Moldova

Republic of Moldova Republica Moldova
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Limba noastră   Our Language
Location of Moldova (green) on the European continent (green + dark grey)
Capital (and largest city)		Chişinău
Official language(s)		Moldovan (Romanian)
Recognised regional languages		Gagauz, Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian
Demonym		Moldovan, Moldavian
Government		Parliamentary republic
-	Acting President	Mihai Ghimpu
-	Prime Minister	Vlad Filat
-	Speaker of the Parliament	Mihai Ghimpu
Consolidation
-	Declaration of Sovereignty	June 23, 1990
-	Declaration of Independence (from the Soviet Union)	August 27, 19912
Area
-	Total	33,846 km2 (139th) 13,067 sq mi
-	Water (%)	1.4
Population
-	January 1, 2009[1] estimate	3,567,500 (does not include Transnistria and Bender) (129st3)
-	2004 census	3,383,3324
-	Density	121,9/km2 (87th) 316/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2009 estimate
-	Total	$10.141 billion[2]
-	Per capita	$2,842[2]
GDP (nominal)		2009 estimate
-	Total	$5.403 billion[2]
-	Per capita	$1,514[2]
Gini (2007)		37.1 (medium)
HDI (2007)		0.708 (medium) (111th)
Currency		Moldovan leu (MDL)
Time zone		EET (UTC+2)
-	Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Drives on the		right
Internet TLD		.md
Calling code		373
1	"Moldovan" used as formal official name; in fact Romanian.
2	Proclaimed. Finalized along with the dissolution of the USSR in December 1991.
3	Ranking based on 2009 UN figure
4	2004 census data from the National Bureau of Statistics.[3] Figure does not include Transnistria and Bender.

Moldova /mɒlˈdoʊvə/, officially the Republic of Moldova (Moldovan/Romanian: Republica Moldova) is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east and south. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldovan SSR in 1991, as part of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. A strip of Moldova's internationally recognized territory on the east bank of the river Nistru has been under the de facto control of the breakaway government of Transnistria since 1990.

The country is a parliamentary republic and democracy with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. Moldova is a member state of the United Nations, Council of Europe, WTO, OSCE, GUAM, CIS, BSEC and other international organizations. Moldova currently aspires to join the European Union,^[4] and has implemented the first three-year Action Plan within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).^[5] About a quarter of the population lives on less than US $2 a day.^[6]

Etymology

The name of Moldova is derived from the name of the Moldova River; the valley of this river was a political center when the Principality of Moldavia was founded in 1359. The origin of the name of the river is still not completely clarified. There is an account (a legend) of prince DragoÅŸ's naming the river after hunting an aurochs: After the chase, his exhausted hound Molda drowned in the river. The dog's name would have been given to the river, and extended to the Principality, according to Dimitrie Cantemir and Grigore Ureche.^[7]

History

During the Neolithic stone age era Moldova's territory was the center of the vast Cucuteni-Trypillian culture that stretched east beyond the Dniester River in Ukraine, and west up to and beyond the Carpathian Mountains in Romania. The inhabitants of this civilization, which lasted roughly from 5500 to 2750 BC, practiced agriculture, raised livestock, hunted, and made intricately designed pottery.^[8] Another remarkable feature of this society was the enormous settlements that were built, some of which numbered up to 15,000 inhabitants.

In Antiquity Moldova's territory was inhabited by Dacian tribes. Between the 1st and 7th centuries AD, the south was intermittently under the Roman, then Byzantine Empires. Due to its strategic location on a route between Asia and Europe, the territory of modern Moldova was invaded many times in late antiquity and early Middle Ages, including by Goths, Huns, Avars, Bulgarians, Magyars, Pechenegs, Cumans, and the Mongols.

Tatar invasions continued after the establishment of the Principality of Moldavia in 1359, bounded by the Carpathian mountains in the west, Dniester river in the east, and Danube and Black Sea in the south. Its territory comprised the present-day territory of the Republic of Moldova, the eastern eight of the 41 counties of Romania, and the Chernivtsi oblast and Budjak region of Ukraine. Like the present-day republic, it was known to the locals as Moldova. In 1538, the principality became a tributary to the Ottoman Empire, but it retained internal and partial external autonomy. Moldova suffered repeated invasions by Turks, and Crimean Tatars.^[9]

A church fresco depicting Stephen the Great, Prince of Moldavia between 1457 and 1504, and the most prominent Moldavian historical personality

Moldavian Principality in 1483

Soroca Fort was built on the site of the former Genovan fortress Olihonia (Alciona)

Territories of the medieval Principality of Moldavia are now split between Romania (western Moldavia with southern Bukovina) in blue, Moldova (core of Bessarabia) in green, and Ukraine (southern Bessarabia and Chernivtsi oblast) in red.

Căpriana is one of the oldest monasteries in Moldavia

A deputy replaces the Soviet flag over the Parliament with the national one on April 27, 1990

St. Teodora de la Sihla Church in Downtown Chişinău

In accordance with the Treaty of Bucharest of 1812 and despite numerous protests by Moldavians on behalf of their autonomous status, the Ottoman Empire (of which Moldavia was a vassal) ceded to the Russian Empire the eastern half of the territory of the Principality of Moldavia along with Khotyn and old Bessarabia (modern Budjak).

At first, the Russians used the name "Oblast of Moldavia 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, starting a process of Russification.

The Tsarist policy in Bessarabia was in part aimed at ethnic assimilation of the Romanian element by forbidding after the 1860s education and religious mass in Romanian; the effect was an extremely low literacy rate (in 1897 approx. 18% for males, approx. 4% for females).^[10] The western part of Moldavia (which is not a part of present-day Moldova) remained an autonomous principality, and in 1859, united with Wallachia to form the Kingdom of Romania.

The Treaty of Paris (1856) saw three counties of Bessarabia—Cahul, Bolgrad and Ismail—returned to Moldavia, but the Treaty of Berlin (1878) saw the Kingdom of Romania returning them to the Russian Empire. Over the 19th century, the Russian authorities^[11] encouraged colonization of parts of the region by Ukrainians, Lipovans, Cossacks, Bulgarians,^[12] Germans,^[13] Gagauzes, and allowed the settlement of more Jews; the proportion of the Moldovan population decreased from around 86% in 1816^[14] to around 52% in 1905.^[15]

20th century

World War I brought in a rise in political and cultural (ethnic) awareness among 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, which was elected in October–November 1917 and 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).

MPs of the Moldavian Republic in 1918

Upon the dissolution of the Russian Empire in 1917, an autonomous, then independent Moldavian Democratic Republic was formed, which joined Greater Romania in 1918. In 1940, Bessarabia was occupied by the Soviet Union, and was split between the Ukrainian SSR and the newly created Moldavian SSR. After changing hands in 1941 and 1944 during World War II, the territory of the modern country was subsumed by the Soviet Union until its independence on August 27, 1991. Moldova was admitted to the United Nations in March 1992.

Bessarabia proclaimed independence from Russia (February 6 [O.S. January 24] 1918), and, on April 9 [O.S. March 27] 1918, in presence of the Romanian army that entered the region to counter a Bolshevik coup attempt in early January, Sfatul Ţării decided with 86 votes for, 3 against and 36 abstaining, to unite with the Kingdom of Romania, conditional upon the fulfillment of the agrarian reform, autonomy, and respect for universal human rights. The Romanian administration dishonored these conditions after Bukovina and Transylvania also joined the Kingdom of Romania.^{[16][17][18][19][20]}

This union was recognized by the Principal Allied Powers in the Treaty of Paris (1920).^[21] The newly Communist Russia, however, did not recognize the Romanian rule over Bessarabia as well as calling it illegal since Japan did not ratify the treaty.^[22] and, in May 1919, proclaimed the Bessarabian Soviet Socialist Republic as a government in exile. After the failure of the Tatarbunary Uprising in 1924, the Moldavian ASSR was formed.

In August 1939, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and its secret additional protocol were signed, by which Nazi Germany recognized Bessarabia as being within the Soviet sphere of influence, which led the latter to actively revive its claim to the region.^[23] Although USSR and Romania subscribed to the principle of non-violent resolution of territorial disputes in the Kellogg-Briand Treaty of 1928 and the Treaty of London of July 1933, on June 28, 1940, after issuing an ultimatum to Romania, the Soviet Union, with the moral support of the Nazi Germany, occupied Bessarabia and northern part of Bukovina, establishing the Moldavian SSR,^[23] comprising about 70% of Bessarabia, and 50% of the now-disbanded Moldavian ASSR.

This event led to a major political shift in Romania, which denounced its alliance with France and Britain, and drew the country closer to Nazi Germany and eventually the establishment of pro-Fascist regimes. By participating in the 1941 Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, Romania seized the lost territories of Bessarabia, and northern Bukovina, but its military regime also continued the war further into Soviet territory. In occupied Transnistria, Romanian forces, working with the Germans, deported or exterminated ca. 300,000 Jews, including 147,000 from Bessarabia and Bukovina (of the latter, approximately 90,000 perished).^[24] The Soviet Army re-captured the region in February–August 1944, and re-established the Moldavian SSR. Around 150,000 Moldovan soldiers perished during WWII, including ca. 50,000 in the Romanian Army (including POWs), and ca. 100,000 in the Soviet Army.

During the Stalinist period (1940–1941, 1944–1953), deportations of locals to the northern Urals, to Siberia, and northern Kazakhstan occurred regularly, with the largest ones on 12–13 June 1941, and 5–6 July 1949, accounting from MSSR alone for 18,392^[25] and 35,796 deportees respectively.^[26] Other forms of Soviet persecution of the population included 32,433 political arrests, followed by Gulag or (in 8,360 cases) execution, collectivization, destruction of private economy, and infrastructure (mostly during the 1941 retreat).

In 1946, as a result of a severe drought combined with excessive delivery quota obligations and requisitions imposed by the Soviet government, the southwestern part of the USSR suffered from widespread famine.^[27] In 1946-1947, at least 216,000 deaths and about 350,000 cases of dystrophy were accounted by historians in the Moldavian SSR alone.^[26] Similar events occurred in 1930s in the Moldavian ASSR.^[26] In 1944-53, there were several anti-Soviet resistance groups in Moldova; however the NKVD and later MGB managed to eventually arrest, execute or deport their members.^[26]

The postwar period saw a wide scale migration of ethnic Russians, Ukrainians, and other ethnic groups into the new Soviet republic, especially into urbanized areas, partly to compensate the demographic loss caused by the emigration of 1940 and 1944.^[28] The Soviet government conducted a campaign to promote a Moldovan ethnic identity, different from that of the Romanians, based on a theory developed during the existence of the Moldavian ASSR. Official Soviet policy asserted that the language spoken by Moldovans was distinct from the Romanian language (see Moldovenism). To distinguish the two, during the Soviet period, Moldovan was written in the Cyrillic alphabet, in contrast with Romanian, which since 1860 was written in the Latin alphabet.

Not all things under the Soviets were negative, however, and, after the death of Stalin, political persecutions changed in character from mass to individual. Moreover, in the 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" (modern Chişinău), that allotted more than one billion Soviet rubles from the USSR budget for building projects,^[29] subsequent decisions also directed substantial funding and brought qualified specialists from other parts of the USSR to develop Moldova's industry. All independent organizations were severely reprimanded, with the National Patriotic Front leaders being sentenced in 1972 to long prison terms. The Commission for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Moldova is assessing the activity of the communist totalitarian regime.

In the political conditions created by the glasnost and perestroika, a Democratic Movement of Moldova was formed, which in 1989 became known as the Popular Front of Moldova (FPM),^[30][31] whose ideology was based on romantic nationalism. Along with several other Soviet republics, from 1988 onwards, Moldova started to move towards independence. On August 27, 1989, the FPM organized a mass demonstration in Chişinău, that became known as the Grand National Assembly, which pressured the authorities of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic to adopt a language law on August 31, 1989 that proclaimed the Moldovan language written in the Latin script to be the state language of the MSSR. Its identity with the Romanian language was also established.^[30][32]

Independence

The first democratic elections for the local parliament were held in February and March 1990. Mircea Snegur was elected as Speaker of the Parliament, and Mircea Druc as Prime Minister. On June 23, 1990, the Parliament adopted the Declaration of Sovereignty of the "Soviet Socialist Republic Moldova", which, among other things, stipulated the supremacy of Moldovan laws over those of the Soviet Union.^[30] After the failure of the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, on August 27, 1991, Moldova declared its independence.

On December 21 of the same year Moldova, along with most of the other Soviet republics, signed the constitutive act that formed the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Moldova received official recognition on December 25. On December 26, 1991 the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Declaring itself a neutral state, it did not join the military branch of the CIS. Three months later, on March 2, 1992, the country gained formal recognition as an independent state at the United Nations. In 1994, Moldova became a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program and also a member of the Council of Europe on June 29, 1995.^[30]

In the region east of the Dniester river, Transnistria, which includes a large proportion of predominantly russophone East Slavs of Ukrainian (28%) and Russian (26%) descent (altogether 54% as of 1989), while Moldovans (40%) have been the largest ethnic group, and where the headquarters and many units of the Soviet 14th Guards Army were stationed, an independent "Transdnestrian Moldovan Republic" (TMR) was proclaimed on August 16, 1990, with its capital in Tiraspol.^[30] The motives behind this move were fear of the rise of nationalism in Moldova and the country's expected reunification with Romania upon secession from the USSR. In the winter of 1991-1992 clashes occurred between Transnistrian forces, supported by elements of the 14th Army, and the Moldovan police. Between March 2 and July 26, 1992, the conflict escalated into a military engagement.

On January 2, 1992, Moldova introduced a market economy, liberalizing prices, which resulted in huge inflation. From 1992 to 2001, the young country suffered a serious economic crisis, leaving most of the population below the poverty line. In 1993, a national currency, the Moldovan leu, was introduced to replace the temporary cupon. The economy of Moldova began to change in 2001; and until 2008 the country has seen a steady annual growth of between 5% and 10%. The early 2000s also saw a considerable growth of emigration of Moldovans looking for work (mostly illegally) in Russia (especially Moscow region), Italy, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, and other countries; remittances from Moldovans abroad account for almost 38% of Moldova's GDP, the second-highest percentage in the world.^[33]

The 1994 parliamentary elections saw the Democratic Agrarian Party of Moldova gain a majority of the seats, setting a turning point in Moldovan politics. With the nationalist Popular Front now a parliamentary minority, new measures aiming to moderate the ethnic tensions in the country could be adopted. Plans for a union with Romania were abandoned,^[30] and the new Constitution gave autonomy to the breakaway Transnistria and Gagauzia. On December 23, 1994, the Parliament of Moldova adopted a "Law on the Special Legal Status of Gagauzia", and in 1995 the latter was constituted.

After winning the 1996 presidential elections, on January 15, 1997, Petru Lucinschi, the former First Secretary of the Moldavian Communist Party in 1989-91, became the country's second president (1997–2001), succeeding Mircea Snegur (1991–1996). In 2000, the Constitution was amended, transforming Moldova into a parliamentary republic, with the president being chosen through indirect election rather than direct popular vote.

Winning 49.9% of the vote, the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (reinstituted in 1993 after being outlawed in 1991), gained 71 of the 101 MPs, and on April 4, 2001, elected Vladimir Voronin as the country's third president (re-elected in 2005). The country became the first post-Soviet state where a non-reformed Communist Party returned to power.^[30] New governments were formed by Vasile Tarlev (April 19, 2001 – March 31, 2008), and Zinaida Greceanîi (March 31, 2008 – September 14, 2009). In 2001–2003 relations between Moldova and Russia improved, but then temporarily deteriorated in 2003–2006, in the wake of the failure of the Kozak memorandum, culminating in the 2006 wine exports crisis.

2009 Moldova civil unrest at the Parliament building

Acting President Mihai Ghimpu

Following the April 2009 parliamentary elections, the Communist Party won 49.48% of the votes, followed by the Liberal Party with 13.14% of the votes, the Liberal Democratic Party with 12.43%, and the Alliance "Moldova Noastră" with 9.77%. The opposition leaders have protested against the outcome calling it fraudulent and demanded a repeated election. On April 6, 2009, several NGOs and opposition parties organized a peaceful protest in Chişinău, gathering a crowd of about 15,000 with the help of social network sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Anti-communist and pro-Romanian slogans were widely used. The demonstration had spun out of control on April 7 and escalated into a riot when a part of the crowd attacked the presidential offices and broke into the parliament building, looting and setting several floors on fire.^[34][35] Police had regained control on the night of April 7–8, detaining several hundred protesters. Numerous detainees reported beatings by the police when released.^[35][36]

Three young people died the day the riot took place. The opposition blamed police abuse for these deaths, while the government claimed they were either unrelated to the protests, or accidents. Government officials, including President Vladimir Voronin, have called the protests a coup d'état attempt and have accused Romania of organizing it.^[37] Opposition accused the government of organizing the riots by introducing provocateurs among the protesters.

After the parliament failed to elect a new president,^[38] it was dissolved and snap general elections were held on July 29, 2009, with the Communists again attaining a substantial, although weakened, plurality both in popular vote and in parliamentary seats: 48 of the 101 seats for the Party of Communists, 18 seats for the Liberal Democratic Party, 15 seats for the Liberal Party, 13 seats for the Democratic Party, and 7 seats for the Our Moldova Alliance. In August, the latter four parties formed an alliance and approved the Vlad Filat Cabinet in parliament. After Voronin's resignation in September 2009, the Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament, Mihai Ghimpu, became the acting President of Moldova.

Government and politics

The Moldovan Parliament

Moldova

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Moldova

Constitution Constitution Human rights Parliament Parliament Speaker Mihai Ghimpu Judiciary Constitutional Court Supreme Court Executive Acting President Mihai Ghimpu Prime Minister Vlad Filat Cabinet Divisions Administrative division Elections Elections Political parties Foreign policy Foreign relations Moldova and the EU

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Moldova is a unitary parliamentary representative democratic republic. The 1994 Constitution of Moldova sets the framework for the government of the country. A parliamentary majority of at least two thirds is required to amend the Constitution of Moldova, which cannot be revised in time of war or national emergency. 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. Furthermore, no revision can be made to limit the fundamental rights of people enumerated in the Constitution.^[39]

The country's central legislative body is the unicameral Moldovan Parliament (Parlament), which has 101 seats, and whose members are elected by popular vote on party lists every four years.

The head of state is the President of Moldova, who is elected by Moldovan Parliament, requiring the support of three fifths of the deputies (at least 61 votes). The president of Moldova has been elected by the parliament since 2001, a change designed to decrease executive authority in favor of the legislature. 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, composed of six judges (two appointed by the President, two by Parliament, and two by the Supreme Council of Magistrature), serving six-year terms, during which they are irremovable and not subordinate to any power. The Court is invested with the power of judicial review over all acts of the parliament, over presidential decrees, and over international treaties, signed by the country.^[39]

The 1998 parliamentary elections, 2001 parliamentary elections, 2005 parliamentary elections, April 2009 parliamentary elections, and July 2009 parliamentary elections were won by the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova, which held a majority of seats.

After 2005 parliamentary elections, other parties represented in the Parliament were the Our Moldova Alliance (13 seats), the Democratic Party (Moldova) (11 seats), the Christian-Democratic People's Party (7 seats), with 15 unaffiliated members of parliament.^[40] At the April 2009 parliamentary elections, the Party of Communists won these as well, claiming 60 seats. The PCRM majority makes Moldova one of only three countries with democratically elected Communist leaders, the other two being Cyprus and Nepal. Opposition was represented by the Liberal Party (PL, 15 seats), Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM, 15 seats) and Party Alliance Our Moldova (AMN, 11 seats).

On August 8, 2009, four Moldovan parties – Liberal Democratic Party, Liberal Party, Democratic Party, and Our Moldova Alliance – agreed to create a governing coalition that pushed the Communist party into opposition. On August 28, 2009, Moldova's pro-Western coalition has chosen a new parliament speaker (namely Mihai Ghimpu) in a vote that was boycotted by Communist legislators. Vladimir Voronin, who held the President of Moldova post since 2001, eventually quit power on September 11, 2009, but the Parliament failed to elect a new president. The acting president Mihai Ghimpu instituted the Commission for constitutional reform in Moldova to adopt a new version of the Constitution of Moldova (1994). A constitutional referendum aimed at breaking the political stalemate failed in September 2010.^[41][42]

Foreign relations

Embassy of Moldova in Washington, D.C.

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 the EU established an action plan that sought to improve the collaboration between the two neighboring structures.

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. The foreign minister of Moldova, Andrei Stratan, had repeatedly stated that the Russian troops stationed in the breakaway region are there against the will of the Moldovan Government and called on them to leave "completely and unconditionally."^[43]

The new premier of Moldova, Vlad Filat, said that his first official visit as premier will be made to Brussels, adding that the agenda of the first official meetings will include visits to Paris, Berlin, Bucharest, and Kiev.^[44] In a press conference on October 21, 2009, the foreign minister of Moldova, Iurie Leancă, announced that official negotiations on the association agreement Moldova-EU will start on January 12, 2010.

In September 2010, the European Parliament approved an EU grant of €90 million to help Moldova.^[45] The money will supplement $570 million in IMF loans^[46], World Bank and other bilateral support already granted to Moldova. In April 2010, Romania offered to Moldova development aid worth of €100 million while the number of scholarships for Moldovan students will double to 5,000^[47] According to a lending agreement signed in February 2010, Poland will provide US15 million and will support Moldova in its European integration efforts.^[48]

Military

A Moldovan parading unit in Sofia

The Moldovan armed forces consist of the Ground Forces and Air and Air Defense Forces. Moldova has accepted all relevant arms control obligations of the former Soviet Union. On October 30, 1992, Moldova ratified the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, which establishes comprehensive limits on key categories of conventional military equipment and provides for the destruction of weapons in excess of those limits. It acceded to the provisions of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in October 1994 in Washington, DC. It does not have nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons. Moldova joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's Partnership for Peace on March 16, 1994.

Moldova is committed to a number of international and regional control of arms regimes such as the UN Firearms Protocol, Stability Pact Regional Implementation Plan, the UN Programme of Action (PoA) and the OSCE Documents on Stockpiles of Conventional Ammunition.

Administrative divisions

Administrative divisions of Moldova

Moldova is divided into thirty-two districts (raioane, singular raion); three municipalities (Bălţi, Chişinău, Bender); and two autonomous regions (Gagauzia and Transnistria). The cities of Comrat and Tiraspol, the administrative seats of the two autonomous territories also have municipality status. There are 32 districts.

The final status of Transnistria is still disputed, as the central government does not control that territory.

Moldova has 65 cities (towns), including the five with municipality status, and 917 communes. Some other 699 villages are too small to have a separate administration, and are administratively part of either cities (40 of them) or communes (659). This makes for a total of 1,681 localities of Moldova, all but two of which are inhabited.

Geography

Dniester valley view

The largest part of the nation lies between two rivers, the Dniester and the Prut. The western border of Moldova is formed by the Prut river, which joins the Danube before flowing into the Black Sea. Moldova has access to the Danube for only about 480 m (1,575 ft), and GiurgiuleÅŸti is the only Moldovan port on the Danube. In the east, the Dniester is the main river, flowing through the country from north to south, receiving the waters of Răut, Bâc, Ichel, Botna. Ialpug flows into one of the Danube limans, while Cogâlnic into the Black Sea chain of limans.

The country is landlocked, even though it is very close to the Black Sea. While most of the country is hilly, elevations never exceed 430 m (1,411 ft) — the highest point being the BălăneÅŸti Hill. Moldova's hills are part of the Moldavian Plateau, which geologically originate from the Carpathian Mountains. Its subdivisions in Moldova include Dniester Hills (Northern Moldavian Hills and Dniester Ridge), Moldavian Plain (Middle Prut Valley and BălÅ£i Steppe), and Central Moldavian Plateau (Ciuluc-SoloneÅ£ Hills, CorneÅŸti Hills (Codri Massive; "Codri" meaning "forests"), Lower Dniester Hills, Lower Prut Valley, and Tigheci Hills). In the south, the country has a small flatland, the Bugeac Plain. The territory of Moldova east of the river Dniester is split between parts of the Podolian Plateau, and parts of the Eurasian Steppe.

The country's main cities are the capital Chişinău, in the center of the country, Tiraspol (in the eastern region of Transnistria), Bălţi (in the north) and Tighina (in the south-east).

Panorama of the museum complex Old Orhei, a system of historical monuments and natural landscapes, famous for the cave monasteries located there.

Economy

On the front side of each leu banknote is represented Stephen III

There are 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 bani coins

Mileştii Mici—the world's biggest wine cellars

Sky Tower in Downtown Chişinău

Chişinău winegrowers, about 1900

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, wine, and tobacco. The economy contracted dramatically following the fall of the Soviet Union. As of 2009^[update], Moldova has been described by the European Parliament as the poorest country in Europe in terms of GDP.^[49]

Energy

Moldova must import all of its supplies of petroleum, coal, and natural gas, largely from Russia. Moldova is a partner country of the EU INOGATE energy programme, which has four key topics: enhancing energy security, convergence of member state energy markets on the basis of EU internal energy market principles, supporting sustainable energy development, and attracting investment for energy projects of common and regional interest.^[50]

Economic reforms

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 2007 (6%), in part because of the reforms and because of starting from a small base. The economy remains vulnerable to higher fuel prices, poor agricultural weather, and the skepticism of foreign investors.

Moldovan wine

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 2005 (Human Development Report 2008), the registered GDP per capita US $ 2,100 PPP, which is 4.5 times lower than the world average (US $ 9,543). Moreover, GDP per capita is under the average of its statistical region (US $ 9,527 PPP). In 2005, about 20.8% 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 111th spot in the list of 177 countries. The value of the Human Development Index (0.708) is below the world average. Moldova remains the poorest country in Europe in terms of official (i.e. excluding the black and grey economy) per capita which currently stands at $1,808.729^[51]

The GDP in 2007 constituted $4.104 billion.^[52] That constituted a growth of 3% from 2006.

Wine industry

Moldova is known for its wines. For many years viticulture and winemaking in Moldova were the general occupation of the population. Evidence of this is present in historical memorials and documents, folklore, and the Moldovan spoken language.

The country has a well established wine industry. It has a vineyard area of 147,000 hectares (360,000 acres), of which 102,500 ha (253,000 acres) are used for commercial production. Most of the country's wine production is made for export. Many families have their own recipes and strands of grapes that have been passed down through the generations.

Agriculture

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 since ancient times, and a major supplier of agricultural products in southeastern Europe. In agriculture, the economic reform started with the land cadastre reform.

Tourism

Tourism focuses on the country's natural landscapes and its history. Wine tours are offered to tourists across the country. Vineyards/cellars include Cricova, Purcari, Ciumai, Romanesti, CojuÅŸna, Milestii Mici.

Transport

A train in Moldova

The main means of transportation in Moldova were railroads 1,138 km (707 mi) and a highway system (12,730 km/7,910 mi overall, including 10,937 km/6,796 mi of paved surfaces). The sole international air gateway of Moldova is ChiÅŸinău International Airport. The GiurgiuleÅŸti terminal on the Danube is compatible with small seagoing vessels. Shipping on the lower Prut and Nistru rivers plays only a modest role in the country's transportation system.

Telecommunications

The first million of mobile telephone users was registered in September 2005. The number of mobile telephone users in Moldova increased by 47.3 % in the first quarter of 2008 against the last year and exceeded 2 million 88.6 thousand.^[53]

At the end of 2009 there were around 1,295,000 Internet users in Moldova with overall Internet penetration of 29.9%.^[54]

In September 2009, Moldova was the first country in the world to launch high-definition voice services (HD voice) for mobile phones, and the first country in Europe to launch 14,4 Mbps mobile broadband at a national scale, with over 40% population coverage.

Demographics

Ethno-linguistic composition in 2004

Cultural and ethnic composition

The last reference data is that of the 2004 Moldovan Census^[3] (areas controlled by the central government), and the 2004 Census in Transnistria (areas controlled by the breakaway authorities, including Transnistria, Bender/Tighina, and four neighboring communes):

¹There is an ongoing controversy over whether Romanians and Moldovans are the same ethnic group, namely whether Moldovans' self-identification constitutes an ethnic group distinct and apart from Romanians or a subset. At the census, citizens could declare only one nationality. Consequently, one could not declare oneself both Moldovan and Romanian.

²The Jewish minority was more numerous in the past (225,637 Jews in Bessarabia in 1897, or 11.65% of the population).^[55]

Languages

A Limba noastră social ad in Chişinău, with the word "Română" sprayed onto it

The Constitution of 1994 states that "the national language of the Republic of Moldova is Moldovan, and its writing is based on the Latin alphabet,"^[56] while the 1991 Declaration of Independence names the official language Romanian.^[57][58] The 1989 State Language Law speaks of a Moldo-Romanian linguistic identity.

There is a political controversy over the name of the main ethnicity of the Republic of Moldova. During 2003-2009, the Communist government adopted a national political conception which states that one of the priorities of the national politics of the Republic of Moldova is the insurance of the existence of a Moldovan language.^[59][60] Scholars agree that Moldovan and Romanian are the same language, with glottonym "Moldovan" used in certain political contexts. This view is shared also by some Moldovan politicians.^[61] However, on September 29, 2009, the Prime-Minister of Moldova Vlad Filat became the first Moldovan leader in a decade to publicly announce abroad that his language is "Romanian".^[62]

Russian is provided with the status of a "language of interethnic communication" (alongside the official language), and in practice remains widely used on all levels of the society and the state. The above-mentioned national political conception also states that Russian-Moldovan bilingualism is characteristic for Moldova.^[60]

Gagauz and Ukrainian have significant regional speaker populations and are granted official status together with Russian in Gagauzia and Transnistria respectively.

From 1996 the Republic, also being Romance-speaking, is a full member of Francophonia. Therefore the French language occupies the principal place among the foreign languages. In 2009/10 it was told taught to 52% of schoolchildren as L1 and 7% as L2. Following by both English having 48% and 6% respectively, and German, which was taught to 3% altogether.^[63]

Religion

Nativity Cathedral, Chişinău

National Library of Moldova

For the 2004 census, Eastern Orthodox Christians, who make up 93.3% of Moldova's population, were not required to declare the particular of the two main churches 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. 2% of the population is Protestant, 1.2% belongs to other religions, 0.9% is non-religious, 0.4% is atheist, and 2.2% did not answer the religion question at the census.

Education

In Moldova, there are 16 state and 15^[64] private institutions of higher education, with a total of 126,100 students, including 104,300 in the state institutions, and 21,700 in the private ones. The number of students per 10,000 inhabitants in Moldova has been constantly growing since the collapse of the Soviet Union, reaching 217 in 2000-2001, and 351 in 2005-2006.

The National Library of Moldova was founded in 1832. The Moldova State University and the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, the main scientific organizations of Moldova, were established in 1946.

Crime

The CIA World Factbook lists widespread crime and underground economic activity among major crime issues in Moldova.^[65]

Health

The birth rate is at one and a half children per woman.^[66] Public expenditure on health was 4.2% of the GDP and private expenditure on health 3.2%.^[66] There are about 264 physicians per 100,000 people.^[66] Health expenditure was 138 US$ (PPP) per capita in 2004.^[66]

Emigration

Emigration is a mass phenomenon in Moldova and has a huge impact on the country's demographics and economy. The Moldovan Intelligence and Security Service has estimated that 600,000 to one million Moldovan citizens (almost 25% of the population) are working abroad, most illegally.^[67]

Culture

Mihai Eminescu, national poet of Moldova and Romania

Located geographically at the crossroads of Latin, Slavic and other cultures, Moldova has enriched its own culture adopting and maintaining some of the traditions of its neighbors and of other influence sources.

The country's cultural heritage was marked by numerous churches and monasteries build by the Moldavian ruler Stephen the Great in the 15th century, by the works of the later renaissance Metropolitans Varlaam and Dosoftei, and those of scholars such as Grigore Ureche, Miron Costin, Nicolae Milescu, Dimitrie Cantemir,^[68] Ion Neculce. In the 19th century, Moldavians from the territories of the medieval Principality of Moldavia, then split between Austria, Russia, and an Ottoman-vassal Moldavia (after 1859, Romania), made the largest contribution to the formation of the modern Romanian culture. Among these were many Bessarabians, such as Alexandru Donici, Alexandru Hâjdeu, Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, Constantin Stamati, Constantin Stamati-Ciurea, Costache Negruzzi, Alecu Russo, Constantin Stere.

Mihai Eminescu, a late Romantic poet, and Ion Creangă, a writer, are the most influential Romanian language artists, considered national writers both in Romania and Moldova.

Ethnic Moldovans, 78.3% of the population, are Romanian-speakers and share the Romanian culture. Their culture has been also influenced (through Eastern Orthodoxy) by the Byzantine culture.

The country has also important minority ethnic communities. Gagauz, 4.4% of the population, are the only Christian Turkic people. Greeks, Armenians, Poles, Jews, Ukrainians, although not numerous, were present since as early as 17th century, and had left cultural marks. The 19th century saw the arrival of many more Ukrainians and Jews from Podolia and Galicia, as well as new communities, such as Lipovans, Bulgarians and Germans.

In the second part of the 20th century, Moldova saw a massive Soviet immigration, which brought with it many elements of the Soviet culture. The country has now important Russian (6%) and Ukrainian (8.4%) populations. 50% of ethnic Ukrainians, 27% of Gagauzians, 35% of Bulgarians, and 54% of smaller ethnic groups speak Russian as first language. In total, there are 541,000 people (or 16% of the population) in Moldova who use Russian as first language, including 130,000 ethnic Moldovans. By contrast, only 47,000 ethnic minorities use Romanian as first language.

Moldovan culture has certain influences from historic minority ethnic communities, and in turn has certain influences on the culture of the groups that emigrated, such as Bessarabian Germans and Bessarabian Jews.

Popular media

In October 1939, Radio Basarabia, a local station of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company, opened in Chişinău. Television in Moldova was introduced in April 1958, within the framework of the Soviet television. Moldovan viewers can receive through cable a large number of Russian channels, a few Romanian channels, several Russian language versions of international channels in addition to several local channels. One Russian and two local channels are aired.

Food and beverage

A popular Moldovan dish of stuffed cabbage rolls (sarmale) accompanied by sauerkraut and mămăligă

Chişinău Romanian Orchestra, about 1900

Moldovan cuisine consists mainly of traditional European foods, such as beef, pork, potatoes, cabbage, and a variety of cereals. Popular alcoholic beverages are divin (Moldovan brandy) and local wines.

Music

Moldova gave birth to composers Gavriil Musicescu, Åžtefan Neaga and Eugen Doga whose works are recognized worldwide.

In the field of popular music, Moldova has produced the boyband O-Zone, who came to prominence in 2004, with their hit song Dragostea Din Tei, also known as "The Numa Numa Song". Another popular band from Moldova is ska rock band Zdob ÅŸi Zdub that represented the country on 2005 Eurovision Song Contest.

Holidays

Most retail businesses close on New Year's and Independence Day, but remain open on all other holidays.

Sport

Architecture

The country's most prominent monument	Hâncu monastery	Noul Neamţ Monastery	Triumphal arch and Nativity Cathedral
A church in Downtown Chişinău	Capitoline Wolf and National History Museum	Academy of Sciences of Moldova	Cahul University

See also

Notes

External links

Read news and contribute yourself on Moldova News Portal

• Official website
• Moldova entry at The World Factbook
• Moldova at the Open Directory Project
• Wikimedia Atlas of Moldova
• Moldova travel guide from Wikitravel

Moldova topics History Prehistoric Balkans · Dacia · Principality of Moldavia · Bessarabia · Union with Romania · Greater Romania · Moldavian SSR · War of Transnistria · Post-independence Geography Rivers · Prut · Dniester · Danube · Climate · Fauna Cities and regions Cities · Localities · Chişinău · Gagauzia · Transnistria Law Declaration of Independence · Constitution · Constitutional Court · Nationality law · Passport · Law enforcement · Crime · Human rights · LGBT rights Politics Parliament · Elections · Parties · President · Prime Minister · Cabinet · Status of Transnistria · Joint Control Commission · Moldovan language · Unification movement · Foreign relations · Diplomatic missions Economy Moldovan leu · National Bank · Banks · Transport · Communications · Internet · Education Military Air Force · Ground Forces Demographics 2004 Census · Moldovans (list) · Languages · National identity · Religion Culture Romanian language · Literature · Writers · Poets · Music · Cinema · Cuisine · Rugby · Sport See also: Transnistria topics

Geographic locale Administrative divisions of Moldova Districts Anenii Noi Â· Basarabeasca Â· Briceni Â· Cahul Â· Cantemir Â· CălăraÅŸi Â· CăuÅŸeni Â· CimiÅŸlia Â· Criuleni Â· DonduÅŸeni Â· Drochia Â· Dubăsari Â· EdineÅ£ Â· FăleÅŸti Â· FloreÅŸti Â· Glodeni Â· HînceÅŸti Â· Ialoveni Â· Leova Â· Nisporeni Â· OcniÅ£a Â· Orhei Â· Rezina Â· Rîşcani Â· Sîngerei Â· Soroca Â· Străşeni Â· ÅžoldăneÅŸti Â· Åžtefan Vodă Â· Taraclia Â· TeleneÅŸti Â· Ungheni Autonomous regions Găgăuzia Â· Transnistria1 Municipalities ChiÅŸinău  Â· BălÅ£i Â· Bender 1 The political status of Transnistria is not settled.

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