..... Click the link for more information. (formerly Kishinev) is the capital and largest city.
Land, People, and Government
Moldova is landlocked. The Prut River separates it from Romania in the west. In the north and east, the Dniester River forms its approximate boundary with Ukraine, on which it also borders in the south; in the east there is a narrow strip of Moldovan terrritory between the Dniester and the Ukraine border (the predominantly Russian and Ukrainian Trans-Dniester Region). Mostly a hilly plain, Moldova occupies all but the southernmost and northernmost sections of former Bessarabia Bessarabia , historic region, c.17,600 sq mi (45,600 sq km), largely in Moldova and Ukraine. It is bounded by the Dniester River on the north and east, the Prut on the west, and the Danube and the Black Sea on the south.
..... Click the link for more information. . Its proximity to the Black Sea gives it a mild climate.
About 65% of the population is Moldovan; Ukrainians and Russians make up more than a quarter of the people, and there are several smaller minorities, including the Turkish-speaking Gagauz, Bulgarians, and Jews. The Moldovan language, the official tongue, is virtually indistinguishable from Romanian, and the two groups are ethnically identical. Most of the people belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Moldova is governed under the constitution of 1994. It has an elected 101-member parliament and a popularly elected president who serves as head of state. The country is divided into 32 raions (districts or counties), 3 municipalities, and 2 territorial units, one of which (Gagauzia) is autonomous.
Economy
Moldova's fertile soil supports wheat, corn, barley, tobacco, sugar beets, soybeans, and sunflowers, as well as extensive fruit orchards, vineyards, and walnut groves. Horticulture is important for the production of essences such as rose oil and lavender. Beef and dairy cattle are raised, and beekeeping and silkworm breeding are widespread. Industries include food processing, metallurgy, engineering, and the manufacture of textiles, agricultural machinery, and electrical equipment. After achieving independence, Moldova took steps toward converting to a market economy and launched an ambitious privatization program, but the country largely remains undeveloped industrially and ranks as one of the poorest nations of Europe. Many Moldovans have sought work abroad. Exports are chiefly agricultural products. Moldova imports all of its oil, coal, and natural gas, as well as steel, machinery, and automobiles. The principal trading partners are Russia, Ukraine, and other former Soviet republics.
History
A historic passageway between Asia and S Europe, Moldova was often subject to invasion and warfare. It is historically part of a greater Moldavia, the main part of which was an independent principality in the 14th cent. and came under Ottoman Turkish rule in the 16th cent. It became a highly fortified Turkish border region and was a frequent target in Russo-Turkish wars. East Moldavia passed to Russia in 1791. Russia acquired further Moldavian territory in 1793 and especially in 1812, when the Russians received all of Bessarabia (the name for the area of Moldavia between the Prut and Dniester rivers). The rest of Moldavia Moldavia , historic Romanian province (c.14,700 sq mi/38,100 sq km), extending from the Carpathians in Romania east to the Dnieper River in Moldova.
Land and Economy
Moldavia borders on Ukraine in the northeast and on Walachia in the south.
..... Click the link for more information. remained with the Turks and later passed to Romania, which seized Bessarabia in 1918.
In 1924, the USSR, refusing to sanction the seizure, established the Moldavian ASSR in Ukraine, with Balta and then (1929) Tiraspol as the capital. Romania was forced to cede Bessarabia to the USSR in 1940. The predominantly Ukrainian districts in the south and around Khotin in the north were incorporated into Ukraine, as were parts of the Moldavian ASSR; the rest was merged with what remained of the Moldavian ASSR and made a constituent republic (the Moldavian SSR). Taken by Romania in 1941, the republic was reconquered by the USSR in 1944. In June, 1990, the Moldavian SSR adopted a measure calling for greater sovereignty within the USSR. In Aug., 1991, Moldova, which is the Romanian name of the region, was declared an independent republic; Mircea Snegur was elected president, and it reluctantly joined the Russian-dominated Commonwealth of Independent States Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), community of independent nations established by a treaty signed at Minsk, Belarus, on Dec. 8, 1991, by the heads of state of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. Between Dec. 8 and Dec.
..... Click the link for more information. (CIS).
With independence, a guerrilla war began that sought secession of the Trans-Dniester Region Trans-Dniester Region or Transnistria, region (2004 preliminary pop. 555,000), E Moldova, between the Dniester River and the Ukrainian border.
..... Click the link for more information. , where there were many ethnic Russians who feared a Moldovan merger with Romania. In 1992 a cease-fire went into effect that granted limited autonomy to the region, and Russian troops were stationed there. In 1995, in a move termed illegal by the central government, residents overwhelmingly voted for independence from Moldova. A peace accord was signed in 1997, giving the region more autonomy but agreeing that Moldova would remain a single state; relations between the region and central government are occasionally tense. Gagauzia, a region dominated by ethnic Turks, was granted limited autonomy in 1994, with the right to secede in the event Moldova should merge with Romania.
In the first post-Soviet parliamentary elections in Moldova (1994), Snegur's Agrarian Democratic Party (ADP), running on a centrist platform and in opposition to unification with Romania, won a majority. Intraparty conflicts led to a split in the ADP in mid-1995, when Snegur organized the new centrist Party of Revival and Harmony. The pro-Moscow faction remained within the ADP. A crisis was precipitated in Mar., 1996, when Snegur attempted to remove the defense minister. The largely ADP army resisted Snegur's order, and his actions were subsequently ruled unconstitutional.
Petru Lucinschi, a former Communist running as an independent, won a presidential runoff election against Snegur in Dec., 1996. A coalition of center-right parties formed a goverment following legislative elections in 1998, although Communists won the largest bloc of seats in parliament. In 1999, Russia agreed to withdraw its remaining troops from Moldova by 2001, but about 1,500 remain in the Trans-Dniester Region. The Communist party won nearly 50% of the vote and 71 parliamentary seats in the 2001 elections; subsequently, Vladimir Voronin, a Communist, was elected president. Although they came to power advocating closer relations with Russia, the Communists became increasingly pro-Western during the subsequent four years.
A Russian-sponsored accord on the Trans-Dniester Region was rejected in Nov., 2003, after mass demonstrations against it by Moldovans; the agreement would have permitted Russian troops to stay in the region in a buffer zone until 2020. An attempt by Trans-Dniester to force the use of the Cyrillic alphabet in its Moldovan-language schools led to heightened tensions between the breakaway region and Moldova in 2004, and led to economic retaliation by Moldova.
In the 2005 parliamentary elections the Communists won 46% of the vote and 56 seats, and the new parliament reelected Voronin. In mid-2005 the parliament passed a law that offered Trans-Dniester a special regional status in exchange for an end to its separatist movement. Moldova secured some leverage over Trans-Dniester in Mar., 2006, when Ukraine, partly in response to European Union concerns about smuggling, began requiring that goods coming from Trans-Dniester clear Moldovan customs. Russia subsequently (Apr., 2006) imposed a ban on the importation of Moldovan wines, brandies, and meat, ostensibly for sanitary reasons. In Sept., 2006, Trans-Dniester held a referendum in which voters called for the region's independence and union with Russia, but it had little effect on the stalemate concerning the region's status. After Moldova threatened (Nov., 2006) to link its trade dispute with Russia to Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization, Russia and Moldova reached an agreement under which the importation bans would be lifted.
Moldova
officially Republic of Moldova)
)
Moldova
Official name: Republic of Moldova
Capital city: Chisinau (Kishinev; pronounced kee-sheenow)
Internet country code: .md
Flag description: Same color scheme as Romania - three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; emblem in center of flag is of a Roman eagle of gold outlined in black with a red beak and talons carrying a yellow cross in its beak and a green olive branch in its right talons and a yellow scepter in its left talons; on its breast is a shield divided horizontally red over blue with a stylized ox head, star, rose, and crescent all in black-outlined yellow
National anthem: “Limba noastr˘a-i o comoar˘a” (first line), lyrics by Alexei Mateevici, music by Alexandru Cristea
Geographical description: Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania
Total area: 13,000 sq. mi. (33,843 sq. km.)
Climate: Moderate winters, warm summers
Nationality: noun: Moldovan(s); adjective: Moldovan
Population: 4,320,490 (July 2007 CIA est.)
Ethnic groups: Moldovan/Romanian 78.2%, Ukrainian 8.4%, Russian 5.8%, Gagauz 4.4%, Bulgarian 1.9%, other 1.3%
Languages spoken: Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian, Ukrainian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)
Religions: Eastern Orthodox 98%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist and other 0.5%
Legal Holidays:
| Independence Day | Aug 27 |
| International Women's Day | Mar 8 |
| Labor Day | May 1 |
| Limba Noastra National Language Day | Aug 31 |
| New Year's Day | Jan 1 |
| Victory Day | May 9 |
Moldova
a historical region in eastern Rumania situated between the Eastern Carpathians on the west and the Prut River on the east. Today the region encompasses the districts of Bacău, Vaslui, Vrancea, Galaţi, Neamţ, and laşj and part of the districts of Botoşani and Suceava.
The first human settlements in Moldova date from the Paleolithic. From the sixth century B.C. it was settled by the Thracian Geto-Dacian tribes, Scythians, Bastarnians, and other peoples. In the middle of the first century B.C., Burebista, leader of the Geto-Dacian military tribal alliance centered in Transylvania, extended his rule over Moldova. In the fourth and fifth centuries the region was invaded by the Huns, and in the sixth and seventh centuries it was settled by Slavs, who had a considerable influence on the local population and played a large role in the development of feudal relations in Moldova. Between the tenth and 12th centuries Moldova suffered devastating raids by the Pechenegs and Polovtsy, and in the 13th and first half of the 14th centuries it was under the domination of the Golden Horde. In the 14th century it became a vassal of the Hungarian crown. In 1359, Moldova, along with Bessarabia and Bukovina, became part of the Principality of Moldavia, which contributed to the further development of feudal relations in Moldova. In 1456, during the reign of Hospodar Petru Aron (1454-57), the Principality of Moldavia was obliged to recognize the suzerainty of the Turkish sultan and pay tribute.
The Principality of Moldavia was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. The oppression of local and Turkish feudal lords provoked antifeudal peasant uprisings. The principality’s struggle for liberation was supported by other states, particularly Russia. Its hospodars concluded numerous military and political alliances with the Russian state. Stephen III the Great (ruled 1457-1504) entered into an alliance with Ivan III, Petru Rares (1527-38 and 1541-46) with Ivan IV, and Dmitrii Kantemir (1710-11) with Peter I. In the reign of the Walachian hospodar Michael the Brave (1593-1601), Moldova, Walachia, and Transylvania briefly formed a single state. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1710-13 the population of Moldova fought alongside Russian troops. After 1711 the Turkish sultan began to appoint hospodars for Moldova from among the Greek Phanariots, and Turkish-Phanariot oppression led to increased feudal exploitation of the peasantry. The intensification of national and social oppression gave rise to a broad liberation movement among the masses.
Turkey’s defeats in the Russo-Turkish wars of the 18th and 19th centuries reduced both Moldova’s and Walachia’s dependence on Turkey. The Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji of 1774 confirmed Russia’s protection over the Danubian principalities (Moldova and Walachia). However, after the Russo-Turkish War of 1806-12 and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Moldova, where they had been stationed since the beginning of the war, the authority of the Turkish sultan was reestablished over the area. Under the Bucharest Peace Treaty of 1812, the territory between the Dnestr and the Prut (Bessarabia) and part of northern Bukovina passed to Russia; the remainder of Bukovina had been under Hapsburg rule since 1774. The uprising against the Turkish feudal lords, local boyars, and Greek Phanariots that broke out in Walachia in 1821 also enveloped many parts of Moldova. Although the uprising was defeated, the Phanariot regime was abolished and hospodars were henceforth appointed from among the local boyars.
The Russo-Turkish Treaty of Adrianople of 1829 gave greater autonomy to Moldova and Walachia and stipulated that Russian troops were to remain in both regions. In 1832 the Organic Statute was adopted, providing for socioeconomic, political, and administrative changes and promoting closer relations between Moldova and Walachia. A further step toward the unification of Moldova and Walachia was the abolition of customs barriers between them in 1847. A movement to introduce bourgeois reforms began in Moldova in March 1848. Although the movement was suppressed, it dealt a strong blow to the feudal order.
During the Crimean War (1853-56), Moldova was occupied by Russian and later by Austrian and Turkish troops. Under the Treaty of Paris of 1856, Russian protection of the Danubian principalities was replaced by a “guaranty” of the signatory powers, and southern Bessarabia was incorporated into Moldova. In accordance with the Paris Convention of Aug. 7, 1858, signed by Great Britain, Austria, France, Russia, Prussia, Turkey, and Piedmont, Moldova and Walachia were designated the United Principalities of Moldavia and Walachia. The convention provided for the creation of joint governmental organs, although in fact power remained in the hands of the separate governments of Moldova and Walachia under the suzerainty of the Turkish sultan. Unification was achieved through the election of Colonel A. Cuza as hospodar of Moldova on Jan. 5, 1859, and of Walachia on Jan. 24, 1859. The united Principality of Rumania was established in January 1862.
Moldova
a river in Rumania and a right tributary of the Siret in the Danube basin. It is 205 km long and drains an area of about 4,300 sq km. Rising in the Eastern Carpathians, in its upper course it flows through a narrow, deep valley that broadens to 3-5 km. High water occurs in spring and low water in summer, and the river is frozen for two to three months in winter. It is not navigable but is used to float timber. The city of Roman is situated near its mouth.
Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
| ?Page tools | ||
|---|---|---|
|