Republic of Moldova: Encyclopedia II - Republic of Moldova - History

Republic of Moldova - History

Main article: History of Moldova

Moldova's territory was inhabited in ancient times by Dacians. Strategical location due to the situation on a strategic route between Asia and Europe, Moldova has suffered from several invasions, including those of the Kievan Rus' and the Mongols.

During the Middle Ages the territory of Republic of Moldova (including most of present-day Moldova but also including districts to the north and south, known as Northern Bukovina and Budjak) formed the eastern part of the principality of Moldavia (which, like the present-day republic, was known in Romanian as "Moldova"). The principality became tributary to the Ottoman Empire during 16th century. Following the Treaty of Bucharest in 1812, it was annexed by Russia together with Budjak (Southern Bessarabia). At first, the Russians used the name "Gubernya of Moldova and Bessarabia", but later called it simply Bessarabia. The western part of Moldavia remained an autonomous principality and united with Walachia to form the Old Kingdom of Romania in 1859.

At the end of World War I, Bessarabia proclaimed independence from Russia in 1918, and united with the Kingdom of Romania the same year. The Soviet Union invaded with force Bessarabia in June 1940 in an agreement with Germany expressed in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and though forced out again in 1941, Soviet troops re-occupied and annexed the area in August 1944. Soviet rule brought a harsh de-nationalization policy. The southern and northern parts (which had some Slavic and Turkic minorities) were transferred to Ukraine. At the same time, Transnistria (where, at that time, ethnic Romanians outnumbered Slavs) was joined to the remainder to form the "Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic", identical in territory to present-day Moldova. Under Stalin, ethnic Russians were brought into the new country, especially into urbanized areas, while large numbers of ethnic Romanians were deported to Siberia and Kazakhstan. The overall result was the destruction of Romanian elites and middle-classes, and their replacement with Soviet (mostly Slavic) elements.

Along with the other peripheral Soviet republics, Moldova started to move towards independence from 1991 onwards; in August 1991, Moldova declared its independence and in December of that year became a member of the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States along with most of the former Soviet republics. At the end of that year, an ex-communist reformer, Mircea Snegur, won an election for the presidency. Four months later, the country achieved formal recognition as an independent state at the United Nations.

The part of Moldova east of the Dniestr River, Transnistria—which is more heavily industrialized and is populated by a larger proportion of ethnic Russians and Ukrainians— claimed independence in 1991, fearing Moldovan unification with Romania. Russian and Ukrainian forces intervened on the Transnistrian side, and remain there. The OSCE is involved in negotiations between the Transnistrian leaders and Chişinău.

While their emotional ties to the Romanian "motherland" remained strong, and while their visits to Romania were welcome, 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. President Boris Yeltsin's government did not want to see one of the former Soviet republics on Russia's frontier joined to another country.

A March 1994 referendum saw an overwhelming majority of voters favoring continued independence. In the 2001 elections a pro-Russian Communist party won majority of seats in the Parliament and appointed a Communist president, Vladimir Voronin. After few years in power relationships between Moldova and Russia deteriorated over the Transnistrian conflict. In the following election, held in 2005, the Communist party made 180 degree turn and was re-elected on a pro-Western platform, with Voronin re-elected to a second term as a president. During the 2005 parliamentary elections the Russian Federation tried to influence the election process by intensively favourable coverage of pro-Russian candidates in the Russian mass media and by organizing meetings and agitation campaigns using the Russian CIS-EMO organization (so-called “Elections Monitoring Organization”), which is not recognized internationally as an independent election observer. This organization was proven to have poor records from the previous Kyrgyzstan election. As a response to the security threat, Moldovan authorities denied entry to the Republic of Moldova for the members of the CIS-EMO organization. Some who nonetheless made their way into the Republic were found distributing leaflets and actively participating in the election campaign, despite not having a valid Moldovan passport or any proof of Moldovan citizenship or any permission from the election authority. These members were consequently deported from the country. This action angered the Russian side. As a consequence, Russian-Moldovan ties greatly weakened, and the nation is split between building ties with the West or with Russia.

In 1992, Moldova was involved in a short-term war against Russian armed forces and Ukrainian Kazak units. Units of Kazaks (Ukrainian mercenaries) fought, supported by and alongside the Russian 14th Army. The Transnistrian war began with an attack of Russian mercenaries on the Moldovan town of Dubăsari, situated on the eastern bank of the River Dniestr, but not loyal to the separatist regime. Since 1992, Russia has maintained a military occupation of the eastern regions of the Republic of Moldova. The separatist Transnistrian regime established in the occupied territory is undemocratic, and no rotation in political power has taken place in this area since 1992. The de facto Transnistrian government has enforced Russification, the denationalization of ethnic Ukrainians, and discrimination against Moldovans. In the summer of 2004, Transnistrian authorities forcibly closed six Moldovan schools from Tiraspol, Tighina/Bender, and Rîbniţa that used the Romanian language in the Latin alphabet. 3,400 enrolled children were affected by this measure. Several teachers and parents who opposed the closures were arrested.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki