Memorial Park - Costenuli

A grieving mother cradles a fallen soldier on a tiered stone plinth in the village of Costuleni. The two-figure composition belongs to a widespread typology of Second World War memorials across Moldova: the maternal figure as embodiment of collective loss, the dying combatant as its human cost. Carved into the base, a line from the Soviet commemorative canon: "Nimeni nu-i uitat, nimic nu se uită" ("No one is forgotten, nothing is forgotten"). It's written in the Cyrillic alphabet - Soviet authorities switched between Latin and Cyrillic depending on the policy of ethnicity and cross-border linkage with Romania. A wreath at the foot of the plinth suggests the memorial still draws visitors.