[citation needed] The final military parade in the Moldovan SSR took place in 1989 in honor of the October Revolution, which was marred by protests that occurred in the capital.

As a result, the mobile column of the parade was interrupted and abruptly canceled by the ruling authorities, with the leaders of Communist Party of Moldova left the central stage immediately.

[13] At the head of the parade were the flag of Moldova, as well as the military banners of the Emperor Stefan the Great, which were brought to Chișinău from Romania as a gesture on their part.

The following 6 foreign contingents took part in the parade for the first time:[18] Odesa Military Academy (Ukraine), the Michael the Brave 30th Guards Brigade and the Asociatia Traditia Militara contingent (Romania), the Representative Honor Guard Battalion of the Polish Armed Forces (Poland), the Grand Duke Gediminas Staff Battalion (Lithuania), and a 4-man group from the Royal Irish Regiment (United Kingdom).

[21][22] Opposition parties previously had called for rallies to disrupt the military parade, launching an "I'm not afraid" campaign on social media.

[31] 1,200 participants (800 from the National Army and 420 from the security services) took part in the parade, which took place within a framework to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Moldova.