Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 17:37, 20 February 2008

Republic of MoldovaRepublica Moldova
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Limba noastră-i o comoară   Our language is a treasure
Anthem: Limba noastră   Our Language
Location of Moldova (orange) in Europe (white)
Capitaland largest city	Chişinău
Official languages	Moldovan (Romanian)
Demonym(s)	Moldovan, Moldavian
Government	Parliamentary republic
• President	Vladimir Voronin
• Prime Minister	Vasile Tarlev
Independence from the Soviet Union
• Date	August 27, 1991
• Finalised	December 25, 1991
Area
• Total	33,843 km (13,067 sq mi) (139th)
• Water (%)	1.4
Population
• 2007 estimate	4,320,490 (121st³)
• 2004 census	3,383,332²
• Density	111/km (287.5/sq mi) (81st)
GDP (PPP)	2007 estimate
• Total	$9,367 million (141st)
• Per capita	$2,962 (135th)
Gini (2003)	33.2 medium inequality
HDI (2007)	0.708 Error: Invalid HDI value (111th)
Currency	Moldovan leu (MDL)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Calling code	373
ISO 3166 code	MD
Internet TLD	.md
Moldovan is commonly considered another name for Romanian. Gagauz and Russian are also official in Gagauzia, and Russian and Ukrainian are also official in Transnistria. 2004 census from National Bureau of Statistics. Figure does not include Transnistria and Tighina. Ranking based on 2005 UN figure including Transnistria.

The Republic of Moldova or Moldavia (Romanian: Republica Moldova) is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east and south. The country is a parliamentary democracy with a President as its head of state and a Prime Minister as its head of government. The official state language is Moldovan - which is almost identical to Romanian. 11% of the population uses Russian as the native language. It is the only state in the world with a democratically-elected communist government.

Most of its territory was historically part of the Principality of Moldavia, and it was annexed from Ottoman Empire by the Russian Empire in 1812, as part of Bessarabia. At the dissolution of the Russian Empire in 1918, Bessarabia was joined to Romania. In 1940, Bessarabia was occupied by the Soviet Union, and after changing hands in 1941 and 1944 during World War II, it was split between the Ukrainian SSR and the newly-created Moldavian SSR. The Moldavian SSR declared its independence from the USSR on August 27, 1991, and then changed its name to Republic of Moldova. Russian forces have remained on Moldovan territory, in the breakaway region of Transnistria, despite signing international obligations to withdraw .

Moldova is a member state of the United Nations, WTO, OSCE, GUAM, CIS, BSEC and other international organizations. Moldova has officially been a neutral country since its independence, and an early member of the NATO Partnership for Peace. Moldova currently aspires to join the European Union. and is implementing its first three-year Action Plan within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) of the EU.

History

Moldova's territory was inhabited in ancient times by Dacians. Due to its strategic location on a route between Asia and Europe, Moldova has faced several invasions, including those by the Huns, the Kievan Rus' and the Mongols. During the Middle Ages, the territory of Republic of Moldova, that of the Chernivtsi oblast and Budjak of Ukraine, as well as that of the eastern 8 of the 41 counties of Romania comprised the Principality of Moldavia (which, like the present-day republic, was known in Romanian as Moldova). The principality became a tributary to the Ottoman Empire during the 16th century.

In 1812, according to the Treaty of Bucharest between the Ottoman and the Russian Empires, the latter annexed the eastern half of the territory of the Principality of Moldavia, including Khotyn and Budjak (Southern Bessarabia). At first, the Russians used the name "Oblast' of Moldova and Bessarabia", allowing a large degree of autonomy, but later (1828) suspended the self-administration and called it Guberniya of Bessarabia, or simply Bessarabia. While the northeastern part of Moldavia, called Bukovina, was similarly annexed by the Habsburg Empire, the western part of Moldavia remained an autonomous principality, and in 1859, united with Wallachia to form the Kingdom of Romania. In 1856, the Treaty of Paris saw two out of nine counties of Bessarabia, Cahul and Ismail, returned to Moldavia, but in 1878, the Treaty of Berlin saw the Kingdom of Romania returning them to the Russian Empire.

Upon annexation, after the expulsion of the large Tatar population of Budjak, the Moldovan population of Bessarabia was predominant. The colonization of the region in the 19th century lead to an increase of Russian, Ukrainian, Lipovan, and Cossack populations in the region; this together with a large influx of Bulgarian immigrants, saw an increase of the Slavic population to more than a fifth of the total population by 1920. With the settling of other nationals such as Gagauz, Jews, and Germans, the proportion of the Moldovan population decreased from ca 80% to 52% during the course of the century.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). Some Romanian historians claimed that a strong sentiment of frustration and resentment to the Russian control had started to appear before the beginning of the World War I.

World War I brought in a rise in political and cultural (national) awareness of the locals, as 300,000 Bessarabians enrolled in the Russian Army formed in 1917, within bigger units several "Moldavian Soldiers' Committees". Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Bessarabian political elite favoured an autononomous Bessarabia within a federal Russia. A parliament, Sfatul Ţării (October-November 1917), was opened on December 3 [O.S. November 21] 1917, proclaimed the Moldavian Democratic Republic (December 15 [O.S. December 2] 1917) within Russia, and a government was formed on(December 21 [O.S. December 8] 1917). Only after the October Revolution and the intervention of Romanian troops in the region on January 13, Bessarabia proclaimed independence from Russia (February 6 [O.S. January 24] 1918). Influenced by the presence of the Romanian army, on April 9 [O.S. March 27] 1918, Sfatul Ţării decided with 86 votes for, 3 against and 36 abstaining, towards the union with the Kingdom of Romania, conditional upon the fulfillment of the agrarian reform, local autonomy, and respect for universal human rights. The conditions were dropped after the Entente won the war. The union was recognized by the European countries in the Treaty of Paris (1920), which however never came into force since Japan failed to ratify it. The newly-communist Russia was not represented as a party at the treaty conference. The Unites States of America, although had participated in the debates, refused to sign the treaty. A mutual treaty between the Soviets and Romania was not signed due to the former's claims over Bessarabia. In the Kellogg-Briand Treaty of 1928 and the Treaty of London of July 1933, the Soviet Union and Romania have subscribed to the principle of non-violent resolution of territorial disputes. Transnistria, at the time part of the Ukrainian SSR, itself part of the USSR, was formed into the Moldavian ASSR (1924-1940) after the failure of the Tatarbunary Uprising.

The agrarian (land) reform, settled by Sfatul Tarii in 1918-1919, resulted in a rise of a middle class, as the rural population of the region represented 80%. Together with peace and favorable economic circumstances, it produced a small economic boom. However, urban developement and the industry were insignifiant, the region remaining a agrarian rural region throught the interwar. A lawful land reform, promoted by the majority of the political leadership of Bessarabia in 1918, as opposed to an irregular expropriation of property, promoted by the pro-Soviet elements, was more appealing to the local farmers, and is at least partly responsible for the consent the peasantry has given to the intelligentsia's plans for building a unified state for all Romanians. However, the centralized Romanian state with a corrupt administration made many Bessarabians feel they were occupied by their "brothers", rather than united with them. Unlike Bukovinians, Romanian-speaking Bessarabians continued to consider themselves Moldovans, rather than Romanians, and moreover, felt closer to the Russian nation. The literacy rate grew to over 40% by 1930, however the region still remained lagging in the aspect of education. In an attempt to alienate the Bessarabian ethnic minorities from the Russian influence, the Romanian authorities have allowed education in any language desired; with time, while Romanian replaced Russian in cities, the authorities sought to reduce the number of ethnic minority education and attract them into Romanian classes.

Soviet era

The status-quo was changed 22 years later, when, as a result of Ribbentrop-Molotov pact (Article 4 of the secret Annex to the Treaty), Bessarabia was allowed by the Third Reich to be annexed by USSR. On June 26 1940, Romania received an ultimatum from the Soviet Union, demanding the evacuation of the Romanian military and administration from Bessarabia and from the northern part of Bukovina, with an implied threat of invasion in the event of noncompliance. Under pressure from Moscow and Berlin, the Romanian administration and the army were forced to retreat from Bessarabia as well from Northern Bukovina to avoid war. On June 28, 1940, these territories were occupied by the Soviet Union. During the retreat, the Romanian Army was attacked by the Soviet Army, which entered Bessarabia before the Romanian administration finished retreating. Some 42,876 Romanian soldiers and officers were unaccounted for after the retreat. The northern and southern parts, which had just over 1/2 ethnic minorities (Ukrainians, Bessarabian Bulgars, Bessarabian Germans, Lipovans) , were transferred to the Ukrainian SSR as Chernivtsi Oblast and Izmail Oblast. At the same time, the Moldavian ASSR, where ethnic Romanians were a plurality, was disbanded, and up to 1/2 of its territory was joined with the remaining territory of Bessarabia to form the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, coterminous with the present-day Moldova. Although Soviet troops were forced out in 1941 by the invasion of Axis forces, and Romania re-established its administration, the Soviet Union reconquered and reannexed the area in February-August 1944.

Soviet rule brought an almost complete destruction of existing local intelligentsia, clerks, urban businessmen, and richer farmers, targeted as class enemies, regardless of ethnicity. In addition, it brought over the years a harsh denationalization policy. Deportations of locals to northern Urals, Siberia, and Kazakhstan occurred regularly throughout the Stalinist period, with the most massive ones on 12-13 June 1941, and 5-6 July 1949, each accounting for ca. 40,000 deportees. Ca. 10,000 political prisoners were executed, many more sent to camps. The drought of 1946, the forced agricultural requisitions massively employed given that the farmers could not meet the exaggerated delivery quota obligations the state has imposed on them, in absence of a large part of the young male work force (most of the Bessarabians enrolled in 1944 into the Soviet Army were not discharged until late 1946) resulted in the Moldavian famine (1946-1947), which resulted in 216,000 deaths and ca. 350,000 cases of dystrophy in MSSR alone. Similar events have occurred before 1940 in Transnistria. In 1944-52, there were up to a dozen anti-Communist armed resistance groups active in Moldova; however the NKVD/KGB managed to uproot most of them with arrests and deportation.

After World War II, a large number of ethnic Russians and Ukrainians (commonly known as Russophones) immigrated into the new Soviet republic, especially into urbanized areas.

The Soviet government began a campaign to promote a Moldovan ethnic identity, different from that of the Romanians, based on a theory developed during the existence of the Moldovan ASSR. Official Soviet policy asserted that the language spoken by Moldovans was distinct from the Romanian language (see History of the Moldovan language). Moldovan was written in the Cyrillic alphabet, in contrast with Romanian, which was written in the Latin alphabet (the language had used a different variant of the Cyrillic alphabet before 1860; as do many languages, Moldovan incorporated slight changes to the Cyrillic alphabet — which is commonly thought of as "the Russian alphabet" — most notably, the use of the letter zhe with a breve (Ӂ - ӂ) to indicate the sound /dʒ/).

Between 1965 and 1972, there was an attempt by a number of local intellectuals and students to create a movement for the promotion of Romanian culture and to force the state to employ more Romanians in the government, but the KGB managed to crack down.

In 1970s and 1980s, Moldavian SSR received substantial allocations from the budget of the USSR to develop industrial and scientific facilities as well as housing. In 1971, the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a decision "About the measures for further development of the city of Kishinev", that alloted more than one billion Soviet rubles from the USSR budget; subsequent decisions also directed substantial funding and brought qualified specialists from other parts of the USSR to develop Moldova's industry. This influx of investments was stopped in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, when Moldova became independent.

Independent Moldova

Along with the other peripheral Soviet republics, Moldova started to move towards independence from 1988 onwards; on August 31, 1989 a language law was passed, adopting the Latin alphabet for Moldovan and declaring it the state language of the MSSR. The first free elections for the local parliament were held in February and March 1990.

After the attempted Moscow Putsch, on August 27, 1991 Moldova declared its independence, and in December of that year signed to be a member of the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) along with most of the former Soviet republics. Declaring itself a neutral state, it did not join the military branch of the CIS. At the end of that year, a former communist reformer, Mircea Snegur, won an unchallenged election for the presidency. Three months later, the country achieved formal recognition as an independent state at the United Nations.

The part of Moldova east of the Dniester river, Transnistria, which included a larger proportion of ethnic Russians and Ukrainians, claimed independence in 1990, fearing the rise of nationalism in Moldova and the country's expected unification with Romania at the dissolution of the USSR. This caused a brief military conflict between Moldova and forces supporting separation of Transnistria in 1992. Russian military stationed in the region (14th Army) intervened on the Transnistrian side; it also remained on Moldovan territory east of the Dniester after the end of the military conflict, despite signing international obligations to withdraw, and against the will of Moldovan government, where they remain to this day. Negotiations between the Transnistrian and Moldovan leaders have been going on under the mediation of OSCE, Russia, and Ukraine, lately with observers from the European Union, and the USA.

Despite the early expectations of the Popular Front of Moldova, Moldova did not unite with Romania in 1991. In the early 1990s, the future of Moldova was a source of tension in Romania's relations with Russia. A March 1994 referendum of the new constitution, which contained elements that could be regarded as a cooling of relationships with Romania, saw an overwhelming majority of voters in support.

In 2001, the country became a member of the WTO. During the first 10 years of independence, Moldova was governed by coalitions of different parties, led mostly by former communist officials. The 1998 economic crisis in Russia, Moldova's main economic partner at the time, produced a political and economic crisis in the country. The political flux was cleared in 2001 when elections saw the Communist Party of Moldova win the majority of seats in the Parliament. Its leader Vladimir Voronin was appointed as president. In economic terms, the crisis impelled an emigration of labor, as well as permanent emigration from Moldova. According to the census data, from 1989 to 2004, Moldova has lost ca. 400,000 inhabitants, or 9% of the population. Analysts estimate that the actual emigration could be higher, as many seasonal workers remain registered as living in the country. Over 100,000 people from other former Soviet states have returned to Moldova in the 10 years after its independence. Ethnically, the dominant group (Moldavians/Romanians) has somewhat strengthened its position, representing 79% outside Transnistria, or 71.5% including Transnistria. In absolute numbers, Moldovas/Romanians lost ca. 50,000 comparing to 1989, while Ukrainians and Russians, ca. 200,000 each; most of this change is believed to have occurred between 1998 and 2004.

After a few years in power, relationships between Moldova and Russia deteriorated in November 2003 over a Russian proposal for the solution of the Transnistrian conflict, which Moldovan authorities refused to accept. In the following election, held in 2005, the Communist party made a formal 180 degree turn and was re-elected on a pro-Western platform, with Voronin being re-elected to a second term as a president. Since 1999, Moldova has constantly affirmed its desire to join the European Union.. and implements its first three-year Action Plan within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) of the EU

However, the country's internal and foreign trade policy remains divided between the influence of Russia and that of the EU and USA. During 2007, Moldovan leadership has been for a large part in a vocal confrontation with, or at any rate against Romania.

Government

Moldova is a unitary, parliamentary, representative democratic republic. The Constitution of Moldova adopted in 1994 sets the framework for the government of the country. In order to amend the constitution, a parliamentary majority of at least two thirds is required. Furthermore, the constitution cannot be revised in time of war or national emergency, and no revision can be made that limits the fundamental rights enumerated in the Constitution. Furthermore, amendments to the Constitution affecting the state's sovereignty, independence, or unity can only be made after a majority of voters support the proposal in a referendum.

The country's central legislative body is the unicameral Moldovan parliament (Parlament), which has 101 seats, and whose members are elected by popular vote every four years. The head of state is the president, who is elected by Parliament, requiring the support of three fifths of the deputies (at least 61 votes). The president appoints a prime minister who functions as the head of government and who in turn assembles a cabinet, both subject to parliamentary approval. The Constitution also establishes an independent Constitutional Court, which has the power of judicial review over all acts of parliaments, Presidential decrees, and international treaties. Members of this Court is composed of six judges, two appointed by the President, Parliament, and the High Magistrates Council each. The judges serve for a term of six years, during which time they are not subordinate to any other power and cannot be removed from their posts.

Currently, the President of Moldova is Vladimir Voronin and has held this post since 2001. The main party in parliament is the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova, which holds a majority of 55 seats. Other parties with deputies in Parliament are the Party Alliance Our Moldova, the Democratic Party of Moldova, the Social Liberal Party, and the Christian-Democratic People's Party. 17 deputies to parliament are independents.

Foreign relations

After achieving independence from the Soviet Union, Moldova had established relations with other European countries. A course for European Union integration and neutrality define the country's foreign policy guidelines. In 1995 the country became the first post-Soviet state admitted to the Council of Europe. In addition to its participation in NATO's Partnership for Peace program, Moldova is also a member state of the United Nations, the OSCE, the North Atlantic Cooperation Council, the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Francophonie and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. In 2005 Moldova and EU established an action plan that sought to improve the collaboration between the two neighboring structures. The Vice President of the Moldovan Parliament Iurie Roşca signed in June 2007 a bilateral agreement with the International Parliament for Safety and Peace, an intergovernmental organization for the promotion of world peace, based in Italy & ].After the War of Transnistria, Moldova had sought a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the Transnistria region by working with Romania, Ukraine, and Russia, calling for international mediation, and cooperating with the OSCE and UN fact-finding and observer missions. On October 1st, 2007, foreign minister of Moldova, Andrei Stratan, said at UN that Russian troups are in Republic of Moldova against the will of the Moldovan Government.

Relations with Romania

In 1989, Romanian became the official language of Moldova. Following independence in 1991, the Romanian tricolor with a coat-of-arms (inspired by the coat of arms of Romania) was used as the flag, and Deşteaptă-te române!, the Romanian national anthem, also became the anthem of Moldova. In those times, there was an expectation among certain groups in both countries that they were to be united soon, and a Movement for unification of Romania and the Republic of Moldova began in both countries in the early 1990s. Dual citizenship became an increasingly important issue following the 2003 local elections, and in November 2003, the Moldovan parliament passed a law that allowed Moldovans to acquire dual citizenship. Already it is estimated that approximately half a million Moldovans have Romanian passports.

In the address to the Romanian parliament in February 1991, Mircea Snegur, the Moldovan president spoke about a common identity of the Moldovans and Romanians, referring to the "Romanians of both sides of the Prut River" and "Sacred Romanian lands occupied by the Soviets". Historically, the Romanian government had provided scholarships to Moldovan students (via a common scheme with the Moldovan Ministry of Education) at all educational levels to attend Romanian schools and universities.

However, the initial enthusiasm in Moldova was tempered and, starting in 1993, Moldova started to distance itself from Romania. The constitution adopted in 1994 used the term "Moldovan language" instead of "Romanian" and changed the national anthem to Limba noastră. The 1996 attempt by Moldovan president Mircea Snegur to change the official language to "Romanian" was dismissed by the Moldovan Parliament as "promoting Romanian expansionism".

Administrative divisions

Moldova is divided into thirty-two districts (raioane, singular raion); three municipalities (Bălţi, Chişinău, Tighina); and two autonomous regions (Găgăuzia and Transnistria). The cities of Comrat and Tiraspol also have municipality status, however not as first-tier subdivisions of Moldova, but as parts of the regions of Găgăuzia and Transnistria, respectively. The status of Transnistria is however under dispute. Although it is de jure part of Moldova and is recognized as such by the international community, Transnistria is not de facto under the control of the central government of Moldova. It is administered by an unrecognized breakaway authority under the name Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic.

Geography

The largest part of the country lies between two rivers, the Dniester and the Prut. Moldova's rich soil and temperate continental climate (with warm summers and mild winters) have made the country one of the most productive agricultural regions and a major supplier of agricultural products in the region.

The western border of Moldova is formed by the Prut river, which joins the Danube before flowing into the Black Sea. In the north-east, the Dniester is the main river, flowing through the country from north to south.

The country is landlocked, even though it is very close to the Black Sea. While the northern part of the country is hilly, elevations never exceed 430 metres (1,411 ft)—the highest point being the Dealul Bălăneşti. The country's main cities are the capital Chişinău, in the center of the country, Tiraspol (in Transnistria), Bălţi and Tighina.

Economy

Moldova enjoys a favorable climate and good farmland but has no major mineral deposits. As a result, the economy depends heavily on agriculture, featuring fruits, vegetables, Moldovan wine, and tobacco. Because of this country is considered to have the cleanest air in the world . Moldova must import all of its supplies of petroleum, coal, and natural gas, largely from Russia. After the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991, energy shortages contributed to sharp production declines. As part of an ambitious economic liberalization effort, Moldova introduced a convertible currency, freed all prices, stopped issuing preferential credits to state enterprises, backed steady land privatization, removed export controls, and freed interest rates. The government entered into agreements with the World Bank and the IMF to promote growth. Recent trends indicate that the Communist government intends to reverse some of these policies, and recollectivise land while placing more restrictions on private business. The economy returned to positive growth, of 2.1% in 2000 and 6.1% in 2001. Growth remained strong in 2002, in part because of the reforms and because of starting from a small base. Further liberalization is in doubt because of strong political forces backing government controls. The economy remains vulnerable to higher fuel prices, poor agricultural weather, and the skepticism of foreign investors. In agriculture, the economic reform started with the land cadastre reform.

Following the regional financial crisis in 1998, Moldova has made significant progress towards achieving and retaining macroeconomic and financial stabilization. It has, furthermore, implemented many structural and institutional reforms that are indispensable for the efficient functioning of a market economy. These efforts have helped maintain macroeconomic and financial stability under difficult external circumstances, enabled the resumption of economic growth and contributed to establishing an environment conducive to the economy’s further growth and development in the medium term. Despite these efforts, and despite the recent resumption of economic growth, Moldova still ranks low in terms of commonly-used living standards and human development indicators in comparison with other transition economies. Although the economy experienced a constant economic growth after 2000: with 2.1%, 6.1%, 7,8% and 6,3% between 2000 and 2003 (with a forecast of 8% in 2004), one can observe that these latest developments hardly reach the level of 1994, with almost 40% of the GDP registered in 1990. Thus, during the last decade little has been done to reduce the country’s vulnerability. After a severe economic decline, social and economic challenges, energy uprooted dependencies, Moldova continues to occupy one of the last places among European countries in income per capita.

In 2002 (Human Development Report 2004), the registered GDP per capita was US $381, equivalent to US $ 1,470 PPP, which is 5.3 times lower than the world average (US $ 7,804). Moreover, GDP per capita is under the average of all regions in the world, including Sub-Saharan Africa (US $ 1,790 PPP). In 2004, about 40% of the population were under the absolute poverty line and registered an income lower than US $ 2.15 (PPP) per day. Moldova is classified as medium in human development and is at the 113th spot in the list of 177 countries. The value of the Human Development Index (0.681) is below the world average. Moldova remains the poorest country in Europe in terms of GDP per capita: $ 2,500 in 2006.

Information technology and telecommunications

In 2004, the volume of investment in the telecommunications and information market in Moldova increased by 30.1% in comparison with 2003, achieving 825.3 million lei (65.5 million US dollars). The representatives of the National Agency for Telecommunications and Information Regulation stated that 451 million lei (35.9 million dollars) were invested in the field of fixed telephone communication. Investments constituted 330 million lei (26.2 million dollars) in the field of mobile telephony, 24.2 million lei (1.9 million dollars) in the field of Internet services, 19.1 million lei (1.5 million dollars) in the field of cable television services. An essential increase of 163 million lei (12.9 million dollars) has been achieved in the field of mobile telephony. In comparison with 2003, investments in this sector practically doubled. An insignificant increase was registered in the other market segments, but the investment volume remained the same in the field of fixed telephone communication.

In 2005, investments in telecommunication and information technology exceeded the level of the previous year, due to the investments by the national operator of the stationary telephone communications in the Joint-Stock Company Moldtelecom for the implementation of CDMA technology, the investments of the operators of mobile telephony Orange and Moldcell in the development of infrastructure, and the extension and improvement of Internet access services via new broadband technologies.

Demographics

Ethnic composition

Given that the definition of ethnic groups is the subject of an ongoing dispute, the following data must be treated with caution. The main controversy, concerns the identity between Moldovans and Romanians, as well as between the corresponding Moldovan and Romanian languages (see Moldovan language). The distinction between Moldovans and Romanians has been a greatly disputed political issue with one side arguing that Moldovans constitute an ethnic group separate from the Romanian ethnos, whereas others claim that Moldovans in both Romania and Moldova are simply a subgroup of the Romanian ethnos, similar to Transylvanians, Oltenians, and other groups (see Moldovans).

The last reference data is that of the 2004 Moldovan Census and the 2004 Census in Transnistria:

Note: Transnistrian authorities published only the percentage of ethnic groups; the number of people was calculated from those percentages. The number or percentage of Romanians in Transnistria was not published; it is included in "others".

According to the Moldova Azi news agency, a group of international census experts described the 2004 Moldovan census as "generally conducted in a professional manner", while remarking that "a few topics… were potentially more problematic", in particular:

1. The census includes at least some Moldovans who had been living abroad over one year at the time of the census.
2. * The precision of numbers about nationality/ethnicity and language was questioned. Some enumerators apparently encouraged respondents to declare that they were "Moldovan" rather than "Romanian", and even within a single family there may have been confusion about these terms. Also it is unclear how many respondents consider the term "Moldovan" to signify an ethnic identity other than "Romanian".

Religion

Orthodox Christians were not required in the census to declare the particular church they belong to. The Moldovan Orthodox Church, autonomous and subordinated to the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Orthodox Church of Bessarabia, autonomous and subordinated to the Romanian Orthodox Church, both claim to be the national church of the country.

Judaism in Moldova is practiced by the Jewish population estimated at 1.5% as of 2000.

Culture

Located geographically at the crossroads of Latin and Slavic cultures, Moldova has enriched its own culture adopting and maintaining some of the traditions of its neighbors. Prince Dimitrie Cantemir was one of the most important figures of Moldavian culture of the 18th century. He wrote the first geographical, ethnographical and economic description of the country in his Descriptio Moldaviae (Berlin, 1714). Mihai Eminescu was a late romantic poet, probably the best-known and most influential Romanian language poet.

Language controversy

The Constitution of Moldova states that the Moldovan language is the state language of the country. However, the term "Moldovan" is the official name for the Romanian language in the Republic of Moldova, In Moldova's declaration of independence, the same language is called Romanian. The usage of the term Moldovan language is limited only to some political spheres, whereas "Romanian" is used on all other occasions: "Romanian" is the term used in schools, media and even in legislative areas, such as administration or law.

There is no particular linguistic break at the Prut river, which divides Moldova from Romania. In formal use, the languages are virtually identical. The common speech of areas such as Chişinău or Transnistria can be distinguished from the speech of Iaşi, a Romanian city that is also part of the former Principality of Moldavia, however the difference in the common speech between Iaşi and the capital of Romania Bucharest is even greater. Linguistically, Moldovan is considered one of the five major spoken dialects of Romanian, all five being written identically. In general, before 1988-89, the less educated, the greater the difference from standard Romanian, and the more words were borrowed ad hoc from Russian into the daily speech. There are, however, more differences between the colloquial spoken languages of Moldova and Romania, most significantly due to the influence of Russian in Moldova which was not present in Romania. These differences in speech vocabulary are being slowly diluted after 1989. A significant minority speaks native Russian, and there are more Slavicisms in common speech in Moldova than in common speech in Romania. Nonetheless, Moldovans are generally aware when they are using a word of Slavic origin not found in common Romanian, and are capable of choosing whether or not to use these words in a particular context.

See also

v t e Moldova articles
History	Prehistoric Balkans Dacia Principality of Moldavia Bessarabia Moldavian Democratic Republic Union with Romania Greater Romania Moldavian SSR Gagauzia conflict Gagauz Republic Transnistria conflict Transnistria Transnistria War Declaration of independence Post-independence 2015–2016 protests
Geography	Climate Earthquakes Fauna Birds Protected areas Rivers Danube Dniester Prut Rudi Geodetic Point Subdivisions Cities and towns Communes Localities Autonomous territories Gagauzia Left Bank of the Dniester
Politics	Cabinet Constitution Corruption Elections Foreign relations Government Human rights LGBT rights Law enforcement Military Parliament Political parties President Prime Minister Unification with Romania
Economy	Agriculture Central Bank Leu (currency) Communications Energy Poverty Tourism Transport
Society	Crime Demographics Education Health care Moldovans Languages of Moldova Religion Culture Cinema Costume Cuisine Wine Holidays Literature Music Controversy over identity Moldovan language Symbols Sport
Outline Index Category Portal Transnistria topics

Gallery

• Monument to Stephen the Great of Moldova
• Triumphal Arch, Chişinău
• Moldovan Orthodox church
• Rose Valley Chişinău Rose Valley Chişinău

Notes

1. ^ Template:Ro iconArticle 13, line 1 - of Constitution of Republic of Moldova
2. Moldova Azi
3. Biroul Naţional de Statistică al Republicii Moldova
4. Moldova
5. The Nationalism Project: Book Review of The Moldovans
6. 88 years ago Bessarabia voted the unification with Romania
7. http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=events.event_summary&event_id=5940 panel of experts discussed the prospects for implementation of the 1999 OSCE Istanbul summit decisions committing Russia to withdrawing its military forces from Moldova and Georgia by December 31, 2002
8. http://www.moldpres.md/default.asp?Lang=en&ID=68715 ( "Voronin highlighted, that we will strive for becoming an EU member")
9. Moldova-EU Action Plan Approved by European Commission, http://www.azi.md, 14 December 2004, retrieved 2 July 2007
10. "The first Russian census after the annexation (1816) revealed a province almost solidly Roumanian - of a population of about half a million, 92.5 % Moldavian and Ukrainian, 1.5 % Lipovans (Russian heterodox), 4.5% Jews, 1.6% other races"
11. text from a 1927 source: "Today, the Bulgarians form one of the most solid elements in Southern Bessarabia, numbering (with the Gagaoutzi, Turkish-speaking Christians also from the Dobrudja) nearly 150,000. Colonization brought in numerous Great Russian peasants, and the Russian bureaucracy imported Russian office-holders and professional men; according to the Roumanian estimate of 1920, the Great Russians were about 75,000 in number (2.9% ), and the Lipovans and Cossacks 59,000 (2.2% ) ; the Little Russians (Ukrainians) came to 254,000 (9.6%). That, plus about 10,000 Poles, brings the total number of Slavs to 545,000 in a population of 2,631,000, or about one-fifth"
12. Cazacu (1912), A Century of Serfdom text: "The Russians are now holding their celebration of a century of material possession of Bessarabia. But her spirit they do not possess, nor shall they ever possess it. In the celebration of the Russians, the Moldavians have no share except that of deep and painful silence. The whole Roumanian people feels this pain, and does not lose hope that Bessarabia, and with her the Roumanian people, will have a chance to celebrate in her turn the day of salvation. It will come. History repeats itself so often, and the historical maxim remains: Babylon was, the Empire of Alexander of Macedon was, the Roman Empire was, the Byzantine Empire was, and the time will come to say of other empires also-they were. Not so long ago was 1855 with the Crimea, and not so long ago was Port Arthur and Tzushima, and-Great is the Lord God of Hosts!-it will be again, surely it will be again!"
13. Sfatul Tarii ... proclamate Moldavian Democratic Republic
14. Charles Upson Clark (1927). "24:The Decay of Russian Setiment". Bessarabia: Russia and Roumania on the Black Sea - View Across Dniester From Hotin Castle. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
15. Pelivan (Chronology)
16. Cazacu (Moldova, pp. 240-245).
17. Cristina Petrescu, "Contrasting/Conflicting Identities:Bessarabians, Romanians, Moldovans" in Nation-Building and Contested Identities, Polirom, 2001, pg. 156
18. Wayne S Vucinich, Bessarabia In: Collier's Encyclopedia (Crowell Collier and MacMillan Inc., 1967) vol. 4, p. 103
19. Cristina Petrescu, "Contrasting/Conflicting Identities:Bessarabians, Romanians, Moldovans" in Nation-Building and Contested Identities, Polirom, 2001, pg. 159
20. Cristina Petrescu, "Contrasting/Conflicting Identities:Bessarabians, Romanians, Moldovans" in Nation-Building and Contested Identities, Polirom, 2001, pg. 157-8
21. Soviet Ultimata and Replies of the Romanian Government in Ioan Scurtu, Theodora Stănescu-Stanciu, Georgiana Margareta Scurtu, Istoria Românilor între anii 1918-1940 (in Romanian), University of Bucharest, 2002
22. Goma, Paul (2006). Săptămâna Roşie. p. 23.
23. Nagy-Talavera, Nicolas M. (1970). Green Shirts and Others: a History of Fascism in Hungary and Romania. p. 305.
24. Paul Goma (2006). Săptămâna Roşie. p. 206.
25. Legea cu privire la functionarea limbilor vorbite pe teritoriul RSS Moldovenesti Nr.3465-XI din 01.09.89 Vestile nr.9/217, 1989 (Law regarding the usage of languages spoken on the territory of the Republic of Moldova): "Moldavian SSR supports the desire of the Moldovans that live across the borders of the Republic, and considering the existing linguistical Moldo-Romanian identity - of the Romanians that live on the territory of the USSR, of doing their studies and satisfying their cultural needs in their maternal language."
26. http://www.mfa.md/pressa-si-relatii-publice/new-york-01102007/ Reiterez, cu acest prilej, poziţia Republicii Moldova, potrivit căreia îndeplinirea angajamentelor asumate la Istanbul în 1999 de Federaţia Rusă, ale căror trupe staţionează pe teritoriul Republicii Moldova, contrar voinţei ţării noastre, va crea premizele necesare pentru ratificarea şi punerea în aplicare a Tratatului FACE Adaptat.
27. http://www.jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2368523 MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT WANTS OUT OF RUSSIA'S ORBIT
28. http://www.moldpres.md/default.asp?Lang=en&ID=68715 ( "Voronin highlighted, that we will strive for becoming an EU member")
29. Itar-Tass
30. Moldova-EU Action Plan Approved by European Commission, http://www.azi.md, 14 December 2004, retrieved 2 July 2007
31. http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/pdf/action_plans/moldova_enp_ap_final_en.pdf EU/MOLDOVA ACTION PLAN
32. ^ Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. The Constitution of the Republic of Moldova 2000. Retrieved 11-14, 2007
33. Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. Parliamentary Factions Retrieved 11-14, 2007
34. Template:Ro icon http://www.mfa.md/pressa-si-relatii-publice/new-york-01102007/ Reiterez, cu acest prilej, poziţia Republicii Moldova, potrivit căreia îndeplinirea angajamentelor asumate la Istanbul în 1999 de Federaţia Rusă, ale căror trupe staţionează pe teritoriul Republicii Moldova, contrar voinţei ţării noastre, va crea premizele necesare pentru ratificarea şi punerea în aplicare a Tratatului FACE Adaptat.
35. http://enarpri.org/wp.php?article_id=222 Already it is estimated that approximately half a million Moldovans have Romanian passports.
36. ^ World Gazetteer. Moldova:largest cities 2004. Retrieved 11-14, 2007
37. ^ Pridnestrovie.net 2004 Census 2004. Retrieved 11-14, 2007
38. GRÜN und lebenswert: Eine Rangliste der besten (und schlechtesten) Länder, (deutsch).
39. CIA - The World Factbook - Moldova 6 September 2007
40. Template:Ro icon Official results of 2004 Moldovan census
41. Experts Offering to Consult the National Statistics Bureau in Evaluation of the Census Data, Moldova Azi, May 19, 2005, story attributed to AP Flux. Retrieved October 11, 2005.
42. Template:La icon Descriptio Moldaviae at Latin Wikisource
43. Template:Ro icon "Concepţia politicii naţionale a Republicii Moldova" Moldovan Parliament
44. Template:Ro iconDeclaraţia de independenţa a Republicii Moldova, Moldova Suverană
45. A Field Guide to the Main Languages of Europe - Spot that language and how to tell them apart, on the website of the European Commission
46. Kogan Page 2004, p 242
47. State Registry of Legal Acts in Moldova

External links

• Official site
• Official governmental site
• Official web site of the Parliament
• The EU's relations with Moldova (European Commission site)
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Embassy of the Republic of Moldova in the United States of America
• Embassy of the United States of America in the Republic of Moldova
• Elections in Moldova 2005
• General Local Elections 2007
• U.S. Department of State 2005 report about Human Rights in Moldova
• Dimitrie Cantemir-Descrierea Moldovei

Profiles

• U.S. Department of State Post Reports - Moldova
• CIA - The World Factbook - Moldova
• ECMI - Information about Minority Issues in Moldova

Others

• MOLDOVA 2006 INVESTMENT CLIMATE STATEMENT
• Moldova: Young Women From Rural Areas Vulnerable To Human Trafficking
• OurNet — Moldova Internet Resources
• General Information about Moldova

International rankings

• Bertelsmann: Bertelsmann Transformation Index 2006, ranked 75th out of 119 countries
• Reporters without borders: Annual worldwide press freedom index (2005), ranked 74th out of 167 countries
• The Wall Street Journal: 2005 Index of Economic Freedom, ranked 77th out of 155 countries
• The Economist: The World in 2005 - Worldwide quality-of-life index, 2005, ranked 99th out of 111 countries
• Transparency International: Corruption Perceptions Index 2005, ranked 88th out of 158 countries
• United Nations Development Programme: Human Development Index 2005, ranked 116th out of 177 countries
• World Economic Forum: Global Competitiveness Report 2005-2006 - Growth Competitiveness Index Ranking, ranked 82nd out of 117 countries
• World Bank: Doing Business 2006, ranked 83rd out of 155
• World Bank: Ease of Starting a Business 2006, ranked 69th out of 155
• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development: Foreign Direct Investment Performance Index 2004, ranked 35th out of 140

Geographic locale

v t e Administrative divisions of Moldova Districts Anenii Noi Basarabeasca Briceni Cahul Cantemir Călărași Căușeni Cimișlia Criuleni Dondușeni Drochia Dubăsari Edineț Fălești Florești Glodeni Hîncești Ialoveni Leova Nisporeni Ocnița Orhei Rezina Rîșcani Sîngerei Soroca Strășeni Șoldănești Ștefan Vodă Taraclia Telenești Ungheni Autonomous territorial units Găgăuzia Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester Municipalities Bălți Bender Cahul Ceadîr-Lunga Chișinău Comrat Edineț Hîncești Orhei Soroca Strășeni Tiraspol Ungheni ^ Currently controlled by the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. v t e Countries and dependencies of Europe Sovereign states Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Vatican City States with limited recognition Abkhazia Kosovo Northern Cyprus South Ossetia Transnistria Dependent territories Denmark Faroe Islands autonomous country of the Kingdom of Denmark United Kingdom Akrotiri and Dhekelia (Sovereign Base Areas) Gibraltar (British Overseas Territory) Crown Dependencies Bailiwick of Guernsey Alderney Guernsey Sark Bailiwick of Jersey Isle of Man Special areas of internal sovereignty Finland Åland (autonomous region subject to the Åland convention of 1921) Norway Svalbard (unincorporated area subject to the Svalbard Treaty) United Kingdom England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland (country of the United Kingdom subject to the British-Irish Agreement) Spans the conventional boundary between Europe and another continent. Considered European for cultural, political and historical reasons but is geographically in Western Asia. Oceanic islands within the vicinity of Europe are usually grouped with the continent even though they are not situated on its continental shelf. Governed by the Holy See which has sovereignty over Vatican City. Category Europe portal

• Moldova
• Landlocked countries
• Russian-speaking countries and territories
• Romanian speaking countries and territories
• Ukrainan-speaking countries and territories