Starvation in Bessarabia was a deliberate instrument of creating obedience to the Soviet regime, psychologist Ștefan Popov, head of the Center for Scientific Research in Psychology, stated in a public debate hosted by IPN News Agency. The psychologist spoke about the collective traumas caused by the famine of 1946–1947 and the profound impact that this historical tragedy has had on Moldovan society up to now.

According to the psychologist, hunger was used as a means of frightening the population. Hungry people no longer had the power to rebel, think critically, or oppose. It was a strategy meant to suppress any form of resistance.

"We see the psychological consequences of starvation for the present. Starvation destroys solidarity between people. The person no longer thinks about values, about social cohesion and is alone with their hunger. The distrust of other people reached the present day. We see absence of solidarity and social cohesion. The second aspect is that when a person is put in a situation of helplessness, in which they cannot control the destiny, a feeling of lack of control develops. The person becomes passive, does not see the possibility of a change and, in the end, does not have civic will. This is what can be seen today as well," said the expert in psychology.

Ștefan Popov noted that tyrannical regimes, such as the Soviet one, are often led by people with deep childhood traumas and inferiority complexes. These authoritarian leaders project their frustrations onto the population, using fear and control as tools of domination.

"Some people, who have inferiority complexes and a strong sense of threat and anxiety, if you give them power, tools and control, are not aware of what they are doing and of the consequences of their actions," said the doctoral student in psychology.

The specialist also explained that in societies where fear is omnipresent, where people do not feel safe, there is an increased predisposition to extremism.

"The installation of an authoritarian regime is preceded by social and economic crises, when there is a part of the population that feels easily victimized and finds salvation in an authoritarian leader who is their mouthpiece. In a society where there is a lot of fear, extremism is growing," said Ștefan Popov.

The public debate entitled "Aims, authors and evidence of the organized famine of 1946-1947" was the 47th installment of the project “Impact of the past on confidence-building and peace-building processes". IPN Agency implements the project with support from the German Hanns Seidel Foundation.