The Great National Assembly Square (), formerly known as Victory Square () is the central square 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 ...

, the capital of

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. ...

. It is surrounded by the following buildings and monuments: * Stephen the Great Monument * Monument to the Victims of the Soviet Occupation * Government House *

Triumphal Arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...

* Nativity Cathedral * Cathedral Park

History

In the 19th century, the space of several hundred square meters from the perimeter of the current Stefan cel Mare Avenue. In 1812, became a permanent center for government business. It had the same type of urban planning done in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. At the beginning of the 20th century, many working demonstrations were held here, and after 1924, when the street already bore the name of King

Carol II Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930, until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. As the eldest son of Ferdinand I of Romania, King Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I, ...

Boulevard, a series of demonstrations and strikes took place on its main square. August 1, 1929, when a one-day political rally was announced. In 1944, the street became a square, with the new authorities naming it Victory Square. In its present form, the square has existed since December 1951. In 1987-1988, it was enlarged by the Soviets after they removed the ruins of the old Eparchial House. In April 2003, the

Government of Moldova The government of Moldova () is the government of the Republic of Moldova. It is housed in the Government House at the Great National Assembly Square in Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, cap ...

rejected the request of the Council of Veterans of the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

to revert the name of the square back to Victory Square. Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev called the proposal a "challenge", adding that the name is inappropriate and that such a decision can only be taken by

Chișinău City Hall Chișinău City Hall () is a historical and architectural monument built in Italian Gothic style located in Central Chișinău, Moldova. Originally constructed to house the city Duma in 1901, the building was nearly destroyed during World War I ...

, which later rejected the veterans proposal.

Massed events

Under government legislation, anyone can stage public events in the square with consent from the Chisinau City Hall.

Parades

During the Soviet Moldovan era, parades were held on this square in honor of the Great October Socialist Revolution,

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 ...

, and

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 ...

, until the

1989 Moldovan civil unrest The 1989 civil unrest in Moldavia began on November 7, 1989, in Chișinău, in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldavian SSR, and continued on November 10, when protesters burned down the headquarters of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (M ...

during which the

military parade A military parade is a formation of military personnels whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as Drill team, drilling or marching. Large military parades are today held on major holidays and military events around the ...

of the Kishinev Garrison 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 ...

was interrupted by demonstrators. On the morning of 7 November, a group of 100 people took candles and stood in front of Soviet tanks preparing for the parade. Once supporters of 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 ...

arrived at Victory Square, 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. The independent Armed Forces of Moldova hosted military parades were dedicated to the independence of Moldova. These parades were held in 2001, 2011, and 2016.

Public demonstrations

In 1966, Soviet cosmonaut

Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who, aboard the first successful Human spaceflight, crewed sp ...

visit the city, attending a mass demonstration on the square. It marked the 500th anniversary of the city's establishment. On August 31, 1989, the adoption of the

Romanian language Romanian (obsolete spelling: Roumanian; , or , ) is the official and main language of Romania and Moldova. Romanian is part of the Eastern Romance languages, Eastern Romance sub-branch of Romance languages, a linguistic group that evolved fr ...

as a state language occurred on the square. A 2018 rally supporting the reunification of

and

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 ...

was held on the square. In the run up to the 2020 Moldovan presidential election, an organization affiliated with President

Igor Dodon Igor Dodon (; born 18 February 1975) is a Moldovan politician who served as the 5th president of Moldova from 2016 to 2020. He currently serves as the leader of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova since 2024. He served as Ministry ...

, the Union of Officers of Moldova, occupied the square.

Political activities

On 15 May 2000, after the Government's initiative to abolish benefits for veterans of the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...

, sympathizers went to Great National Assembly Square. Protests against 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 ...

took place on the square during the

April 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election protests Protests against the April 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election results began on 6 April 2009 in major cities of Moldova (including Bălți and the capital, Chișinău) before the final official results were announced. The demonstrators claimed ...

. Many mass events during the 2015–2016 protests in Moldova took place in the square. On 21 May 2023, the European Moldova National Assembly took place in the square.

Gallery

File:ЛЕНИН (1980). (8683013186).jpg, Lenin Statue File:Triumph Ark and Cathedral in Chsinau.JPG, The Triumph Ark and Cathedral at night File:Lenin, Brezhnev, Bodiul etc. (1976). (14241235186).jpg,

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 Ivan Bodiul on a grandstand on the square during a parade in 1974. File:MD.C.Chișinău - Protest Platforma „Demnitate și Adevăr” (people) - jan 16, 2016.jpg, Mass protests in 2016. File:Chisinau riot 2009-04-07 23.jpg, Protests in 2009 File:08-27-2016 - Парад в Молдовы 05.jpg, Stephen the Great Monument

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Great National Assembly Square, Chișinău Chișinău National squares