Pavel Filip. By ITU Pictures from Geneva, Switzerland. Cropped by User: Andrew Dalby
Sprawling over a hillside in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau (Kishinev) is one of Europe’s largest cemeteries. The Saint Lazarus graveyard was built in the 1960s, and is spread across 200 hectares/495 acres.
Chisinau lies between Romania, an EU member, and Ukraine. The headstones and crosses are made of wood, metal or stone, and are written in one of the two languages of the Moldovan people, Russian and Romanian.
This country of about 4 million is impoverished. The average monthly income amounting to only about 220 euros ($240.) But their poverty does not stop them from paying their respects every weekend to their dead, about 300,000 of them occupying the cemetery. Most of the graves are well cared-for, covered with flowers and candles. Among those buried here is Sergei Savchenko, a soccer player for the Soviet Union.
Of the 4 million Moldovan citizens, about 600,000 work abroad, in either Russia or Western Europe, due to the low salaries in their home country. There has been a continuous protest movement fomenting since September 2015, after it was discovered that over $1 billion was missing from three banks right before the Moldovan November 2014 elections. New Prime Minister Pavel Filip has committed to reformation of the justice system, and to reduce and eliminate corruption in government.
