afghan War *Officers of the National Army * Alexandru cel Bun Military Academy *Infantry of the National Army **

1st Motorized Infantry Brigade "Moldova" The 1st Motorized Infantry Brigade "Moldova" is a motorized infantry unit of the Moldovan National Army's Moldovan Ground Forces, Ground Forces based in the Moldovan city of Bălți. It was the first Army unit to be created in the newly independent ...

** 2nd Motorized Infantry Brigade "Stefan Cel Mare" **

3rd Motorized Infantry Brigade "Dacia" The 3rd Motorized Infantry Brigade "Dacia" is a motorized infantry unit of the Moldovan National Army's Ground Forces based in Cahul. History The Dacia Motorized Infantry Brigade in Cahul was created on February 24, 1992, by the decree of the Pr ...

** 22nd Peacekeeping Battalion *Forces of the

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

** Ştefan cel Mare Police Academy **

Special Forces Brigade "Fulger" The Special Forces Police Brigade "Fulger" () is a specialized police unit of the General Police Inspectorate. It is considered to be one of the most combat-ready units in Moldova. It is based in Chișinău. It is heavily involved in the fight aga ...

**Officers of the

General Police Inspectorate The General Police Inspectorate () is the national civilian police force of the Republic of Moldova. It is a state institution subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, that regulates law enforcement in Moldova. The current Chief of the G ...

**Inspectorate General of the

Trupele de Carabinieri The Trupele de Carabinieri ( Carabinier Troops in English) is the national gendarmerie force of the Republic of Moldova, under the administration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Moldova. The Moldovan Carabinieri are to ensure, together ...

Moldovan Border Police The Moldovan Border Police, also commonly known as the Moldovan Frontier Police, is the official paramilitary border guard of the Republic of Moldova. It is currently a department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) and exercises its powe ...

**Civil Protection and Emergency Situations Service * Honor Guard Company of the National Army

Military bands in attendance

The

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...

s of the Chișinău Garrison who take part in the parade are composed of: * The

Presidential Orchestra of the Republic of Moldova The Presidential Band of the Republic of Moldova () is an artist collective and the senior most military band of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova (also under the Moldovan National Army), specifically serving the President of Moldova i ...

* The Band of the 1st Motorized Infantry Brigade * The Band of the 2nd Motorized Infantry Brigade * The Band of the 3rd Motorized Infantry Brigade * Band of the Alexandru cel Bun Military Academy *

Band of the Department of Carabinier Troops The Trupele de Carabinieri (Carabinier Troops in English) is the national gendarmerie force of the Republic of Moldova, under the administration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Moldova. The Moldovan Carabinieri are to ensure, together w ...

* Central Band of the Border Police

Photos of the parade

File:25 річниці незалежності Молдови 08.jpg, Chișinău Independence Day Parade, 2016 File:25 річниці незалежності Молдови 07.jpg, Chișinău Independence Day Parade, 2016 File:25 річниці незалежності Молдови 10.jpg, Chișinău Independence Day Parade, 2016 File:08-27-2016 - Парад в Молдовы 06.jpg, Ukrainian troops drawn from the

during the 2016 parade. File:25 річниці незалежності Молдови 06.jpg, Chișinău Independence Day Parade, 2016

References

External links

2001 Chișinău Independence Day Parade

2011 Chișinău Independence Day Parade

"Limba noastră" performed here by the Presidential Band of the Republic of Moldova in the 2011 Chișinău Independence Day Parade

2016 Chișinău Independence Day Parade
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chisinau Independence Day Parade Military parades Events in Moldova Chișinău Summer in Moldova Military of Moldova