Moldova

For other uses of "Moldova" and "Moldavia", see Moldova (disambiguation).

Moldova Republica Moldova Republic of Moldova
Motto: Limba noastră-i o comoară   Our language is a treasure
Anthem: Limba noastră   Our Language
Location of  Moldova  (orange) on the European continent  (white)
Capital (and largest city)		Chişinău 47°0′N, 28°55′E
Official languages		MoldovanArticle 13, line 1 - of Constitution of Republic of Moldova(Romanian(Romanian)Paragraph 7 of the Declaration of Independence of Moldova, cf Moldova Suverana No 125-126 from 08/25/2006, retrived March,3, 2008 )1
Demonym		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	33,844 km² (139th) 13,067 sq mi
-	Water (%)	1.4
Population
-	2008(Romanian)Preliminary number of the stable population of the Republic of Moldova at January 1, 2008 and 2004 census of Transdnestian region: http://pridnestrovie.net/facts.html#population estimate	4,128,047 (121st³)
-	2004 census	3,383,332²
-	Density	121,9/km² (87st) 316/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2007 estimate
-	Total	$9,367 million (141st)
-	Per capita	$2,962 (135th)
Gini (2003)		33.2 (medium)
HDI (2007)		▲ 0.708 (medium) (111th)
Currency		Moldovan leu (MDL)
Time zone		EET (UTC+2)
-	Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Internet TLD		.md
Calling code		+373
1	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.
2	2004 census from National Bureau of Statistics. Figure does not include Transnistria and Bender.
3	Ranking based on 2005 UN figure including Transnistria.

Moldova, or, in full, the Republic of Moldova (rarely, Moldavia; Romanian: Moldova, 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,Moldova Azi identical to Romanian. 11% of the population uses Russian as the native language.Biroul Naţional de Statistică al Republicii Moldova It is one of only two states in the world with a democratically-elected communist government.

In the middle ages, the part of the present territory of Moldova west of the river Dniester was part of the Principality of Moldavia, and it was annexedMoldovaThe Nationalism Project: Book Review of The Moldovans88 years ago Bessarabia voted the unification with Romania from the latter, then a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, by the Russian Empire in 1812, under the name of Bessarabia. Upon the dissolution of the Russian Empire in 1917-1918, Bessarabia joined 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. With the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, the Moldavian SSR held free elections in February 1990, after which it changed its name to SSR Moldova, and then to Republic of Moldova. Moldova declared its independence from the USSR on August 27, 1991. Despite signing international obligations to withdrawThe 1999 OCSE Istanbul Summit Decisions on Moldova and Georgia: Prospects for Implementation at Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Russian forces have remained on Moldovan territory; since 1993 they have been stationed in the breakaway republic of Transnistria.

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.Moldova will prove that it can and has chances to become EU member, Moldpress News Agency, June 19, 2007 and is implementing its first three-year Action Plan within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) of the EU.Moldova-EU Action Plan Approved by European Commission, December 14 2004, retrieved July 2 2007

Contents 1 History 1.1 Soviet era 1.2 Independent Moldova 2 Post-Independence Politics 3 Government 3.1 Foreign relations 3.1.1 Relations with Romania 4 Administrative divisions 5 Geography 6 Economy 6.1 Information technology and telecommunications 7 Demographics 7.1 Ethnic composition 7.2 Religion 8 Culture 8.1 Language controversy 9 See also 10 Gallery 11 Notes 12 External links 12.1 Profiles 12.2 Others 12.3 International rankings

History

Main article: History of Moldova

Moldova\'s territory was inhabited in ancient times by Dacians. Due to its strategic location on a route between Asia and Europe, Moldova faced several invasions, including those by the Huns, 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 (in 1828) suspended the self-administration and called it Guberniya of Bessarabia, or simply Bessarabia. While the northeastern part of Moldavia, called Bukovina, was 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/Romanian population of Bessarabia was predominant."The first Russian census after the annexation (1816) revealed a province almost solidly Romanian - of a population of about half a million, 86 % Moldavian, 6.5% Ukrainian, 1.5 % Lipovans (Russian heterodox), 4.5% Jews, 1.6% other races" The colonization of the region in the 19th century lead to an increase in the 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.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 Romanian 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" With the settling of other nationals such as Gagauz, Jews, and Germans, the proportion of the Moldovan population decreased from around 80%Ion Nistor, Istoria Bassarabiei, Cernauti, 1921 to 52% by some sourcesFlavius Solomon, Die Republik Moldau und ihre Minderheiten (Länderlexikon), in Ethnodoc-Datenbank für Minderheitenforschung in Südostosteuropa, p. 52 or to 70% by others[1] during the course of the century. The Tsarist policy in Bessarabia was in part aimed at denationalization of the Romanian element by forbidding after the 1860s education and mass in Romanian. However, the effect was an extremely low literacy rate (in 1897 approx. 18% for males, approx. 4% for females) rather than a denationalization.Naturally, this system resulted not in acquisition of Russian by the Moldavians, but in their almost complete illiteracy in any language

Bessarabia (grey), Bukovina (blue), and inner Moldavia (light blue) compose the historic Principality of Moldavia. Together with Transylvania and Wallachia (dark blue), they make up Greater Romania (1918-1940). Bold lines represent the current borders. Transnistria was not part of Romania before the Soviet occupation.

World War I brought in a rise in political and cultural (national) awareness of the locals, as 300,000 Bessarabians were drafted into the Russian Army formed in 1917, within bigger units several "Moldavian Soldiers\' Committees" were formed. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, a Bessarabian parliament, Sfatul Ţării (October-November 1917), which was opened on December 3 [O.S. November 21] 1917, proclaimed the Moldavian Democratic Republic (December 15 [O.S. December 2] 1917) within a federal Russian state, and formed its government (December 21 [O.S. December 8] 1917). Bessarabia proclaimed independence from Russia (February 6 [O.S. January 24] 1918), and, under pressure from the Romanian army that entered the region in early January, on April 9 [O.S. March 27] 1918, Sfatul Ţării decided with 86 votes for, 3 against and 36 abstaining, on 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 Bukovinaand Transylvania also joined the Kingdom of Romania.Sfatul Tarii ... proclamate Moldavian Democratic RepublicCharles 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. Pelivan (Chronology)Cazacu (Moldova, pp. 240-245).Cristina Petrescu, "Contrasting/Conflicting Identities:Bessarabians, Romanians, Moldovans" in Nation-Building and Contested Identities, Polirom, 2001, pg. 156 The union was recognized in the Treaty of Paris (1920),Malbone W. Graham (October 1944). "The Legal Status of the Bukovina and Bessarabia". The American Journal of International Law 38 (4). Retrieved on 2007-12-08.  which, however, has never came into force since it was not ratified by Japan.Ioan Bulei (March. 1998). "Roma, 1924-1927". Magazin Istoric (3). Retrieved on 2008-02-26.  The newly-communist Russia did not recognize the Romanian rule over Bessarabia.Wayne S Vucinich, Bessarabia In: Collier\'s Encyclopedia (Crowell Collier and MacMillan Inc., 1967) vol. 4, p. 103 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 throughout the interwar period.Cristina Petrescu, "Contrasting/Conflicting Identities:Bessarabians, Romanians, Moldovans" in Nation-Building and Contested Identities, Polirom, 2001, pg. 159 The literacy rate grew from 10.5%Ion Nistor, Istoria Basarabiei, Cernauti, 1921 to 37% by 1930; however the region still remained lagging in the aspect of education, compared to a 60% literacy rate country average.^{[citation needed]} In an attempt to separate the Bessarabian ethnic minorities from the Russian influence, the Romanian authorities allowed education in any language desired; with time, while Romanian replaced Russian in cities, the authorities sought to reduce the number of people in minority-language education and educate them in Romanian instead.

Ştefan cel Mare; Ştefan cel Mare şi Sfânt ("Stephen the Great and Holy" in more modern versions) was Prince of Moldavia between 1457 and 1504 and the most prominent representative of the House of Muşat

Soviet era

As a result of Ribbentrop-Molotov pact (Article 4 of the secret Annex to the Treaty), Bessarabia was annexed by the USSR, as part of the sphere of influence agreed with Nazi Germany. 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.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 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.Goma, Paul (2006). Săptămâna Roşie, 23. Nagy-Talavera, Nicolas M. (1970). Green Shirts and Others: a History of Fascism in Hungary and Romania, 305.  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.Paul Goma (2006). Săptămâna Roşie, 206.  The northern and southern parts, which had sizable non-Moldovan communities (of Ukrainians, Bessarabian Bulgars, Bessarabian Germans and Lipovans), were transferred to the Ukrainian SSR as the Chernivtsi and Izmail Oblasts. At the same time, the Moldavian ASSR, where Moldovans 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, contiguous with present-day Moldova. Although Soviet troops were forced out in 1941 by the invasion of Axis forces, and Romanian adminstration was re-established. In the area now known as Transdniestria Romanian forces, working with the Germans, killed and deported 123,000 Jews.Charles King, 2000:93. Later, the Soviet Union reconquered and reannexed the area in February-August 1944.

Under early Soviet rule, deportations of locals to the northern Urals, Siberia, and Kazakhstan occurred regularly throughout the Stalinist period, with the largest ones on 12-13 June 1941, and 5-6 July 1949, each accounting for around 40,000 deportees. Around 10,000 political prisoners were executed, and many more were sent to camps. The drought of 1946, the forced agricultural requisitions employed because many farmers could not meet the exaggerated delivery quota obligations the state imposed on them, and the 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 a famine (1946-1947), which resulted in 216,000 deaths and about 350,000 cases of dystrophy in MSSR alone.^{[citation needed]} Similar events occurred before 1940 in Transnistria.^{[citation needed]} 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, 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). The 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); to distinguish the two, when there is a chance of confusion, Moldovans commonly refer to the former as "the Russian alphabet". Moldovan Cyrillic incorporated slight changes to the Cyrillic alphabet, most notably the use of the letter zhe with a breve (Ӂ - ӂ) to indicate the sound /dʒ/.

In 1970s and 1980s, the 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.^{[citation needed]} 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.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." The first free elections for the local parliament were held in February and March 1990.

After the attempted Moscow Putsch, Moldova declared its independence on August 27, 1991, 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 reunification with Romania upon secession from the USSR. This caused a brief military conflict between Moldova and forces supporting the secession 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,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 Adaptathttp://www.jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2368523 MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT WANTS OUT OF RUSSIA\'S ORBIT. They still remain stationed in Transnistria. Negotiations between the Transnistrian and Moldovan leaders have been going on under the mediation of the OSCE, Russia, and Ukraine; lately observers from the European Union and the USA have become involved.

The March 1994 referendum for a new constitution that stated the independence of the republic saw an overwhelming majority of voters in support.

In 2001, the country became a member of the WTO.

Post-Independence Politics

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 provoked an emigration of labor, as well as permanent emigration from Moldova. According to the census data, from 1989 to 2004, Moldova has lost about 400,000 inhabitants, or 9% of the population. Analysts estimate that 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 migrated 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, the Moldovan-Romanian population declined by about 50,000 people compared to 1989, while for Ukrainians and Russians this figure has reached 200,000 of each nationality; most of this change is believed to have occurred between 1998 and 2004.

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,^{[citation needed]} 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,http://www.moldpres.md/default.asp?Lang=en&ID=68715 ( "Voronin highlighted, that we will strive for becoming an EU member")Itar-Tass and implement its first three-year Action Plan within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) of the EU.Moldova-EU Action Plan Approved by European Commission, http://www.azi.md, 14 December 2004, retrieved 2 July 2007http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/pdf/action_plans/moldova_enp_ap_final_en.pdf EU/MOLDOVA ACTION PLAN

Government

Main article: Politics of Moldova

The President of Moldova, Vladimir Voronin

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.Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. The Constitution of the Republic of Moldova 2000. Retrieved 11-14, 2007

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. Voronin 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.Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. Parliamentary Factions Retrieved 11-14, 2007

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Moldova

After achieving independence from the Soviet Union, Moldova 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. (Romanian) 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

Relations with Romania

Main article: Romanian-Moldovan relations

In 1989, Moldovan 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. It is estimated that approximately half a million Moldovans have Romanian passports.http://enarpri.org/wp.php?article_id=222 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 the "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.^{[citation needed]}

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

Administrative divisions of Moldova

Main article: Administrative divisions of Moldova

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.

#	City	Population	Year
1.	ChişinăuWorld Gazetteer. Moldova:largest cities 2004. Retrieved 11-14, 2007	647,513	2005
2.	TiraspolPridnestrovie.net 2004 Census 2004. Retrieved 11-14, 2007	159,163
3.	Bălţi	122,778	2005
4.	Tighina	97,027	2004
5.	Rîbniţa	53,648	2004

Geography

General map of Moldova

Main article: Geography of Moldova

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.

See also: List of cities in Moldova and List of localities in Moldova

Economy

Moldovan leu.

Main article: Economy of Moldova

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. The country is considered to have the cleanest air in the world.GRÜN und lebenswert: Eine Rangliste der besten (und schlechtesten) Länder, (deutsch) 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, liberalized all prices, stopped issuing preferential credits to state enterprises, backed steady land privatization, removed export controls, and liberalized 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.CIA - The World Factbook - Moldova 6 September 2007

The GDP in 2007 constituted $4,104 mln.2007 evaluation. That constituted a grow with 3% from the 2006 indicator.

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

Main article: Demographics of Moldova

Ethnic composition

Ethnic composition in 1989.

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(Romanian) Official results of 2004 Moldovan census and the 2004 Census in Transnistria:

#	Ethnicity	Mold. census	% Mold	Transnistrian census	% Tran	Total	%
1.	Moldovans*	2,564,849	75.8%	177,156	31.9%	2,742,005	69.6%
2.	Ukrainians	282,406	8.3%	159,940	28.8%	442,346	11.2%
3.	Russians	201,218	5.9%	168,270	30.3%	369,488	9.4%
4.	Gagauzians	147,500	4.4%	11,107	2.0%	158,607	4.0%
5.	Romanians*	73,276	2.2%	NA	NA	73,276	1.9%
6.	Bulgarians	65,662	1.9%	11,107	2.0%	76,769	1.9%
7.	Others	48,421	1.4%	27,767	5.0%	76,188	1.9%
8.	TOTAL	3,383,332	100%	555,347	100%	3,938,679	100%

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,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 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.

Religion

Organization of the Metropolis of Bessarabia

Main articles: Moldovan Orthodox Church and Metropolis of Bessarabia

For the 2004 census, Orthodox Christians, who make up over 90% of Moldova\'s population, were not required 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.^{[citation needed]}

Culture

Mihai Eminescu, national poet of Romania and Moldova.

Main article: Culture of Moldova

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).(Latin) Descriptio Moldaviae at Latin Wikisource Mihai Eminescu was a late romantic poet, probably the best-known and most influential Romanian language poet.

Language controversy

Main article: Moldovan language

The Constitution of Moldova states that the Moldovan language is the state language of the country. However, it is officially acknowledged that Moldovan and Romanian "use a common literary form"(Romanian) "Concepţia politicii naţionale a Republicii Moldova" Moldovan Parliament In Moldova\'s declaration of independence, the state language is called Romanian.(Romanian)Declaraţia de independenţa a Republicii Moldova, Moldova SuveranăA Field Guide to the Main Languages of Europe - Spot that language and how to tell them apart, on the website of the European CommissionKogan Page 2004, p 242 The usage of the term Moldovan language is limited only to some spheres, whereas "Romanian" is used on other occasions: "Romanian" is the term used in schools and part of the media.

There is no particular linguistic break at the Prut river, which divides Moldova from Romania. The concept of a separate Moldovan language appeared in 1924, when Moldavian ASSR was created, and was expanded onto the rest of Moldova after annexation of Bessarabia in 1940. Soviet authorities referred to the titular nationality as Moldovans, rather than Romanians and to the language as "Moldavian language", rather than ”Romanian language”, for the purpose of giving the region its own identity separate from Romania. "Language policy in the Soviet Union" Grenoble 2003, pp 89-93Ana Coreţchi, Ana Pascaru, Cynthia Stevens, The Republic of Moldova: dimensions of the Gagauz socio-linguistic model, Linguapax Institute.Elizabeth Blackwell, The Sovietization of Moldova, College of Political Science, James Madison UniversityA Country Study: Moldova (Language section), Library of the US Congress. In formal use, the languages are virtually identical and linguists agree that Moldovan is at best a dialect of RomanianKokker, Steve; Kemp, Cathryn: "Romania & Moldova", p 305 A significant minority of Moldovan citizens (11% according to the 2004 Moldovan census) speak Russian as a native tongue, many others know this language. Also, there are many Moldovans that use Russian loanwords in common speech, words which are not present in common Romanian.Campbell, George L. "Compendium of the World\'s Languages", p 1406 Kolstø, Pål; Edemsky, Andrei: "Russians in the Former Soviet Republics", p. 146

See also

v • d • e Topics in Moldova
History	Timeline | Dacia | Roman Dacia | The Dark Ages | The Middle Ages | Early Modern Times | National awakening | Kingdom of Romania | World War II | Communist Romania | Moldova since 1989
Geography	Counties | Development regions | Cities | Mountains | Protected areas | Rivers | Ecoregions | Flora & Fauna
Government	Constitution | Government | Parliament | Ombudsman |