The 1989 civil unrest in Moldavia began on November 7, 1989, in Chișinău, in the Moldavian SSR, and continued on November 10, when protesters burned down the headquarters of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. 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. During the former event, protesters interrupted a military parade involving troops of the Chișinău Garrison on Victory Square, which forced the military to cancel the mobile column planned that day.