The 1989 civil unrest in Moldova began on November 7, 1989, in Chişinău, Moldavian SSR and continued on November 10, when protesters burned down the headquarters of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (led by Vladimir Voronin). Festivals on 7 November 1989 commemorating the October Revolution and 10 November celebrating the Soviet police force offered excellent opportunities for oppositionists to challenge authorities in highly visible settings and disrupt events of premiere importance to the Soviet regime. Popular Front of Moldova activists, often going beyond the official sanction of the movement leadership, organized actions that embarrassed the republican leadership, ultimately resulted in riots in central Chişinău. This unrest sealed the fate of the increasingly weak First Secretary of t