On 9 November, the Day of Moldavian culture was held in the conference hall of the main building of Voronezh State University. The event was dedicated to the year of Stephen the Great (Ștefan cel Mare) of Moldavia organised by the Moldavian communities from the Voronezh region and Kursk. The initiative was also supported by colleagues from Lipetsk. The Rector of VSU, Professor Dmitry Endovitsky, welcomed the participants of the event. The guests visited an exhibition dedicated to the Moldavian and Russian culture. It was prepared by the staff of VSU Museum of History and included exhibits of the Moldavian community of the Voronezh region and the Ethnographic Museum at the Faculty of Philology of Voronezh State University. Traditional costumes were provided by the Museum of National Costumes at the Department of Tourism of Voronezh State University of Engineering Technologies and the embassy of the Republic of Moldova in the Russian Federation. The chairperson of the Moldavian community of the Voronezh region, Karolina Vetrova, read the address of the advisor to the President of the Republic of Moldova, Christina Bugie, to the audience comprised of representatives of the regional government, the municipal administration, and Voronezh universities.
Ștefan cel Mare is one of the most prominent rulers of the Moldavian principality. He ruled the country for 47 years (1457–1504). All these years he fought for the independence of the Moldavian principality and successfully resisted much stronger rivals, i.e. the Ottoman Empire, Poland, and Hungary. Being a talented military leader, diplomat, and politician Stephan the Great managed to maintain the independence of the Moldavian principality and to strengthen its political significance in the Western Europe. Ștefan cel Mare fought 36 battles winning 34 of them and losing only 2. He made a military and political alliance with the Tsardom of Muscovy which was strengthened by the marriage of Ivan the Young, the son of Ivan III, and Stephan’s daughter Elena Voloshanka.
The participants of the event discussed the prominence of Stephan the Great in the history of Moldova, in establishing friendship between Russia and Moldova, and his contribution to the protection of the Orthodox Christianity. The programme included talks by representatives of the Moldavian communities from Voronezh and Kursk and the performances by Russian and Moldavian artists: folk music group “Terem” from the Faculty of Philology of Voronezh State University and Anastasia Vlas. It also presented the first showing of the video “Ballad about Stephan the Great” by Daniil Vetrov.
The Moldavian and Russian festival was a manifestation of friendly relations between the nations and their historical community which is over 1,500 years old.
