On January 14, 2010, Moldova's Acting President, Speaker Mihai Ghimpu, decreed to set up the "Commission for the Study and Evaluation of the Totalitarian Communist Regime in the Republic of Moldova". The commission aimed at studying the claims about crimes of Soviet regime in the former Moldavian SSR from 1940 to 1991, as well as the period before 1940 when the country was an autonomous republic within the Ukrainian SSR. The commission was mandated to deliver a report by June 1, 2010, and subsequently to publish several volumes of documents on the main aspects related to crimes in Soviet Moldavia as well as to other human rights infringements.

The commission is headed by historian Gheorghe E. Cojocaru, the vice presidents are Igor Cașu and Sergiu Musteață, and the secretary being Mihail Taşcă. Igor Cașu contributed to the Presidential Commission for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Romania.

The presidential decree no. 165 was issued according to resolutions 1096/1996 and 1481/2006 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and Art. 94 of the Constitution of Moldova (1994).^[1]

A few days after the presidential decree was issued, Vladimir Tismăneanu wrote:

The press release on the establishment of the Commission for the study and evaluation the Moldovan Communist dictatorship is undoubtedly a historic moment. Interim President Mihai Ghimpu gesture proves vision, morality and political will. Official condemnation of the communist dictatorship as illegitimate and criminal became inevitable. In Moldova, anti-communism is not an illusion anymore. As well as in Romania or in other states where the Bolshevik recipe of destruction of human liberties has been applied.^[2]

The members of the commission are:

The commission is formed of 30 members, comprising doctors in history, sociology, philology, economics, philosophy and law. The commission will study and analyze the 1917-1991 period of the communist regime. The activity of the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova from 2001 to 2009 will be not covered by the report unless it is proved that it continued some practices of the former Communist Party of Moldova. According to its Statute adopted in 2008, article 1, the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova is a "lawful successor and heir of the Communist Party of [Soviet] Moldavia both in terms of ideas and traditions".

The Commission for the Study and Evaluation of the Communist Totalitarian Regime in Moldova met in its first session on January 17, when there were created 7 workgroups in order to study the documents and the materials regarding the activity of the main institutions involved in the establishment and perpetuating the communist totalitarian regime in Moldova.

The commission was to present its report to the President on 1 June 2010.^{[citation needed]}

• Moldovan authorities going to condemn communist regime…
• Hundreds of thousands of cases to be examined by commission for combating Communism Archived 2011-08-10 at the Wayback Machine
• (in Romanian) Preşedintele interimar al Republicii Moldova Mihai Ghimpu a emis un decret prezidenţial privind constituirea Comisiei pentru studierea şi aprecierea regimului comunist totalitar din Republica Moldova.
• http://www.privesc.eu/?p=1884 - The first press conference of the commission, Moldpress, January 18, 2010. Video.
• https://web.archive.org/web/20100309165120/http://www.timpul.md/article/2010/01/18/5881 - interview with Gheorghe Cojocaru, president of the commission.
• (in Romanian) Un moment istoric: Comisia de studiere a comunismului, Vladimir Tismăneanu
• http://www.europalibera.org/content/article/1931577.html - Pro and Contra
• https://web.archive.org/web/20100424000223/http://www.alttv.md/index.php?option=com_mediaplayer1&id=235&title=In_Triunghi_10.flv&task=view, interview with Igor Caşu, vice president of the commission, January 19, 2010
• http://www.flux.md/articole/8586/ - Condamnarea comunismului nu înseamnă scoaterea PCRM în afara legii, articol de Ecaterina Deleu
• http://www.e-democracy.md/files/parties/pcrm-statute-2008-ro.pdf - Statute of the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova, adopted on 15 March 2008.
• http://www.info-prim.md/?x=20&y=28559 - about the structure of the report, interview with Mihai Tasca.
• https://web.archive.org/web/20100211134340/http://www.timpul.md/news/2010/02/08/6432 - Timpul: Începe Marea desecretizare!
• Andrei Cuşco: "Şansa practică pe care o oferă munca în cadrul Comisiei oricărui istoric este accesul neîngrădit la archive şi desecretizarea urgentă şi totală a acestora"
• https://web.archive.org/web/20100413224643/http://www.contrafort.md/2010/181-182/1780.html
• Igor Caşu: "Nu poţi să avansezi spre europenizare fără o voinţă fermă de distanţare de crimele şi încălcările flagrante ale dreptului omului din perioada sovietică"
• https://web.archive.org/web/20100409074555/http://www.contrafort.md/2010/181-182/1779.html
• Petru Negură: "Îmi voi aduce contribuţia la studierea practicilor de "rezistenţă" ale populaţiei civile (şi ale intelectualilor) faţă de măsurile repressive şi oppressive applicate de regimul sovietic"
• https://web.archive.org/web/20100409074600/http://www.contrafort.md/2010/181-182/1781.html
• http://revistapresei.hotnews.ro/stiri-radio_tv-6949474-igor-casu-rfi-nkvd-din-republica-autonoma-socialista-sovietica-moldoveneasca-ordona-doar-singura-sedinta-uciderea-200-300-persoane.htm
• Lavinia Stan, A Breakthrough for Moldova: The Commission for the Study and Evaluation of the Totalitarian Communist Regime Thursday, Mar 18 2010 http://laviniastan.wordpress.com/2010/03/18/a-breakthrough-for-moldova-the-commission-for-the-study-and-evaluation-of-the- totalitarian-communist-regime/
• http://www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/dezvrajirea-in-500-de-file-kgb-ul-civilizator-si-romanofilii-barbari-891381.html
• http://www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/cum-au-deconspirat-troika-nkvd-cei-infectati-de-spiritul-cosmopolit-891423.html
• Interview with Igor Casu, vice-president of the commission, in Russian: first part - http://enews.md/articles/view/266/ Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine,

second part - http://www.enews.md/articles/view/274/ Archived 2010-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, third part - https://web.archive.org/web/20100420181200/http://enews.md/articles/view/281/

• International Conference May 24–25, 2010: http://www.tv7.md/?page=news&id=21574&lang=ru&list=1; http://www.protv.md/stiri/jurnale-de-stiri/stirile-pro-tv-cu-sorina-obreja-25-05-10.html