The number of state archives in Moldova is 2. Both archives are assessed according to a methodology created as part of the project – Enhancing Openness of State Archives in Former Soviet Countries. Main archival institution in Moldova is The National Archive of the Republic of Moldova (ANRM) that holds about 1.000.000 items (delos).
Information on the Assessed Archives
The National Archive of the Republic of Moldova (NARM) is the heir of regional archive of Bessarabia as part of Russian Tsarist Empire created in 1815, called officially the Archive of the Governor of region (oblast’) of Bessarabia. A century later, when Bessarabia became a part of Romania, in 1918, the regional branch of Bessarabia of the Romanian State Archives was created.
In 1940, Bessarabia was occupied by the Soviet Union and a union republic called Moldavian SSR was created on August 2. After WWII, Bessarabia was re-occupied by the Red Army and two republican archives were created, State Historical Archive of Moldavian SSR and The Archive of the October Revolution. Both archives merged in 1958 and called Central State Archive of MSSR. In December 1990, 9 months before the declaration of independence, the National Archive of the Republic of Moldova was created on the basis of the Central State Archive of MSSR.
Currently, ANRM has 2.043 fonds comprising 961.102 text files (delo), 15.520 cinema items, 228.767 photographic items and 5.624 audio items.
The Archive of Social Political Organizations of the Republic of Moldova (AOSPRM) was created officially on February 2, 1992. Informally, however, it was set up in 1991 after the Moscow abortive coup followed by the prohibition of the Communist Party of Moldova (August 23) and the declaration of independence of the Republic of Moldova.
AOSPRM is the heir of the archive of the Communist Party of Moldavian SSR (full name: Archive of the Institute of the Party History within the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Moldavia) that was founded in 1940 after the Soviet takeover of Bessarabia, a part of Romania in the interwar years.
Currently, AOSPRM has 553 fonds comprising 555.437 text files (delo).
Both archives function according to the Law of the Archival Fond of the Republic of Moldova adopted by the Parliament on February 1, 1992. The Law has been amended many times since, last time in May 2018.
Sources: http://arhiva.gov.md