Moldavia, also known as the Moldova Republic or Moldova, is nestled tightly between Ukraine and Romania. It was founded as an independent state between 1356 and 1359 by Prince Bogdan I. In 1918 it became a part of the Romanian Kingdom. Moldova was ruled for centuries by Romania as a part of Bessarabia. After this it was ruled by imperial Russia. This ended on August 27, 1991, when the Republic of Moldova declared its independence. The imperial Russian rule could not sever the bonds – ethnic, political, and economic – between Moldovans and Romanians. Moldovans and Romanians share a common heritage and Moldovans speak Moldovan, a language of Romanian dialect.
With its limited area and a population of only 4,461,000, Moldova is the second smallest republic of the former Soviet Union. Its spacious river valleys, vast plains, and hills as far as the eye can see, make Moldova’s climate perfect for agriculture, which in turn grants agriculture to be its main industry. Moldovans harvest fruits, vegetables, wine, grain, and tobacco. Moldova has no major mineral deposits, so it imports all its oil, coal, and natural gas. Because of this lack of minerals, Moldova has several hydroelectric projects to provide most of its domestic energy. It exports its wine, tobacco, textiles, and machinery, and imports its oil, gas, and coal, steel, chemicals, metals, and automobiles.
Moldova consists basically of Moldavians, with some peoples of Ukrainian, Russian, and Gaguaz ethnicity. The main religion in Moldova is Eastern Orthodox. Many Eastern Orthodox monasteries call Moldova home.
Moldovans adopted a new constitution on July 28, 1994, to replace the old Soviet constitution of 1979. Its government is a republic with executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Its currency is the Moldovan leu. The military branches in Moldova are the Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, and Republic Security Forces.
Most Moldovan households have radios and televisions. The main sporting event Moldovans watch and follow is soccer.
Though this page has been carefully researched, the author does not claim expertise on Moldovan culture.
Please send questions, comments, and corrections to emuseum@mnsu.edu and include the URL of this page.
If you are Moldovan, your feedback is much appreciated.
Sources:
“General Information.” Information About the Moldavian Republic http://www.loveme.com/foreign-affair/country/mold.htm 15 Mar 2001
“Republic of Moldova.” My World Atlas (07 Mar 2001) http://zhenghe.tripod.com/moderninfo/moldova.html 15 Mar 2001
“Moldavia.” Moldavia http://risc.ici.ro/docs/moldavia.html 15 Mar 2001
Written by: Jesse Schuld