Historical Dictionary of Moldova

Historical Second Series: Andrei (click The Buy List ISBN: ISBN-13: Pub 496 Binding: Date: Apr Price: Scarecrow Historical Brezianu to Press, Dictionaries and of Europe Vlad Dictionary of Moldova Edition #52 Spnu enlarge) Inc. at Amazon $95.00 0-8108-5607-7 978-0-8108-5607-3 2007 pages Cloth

The Series: Andrei The List Buy ISBN: ISBN-13: Pub 498 Binding: Date:

A The A

to to Z

Z Guide

of Series Vlad Press,

Moldova #232 Spnu Inc. $29.95 at Amazon 0-8108-7211-0

Brezianu Scarecrow

and

Price:

978-0-8108-7211-0 May 2010 pages Paper

The Republic of Moldova claims a European lineage reaching back in time long before its 14th century accession to statehood. In the 15th century, it managed against all odds to avoid being conquered by Islam andalbeit an intermittent vassal after 1485it maintained its autonomy and was never turned into a province of the Ottoman Empire. After this period, however, Moldova would not be so fortunate, as it altered between Russian, Romanian, and Soviet control until it finally gained its independence in 1991 from the Soviet Union.

The second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Moldova, through its chronology, introduction, appendixes, maps, bibliography, and over 600 cross-referenced dictionary entries on important persons, places, events, and institutions and significant political, economic, social, and cultural aspects, traces the history of this small, but densely populated About country, providing a compass the for the direction it is heading. Authors

Andrei Brezianu is a specialist in European intellectual history and has taught at the Free University of Moldova, the Catholic University of America, and the University of Bucharest. Vlad Spnu is the president of the Moldova Foundation in Washington, DC. He served as a senior Moldovan diplomat both in Chisinau and abroad between 1992 and 2001. Read Table Editor's Preface Acknowledgments Reader's Acronyms Maps Chronology Introduction THE Appendix Appendix A: DICTIONARY Chairpersons B: of Presidents over 600 Moldova's Legislative of entries Bodies Moldova and Note Abbreviations a related of article by Jon for Woronoff, Historical by Scarecrow Press' of Series Editor

Contents Foreword

Dictionary Jon

Moldova: Woronoff

Appendix Bibliography About the Authors

C:

Prime

Ministers

of

Moldova

Preface

Introduction Entries

Entries

Entries

The Scarecrow Press, Inc. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission Reviews: Newly Released Book: Historical Dictionary of Moldova. By Jon Woronoff, Scarecrow Press' Series Editor (USA) of the publisher.

A New Historical Dictionary of Moldova. By Paul E. Michelson, Huntington University (USA) The Historical Dictionary of Moldova - an exceptionally useful book. By John Todd Stewart, American Ambassador to Moldova from 1995 to 1998

From Abaclia to Zubcu-Codreanu. By Alex van Oss, Foreign Service Institute (USA)

http://foundation.moldova.org/pages/eng/137/

Movement for the unification of Romania and Moldova

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Left image: A potential union of Romania and Moldova, including Transnistria, as demanded by the unionists. Right image: A potential union excluding Transnistria, also called the "Belkovsky plan".

A movement for the reunification of Romaniaand Moldova (Romanian: Unirea Republicii Moldova cu Romnia) began in both countries after the Romanian Revolution of 1989 and the beginning of glasnost policy in the Soviet Union. The question of reunification is recurrent in the public sphere of the two countries, often as a speculation, both as a goal and a danger. Individuals who advocate the unification are usually called "unionists" (unioniti). Some support it as a peaceful process based on consent in the two countries, others in the name of a "Romanian historical right over Bessarabia". The supporters of the union refer to the opponents as "Moldovenists" (moldoveniti).
Contents
[hide]

1 Background

o o

1.1 Revival of nationalism (19881992) 1.2 Political ties and unionism

2 Political commentary 3 Current trends

o o o o

3.1 Dual citizenship for Moldovan citizens 3.2 Action 2012 3.3 The Union Council 3.4 Union Marches

4 Opinion polls

o o

4.1 Moldova 4.2 Romania

5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links

[edit]Background
See also: History of Moldova and Union of Bessarabia with Romania Bessarabia had been part of the Principality of Moldavia until it was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1812. During the Russian Revolution of 1917, a newly formed Parliament (Sfatul rii) declared Bessarabia's autonomy inside a Russian state. In 1918, after the Romanian army entered Bessarabia, the makeshift parliament decided on independence, only to review its position and ultimately decide on a conditional union with Romania. The conditions, including the provisions for autonomy, were ultimately dropped.[1] In 1940, during World War II, Romania agreed to an ultimatum and ceded the region to the Soviet Union, which organized it into theMoldavian SSR. The Soviets strongly promoted the Moldovan ethnic identity, against other opinions that viewed all speakers of theRomanian language as part of a single ethnic group, taking advantage of the incomplete integration of Bessarabia into the interwar Romania. [2] The official Soviet policy also stated that Romanian and Moldovan were two different languages and, to emphasize this distinction, Moldovan had to be written in a new Cyrillic alphabet (the Moldovan alphabet) based on the reformed Russian Cyrillic, rather than the obsolete Romanian Cyrillic that ceased to be used in the 19th century in the Old Kingdom and 1917 in Bessarabia.[3]

[edit]Revival

of nationalism (19881992)

In September 1989, with the liberalization in the Soviet Union, the Moldovan SSR Parliament declared Moldovan as the official language, and also asserted the existence of a "Moldovan-Romanian linguistic identity".[4] On 6 May 1990, after several decades of strict separation, Romania and the Moldovan SSR lifted temporarily border crossing restrictions, and thousands of people crossed the Prut River which marked their common border.[5] The factors hindering the unification were complex, ranging from the caution of political leaders in Moldova and Romania, the war in Transnistria, and, perhaps more importantly, the mentality of large parts of the population in Moldova (and to some extent in Romania) who were indifferent or opposed to such a project.[6] In his address to the Romanian parliament, in February 1991, Mircea Snegur, the Moldovan president, spoke of a common identity of Moldovans and Romanians, referring to the "Romanians of both sides of the Prut River".[7] In June 1991, Snegur talked about Moldova moving toward the reunification with Romania, adding that the USSR is not making great efforts to stop it.[8]

While many Moldovan intellectuals supported the union and wanted a "reunion with the Romanian motherland",[9] there was little popular support for it, with more than 70% of the Moldovans opposing it, according to a 1992 poll. At the same time, Transnistria, the eastern part of Moldova, inhabited by a Slavic majority, used the putative danger of unification with Romania as a pretext for its own aspirations for independence.[10]

[edit]Political

ties and unionism

Following the declaration of independence on 27 August 1991, the Romanian flag defaced with the Moldovan coat of arms and the Romanian anthem "Deteapt-te, romne!" became the symbols of the new independent Moldova.[11] Following the growing tension between the pro-union governing Moldovan Popular Front and president Snegur, in particular over unification,[12] the president moved closer to the Moldovanist group of Agrarians, and appointed their candidate Andrei Sangheli as prime minister. As a result, and especially after the victory of Agrarians in the 1994 elections, Moldova began distancing itself from Romania. The state flag was slightly modified, and the anthem changed to "Limba noastr". The Moldovan referendum of 1994 for an independent Moldova was seen by many public figures to be aimed at implicitly excluding a union with Romania. Furthermore, the constitution adopted in 1994 by the new Parliament dominated by Moldovanist Agrarians and Socialists called the official language "Moldovan", as opposed to the earlier Declaration of independence that called it "Romanian". The attempt by Moldovan president Mircea Snegur in 1996 to change the name of the official language to "Romanian" was dismissed by the Moldovan Parliament as "promoting Romanian expansionism". A "Concept on National Policy" was adopted in 2003 by the Communist dominated Parliament, stating that Moldovans and Romanians are different peoples, and that the latter are an ethnic minority in Moldova. [13]

Opposition demonstration in Chiinu in January 2002. The text on the inscription reads "Romanian people-Romanian language."

Before 2005, only the Christian-Democratic People's Party, one of the political heirs of the Moldovan Popular Front, actively supported unification. However, the stance of the Christian-Democrats changed significantly after they started collaborating closely with the ruling Moldovan Communists. During the elections of April 2009, the alliance of National Liberal Party (Partidul Naional Liberal) and the 'European

Action' Movement (Miscarea Actiunea Europeana) ran on a common platform of a loose union with Romania, but accumulated only around 1% of the votes.[14]

[edit]Political

commentary

In 2004 and later, the Romanian newspaper Ziua published a series of articles and interviews with Stanislav Belkovsky, an influential political commentator from the Russian Federation, who proposed a plan of a unification between Romanian and Moldova excluding Transnistria. Speculations followed whether his plan is backed by higher circles in the Kremlin, but they were never confirmed. Nevertheless, several journalists and scholars dismissed the plan as a diversion, also pointing out several ambiguities, such as the status of the city of Tighina situated on the right bank of Dniester but under Transnistrian control, and, more importantly, the unlikelihood of Moldova's acquiescence to such a plan. In January 2006, the Romanian president Traian Bsescu declared that he strongly supported the Moldovan bid for joining the European Union and that "the minimal policy of Romania is for the unification of the Romanian nation to take place within the EU". The phrase"minimal policy" led to questions whether there is also a maximal policy. In July 2006, the Romanian president Traian Bsescu, claimed to have made a proposal to the Moldovan president Vladimir Voronin that "Moldova join the EU together with Romania in 2007" and that the alleged offer was rejected. Bsescu also added that Romania would respect this decision and would help Moldova to join EU on its own.[15] In October 2006 the Romanian newspaper Cotidianul estimated the cost of a union with Moldova at 30-35 billion euro,[16] and attracted criticism from the Romanian newspaper Ziua,[17] as well as "Timpul"[18] for exaggerating the costs and disregarding other dimensions of a possible union. After Moldovan parliamentary election of April 2009, the 2009 Moldova civil unrest, the Moldovan parliamentary election of July 2009, and the creation of the governing Alliance for European Integration, a new wave of speculations about the union followed. The Party of Communists, now in opposition, claimed that "the unionists came to power".[19] In November 2009, political commentator Stanislav Belkovsky declared in an interview with Radio Free Europe that April 2009 marks the beginning of the process of Moldova's return to Romania.[20] Traian Bsescu made a state visit to Moldova along with a number of ministers to announce several projects that would intensify ties between the two countries, and the offer of 100 million euro grant for infrastructure projects. Bsescu called Moldova his "soul project".[21] Private Romanian investments are also expected to increase significantly, with the opening of a Moldovan-Romanian business and investment office,[22] and the takeover of the online news portal Unimedia by Romanian group Realitatea-Caavencu group, owned by businessman Sorin Ovidiu Vntu.[23] On February 15, 2010, the Rdui-Lipcani border crossing between Romania and Moldova opened[24] and the remnant Soviet barbed wire fence on the Moldovan side of the border with Romania was dismantled.[25]

In January 2010, Mircea Druc, the former prime minister of Moldova between 1990 and 1991, declared that the unification of Romania and the Republic of Moldova is inevitable.[26] However, acting President Mihai Ghimpu denied in an interview with the Russian language newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda v Moldove" that such a move will be taken, stating that a union is not included in the program of the governing coalition.[27] On another occasion he declared that if the people wanted unification, neither he, nor anyone else could stop them.[28] He admitted on several occasions to personally share unionist views.[29] However in August 2010 he declared that the proposition of an "inter-state union" between Romania and Moldova was "a very stupid" idea.[30]

[edit]Current [edit]Dual

trends

citizenship for Moldovan citizens

Between 1991 and 2009, some 140,000 Moldovan citizens obtained Romanian citizenship.[31] According to some estimates, as many as 1 million Moldovan citizens requested Romanian citizenship by 2009.[32] In 2010, the Romanian government created the National Authority for Citizenship to process the large number of applications for Romanian citizenship coming especially from Moldovan citizens. The study "Reacquiring Romanian citizenship: historical, comparative and applied perspectives", released in 2012, estimated that 226,507 Moldovan citizens reacquired Romanian citizenship by August 15, 2011 [33][34] Between August 15, 2011 and October 15, 2012 an additional 90,000[35] reacquired Romanian citizenship, acording to the National Authority for Citizenship, bringing the total to 320,000. A poll conducted by IPP Chisinau in November 2007 shows that 33.6% of the Moldovan population is interested in holding Romanian citizenship, while 58.8% is not interested. The main reason of those interested is: feeling Romanian (31.9%), the possibility of traveling to Romania (48.9%), and the possibility of traveling and/or working in the EU (17.2%).[36]

[edit]Action

2012

In April 2011, a coalition of NGOs from Romania and Moldova created the civic platform "Aciunea 2012" (English: Action 2012), whose aim is to "raise awareness of the necessity of the unification between Romania and the Republic of Moldova". Year 2012 was chosen as a reference to the bicentennial commemoration of the 1812 division of historical Moldavia, when the Russian Empire annexed what would later be called Bessarabia. The proponents see the unification as a reversal of this historical division, a reversal inspired by the rather short-lived Union of Bessarabia with Romania (19181940) disrupted by the Soviet occupation.[37][38][39][40]

[edit]The

Union Council

In February 2012, the Union Council was created to "gather all unionists" in order to "promote the idea of Romanian national unity". Among the signatories: Mircea Druc former Moldovan prime-minister, Alexandru Mosanu former speaker of the Moldovan Parliament,Vitalia Pavlicenco president of the National Liberal Party (Moldova), Vladimir Beleag writer, Constantin Tnase director of the Moldovan newspaper Timpul de diminea, Val Butnaru president of Jurnal Trust Media, Oleg Brega journalist and activist, Nicu rn

soloist of the Moldovan rock band Gndul Mei, and Tudor Ionescu, president of the Romanian neo-fascist association Noua Dreapt, Valentin Dolganiuc, former Moldovan MP, Eugenia Duca, Moldovan businesswoman, Anton Moraru, Moldovan professor of history, Eugen Mihalache, vice president of People's Party, Dan Diaconescu and others[41][42][43]

[edit]Union

Marches

The newly-created Action 2012 and Union Council initiative groups organized several manifestations in support of the unification throughout 2012. The first one was a rally of several thousand people in Chiinu on 25 March 2012,[44] held as an aniversary of theUnion of Bessarabia with Romania on 27 March 1918. Similar rallies took place on 13 May[45] (which commemorated 200 years of theTreaty of Bucharest (1812) and the first Russian annexation of Bessarabia) and 16 September.[46] A union march was also held inBucharest on 21 October.[47] Smaller-scale manifestations took place in the Moldovan cities of Cahul and Bli on 22 July[48] and 5 August,[49] respectively. Various intelectuals and artists from both countries supported the marches,[50] while Moldovan Speaker Marian Lupu and Prime Minister Vlad Filat opposed them.[51]

[edit]Opinion [edit]Moldova

polls

The International Republican Institute in partnership with The Gallup Organization regularly conduct polls in the Republic of Moldova on several social and political issues.[52] The following results reflect the public stance in Moldova on the question of reunification

Date

Question

Fully support

Somewhat support

Somewhat oppose

Fully DK/NA oppose

Jan-Feb 2011[53]

Excluding the impact of potential Moldovan membership in the European Union, do you support unification of Moldova with Romania?

10%

18%

16%

47%

9%

Do you support or oppose the Aug-Sep reunification of the Republic of Moldova [54] 2011 with Romania?

11%

20%

16%

43%

10%

A poll conducted by IRI in Moldova in November 2008 showed that 29% of the population would support a union with Romania, while 61% would reject it.[55]

[edit]Romania
A poll conducted in NovemberDecember 2010 and extensively analyzed in the study 'The Republic of Moldova in the Romanian public awareness' (Romanian: Republica Moldova n contiina public romneasc)[56] addressed the issue of reunification.

Question

Strongly agree

Partially agree

Partially disagree

Strongly disagree

DK/NA

Unification should be a national objective for Romania

23%

29%

23%

11%

15%

Sooner or later, the Republic of Moldova and 16% Romania should unite upon the German model

29%

16%

11%

28%

According to a poll conducted in Romania in January 2006, 44% of the population supports a union with Moldova, and 28% rejects it. Also, of those supporting the union, 28% support a union with Moldova, including Transnistria, while the rest of 16% support a union without Transnistria.[57] A survey carried out in Romania in June 2012 by the Romanian Centre of Strategic Studies showed the following results:[58]

Question

Yes

No

DK/NA

Do you believe that the language spoken in Bessarabia is Romanian?

71.9% 11.9% 16.2%

Do you believe that Bessarabia is Romanian land?

84.9% 4.7% 10.4%

Do you agree with the unification of Bessarabia with Romania?

86.5% 12.7% 0.8%

Do you consider that the unification of Bessarabia with Romania should be a priority for 55.2% 20.5% 24.2% Romanian politicians?

Question

Romanians Moldovans Russians DK/NA

Do you consider that Bessarabians are primarily: 67.5% [edit]See

28.2%

3.9%

0.3%

also

Controversy over linguistic and ethnic identity in Moldova Romanian-Moldovan relations Bessarabia Romanian Land Greater Romania

[edit]Notes

1.

^ Charles King, "The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the Politics of Culture", Hoover Press, 2000, pg. 35

2. 3. 4.

^ King, The Moldovans...; Mackinlay, pg. 135 ^ Mackinlay, pg. 140 ^ (Romanian) Legea cu privire la funcionarea limbilor vorbite pe teritoriul RSS Moldoveneti Nr. 3465-XI din 01.09.89 (Law regarding the usage of languages spoken on the territory of the Republic of Moldova), published in Vetile nr.9/217, 1989

5.

^ (Romanian) "Podul de flori peste Prut. Puni de simire romneasc", in Romnia Liber, 8 May 1990.

6.

^ "Romania's relations with Moldova are more ambiguous. The instability of Ion Iliescu's pro-Moscow government in Bucharest has made both sides cautious in seeking ties with one another. In August 1990 Romania announced plans to help Moldova develop a national police force, and a month later the two signed a treaty of cooperation. Although each side has disavowed Romanian-Moldovan reunification, groups are lobbying for it in both republics" Martha Brill Olcott, "The Soviet (Dis)Union", in Foreign Policy, No. 82. (Spring, 1991), pp. 130

7.

^ Problems, Progress and Prospects in a Post-Soviet Borderland: The Republic of Moldova. Trevor Waters. "In an address to the Romanian parliament in February 1991 (on the first official visit to Romania by any leader from Soviet Moldova since its annexation), the then President Snegur strongly affirmed the common Moldovan-Romanian identity, noting that We have the same history and speak the same language, and referred to Romanians on both sides of the River Prut. In June 1991 the Romanian parliament vehemently denounced the Soviet annexation of Bessarabia and Northern Bucovina, describing the territories as sacred Romanian lands."

8.

^ "Moldavians seek to unite with Romania", in The Independent, June 4, 1991, Page 12

9.

^ King, p.345

10. ^ According to recent polls, 70 percent of Moldovans reject unification with Romania as "undesirable," while only 7-10 percent support it as necessary (Daily Report, December 30, 1992, p. 3) John B. Dunlop, "Will a Large-Scale Migration of Russians to the Russian Republic Take Place over the Current Decade?", in International Migration Review, Vol. 27, No. 3. (Autumn, 1993), pp. 605-629. 11. ^ Mackinlay, pg. 139

12. ^ George Berkin, "Secession blues", in National Review, September 9, 1991 13. ^ (Romanian) "Concepia politicii naionale a Republicii Moldova" at the Moldovan Parliament website 14. ^ http://www.e-democracy.md/elections/parliamentary/2009/results/ 15. ^ (Romanian) "Bsescu i-a dezvluit planul unionist secret", in Evenimentul Zilei, 3 July 2006 16. ^ (Romanian)"Basarabia costa bani grei" (Bessarabia costs a lot), in Cotidianul 17. ^ (Romanian) Ct ne cost idealul rentregirii? ("How Much The Ideal of Reunification Costs Us?") - Ziuay 18. ^ (Romanian) De ce Germania a numrat nemii, i nu banii din buzunarele lor? ("Why Did Germany Count The Germans, And Not Their Money?") - Timpul.md 19. ^ (Romanian) A fi sau a nu fi acestei guvernari? - aceasta-i intrebarea lui Voronin 20. ^ (Romanian) November 27, 2009. "Aprilie 2009 - nceputul procesului de revenire a Moldovei n componena Romniei" 21. ^ (Romanian) [1] (Tense relations between Romania and Moldova repaired with 100 million euros), Ziarul Financiar, 28 January 2010 22. ^ [2] (Moldovan-Romanian business and investment office to open in Chiinu), Financiarul, 4 February 2010 23. ^ (Romanian) UNIMEDIA i PUBLIKA TV i unesc eforturile pentru dezvoltarea mass-media din Republica Moldova), Realitatea TV, 9 December 2009 24. ^ (Romanian) Inaugurarea podului Lipcani-Rdui Jurnal de Chiinu, 15 February 2010 25. ^ (Romanian) "Republica Moldova a inceput daramarea gardului de sarma ghimpata de la granita cu Romania", hotnews.ro, February 10, 2010 26. ^ (Romanian) Mircea Druc este optimist i anun unirea inevitabil a Romniei cu Basarabia, tiri din Basarabia, 15 January 2010 27. ^ (Russian) .. : !, February 17, 2010 28. ^ "Interview with Mihai Ghimpu - Radio Free Europe", Radio Free Europe, 1 March 2010

29. ^ (Romanian) "Interview with Mihai Ghimpu - Timpul", September 29, 2009 30. ^ (Romanian) Ghimpu: Uniunea interstatal R. Moldova - Romnia ar fi cea mai mare prostie!. Unimedia.md, August 23, 2010 31. ^ (Romanian) [3] [4] 32. ^ (Romanian) [5] 33. ^ http://www.gandul.info/news/aproape-un-sfert-de-milion-depersoane-din-r-moldova-au-redobandit-cetatenia-romana-in-20-de-ani9566918 34. ^ http://www.soros.ro/ro/comunicate_detaliu.php?comunicat=187 35. ^ http://cetatenie.just.ro/ordine/ 36. ^ (Romanian) [6], page 89-90 37. ^ http://www.actiunea2012.ro 38. ^ http://www.hotnews.ro/stiri-cultura-8510245-webrelease-lansatplatforma-civica-actiunea-2012-sustine-uunirea-republicii-moldovaromania.htm 39. ^ http://www.publika.md/unirea-romaniei-cu-moldova--sustinuta-deplatforma-civica-actiunea-2012_294811.html 40. ^ http://www.tvr.ro/articol.php?id=102788 41. ^ http://www.radiochisinau.md/pages/view/2339 42. ^ http://www.jurnal.md/ro/news/a-fost-constituit-consiliul-unirii-216897/ 43. ^ http://consiliul-unirii.union.md/conferin-a-de-presa-i-declara-iaconsiliului-unirii 44. ^ http://www.arena.md/?go=news&n=11589&t=FOTO__Mar%C5%9Fu l_Unirii_la_Chi%C5%9Fin%C4%83u_marcat_de_incidente__ 45. ^ http://www.jurnal.md/ro/news/mar-ul-unirii-din-pman-pana-laambasada-rusiei-i-a-turciei-foto-219805/ 46. ^ http://www.ziuaveche.ro/international/externe/chisinau-16septembrie-marsul-unirii-live-video-120529.html 47. ^ http://unimedia.info/stiri/foto--video-marsul-unirii-din-bucuresti-s-aincheiat-fara-incidente-53441.html 48. ^ http://www.trm.md/ro/regional/cahul-altercatii-la-marsul-unirii/ 49. ^ http://www.jurnal.md/ro/news/violen-e-la-bal-i-video-live-text-224673/ 50. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9pBTwxZTpA 51. ^ http://www.jurnal.md/ro/news/filat-roaga-moldovenii-sa-nu-participela-mar-ul-unirii-303660/ 52. ^ http://www.iri.org/countries-and-programs/eurasia/moldova

53. ^ http://www.iri.org/sites/default/files/2011%20June%206%20Survey% 20of%20Moldova%20Public%20Opinion,%20January%2024February%207,%202011.pdf 54. ^ http://www.iri.org/sites/default/files/flip_docs/Moldova%20national%2 0voters%20survey%202010-09/HTML/index.html#/34/zoomed 55. ^ (Romanian) "29% din populatia R.Moldova este pentru unirea cu Romania", detailed statistics 56. ^ http://www.soros.ro/ro/publicatii.php 57. ^ (Romanian) Cotidianul. "Unirea cu Moldova", 23 January 2006 58. ^ http://www.rgnpress.ro/rgn_12/images/stories/2012/08/11sondaj_CRSS.pdf

[edit]References

Lenore A. Grenoble (2003) Language Policy in the Soviet Union, Springer, ISBN 1-4020-1298-5

John Mackinlay, Peter Cross (2003) Regional Peacekeepers United Nations University Press ISBN 92-808-1079-0

Charles King, "Moldovan Identity and the Politics of Pan-Romanianism", in Slavic Review, Vol. 53, No. 2. (Summer, 1994), pp. 345368.

Charles King, The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the politics of culture, Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, 2000.ISBN 08179-9792-X

[edit]External

links

(Romanian) Actiunea 2012 Official Website (Romanian) Romanism.net Website dedicated to Romanian-Moldovan

reunification

(Romanian) BBC Romanian: "Interviu cu preedintele PPCD Iurie

Roca" (March 2005)

(Romanian) Ziua: "Trdarea Basarabiei de la Bucureti" (June 2005) (Romanian) Hotnews.ro: March 2006 Poll (Romanian) Cotidianul: "Ci bani ne-ar costa unirea cu

Basarabia" (October 2006)

(English) Basescu Plan: Actions supporting unification with Romania

held in Chisinau (October 2006)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movement_for_the_unification_of_Romania_and_Moldova

Controversy over linguistic and ethnic identity in Moldova

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A controversy exists over the national identity and name of the native language of the main ethnic group in the Republic of Moldova. The issue more frequently disputed is whether Moldovans constitute a subgroup of Romanians or a separate ethnic group. While there is wide agreement about the existence of a common language, the controversy persists about the use of the term "Moldovan language" in certain political contexts. The Declaration of Independence of 1991 calls the official language "Romanian",[1] and the first anthem adopted by the independent Moldova was "Deteapt-te, romne" ("Awaken, Romanian!"), the same as the anthem of Romania. Mirroring political evolutions in the country, the Constitution of Moldova (1994) calls the official language "Moldovan"[2] and establishes as anthem "Limba noastr" (Our language, without any explicit reference to its name). Moreover, the 2003 "Law of Nationalities"
[3]

adopted by the Communist-

dominated Parliament explicitly designates the Romanians as an ethnic minority in Moldova. The officially sanctioned distinction between Moldovans and Romanians has been criticized by some members of the scientific community within Moldova.[4][5][6][7][8] and raised protests from certain segments of the population, especially intellectuals and students, at their turn inspired by several political forces.[9] [10][11] Furthermore, the problem strained Moldova's diplomatic relations with neighboring Romania.
Contents
[hide]

1 Principality of Moldavia (13591812)

o o o o

1.1 Moldavian identity in medieval chronicles 1.2 Selected foreign travelers about Moldavians 1.3 Early works in the local language of Moldavia 1.4 Diplomats' opinion

2 Bessarabia in the Russian Empire (18121918) 3 Bessarabia within Greater Romania (19181940) 4 Bessarabia within the Soviet Union (19401992) 5 Linguistic dispute 6 Popular perception 7 Political positions 8 Moldovan presidents on the language and identity of Moldovans

9 Moldovenism 10 See also 11 References 12 Bibliography

[edit]Principality

of Moldavia (13591812)

Hronicul vechimei a Romano-Moldo-Vlahilor (Chronicle of the durability of Romano-Moldo-Wallachians). Written by Moldavian Prince Dimitrie Cantemir.

Carte Romneasc de nvtur (Romanian Book of Learning). Written by Metropolitan of Moldavia, Varlaam Mooc.

[edit]Moldavian

identity in medieval chronicles

The chronicles of medieval Moldavia attested the names used by the inhabitants of Moldavia to refer to themselves as well as the common language and origin of Moldavians, Wallachians and Transylvanians. Stephen the Great, Prince of Moldavia (14571504), had ordered a chronicle to be written by a German royal courtier. The chronicle covered the years 14571499 and was titled Dy Cronycke Des Stephen Woywoda auss Wallachey or The Chronicle of Stephen Voivode of Wallachia.[12] The first important

chronicler of Moldavia, Grigore Ureche (15901647), states that the Romanians of theHungarian Kingdom and Moldavians have the same origin, since both "come from Rome".[13]Later, chronicler Miron Costin (16331691) wrote in one of his works that the "rightest and most authentic" name of Moldavians is Rumn (Romanian), a changed form of "Roman", and that this name was kept by them from the beginnings till to that day. He also mentioned that Moldavians never ask "do you speak Moldavian?", but rather "do you speak Romanian?".[citation needed] His son, chronicler Nicolae Costin (16601712), shared his father's opinion.[citation needed]The Wallachian chronicler Constantin Cantacuzino (16551716) explains that by Romanians he means Romanians from Wallachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia, as they all speak essentially the same language and have a common origin[citation needed] Dimitrie Cantemir (16731723), Prince of Moldavia and member of the Royal Academy of Berlin, wrote a history book called Hronicul vechimei a Romano-Moldo-Vlahilor (Chronicle of the Ancientness of the Romanian-Moldavian-Vlachs). In the introductory part, he calls it "a chronicle of the entire Romanian land" (Hronicon a toat ara Romneasc) that "later was divided into Moldavia, Wallachia and Transylvania" (care apoi s-au mprit n Moldova, Munteneasc i Ardealul) and mentions that the book was first written in Latin and then translated into Romanian (pre limba romneasc). He also claims that the usual name of Transylvanians, Moldavians and Wallachians is Romanian (carii cu toii cu un nume de obte romni s chiam).[citation needed]

[edit]Selected

foreign travelers about Moldavians

Several foreign travelers through Moldavia since the 16th century noted that locals called themselves "Romanians"[14] and their language "Romanian".[15] They also mention the awareness of a common Roman origin among the inhabitants of Moldavia and neighbouring Wallachia and Transylvania .[16] Georg Reicherstorffer (14951554), a Transylvanian Saxon, was the emissary of Ferdinand I of Habsburg in Wallachia and Moldavia. Reicherstorffer had traveled in 1527 and 1535 in the Principality of Moldavia and wrote his travel memoirs - Moldaviae quae olim Daciae pars, Chorographia (1541) and also Chorographia Transylvaniae(1550). Describing the geography of Moldavia he finds that "besides this name it is also called Wallachia" and then speaking about the Moldavian people he says that "the Roman [Italian] language still endures in this nation...so the Wallachians [from Moldavia] are an Italian nation, as they claim, from the old Romans".[17] A chronicler and mercenary from Verona, Alessandro Guagnini (15381614), traveled twice in Moldavia and helped Despot Vod (Ioan Iacob Heraclid) gain the throne in 1563. In his biography of the prince, "Vita despothi Principis Moldaviae", he described to the people of Moldavia:"This nation of Wallachians refer to themselves as Romana and say that they originate from exiled Romans of Italy. Their language is a mixture of Latin and Italian languages, so that an Italian can easily understand a Wallachian".[18] After a visit to Moldavia an anonymous traveler, probably an Italian Jesuit, wrote in 1587 a description of the people and found that "these people [Moldavians] belong to the Greek faith, they take kindly to everything that is Roman, maybe because of their corrupted language from Latin, or for the belief they have about their descent from the Romans, as they call themselves Romans".[19] Also, according to these sources, the Slav neighbours called Moldovans "Vlachs" or "Volokhs", a term equally used to refer to all the Romance speakers from Wallachia, Transylvania, and the Balkan peninsula.[20] Nicolaus Olahus (14931568), proeminent humanist, writes in Hungaria et Attila that the Moldavians have the same

language, rituals and religion as the Wallachians and that the only way to distinguish them is by their clothes. He also mentions that the language of Moldavians and other Vlach peoples was once Roman (Latin), as they all were colonies of the Roman Empire.[21] Thomas Thornton (17621814) wrote a book in 1807 about his numerous travels inside the Ottoman Empire and says that the Wallachian and Moldavian peasants call themselves "Rumun, or Roman", to distinguish themselves from boyars (local nobles), and that their language is a corrupt Latin.[22]

[edit]Early

works in the local language of Moldavia

Similarly, in 1643, The Moldavian Prince Vasile Lupu sponsored a book of homilies translated by Metropolitan Varlaam of Moldavia fromSlavonic into Romanian (pre limba Romeniasc) and titled Carte Romneasc de nvtur (Romanian Book of Learning) .[23] The foreword by Prince Lupu says that it is addressed to the entire Romanian nation everywhere (la toat semenia romneasc de pretutindeni). The book, also known as "Cazania of Varlaam" (Varlaam's Homiliary), was the very first printed in Moldavia and large numbers of copies spread in the neighboring provinces inhabited by Romanian speakers.[24] Furthermore, as a reaction to the translation in Transylvania of the Calvinist catechism into Romanian, Metropolitan Varlaam wrote in 1645 a "Response to the Calvinist Catechism" (Rspuns la Catehismul calvinesc) addressed to "the beloved Christians and with us one Romanian nation" from Transylvania [25] Vasile Lupu sponsored the printing in 1646 of the first code of laws in Moldavia titled Romanian Book of Learning (Carte romneasc de nvtur de la pravilele mprteti i de la alte giudee). The book was inspired by Byzantine tradition and in 1652 a virtually identical code of laws appeared in Wallachia, sponsored by Prince Matei Basarab.[26] Moldavian Metropolitan Dosoftei printed Dumnezaiasca Liturghie (Divine Liturgy) in Romanian (tiparita romneste). In his "Foreword to the Romanian nation" (Cuvnt depreuna catra semintia rumaneasca), Dosoftei calls the book a gift to the Romanian language (acest dar limbii rumnesti) translated from Greek (de pre elineasca) into Romanian (pre limba rumneasca).[27] Later, after the annexation of Bessarabia by the Russian empire, religious books written in the region commonly called the language "Moldavian". Thus a menologium printed in Chiinu in 1819 states it was translated from Slavonic into Moldavian ( ), as does a typicon from 1821 ( ).[28][29]

[edit]Diplomats'

opinion

Joseph II, Ruler of the Austrian Empire and Catherine II, Empress of Russia between 17621796, were willing to unite Moldavia and Wallachia, then under Ottoman sovereignty, in order to create an independent buffer state between Russia and Austria. The proposed independent state, named Dacia, would have contained Moldavia, Bessarabia and Wallachia, but Catherine wished it under Russian influence as it was presented in the so-called "Greek Project".[30] During the British Parliament debates of 1793, Mr. Whitebread, speaking about the initiative of France to erect an independent Belgium from Austro-Hungaria,

mentions Edmund Burke's initiative to form an independent state from the Ottoman Empire, named Circle of the Danube comprising Wallachia, Moldavia and Bessarabia.[31]Also, the memoirs of Sir James Porter (17201786), British diplomat, ambassador to the Sublime Porte in Istanbul from 1747 to 1762, mentions that, inside the Ottoman Empire, next in number to the Slavonians are the Rumelians or Romani, to whom the Moldavians and Wallachians belong, who call themselves Rumuryi.[32]

[edit]Bessarabia

in the Russian Empire (18121918)

In 1812, the eastern part of the Principality of Moldavia, called Bessarabia, which includes the current territory of Republic of Moldova (except for Transnistria) was ceded by the Ottomans to the Russian empire. The idea of a unified state including all Romanian speakers from Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia did not emerge before the 18th century, as it was "foreign to the spirit of the age"
[33]

Starting with the 18th

century, a pan-Romanian national idea appeared, inspired by the German and French romantic nationalism. The young boyars from Moldavia and Wallachia educated in western universities returned home with ambitious political goals to modernize their countries, and sought to accomplish the ideal of a unified Romaniannation state. One important step was achieved in 1859, in a favorable international context, with the election of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as a common ruler of the autonomous principalities of Wallachia and (western) Moldavia. The newly formed Romanian state set among its primary tasks to inculcate the sentiment of belonging to a common Romanian nation to the illiterate rural majority through state-funded universal elementary school. The Romantic historical discourse reinterpreted history as a march towards the unified state. The creation of a standardized Romanian language and orthography, the adoption of the Roman alphabet to replace the older Cyrillic were also important elements of the national project.[33][34] Although still under foreign rule, the masses of Romanians in the multiethnic Transylvania developed a Romanian national consciousness, owing to their interaction with the ethnic groups, and as a reaction to the status of political inferiority and the aggressive nationalist politicies of the later Hungarian national state.[35][36] Such developments were not reflected in the Russian controlled Bessarabia. The Russification policy of the regime, more successful among the higher strata of the society, did not have an important effect on the majority of rural Moldavians. As Romanian politician Take Ionescu noted at the time, "the Romanian landlords were Russified through a policy of cooptation, the government allowing them to maintain leading positions in the administration of the province, whereas the peasantry was indifferent to the national problem: there were no schools for de-nationalization, and, although the church service was held in Russian, this was actually of little significance"[37][38] Furthermore, as University of Bucharest lecturer Cristina Petrescu noted, Bessarabia missed "the reforms aimed at transforming the two united principalities [Wallachia and Moldavia] into a modern state"[37][39] Irina Livezeanu claims that, moreover, at the beginning of the 20th century, peasants in all regions of the former principality of Moldavia were more likely to identify as Moldavians than the inhabitants of the cities.[40] In 1849, George Long writes that Wallachia and Moldavia are separated only by a political boundary and that their history is closely connected. About the latter he says that it is inhabited mainly by Wallachians who

call themselves Roomoon (Romanian).[41]Ethnologist Robert Gordon Latham, writes in 1854, that the name by which a Wallachian, Moldavian or a Bessarabian designates himself is Roman or Rumanyo (Romanian), a name the author also applies to the Romance speakers of Macedonia.[42] Similarly, in 1845, German brothers Arthur Schott and Albert Schott (historian) write in the beginning of their book - Walachische Mhrchen(Wallachian Fairy Tales) - that Wallachians live in Wallachia, Moldavia, Transylvania, Hungary, Macedonia and Thessaly.[43] The authors also mentions that Wallachians respond Eo sum Romanu (I am Romanian) when asked what they are.[44]

[edit]Bessarabia

within Greater Romania (19181940)

In 1918, Sfatul rii voted for the union of Bessarabia with the Kingdom of Romania. At the time, the Romanian army was already present in Bessarabia. US historian Charles Upson Clark notes that several Bessarabian ministers, Codreanu, Pelivan and Secara, and the Russian commander-in-chief Shcherbachev had asked for its intervention to maintain order.[45] He also mentions that after the arrival of Romanian army "all classes in Bessarabia, except the Russian revolutionaries, breathed a sigh of relief".[46] However, he adds that, at the beginning, the intervention had "roused great resentment among those who still clung to the hope of a Bessarabian state within the Russian Federated Republic" such as Ion Inculet, president of Sfatul Tarii and prime-minister Pantelimon Erhan who initially demanded the prompt withdrawal of the Romanian troops to avoid a civil war.[47] However, Inculet later welcomed Romanian general Brosteanu, who was in charge with the intervention, to a formal reception at Sfatul Tarii.[46] Given the complex circumstances, some scholars such as Cristina Petrescu and US historian Charles King considered controversial the Bessarabian vote in favor of the union with Romania.[48][49] On the contrary, historian Sorin Alexandrescu thinks that the presence of the Romanian army "did not cause the unification, [...] but only consolidated it". .[50] Similarly, Bernard Newman, who traveled by bike in the whole of Greater Romania, claimed there is little doubt that the vote represented the prevailing wish in Bessarabia and that the events leading to the unification indicate there was no question of a "seizure", but a voluntary act on the part of its people.[51] Quoting Emmanuel de Martonne, historian Irina Livezeanu mentions that, around the time of the union, Bessarabian peasants "still called thesemlves Moldovans". She adds Ion Nistor's explanation from 1915 of a similar earlier phenomenon in the Austrian-ruledBukovina, where peasants had called themselves Moldovans but "under the influence of the [Romanian] literary language, the term 'Moldovan' was then replaced by 'Romanian'", while "in Bessarabia this influence has not penetrated yet"[52] After the unification, a few French and Romanian military reports from the period mentioned the reticence or hostility of the Bessarabian ethnic minorities, at times together with Moldovans, towards the new Romanian administration.[53] Livezeanu also notes that, at the beginning, the Moldovan urban elite educated under Russian rule spoke predominantly Russian, and despised Romania as "uncivilized" and the culture of its elite, of which it knew very little.[54]

Owing partly to its relative underdevelopment compared to other regions of Greater Romania, as well as to the low competence and corruption of some of the new Romanian administration in this province, the process of "turning Bessarabian peasants into Romanians" was less successful than in other regions and was soon to be disrupted by the Soviet occupation.[55][56] Cristina Petrescu thinks that the transition between the Tsarist-type of local administration to the centralized Romanian administration alienated many Moldovans, and many of them felt they were rather occupied than united with "their alleged brothers".[57] Based on the stories told by a group of Bessarabians from the villages of the Balti county, who, notably, chose to move to Romania rather than live under the Soviet regime, Cristina Petrescu suggests that Bessarabia seems to be only region of the Greater Romania where the central authorities did not succeed "in integrating their own coethnics", most of whom "did not even begin to consider themselves part of the Romanian nation, going beyond their allegiance to regional and local ties" .[56]

[edit]Bessarabia

within the Soviet Union (19401992)

In 1940, Bessarabia, along with northern Bukovina, was incorporated into the USSR following an ultimatum sent to the Romanian government. The Soviet authorities took several steps to emphasize the distinction between the Moldovans and the Romanians, at times using the physical elimination of pan-Romanian supporters, deemed as "enemies of the people".[58] They were repressed by theNKVD and KGB for their "bourgeois nationalism".[59] The Soviet propaganda also sought to secure a separate status for the varieties of the Romanian language spoken in the USSR. Thus, it imposed the use of a Cyrillic script derived from the Russian alphabet, and promoted the exclusive use of the name "Moldovan language", forbidding the use of the name "Romanian language". The harsh anti-Romanian Soviet policy left a trace on the identity of Moldovans.[55]

[edit]Linguistic

dispute

Main articles: Languages of Moldova, Moldovan language, and Romanian language

A Limba noastr social ad in Chiinu, Moldova with the word "Romn" sprayed onto it.

There is essentially no disagreement that the standard form of the official language inMoldova (called Moldovan by the Constitution of 1994, also called Romanian or "the official language"/"limba de stat") is identical to standard Romanian. The spoken language of Moldova, in spite of small regional differences, is completely understandable to speakers from Romania and viceversa. [citation
needed]

The slight differences are in pronunciation and the choice of vocabulary. For

example, cabbage, drill and water melon are respectively "curechi", "sfredel" and "harbuz" in Moldova and Moldavia (Romania), but their synonyms "varz", "burghiu" and "pepene" are preferred in Transylvania and Wallachia. However, Daco-Romanian speakers might know and understand both forms of each term. Moldovan is widely considered merely the political name used in the Republic of Moldova for the Romanian language.[60]

[edit]Popular

perception

A poll conducted in Moldova by IMAS-Inc Chiinu in October 2009 presented a somewhat detailed picture of the perception of identity inside the country. The participants were asked to rate the relationship between the identity of Moldovans and that of Romanians on a scale between 1 (entirely the same) to 5 (completely different). The poll shows that 26% of the entire sample, which includes all ethnic groups, claim the two identities are the same or very similar, whereas 47% claim they are different or entirely different. The results vary significantly among different categories of subjects. For instance, 33% of the young respondents (ages 1829) chose the same or very similar, and 44% different or very different. Among the senior respondents (aged over 60), the corresponding figures were 18.5% and 53%. One of the largest deviation from the country average was among the residents of capital Chiinu, for whom the figures were 42% and 44%. The poll also shows that, compared to the national average (25%), people are more likely to perceive the two identities as the same or very similar if they are young (33%), are native speakers of Romanian (30%), have higher education (36%) or reside in urban areas (30%), especially in the capital city (42%).[61] Until 2007, some 120 000 Moldovan citizens received Romanian citizenship. In 2009, Romania granted 36 000 more citizenships and expects to increase the number up to 10 000 per month.
[62][63]

Romanian

president Traian Bsescu claimed that over 1 million more have made requests for it, and this high number is seen by some as a result of this identity controversy. The Communist government(20012009), a vocal advocate of a distinct Moldovan ethnic group, deemed multiple citizenship a threat to Moldovan statehood.[64][65]

[edit]Political

positions

The major Moldovan political forces have diverging opinions regarding the identity of Moldovans. This contradiction is reflected in their stance toward the national history that should be taught in Moldovans schools. Forces such as the Liberal Party (PL), Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM) and Our Moldova Alliance

(AMN) support the teaching of the history of Romanians. Others, such as the Democratic Party (PD) and the Party of Communists (PCRM) support the history of Republic of Moldova.[66][67] [68] [69]

[edit]Moldovan

presidents on the language and identity of Moldovans

Mircea Snegur, the first Moldovan President (19921996), a somewhat versatile supporter of the common Romanian-Moldovan ethnic and linguistic identity "n suflet eram (i sunt) mai romn dect muli dintre nvinuitori." [70] "In my soul I was (and am) more Romanian than most of my accusers." Vladimir Voronin, President of Moldova (20012009), an adversary of the common Romanian-Moldovan ethnic identity, acknowledged at times the existence of a common language. Limba moldoveneasc este de fapt mama limbii romne. S-o numeti romn nseamn s neli istoria i s-i nedrepteti propria mam.[71] "Moldovan is in fact the mother of the Romanian language. To call it Romanian is to betray history and to commit injustice to your own mother." "Vorbim aceeai limba, chiar dac o numim diferit."[72] "We speak the same language [in Romania and Moldova], even though we call it differently." Mihai Ghimpu, speaker of the Moldovan Parliament and interim president (20092010), a staunch supporter of the common Romanian-Moldovan ethnic identity: "Dar ce am ctigat avnd la conducere oameni care tiau c limba e romn i c noi suntem romni, dar au recunoscut acest adevr doar dup ce au plecat de la guvernare? Eu nu am venit s manipulez cetenii, ci s le spun adevrul." [73] "What have we gained having as leaders people who knew that the language is Romanian and that we are Romanians, but acknowledged this truth only after they left office? I have not come to manipulate the citizens, but to tell them the truth."

[edit]Moldovenism
Main article: Moldovenism The Soviet attempts, which started after 1924 and were fully implemented after 1940, to strongly emphasize the local Moldovan identity and transform it into a separate ethnicity, as well as its reiteration in the postindependence Moldovan politics, especially during theCommunist government (20012009), is often referred to as Moldovanism. The Moldovanist position refutes the purported Romanian-Moldovan ethnic identity, and also at times the existence of a common language.[74] US historian James Stuart Olson, in his book - An Ethnohistorical dictionary of the Russian and Soviet empires - considers that Moldavians and Romanians are so closely related to the Romanian language, ethnicity and historical development that they can be considered one and the same people.[75]

Since "Moldovan" is widely considered merely a political term used to designate the Romanian language,[76] the supporters of a distinct language are often regarded as anti-scientific or politicianist. A typical example is the Moldovan-Romanian dictionary.

[edit]See

also

A language is a dialect with an army and navy Movement for the unification of Romania and Moldova The case of Moldova is not singular. For instance, similar controversies exist in some republics originating from the formerYugoslavia. In spite of their linguistic and religious identity, there is a question whether Montenegrin and Serbian are the same or different ethnic groups. In most such cases, the tension seems to be between a stronger local identity and a weaker but wider identity. The questions are not solely cultural, but also political.[77]

[edit]References This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (October 2011)

1.

^http://www.europa.md/upload/File/alte_documente/Declaratia%20de%20Independenta%20a%20Repu blicii%20Moldova%202(1).doc

2.

^ Constitution of the Republic of Moldova. Article 13, Chapter 1. 1994-06-29. "The official language of the Republic of Moldova is Moldovan, written in Latin script."

3. 4.

^ "L E G E privind aprobarea Conceptiei politicii nationale de stat a Republicii Moldova". ^ Raisa Lozinschi. "SRL "Moldovanul"" (in Romanian). Jurnal de Chiinu. Archived from the original on 2008-08-22. Retrieved 2008-11-20. "Conf. Univ. Dr. Gheorghe Paladi, preedintele Asociaiei Istoricilor din R. Moldova: Noi ntotdeauna am susinut comunitatea de neam i ne-am considerat romni ca origine, etnie, limb."

5.

^ "Primul manifest tiinific mpotriva conceptului de limb moldoveneasc" (in Romanian). Observator de Bacu. 2008-03-05. Retrieved 2008-11-20.

6.

^ Alina Olteanu (2007-11-22). "Academia Romn combate "limba moldoveneasc"" (in Romanian). Ziua. Retrieved 2008-11-20.

7.

^ Eugenia Bojoga (2006). "Limb "moldoveneasc" i integrare european?" (in Romanian). Chiinu: Contrafort. Archived from the original on 2008-07-10. Retrieved 2008-11-20.

8.

^ "Rezoluie a lingvitilor privind folosirea inadecvat a sintagmei: "limba moldoveneasc"" (in Romanian). Gndul. 2007-11-01. Retrieved 2008-11-20.

9.

^ Michael Wines (2002-02-25). "History Course Ignites a Volatile Tug of War in Moldova". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-11-19.

10. ^ "A country-by-country update on constitutional politics in Eastern Europe and the ex-USSR". East European Constitutional review. NYU Law. 2002.

11. ^ About the controversy over Moldovan identity and language, in French : N. Trifon, "Guerre et paix des langues sur fond de malaise identitaire" in Rpublique de Moldavie : un tat en qute de nation, Paris, Non Lieu, 2010, P. 169-258. 12. ^ [Vladimir Beleag, tefan cel Mare ntr-o cronic german din secolul XVIhttp://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:GgSfLotgQ6kJ:www.contrafort.md/2004/1 15-116/721.html+Cronica+germana+stefan+cel+mare&cd=1&hl=ro&ct=clnk&gl=ro] 13. ^ Rumnii, ci s afl lcuitori la ara Ungureasc i la Ardeal i la Maramorou, de la un loc suntu cu moldovnii i toi de la Rm s trag. 14. ^ After a journey through Wallachia, Moldavia and TransylvaniaFerrante Capecci reports in 1575 that the inhabitants of these provinces call themselves "romneti" ("romanesci") : "Anzi essi si chiamano romanesci[= indeed they call themselves romanesci], e vogliono molti che erano mandati qu quei che erano dannati a cavar metalli..." in: Maria Holban, Cltori strini despre rile Romne, Bucharest, Editura Stiinific, 1970, vol. II, p.158 161. 15. ^ Frenchman Pierre Lescalopier writes in 1574 that those who live in Moldavia, Wallachia and most of Transylvania, "think they are true heirs of the Romans and call their language "romnete", that is Roman: "Tout ce pays: la Wallachie, la Moldavie et la plus part de la Transylvanie, a est peupl des colonies romaines du temps de Trajan l'empereur Ceux du pays se disent vrais successeurs des Romains et nomment leur parler romanechte, c'est--dire romain " in Voyage fait par moy, Pierre Lescalopier l'an 1574 de Venise a Constantinople, in: Paul Cernovodeanu, Studii i materiale de istorie medieval, IV, 1960, p. 444. 16. ^ The Croat Ante Verani states in 1570 that " Vlachs from Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia say that they are romani " : "...Valacchi, qui se Romanos nominant..." "Gens quae ear terras (Transsylvaniam, Moldaviam et Transalpinam) nostra aetate incolit, Valacchi sunt, eaque a Romania ducit originem, tametsi nomine longe alieno..." De situ Transsylvaniae, Moldaviae et Transaplinae, in Monumenta Hungariae Historica, Scriptores; II, Pesta, 1857, p. 120. 17. ^ "...pe lng aceasta se mai cheam i Valahia, de la Flacci o gint roman, cci romanii dup ce au nfrnt i nimicit pe gei, au adus aci coloniti sub conducerea unui oarecare Flaccus, de unde s-a numit mai nti Flaccia, apoi, prin stricarea cuvntului, Valahia. Aceast prere este ntrit de faptul c vorbirea roman mai dinuiete nc la acest neam, dar att de alterat ntru toate, nct abia ar mai putea fi neleas de un roman. Aadar, romnii sunt o seminie italic ce se trage, dup cum zic ei, din vechii romani..." Adina Berciu-Drghicescu, Liliana Trofin. Culegere de documente privind istoria Romanilor din secolele IV XVI, Partea I, Editura Universitatii, Bucureti, 2006 18. ^ Adolf Armbruster, Romanitatea romnilor: istoria unei idei, Editia a II-a, Editura Enciclopedic, Bucureti, 1993, pg. 47 19. ^ S.J. Magyarody, The Tsangos of Romania: The Hungarian minorities in Romanian Moldavia, Matthias Corvinus Publishing, pg. 45 20. ^ Roger-William Seton Watson, A history of the Romanians, Cambridge University Press, 1934 21. ^ Hungaria et Attila, pg. 59

22. ^ Thomas Thornton, The present state of Turkey, London, 1807 23. ^ CARTE ROMNEASC // DE NVTUR // DUMENECELE // preste an i la praznice mprte- // ti i la sfini Mari. // Cu zisa i cu toat cheltuiala // LUI VASILIE VOIVODUL // i domnul rii Moldovei din multe // scripturi tlmcit. din limba // sloveneasc pre limba Romeniasc. // DE VARLAAM MITROPOLITUL // De ara Moldovei. // n Tipariul Domnesc. n Mnstirea // a trei S(feti)teli n Iai de la Hs. 1643, The Book description on Biblioteca Judeean Petre Dulfu, Baia Mare 24. ^http://bisericaromanaortodoxalessandria.wordpress.com/video-3/sfantul-ierarh-varlaam-mitropolitulmoldovei/cazania-mitropolitului-varlaam-2/ 25. ^ iubiilor cretini i cu noi de un neam romni, pretutindeni tuturor ce se afl n prile Ardealului i n alte pri pretutindeni ce suntei cu noi ntr-o credin [1] 26. ^ http://moldova650.asm.md/node/42 27. ^ Nicolae Fustei, 330 de ani a celei de a doua editii a Liturghierului lui Dosoftei 28. ^ Mineiu de obte. Chiinu, Exarhiceasca Tipografie a Bassarabiei. 1819. preface 29. ^ Tipic biserices, adunat n scurt. Chiinu, Duhovniceasca Tipografie a Bessarabiei. 1821. preface 30. ^ Keith Hitchins, The Romanians: 1774-1866, Clarendon Press Oxford, 1996, pg44, pg.47 31. ^ The parliamentary register, Vol. 34, London, Burlington House, 1793, pg. 405 32. ^ Sir James Porter, Turkey: its history and progress, Hurst and Blackett, London, 1854, pg 25 33. ^
a b

Lucian Boia, History and Myth in the Romanian consciousness, p 129

34. ^ Goina, Clin. How the State Shaped the Nation: an Essay on the Making of the Romanian Nation in Regio - Minorities, Politics, Society. Nprajzi Mzeum. No 1/2005. pp. 158-160, 161-163 35. ^ Sorin Mitu, National identity of Romanians in Transylvania 36. ^ Goina, Clin. How the State Shaped the Nation: an Essay on the Making of the Romanian Nation in Regio - Minorities, Politics, Society. Nprajzi Mzeum. No 1/2005. pp. 165-167 37. ^
a b

Petrescu, Cristina. Contrasting/Conflicting Identities: Bessarabians, Romanians, Moldovans in

Nation-Building and Contested identities: Romanian & Hungarian Case Studies. Editura Polirom. 2001. pp. 154-155 38. ^ Livezeanu, Irina. Cultural Politics in Greater Romania: Regionalism, Nation Building, and Ethnic Struggle, 1918-1930.Cornell University Press, 2000. p.94 39. ^ Goina, Clin. How the State Shaped the Nation: an Essay on the Making of the Romanian Nation in Regio - Minorities, Politics, Society. Nprajzi Mzeum. No 1/2005. p. 165 40. ^ Livezeanu, Irina. Cultural Politics in Greater Romania: Regionalism, Nation Building, and Ethnic Struggle, 1918-1930.Cornell University Press, 2000. p.92 41. ^ George Long, Penny Cyclopaedia, volume XV, London, 1849, published by Charles Knight, pg. 304 42. ^ Robert Gordon Latham, The native races of the Russian Empire, London, 1854, pg.268 43. ^ Arthur Schott, Albert Schott, Walachische Mhrchen, Cotta, Stuttgart and Tbingen, 1845, pg. 3 44. ^ Arthur Schott, Albert Schott, Walachische Mhrchen, Cotta, Stuttgart and Tbingen, 1845, pg. 44 45. ^http://depts.washington.edu/cartah/text_archive/clark/bc_19.shtml

46. ^

a b

http://depts.washington.edu/cartah/text_archive/clark/bc_20.shtml#bc_20

47. ^ Charles Upson Clark, Anarchy in Bessarabia in Bessarabia: Russia and Roumania on the Black Sea. Dodd, Mead & Co., N.Y., 1927 48. ^ Petrescu, Cristina. Contrasting/Conflicting Identities: Bessarabians, Romanians, Moldovans in NationBuilding and Contested identities: Romanian & Hungarian Case Studies. Editura Polirom. 2001. p. 156 49. ^ King, Charles. The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the politics of culture. Hoover Press. 2000. p. 34 50. ^ Sorin Alexandrescu, Paradoxul roman, page 48. "Prezenta militara romaneasca in Basarabia nu a cauzat deci unirea - vointa politica pentru aceasta exista oricum - ci doar a consolidat-o 51. ^ Bernard Newman, "The new Europe", p. 245 52. ^ Livezeanu, Irina. Cultura si Nationalism in Romania Mare 1918-1930. 1998 p.115 53. ^ Livezeanu, Irina. Cultural Politics in Greater Romania: Regionalism, Nation Building, and Ethnic Struggle, 1918-1930.Cornell University Press, 2000. pp. 98-99 54. ^ Livezeanu, Irina. Cultura si Nationalism in Romania Mare.Humanitas 1998, p.123 "rusa era considerata adevarata limba publica a elitei urbane si a birocratiei. Moldovenii ce devenisera parte a acestei elite sub carmuirea ruseasca, desi nu-si uitasera neaparat limba materna, n-o mai foloseau in afara relatiilor de familie. Faptul ca moldovenii aveau un precar al identitatii culturale romanesti se reflecta in dispretul lor fata de Romania, tara pe care multi dintre ei o priveau ca <necivilizata>. De asemenea dispretuiau cultura elitelor din Romania, desi o cunosteau foarte putin, sau poate tocmai de aceea" 55. ^
a b

Charles King, The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the politics of culture, Hoover Institution

Press, Stanford University, 2000 56. ^

a b

Petrescu, Cristina. Contrasting/Conflicting Identities: Bessarabians, Romanians, Moldovans in

Nation-Building and Contested identities: Romanian & Hungarian Case Studies. Editura Polirom. 2001. p. 154 57. ^ Petrescu, Cristina. Contrasting/Conflicting Identities: Bessarabians, Romanians, Moldovans in NationBuilding and Contested identities: Romanian & Hungarian Case Studies. Editura Polirom. 2001. p. 157 58. ^ Bugai, Nikolai F.: Deportatsiya narodov iz Ukainyi, Belorussii i Moldavii - Deportation of the peoples from Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. Druzhba Narodov, Moscow 1998, Dittmar Dahlmann & Gerhard Hirschfeld. - Essen 1999, pp. 567-581 59. ^ John Barron, The KGB, Reader's Digest inc., 1974, ISBN 0-88349-009-9 60. ^ http://www.interlic.md/2008-05-26/5119-5119.html 61. ^ http://www.interlic.md/download/988/ 62. ^ http://www.gandul.info/news/basescu-vrea-sa-adopte-lunar-10-000-de-basarabeni-gandul-a-fost-azila-botezul-a-300-dintre-ei-de-ce-raman-studentii-moldoveni-in-romania-6074646 63. ^ http://www.interlic.md/2009-08-27/cetatzenia-rom-na-pentru-basarabeni-redob-ndire-saurecunoashtere-11649.html

64. ^ "Voronin acuz Romnia c pune n pericol statalitatea Republicii Moldova" (in Romanian). Bucharest: Realitatea TV. 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2008-11-19. 65. ^ Constantin Codreanu (2007-03-08). "Chiinul spune c Bucuretiul submineaz statalitatea Moldovei" (in Romanian). Bucharest: Ziarul Financiar. Retrieved 2008-11-19. 66. ^ http://www.adevarul.ro/international/europa/Istoria-Marian-Filat-Lupu-Vlad_0_128987562.html Vlad Filat, president of PLDM "Vom nva istoria noastr - cea a romnilor, aa cum este i firesc"/"We will teach our history - that of Romanians, as it is natural" Marian Lupu, president PD: "Dup prerea noastr, cea mai bun variant [...] ar fi istoria statului nostru istoria Republicii Moldova. Fr a pune accente pe momente sensibile, care ar putea duce la o scindare n societate.", a zis liderul Partidului Democrat, Marian Lupu/"In our opinion, the best option [...] would be the history of our state - the history of the Republic of Moldova. Without focussing on the sensitive moments, which would bring division in our society" 67. ^ http://www.formula-as.ro/2010/902/spectator-38/petru-bogatu-republica-moldova-nu-mai-poate-fiorientata-spre-moscova-12015 68. ^ http://www.pl.md/libview.php?l=ro&video_id=57&idc=69&id=832 69. ^ http://www.jurnalul.ro/stire-caravana-jurnalul-2007/scandalul-manualelor-de-istorie-integrata99589.html 70. ^ Mircea Snegur - Labirintul destinului. Memorii, Volumul 1-2, Chiinu, 2007-2008 71. ^ http://politicom.moldova.org/news/voronin-limba-moldoveneasca-este-mama-limbii-romane-38764rom.html 72. ^ http://www.evz.ro/articole/detalii-articol/847673/Voronin-ataca-Romania-din-toate-partile/ 73. ^ (Romanian)http://politicom.moldova.org/news/interviul-timpul-cu-mihai-ghimpu-203629-rom.html 74. ^ Gheorghe E. Cojocaru, The Comintern and the Origins of Moldovanism (Chiinu: Civitas, 2009) 75. ^ James Stuart Olson, An Ethnohistorical dictionary of the Russian and Soviet empires, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1994, pg. 477 76. ^ [2]: "It is widely accepted among linguists that Moldovan is the same language as Romanian" 77. ^ About the controversy over linguistic identity in Montenegro : Pavle Ivi in Standard Language as an Instrument of Culture and the Product of National History

[edit]Bibliography

John Barron, The KGB, Reader's Digest inc., 1974, ISBN 0-88349-009-9 Bugai, Nikolai F.: Deportatsiya narodov iz Ukainyi, Belorussii i Moldavii - Deportation of the peoples from Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. Druzhba Narodov, Moscow 1998, Dittmar Dahlmann & Gerhard Hirschfeld. Essen 1999, pp. 567581

Charles Upson-Clark, Bessarabia, Dodd, Mead & Co., N.Y., 1927 Frederick Kellogg, A history of Romanian historical writing, Bakersfield, Ca., 1990

Charles King, The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the politics of culture, Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, 2000. ISBN 0-8179-9792-X

S. Orifici, The Republic of Moldova in the 1990s : from the declaration of independence to a democratic state, Geneve 1994

A. Pop, The Soviet-Romanian controversy & Moldova's independence policy, Romanian review of international studies, 26, 1992

Hugh Seton-Watson, New nations & states, London 1997 Roger-William Seton-Watson, A history of the Romanians, Cambridge Univ. Press 1934 G. Simon, Nationalism & Policy toward nationalities in the Soviet Union, Boulder, S.F., Ca, & Oxford, 1991

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversy_over_linguistic_and_ethnic_identity_in_Moldova

Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Part of a series on the

History of Moldova

Antiquity

Chernyakhov culture

Dacia, Free Dacians

Bastarnae

Early Middle Ages

Origin of the Romanians

Tivertsi

Brodnici

Golden Horde

Principality of Moldavia

Foundation

Stephen the Great

Early Modern Era

Phanariotes

United Principalities

Bessarabia Governorate

Treaty of Bucharest

Moldavian Democratic Republic

Sfatul rii

Greater Romania

Union of Bessarabia with Romania

The Holocaust in Romanian-controlled territories

Moldavian ASSR

Moldovenism

Moldavian SSR

Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina

Soviet deportations

Republic of Moldova

Independence of Moldova

War of Transnistria

History of independent Moldova

Moldova portal

Part of a series on the

History of Romania

Prehistory

Cucuteni-Trypillian culture

Hamangia culture Bronze Age in Romania

Prehistory of Transylvania Dacia

Dacian Wars Roman Dacia

Origin of the Romanians Early Middle Ages Middle Ages

History of Transylvania Foundation of Wallachia Foundation of Moldavia Early Modern Times

Principality of Transylvania

Phanariotes

Danubian Principalities National awakening

Transylvanian School Organic Statute

1848 Moldavian Revolution 1848 Wallachian Revolution United Principalities

ASTRA

War of Independence Kingdom of Romania

World War I

Union with Transylvania Union with Bessarabia Greater Romania

Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina World War II

Socialist Republic of Romania

Soviet occupation 1989 Revolution Romania since 1989 Topic

Timeline Military history Christianity

Romanian language By region

Banat

Bessarabia

Bukovina Dobruja

Criana

Maramure Moldavia

Muntenia

Oltenia Transylvania

Wallachia Commons

Centuries in Romania Romania portal

During June 28 - July 4, 1940, as a consequence of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Red Army militarily occupied
[1][2][3]

the formerly Romanian held regions of Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina,

and Hertza, after the Romanian government, following the Soviet ultimatum, agreed to evacuate its troops and administration. The Soviet Union had planned to accomplish the annexation with a full-scale invasion, but the Romanian government, under a Soviet ultimatum delivered on June 26, agreed to withdraw from the territories in order to avoid a military conflict. Germany, who had acknowledged the Soviet interest in Bessarabia in a secret protocol to the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, had been made aware prior to the planned ultimatum on June 24, but had not informed the Romanian authorities, nor were they

willing to provide support.

[4]

The Fall of France on 22 June is considered an important factor in the

[5]

Soviet decision to issue the ultimatums.

On August 2, 1940, the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed as a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, encompassing most of Soviet-controlled Bessarabia, as well as the former Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic on the left bank of the Dniester. The regions inhabited by Slavic majorities (Northern Bukovina, the region of Khotin and Southern Bessarabia) were included in the Ukrainian SSR. The Soviet administration was marked by a series of campaigns of political persecution, including arrests, deportations to labour camps and executions. In July 1941, Romanian and Nazi German troops recaptured Bessarabia during the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union. A military administration was established and the region's Jewish population was either executed on the spot or deported to Transnistria, where further numbers were killed. In August 1944, during the Soviet Jassy-Kishinev Offensive, the Axis war effort on the Eastern Frontcollapsed, also due to a coup d'tat in Romania on 23 August 1944. Following this, the Romanian army ceased resisting the Soviet advance and later joined the fight against Germany, Romania thus effectively switching sides. Soviet forces not only entered Bessarabia, but also occupied entire Romania. Instrumental in this endeavor was the fact the Soviets captured most of the troops of the Romanian army they were facing before the start of the Jassy-Kishinev offensive, without a fight. This happened because the Romanian army obeyed the orders of the new Romanian administration not to oppose the Soviets. On September 12, 1944, Romania signed the Moscow Armistice with the Allies. The Armistice, as well as the subsequent peace treaty of 1947, confirmed the Soviet-Romanian border as it was on January 1, 1941.
[7][8] [6]

Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and Hertza remained part of the Soviet Union until its dissolutionin 1991, when they became part of the newly independent states of Moldova and Ukraine. In its declaration of independence of August 27, 1991, the government of Moldova condemned the creation of Moldavian SSR, declaring that it was done in the absence of any real legal basis.
Contents
[hide]
[9]

1 Background

o o o

1.1 Soviet-Romanian relations during the interwar period 1.2 The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact 1.3 International context at the beginning of World War II

2 Political and military developments

o o o

2.1 Soviet preparations 2.2 Soviet ultimatum 2.3 Romanian withdrawal

2.4 Incorporation of the annexed territories into the USSR

3 Aftermath

o o o o

3.1 International reactions 3.2 Political developments in Romania 3.3 Romanian recovery of Bessarabia and wartime administration 3.4 Restoration of Soviet administration

4 Social and cultural consequences

o o o

4.1 Population movements 4.2 Deportations and political repression 4.3 Religious persecution

5 Legacy

o o o o

5.1 In the Soviet Union 5.2 Pre-independence Moldova 5.3 United States 5.4 Modern Moldova

6 Notes 7 References 8 External links

[edit]Background [edit]Soviet-Romanian

relations during the interwar period

Interwar Romania (1920-1940)

The Bessarabian question was both political and national in nature. According to the 1897 census,Bessarabia, at the time a guberniya of the Russian Empire, had a population 47.6% Moldovans, 19.6% Ukrainians, 8% Russians, 11.8% Jews, 5,3% Bulgarians, 3.1% Germans, 2.9% Gagauz.
[10][11]

Which represents a strong decrease of the proportion of Moldovans/Romanians in

comparison to the census of 1817, conducted shortly after the Russian Empire annexed Bessarabia in 1812. According to the data of this census, the Moldovans/Romanians represented 86% of the

population.

[12]

The decrease was due to the settling by the Tsarist authorities of inhabitants of other
[11]

nationalities on the territory of Bessarabia.

During the 1917 Russian Revolution, a National Council was formed in Bessarabia to manage the province in the new political situation.
[13]

The council, known locally as Sfatul rii, initiated several

[14][15]

national and social reforms, and on December 2/15 1917 declared Bessarabia an autonomous republic within the Russian Federative Democratic Republic. A rival council loyal to the Petrograd
[14][16]

Soviet, the Rumcherod, was also formed and by late December the latter gained control over the capital, Chiinu, and proclaimed itself the sole authority over Bessarabia. With the consent of the Entente, and, according to the Romanian historiography, on the request of Sfatul rii, the Romanian troops entered Bessarabia in early January, and by February had pushed the Soviets over the Dniester.
[17][18]

Despite later declarations by the Romanian prime-minster that the military

[19]

occupation was made with the consent of the Bessarabian government,

[20]

the intervention was met

with protest by the locals, notably by Ion Incule, president of Sfatul rii, and Pantelimon Erhan, head of the provisional Moldavian executive. The executive even authorised the badly-organised
[21]

Moldavian militia to resist the Romanian advance, although with little success.
[22]

In the wake of the

intervention, Soviet Russia broke diplomatic relation with Romania and confiscated the Romanian Treasure, at the time in Moscow for safekeeping. To calm the situation, the Entente representatives
[18]

in Iai issued a guarantee that the presence of the Romanian Army was only a temporary military measure for the stabilisation of the front, without further effects on the political life of the region. In

January 1918, Ukraine declared independence from Russia, leaving Bessarabia physically isolated from the Petrograd government, and leading to the declaration of independence of the Moldavian Republic on January 24/February 5. Romanian pressure.
[17] [22]

Some historians consider that the declaration was made under

Following several Soviet protests, on February 20/March 5, the Romanian

prime-minister, General Alexandru Averescu, signed a treaty with Soviet representative in Odessa, Christian Rakovsky, which provided that Romanian troops be evacuated from Bessarabia in the following two months in exchange for the repatriation of Romanian POWs held by the Rumcherod.
[23]

After the White Army forced the Soviets to withdraw from Odessa, and the German
[17][24]

Empire agreed to the Romanian annexation of Bessarabia in a secret agreement part of the Buftea Peace Treaty on March 5/18, the Romanian diplomacy repudiated the treaty, claiming the Soviets
[18]

were unable to fulfil their obligations.

On March 27/April 9, 1918, Sfatul rii voted for the union of Bessarabia with Romania, conditional upon the fulfilment of the agrarian reform. There were 86 votes for union, 3 votes against union, 36 deputies refrained from voting and 13 deputies were absent from this session. The vote is regarded as controversial by several historians, including Romanian ones such as Cristina Petrescu and Sorin Alexandrescu.
[25]

According to United States historian Charles King, with Romanian troops already in
[26]

Chiinu, Romanian planes circling above the meeting hall, and the Romanian prime minister waiting in the foyer, many minority deputies chose simply not to vote. On April 18 Georgy Chicherin, the

Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs, sent a note of protest against the incorporation of Bessarabia into Romania.
[27]

In August 1916, the Entente and neutral Romania signed a secret Convention that stipulated Romania will join the war against the Central Powers in exchange for several territories of Austria-Hungary, among them, Bukovina.
[28]

During the last part of World War Inational movements of the Romanians
[29]

and the Ukrainians began to emerge in the province, however the two movements had conflicting aims, each seeking to unite the province with their national state. Thus, on October 25, 1918, a
[30]

Ukrainian National Committee, gaining the upper hand in Czernowitz, declared Northern Bukovina, populated by a Ukrainian majority, part of the West Ukrainian People's Republic. Romanians followed suit, proclaiming the whole region united with Romania, Romanian troops.
[17] [31]

On October 27 the

and calling in the

The Romanian intervention quickly established the Romanian Assembly as the

dominant force, and on November 28 a Congress of the Romanians, Germans and Poles voted to unite with Romania. The representatives of the Ukrainian and Jewish population boycotted the Congress, and the struggle between ethnic factions continued for several months.
[30]

During the Russian civil war, the Soviet governments of Ukraine and Russia, prompted by the unrest in Bessarabia due to Romanian occupation, issued a joint ultimatum to Romania on May 1, 1919, demanding its withdrawal from Bessarabia, and the next day, Christian Rakovsky, the Chairman of the Ukrainian Soviet government, issued another ultimatum demanding the withdrawal of Romanian troops from Bukovina as well. The Red Army pushed the Romanians over the Dniester, and even managed to land a detachment on the right shore, and a Besarabian Soviet Republic was proclaimed. The ultimatum also came in the context of the Hungarian Revolution, Soviets hoping to prevent a Romanian intervention in Hungary. A large scale rebellion in Ukraine prevented further Soviet advance.
[17][32][33]

Soviet Russia and later the Soviet Union would continue their policy of non-

recognition of Romanian sovereignty over Bessarabia, which they considered Romanian-occupied territory, until the 1940 events. During the negotiations pre-dating the Treaty of Paris, the United States representative asked for a plebiscite to be held in Bessarabia to decide its future; however, the proposal was obstinately refused by the head of the Romanian delegation, Ion I. C. Brtianu, claiming such an undertaking would allow the distribution of Bolshevik propaganda in Bessarabia and Romania.
[34]

A plebiscite was
[35]

also requested at the Peace Conference by the White Russians, only to be rejected again.
[36]

The

Soviets would continue to press for a plebiscite during the following decade, only to be dismissed every time by the Romanian government.

Romanian sovereignty over Bessarabia was de jure recognized by the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Japan by signing aBessarabian Treaty on October 28, 1920. Soviet Russia and Ukraine promptly notified Romania that they didn't recognize the treaty's validity, and didn't consider themselves bound by it.
[37] [38]

Ultimately, Japan failed to ratify the treaty, and this never came into force,
[39]

leaving Romania

without a valid international act to justify its possession of Bessarabia.

The United States refused to

discuss territorial changes in the former Russian Empire without the participation of a Russian government.
[40]

Thus, it declined to recognize the incorporation of Bessarabia into Romania, and,

unlike its position of recognizing of the independence of the Baltic States, it insisted that Bessarabia was a territory under Romanian military occupation, and incorporated the Bessarabian emigration quota into the Russian one in 1923.
[42] [41]

In 1933, the US government tacitly included the Bessarabian

emigration quota into the Romania, an act considered a de facto recognition by the Romanian diplomacy. However, during World War II, the US argued it had never recognized Bessarabia's
[43]

union with Romania.

In 1924, after the failure of the Tatarbunar Uprising, the Soviet government created a Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic on the left bank of the Dniester river within the Ukrainian SSR. Romanian government saw this as a threat, a possible staging ground for a Communist invasion of Romania. Throughout the 1920s, Romania considered itself a pillar in the cordon sanitaire policy of containment of the Bolshevik threat, and avoided direct relations with the Soviet Union.
[citation needed]

On August 27, 1928, both Romania and the Soviet Union signed and ratified the Kellogg-Briand Pact, renouncing war as an instrument of national policy.
[44]

As a follow-on to its adoption, the Soviet Union

[45]

signed a protocol confirming adherence to the terms of the Pact with its western neighbors: Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Romania on February 9, 1929. In signing the Pact, the
[46]

contracting parties agreed to condemn war as a recourse to solving conflict, to renounce it as an instrument of policy, and that all conflicts and disputes are to be settled only by peaceful means.
[47]

On

the occasion, Soviet ambassador Maxim Litvinov made it clear that neither the pact nor the protocol meant renunciation of Soviet rights over the "territories occupied by Romanians". On July 3, 1933,

amongst others, Romania and the Soviet Union signed the London Convention for the Definition of Aggression, Article II of which defines several forms of aggression: "There shall be recognized as an aggressor that State which shall be the first to have committed one of the following actions: Firsta declaration of war on another State. Secondinvasion by armed forces of the territory of another State even without a declaration of war. (...)" and "No political, military, economic or other considerations may serve as an excuse or justification for the aggression referred to in Article II." In January 1932 in Riga, and in September 1932 in Geneva, Soviet-Romanian negotiations were held for a non-aggression treaty, and on June 9, 1934, diplomatic relations were established between the two countries. On July 21, 1936, Maxim Litvinov and Nicolae Titulescu, the Soviet and Romanian Ministers of Foreign Affairs, agreed upon a draft of a Mutual Assistance Pact.
[48]

It was sometimes

interpreted as a non-aggression treaty, that would de facto recognize the existing Soviet-Romanian border. The protocol stipulated that any common Romanian-Soviet action should be pre-approved by France. In negotiating with the Soviets for this agreement, Titulescu was highly criticized by the Romanian far right. The protocol was to be signed in September 1936. However, Titulescu was dismissed in August 1936, leading the Soviet side to declare the previously achieved agreement null and void. No attempts at political rapprochement between Romania and the Soviet Union have been

undertaken since then. over Bessarabia. [edit]The

[50]

[49]

Moreover, by 1937 Litvinov and the Soviet press revived the dormant claim

Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov signs the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Behind him stand (left) German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentropand (right) Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

On August 23, 1939, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a nonaggression treaty which contained an additional secret protocol with maps, in which a demarcation line through Eastern Europe was drawn, dividing it into the German and Soviet interest zones. Bessarabia was among the regions assigned to Soviet sphere of interest by the Pact. Article III of its Secret Additional Protocol states: With regard to Southeastern Europe attention is called by the Soviet side to its interest in Bessarabia. The German side declares its complete political disinterestedness in these areas. [edit]International
[51]

context at the beginning of World War II

Animation of the WWII European Theatre.

Assured by the Pact of Soviet non-interference, Germany started World War II one week later byinvading Poland from the west on September 1, 1939. The Soviet Union attacked Poland from the east on September 17, and by September 28, Poland fell. Romanian Prime-Minister Armand Clinescu, a strong proponent of Poland in its conflict with Germany, was assassinated on September 21 by elements of the Romanian far right with Nazi support. Romania remained formally neutral in the conflict, but aided Poland by providing access to Allied military supplies from the Black Sea to the Polish border, and a route for the Polish government and army to withdraw after the defeat. Polish government also preferred a formally neutral Romania because that ensured the safety from German bombardments of supplies through Romanian territory. (See also Romanian Bridgehead.) On November 30, 1939, following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the refusal byFinland to accede to Soviet demands, the Soviet Union attacked Finland. The ensuingWinter War lasted until March 12, 1940. Due to skilful defence by the Finns, especially along the Mannerheim line, the Soviets had to be satisfied with Karelian Isthmus andLadoga Karelia with the cities of Viipuri and Sortavala, and also obtained the right to build a naval base on the Hanko Peninsula (southwest of Helsinki). On June 2, Germany informed the Romanian government that, in order to receive territorial guarantees, Romania should consider negotiations with the Soviet Union. Between June 1417, 1940, the Soviet Union gave ultimatum notes to, Lithuania,Estonia and Latvia, and when these ultimata were satisfied, used bases thus gained tooccupy these territories. France's surrender on June 22 and the subsequent British retreat from Europe rendered their assurances of assistance to Romania meaningless. [edit]Political [edit]Soviet

and military developments

preparations

This section requires expansion. (June

2008)

By directives OV/583 and OV/584 of the Soviet People Commissariat of Defense, military units of the Odessa Military District were ordered into battle ready state in the spring of 1940. Soviet troop concentrations along the Romanian border took place between April 15 and June 10, 1940. In order to coordinate the efforts of the Kiev and Odessa military districts in the preparation of action against Romania, the Soviet Army created the Southern Front under general Georgy Zhukov, composed of the 5th, 9th and 12th Armies. The Southern Front had 32 infantry divisions, 2 motorized infantry divisions, 6 cavalry divisions, 11 tank brigades, 3 paratrooper brigades, 30 artillery regiments, and smaller auxiliary units.
[52]

Two action plans were devised. The first plan was prepared for the case that Romania would not accept to evacuate Bessarabia and Bukovina. The Soviet 12th Army was to strike southward along the Prut river towards Iai, while the Soviet 9th Army was to strike westwards, south

of Chiinu towards Hui. The target of this plan was to surround the Romanian troops in the Bli-Iai area. The second plan took into consideration the case that Romania would agree to Soviet demands and evacuate the military. In such a situation, Soviet troops were given the mission to quickly reach the Prut river and oversee the evacuation of Romanian troops. The first plan was taken as the default course of action. Along the portions of the border, where the offensive was planned to take place, the Soviets prepared at least a triple superiority of men and material. [edit]Soviet
[52]

ultimatum

On June 26, 1940, at 22:00, Soviet People's Commissar Vyacheslav Molotov presented an ultimatum note to Gheorghe Davidescu, Romanian ambassador to Moscow, in which the Soviet Union demanded the evacuation of the Romanian military and administration from Bessarabia and the northern part of Bukovina.
[53]

The Soviets stressed their sense of urgency: "Now, that the military

weakness of the USSR is a thing of past, and the international situation that was created requires the rapid solution of the items inherited from the past, in order to fix the basis of a solid peace between countries (...)".
[54]

The German Minister of Foreign Affairs Joachim von Ribbentrop was informed by

the Soviets of their intentions to send an ultimatum to Romania regarding Bessarabia and Bukovina on June 24, 1940. In the ensuing diplomatic coordination, Ribbentrop mainly expressed concern for the fate of the ethnic Germans in these two provinces, claiming the number of Germans in Bessarabia to be 100,000, and suggested the Prut river as a border in Bukovina. He also pointed out that Germany had strong economical interests in the rest of the Romanian territory. larger context of Nazi and Soviet build-up in World War II. The text of the ultimatum note sent to Romania of June 26, 1940 incorrectly stated that Bessarabia was populated mainly byUkrainians: "[...] centuries-old union of Bessarabia, populated mainly by Ukrainians, with the Ukrainian Soviet Republic". The Soviet government demanded the northern part of Bukovina as a "minor reparation for the enormous loss inflicted to the Soviet Union and Bessarabia's population by 22 years of Romanian reign over Bessarabia", and because its "[...] fate is linked mainly with the Soviet Ukraine by the community of its historical fate, and by the community of language and ethnic composition". Northern Bukovina has had some historical connections with Galicia, annexed by the Soviet Union in 1939, in the effect of the Invasion of Poland, in the sense that both were part of Austria-Hungary from the second part of 18th century until 1918. Northern Bukovina was inhabited by a compact Ukrainian population that outnumbered Romanians,
[56] [55] [a]

The events were part of a

while

Bessarabia was regarded as having a Romanian majority, even though the larger part of the population adopted a "Moldavian" identity.

On June 27, during the early hours, Carol II had a meeting with prime-minister Gheorghe Ttrescu and with Ion Gigurtu, the minister for external affairs, after which he invited the ambassadors of Italy and Germany. The King communicated his wish to stand against theSoviet Union and asked that their countries influence Hungary and Bulgaria in the hope of not declaring war

against Romania in order to reclaim Transylvania and Dobrudja. Stating that it would be in the name of peace to accede to Soviet demand, the ambassadors urged the King to stand down.
[57]

On the same day, the Romanian government replied, suggesting it would agree to "immediate negotiations on a wide range of questions".
[58]

A second Soviet ultimatum note, that followed on June

27, put forward a specific time frame, requesting the evacuation of the Romanian government from Bessarabia and northern Bukovina within four days. In the morning of June 28, 1940, insistently advised by both Germany and Italy, the Romanian government, led by Gheorghe Ttrescu, under the semi-authoritarian rule of King Carol II, agreed to submit to the Soviet demands. Without explanations, the Soviet forces also occupied also the Hertza Region, part of Romanian Old Kingdom, which was neither in Bessarabia, nor Bukovina. The decision to accept the Soviet ultimatum and to commence a "withdrawal" (avoiding the usage of the word to cede) from Bessarabia and northern Bukovina was deliberated upon by the Romanian Crown Council during the night of June 2728, 1940. The second (decisive) vote outcome, according to the journal of King Carol II, was: Reject the ultimatum: tefan Ciobanu, Silviu Dragomir, Victor Iamandi, Nicolae Iorga, Traian Pop, Ernest Urdreanu Accept the ultimatum: Petre Andrei, Constantin Anghelescu, Constantin Argetoianu, Ernest Ballif, Aurelian Bentoiu, Mircea Cancicov, Ioan Christu, Miti Constantinescu, Mihail Ghelmegeanu, Ion Gigurtu, Constantin C. Giurescu, Nicolae Hortolomei, Ioan Ilcu (minister of defence), Ion Macovei, Gheorghe Mironescu, Radu Portocal, Mihai Ralea, Victor Slvescu, Gheorghe Ttrescu (prime-minister), Florea enescu (chief of the General Staff of the Army) Abstained: Victor Antonescu.

During the same night, Carol II also convinced Alexandru Vaida-Voevod to be sworn in as minister. Vaida, along with all of the above, signed the final Crown Council recommendation, on which Carol II ordered the Army to stand down. It is not clear whether Vaida participated in the deliberations and the vote itself. [edit]Romanian

withdrawal

Ethnic map of Interwar Romania (census 1930)

This section does not cite any references or sources.Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(May 2007) On June 28, at 9:00, communique no. 25 of the General Staff of the Romanian Army officially announced the contents of the ultimatum to the population, its acceptance by the Romanian government, and the intent to evacuate the army and administration to the Prut River. By 14:00, three key cities Chiinu, Cernui and Cetatea Alb had to be turned over to the Soviets. The military installations and casemates, built during a 20-year period for the event of a Soviet attack, were relinquished without a fight, the Romanian Army being placed by its command under strict orders not to respond to provocation. Out of a population of 3,776,000 living in the territories occupied by the USSR, of which 2,078,000 (55%) counted as ethnic Romanians by the Romanian census of 1930,
[citation needed] [59][60]

200,000 (of different

ethnicities) became refugees and left Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina during the interval June 28 July 2. Most of the local population, however, unsure of what to expect next, treated the

events with uneasy calmness. [edit]Incorporation

of the annexed territories into the USSR

Main article: Moldavian SSR As Romania agreed to satisfy Soviet territorial demands, the second plan was put into action on in the morning of 28 June. By 30 June, the Red Army reached the border along the Prut river. On 3 July the border was closed completely from the Soviet side.

A Soviet meeting in Chiinu on July 4, 1940.

One month after the military occupation, on August 2, 1940, the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was established on the main part of the annexed territory, while smaller portions were given to the Ukrainian SSR, both republics of the USSR. Six Bessarabian counties, and small portions of the other three counties, along with parts of the Moldavian ASSR(formerly part of Ukrainian SSR), which was disbanded on that occasion, formed the Moldavian SSR, which became one of 15 union republics of the USSR. The Soviet governmental commission headed by Nikita Khrushchev, the then Communist Party chief of the Ukrainian SSR, allotted Northern Bukovina, Hertsa region, and larger parts of Hotin,Ismail, Cetatea Alb counties to the Ukrainian SSR.

During 19401941, political persecution of certain categories of locals took the form of arrests, executions and deportations to the eastern parts of the Soviet Union. According toAlexandru UsatiucBulgr,
[61]

32,433 people received a politically motivated sentence, of which 8,360 were sentenced to

death, or died during interrogations. These figures do not include the people shot on the spot who refused to flee in June 1940, for example many of the administration officials. In addition, a large number of people were arrested by NKVD and disappeared. Up to one thousand corpses were discovered after the retreat of the Soviets in 1941 in the cellars, courtyards and wells of the NKVD headquarters in the county centers, including 450 corpses in Chiinau, mostly of priests, university and high school students, and railroad workers.
[citation needed]

Refugees after the occupation

Serious incidents occurred in Northern Bukovina, where attempts of the locals to force the border towards Romania resulted in the Soviet border guards opening fire against unarmed civilians. This resulted in true massacres, most notably at Fntna Alb. The installation of Soviet administration was also accompanied by major changes in the economical domain, as private enterprise was forbidden and industrial enterprises wereexpropriated. By instating high quotas of agricultural products that each landowner had to deliver without payment to the state if the land is cultivated, and by frequent requisitions, the Soviets forced many peasants to give up their land and/or to refrain from cultivating parts of it. As a result, the agricultural production became extremely low. An artificial exchange rate of 40 Romanian lei for 1 Soviet ruble was established, which resulted in Soviet soldiers and officials buying out everything from the shops (generally owned by the local Jewish community) at very low prices within the first two months. As no other goods were being brought in the country, the shops emptied and closed, resulting in a disastrous situation for the service sector of the economy. [edit]Aftermath [edit]International
[citation needed]

reactions

This section requires expansion. (June

2008)

Of all regional allies, with which Romania had treaties with military clauses, only Turkey replied that it would live up to its treaty obligations by providing support in case of Soviet military aggression.

According to Time from Monday, July 1, 1940, This week Russian planes began making reconnaissance flights over Bessarabia. Then border clashes were reported all along the Dn[i]estr River. Though the Rumanian Army made a show of resistance for the record, it has no chance of stopping the Russians without help, and [Nazi] Germany had already acknowledged Russia's claim to Bessarabia in secret deals last year. Romania had accepted her destiny in the new Europe that Hitler plans. She will also lose Transylvania to Hungary and probably a part of the Dobruja to Bulgaria. (...) Russia's Sphere. Russia was preoccupied with consolidating her own position to the east of Hitler's Europe. On the heels of her occupation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, those three countries set up left-wing Governments that looked like steppingstones to complete sovietization. (...) Germany took the occupation calmly. Germany's calm was doubtless real, since last year's deals gave Russia a free hand in the Baltic as well as [62] Bessarabia. [edit]Political

developments in Romania

A train with refugees

The territorial concessions of 1940 produced deep sorrow and resentment among Romanians, and hastened the decline in popularity of the regime led by King Carol II of Romania. Three days after the annexation, Romania renounced the 1939 Anglo-French guarantee. A new government of Ion Gigurtu was sworn in on July, 5th, 1940, which withdrew the country from the League of Nations (July 11, 1940), and announced the desire to join the Axis camp (July 13, 1940). A series of measures taken by Romanian Prime Minister Ion Gigurtu, including official persecution of Jews inspired by the German Nuremberg Laws in July and August 1940, failed to sway Germany from awarding Northern Transylvania toHungary in the Second Vienna Award on August 30, 1940.

Red Cross helping refugees in Romania in a government newsreel

This led to a near uprising in the country. On September 5, King Carol II proposed to General (later Marshal) Ion Antonescu, the chief of the Army, to form a new government. Antonescu's first act was to force the King to abdicate (for the fourth and last time) and flee Romania. An alliance government was formed by Ion Antonescu with remnants of the Iron Guard Legionary Movement (partly destroyed in 1938; see The Iron Guard#A bloody struggle for power), ananti-Semitic fascist party, and took power on September 6, 1940. Mihai, son of Carol II, succeeded him as King of Romania. The country was declared a National Legionary State. Between October 1940 and June 1941, around 550,000 German troops entered Romania. In November, Antonescu signed the Tripartite (Axis) Pact, tying Romania militarily to Germany, Italy, and Japan. In January 1941, the Legionary Movement attempted a coup, which failed and placed Antonescu firmly in power with the approval of Hitler. The authoritarian regime of Antonescu (19401944) did not restore political parties and elected democracy; it only co-opted several individual civilians in the government. Overall, the desire to regain the lost territories was the deciding factor leading to the entry of Romania into World War II on the side of the Axis against the Soviet Union. [edit]Romanian

recovery of Bessarabia and wartime administration

See also: Holocaust in Romania

Jews being deported to concentration camps by the Romanian Army

On June 22, 1941, Romania participated alongside Hungary, and Italy on the side of the Axis Powers in the German invasion of the Soviet Union, in order to recover Bessarabia and Bukovina. accomplished by July 26, 1941. The King Michael of Romania, his mother Helen, and Mihai Antonescu joined the opening ceremony of the monumental Liberation Tower in Ghidighici, on November 1, 1942. On July 27, 1941, despite disagreement from all political parties,
[65] [64] [63]

This was

Romania's military dictator Ion

Antonescu ordered the Romanian Army to continue the war eastward into proper Soviet territory to fight at Odessa, Crimea, Kharkov, Stalingrad and the Caucasus. Between late 1941 and early 1944, Romania occupied and administered the region between theDniester and Southern Bug rivers, known as Transnistria, and sent expedition troops to several different areas to support the German advance further into the USSR.

The collaboration of a small number of politically involved Jews with the Soviet occupation authorities in the summer of 1940 was used by the government of Ion Antonescu as a pretext to massively deport and/or to kill the Jews of Bukovina and Bessarabia who did not flee to the interior of the Soviet Union before Romania regained the territory in July 1941. 136,546 Jews from these territories were quickly gathered in temporary ghettos and then deported to Transnistria; only 52,397 of them were still alive on September 16, 1943, and only 6,344 are known to have returned safely from deportation in 1944. In addition, 16,500 others were sent in August 1941 over theDniester directly in the hands of the German Einsatzkommando D before the organized deportation, and are believed to have perished almost entirely. Several other thousands were murdered in the chaos of July 1941. Only 16,000 Jews of the regions of Bessarabia, Bukovina and of the Dorohoi county (of the 301,886 at the 1930 census) survived in these territories in 1941-1944 without being deported, most of them in Cernui; up to 130,000 became refugees in the interior of the Soviet Union. Romanian gendarmerie (riot police) units during World War II also participated in the destruction of the 130,000-strong Jewish community in Transnistria. (See History of the Jews in Moldova#The Holocaust). In 1941-1944, many young male inhabitants of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina were recruited into the Romanian Army. From February to August 1944, hostilities took place properly in the region, as the Romanians attempted to hold the territory from being overrun by the Soviet Union. In total, during World War II, Romanian Army has lost 475,070 people on the Eastern Front, of which 245,388 were killed in action, disappeared, or died in hospitals or non-battle circumstances, and 229,682 (according to Soviet archival documents) were taken prisoners of war by the Red Army. Of the latter, 187,367 were counted as Romanian POWs in NKVD camps(on April 22, 1956, 54,612 were counted as died in captivity, and 132,755 as freshly released), 27,800 were counted as Romanians released by the Front-levels of the Soviet Army, while 14,515 as Moldovans released by the Front-levels of the Soviet Army.
[66]

[edit]Restoration

of Soviet administration

Main article: Moldavian SSR

During the first part of 1944, the Soviet Union gradually took over the territory through the Uman Botoani and Jassy-Kishinev offensives. On August 23, 1944, with Soviet troops advancing and the Eastern Front falling within Romania's territory, a coup led byKing Michael, with support from opposition politicians and the army, deposed the Antonescu dictatorship, ceased military actions against the Allies, and later put Romania's battered armies on their side. In the days immediately after the coup, as Romania's action was unilateral and no armistice had been agreed with the Allied Powers, the Red Army continued to treat the Romanian troops as enemy combatants, while in the confusion, the Romanian troops were not opposing them. As a consequence, the Soviets took a large number of Romanian troops as prisoners of warwith little or no fight. Some of the prisoners were Bessarabian-born. Michael acquiesced to Soviet terms, and Romania was occupied by the Soviet Army. From August 1944 to May 1945, ca. 300,000 people were conscripted into the Soviet Army from Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, and were sent to fight against Germany in Lithuania, East Prussia, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. Some 100,000 were killed, while some other 100,000 were wounded.
[citation needed]

In 1947, as part of the Paris Peace Treaties, Romania and the Soviet Union signed a border treaty, confirming the border fixed in 1940.
[67]

Several additional uninhabited islands in the Danube Delta, as

well as the Snake Island, not mentioned in the Treaty, were transferred from the Communist Romania to the Soviet Union in 1948. [edit]Social

and cultural consequences

movements

[edit]Population

Volksdeutsche resettling after the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia

During the Soviet takeover in 1940, Bessarabian Germans (82,000) and Bukovinain Germans (40,00045,000) were repatriated to Germany at the request of Hitler's government. Some of them were forcibly settled by the Nazis in the German-occupied Poland (they preferred proper German regions)
[citation needed]

, and had to move again in 1944-1945. The people affected by the resettlement

were not persecuted, but they were given no choice to stay or live, and had to change their entire livelihood within weeks or even days.

While some 200,000 people fled from Bessarabia and northern Bukovina to the rest of Romania on 28 June 1940 and in the following days, most of them returned afterwards in 1941. However, faced with the advancing Soviet troops in 1944, and fearing political repressions or deportations, several hundred thousand people moved westward to the remaining territory of Romania. [edit]Deportations

and political repression

Main article: Soviet deportations from Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina Deportations of locals on grounds of belonging to the intelligentsia or kulak classes, or of having antiSoviet nationalist ideas occurred almost daily throughout 1940-41 and 19441950, and with less frequency in 1950-1956. These deportations touched all local ethnic groups: Romanians, Ukrainians, Russians, Jews, Bulgarians, Gagauz. Significant deportations happened on three separate occasions: according to Alexandru Usatiuc-Bulgr,
[61]

29,839 people were

[68]

deported to Siberia on 13 June 1941. In total, in the first year of Soviet occupation,
[69]

no fewer than

86,604 people from Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and Hertsa Region were arrested and deported. This number is close to the one calculated by Russian historians following documents in
[70] [71][72]

the Moscow archives, of ca. 90,000 people apprehended, arrested and deported in the first year of Soviet occupation. The arrests continued even after 22 June 1941. Well above half of these

were deported from the Moldavian SSR, the rest from the Chernivtsi Oblast and Izmail Oblast of Ukrainian SSR, which were created in 1940. Although, not targeting Romanians as an ethnic group, but rather the pre-Soviet civil society as a political class, the Soviet annexation resulted in disproportional repression of former.
needed] [citation

According to calculations by R. J. Rummel, between 1940 and 1941, 200,000 to 300,000

[73]

Romanian Bessarabians were persecuted, conscripted into forced labor camps, or deported with the entire family, of whom 18,000 to 57,000 were killed. These policies mostly targeted the former elites

of the Romanian interwar administration in Bessarabia and Bukovina which did not leave for Romania in 1940, including former teachers, doctors, clergymen, lawyers, policemenand soldiers, larger landowners (nobility and kulaks), members of political parties (including former members of the clandestineCommunist Party of Romania). However, they were by no means restricted to ethnic Romanians, as many thousand ethnic Ukrainians, Russians, Jews who inhabited the region before 1940 were also deported en masse together with local Romanians on social and political grounds. [edit]Religious

persecution

Main article: Religious persecution during the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina After the installation of the Soviet administration, the religious life in Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina underwent a persecution similar to the one in Russia between the two World Wars. In the first days of occupation, certain population groups welcomed the Soviet power and some of them joined the newly established Soviet nomenklatura, including NKVD, the Soviet political police. The latter has used these locals to find and arrest numerous priests.
[74]

Other priests were arrested

and interrogated by the Soviet NKVD itself, then deported to the interior of the USSR, and killed.

Research on this subject is still at an early stage. As of 2007, the Christian Orthodox church has granted the martyrdom to ca. 50 clergymen who died in the first year of Soviet rule (19401941). [edit]Legacy [edit]In
[74]

the Soviet Union

This section requires expansion. (June
2009)

In Soviet historiography, the chain of events that led to the creation of the Moldavian SSR was described as a "liberation of the Moldovan people from a 22-year-old occupation by boyar Romania." During 1940-1989, the Soviet authorities promoted the events of June 28, 1940 as a "liberation", and the day itself was a holiday in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic. However, in 2010, the Russian political analyst Leonid Mlecin stated that the term occupation is not adequate, but that "it is more an annexation of a part of the territory of Romania". [edit]Pre-independence
[75]

Moldova

On June 2628, 1991, a unique and widely mediated International Conference "Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and its consequences for Bessarabia" took place in Chiinu, gathering renowned historians such as Nicholas Dima, Kurt Treptow, Dennis Diletant, Michael Mikelson, Stephen Bowers, Lowry Wymann, Michael Bruchis, in addition to Moldovan, Soviet and Romanian historians. An informalDeclaration of Chiinu was adopted, according to the which the Pact and its Secret Protocol "constituted the appogeum of collaboration between the Soviet Union an Nazi Germany, and following these agreements, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina were occupied by the Soviet Army on June 28, 1940 as a result of ulitmative notes addressed to the Romanian government". These acts were given the characteristic of a "pregnant manifestation of imperialist policy of annexion and dictat, a shameless aggression against the sovereignty (...) of neighboring states, members of the League of Nations. The Stalinist aggression constituted a serious breach of the legal norms of behavior of states in international relations, of the obligations assumed under the Briand-Kellog Pact of 1928, and under the London Convention on the Definition of the Agressor of 1933." The declaration stated that "the Pact and the Secret Additional Protocol are legally null ab initio, and their consequences must be eliminated." For the latter, it called for "political solutions that would lead to the elimination of the acts of injustice and abuse committed through the use of force, dictat and annexions, ... [solutions] in full consensus with the principles of the [1975] Final Act of Helsinki, and the [1990] Paris Carta for a new Europe".
[76][77]

[edit]United

States

On June 28, 1991, the US Senate voted a resolution sponsored by Senators Jesse Helms (R-NC) and Larry Pressler (R-SD), members of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, which recommended the US Government to

"1. support the right to self-determination of the people of Moldova and Northern Bukovina, occupied by the Soviets, and to draft a decision to this end;

"2. support the future efforts of the Government of Moldova to negotiate, if it desires so, a peaceful reunification of Moldova and northern Bukovina with Romania, as established in the Treaty of Paris (1920), respecting the existing norms of international low and principle 1 of the Helsinki Act."

In the clauses of this Senate resolution it has been stated among other things that "(...) The armed forces of the Soviet Union invaded the Kingdom of Romania and occupied Eastern Moldova, Norther Bukovina and Hertsa Region. (...) The annexation was prepared beforehand in a Secret Agreement to a Non-Aggression Treaty signed by the Governments of the Soviet Union and the German Reich on August 23, 1939. (...) Between 1940 and 1953 hundreds of thousand of Romanian from Moldova and Northern Bukovina were deported by the USSR to Central Asia and Siberia (...)" [edit]Modern
[78][79][80]

Moldova

Mihai Ghimpu, interim president of Moldova in 2010 has decreed June 28, 1940, as the Soviet Occupation Day. The move was met with disapproval and calls for the decree's revocation inside the ruling coalition, and calls for Ghimpu's resignation among the opposition parties. Dorin Chirtoac, mayor of Chiinu and member of the same party as Ghimpu, ordered the erection of amemorial stone in the National Assembly Square, in front of the parliament building, where a Lenin monument used to stand.
[82] [81]

The members of the coalitions argued that the time has not

come for such a decree and that it would only help the communists win more votes. The Academy of Sciences of Moldova declared that "in the view of recent disagreements

regarding June 28, 1940 [...] we must take action and inform the public opinion about the academic community views." The Academy declared that: "Archival documents and historical research of international experts shows that the annexation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina was designed and built by Soviet Command as a military occupation of these territories. Ordinance of Interim President Michael Ghimpu reflects, in principle, the historical truth." On June 30, 2010, First Vlad Filat Cabinet decided to create the Museum of Victims of Communism [edit]Notes
[83] [3]

and Vlad Filat opened the museum on July 6, 2010.

[84]

1. 2. 3. 4.

^http://www.newsmoldova.md/newsline/20100824/188200126.html ^ http://www.moldova.org/page/declaration-of-independence-of-the-republic-of-moldova-487-eng.html ^
a b

http://unimedia.md/?mod=news&id=20961

^ Bossy, G.H., Bossy, M-A. Recollections of a Romanian diplomat, 1918-1969, Volume 2, Hoover Press, 2003.

5.

^ Joseph Rothschild, East Central Europe between the two World Wars University of Washington Press, Seattle, 1977;ISBN 0-925953-57-8, p.314

6.

^ James Stuart Olson, Lee Brigance Pappas, Nicholas Charles Pappas, "An Ethnohistorical dictionary of the Russian and Soviet empires", Greenwood Press, 1994, ISBN 0-313- 27497-5, page 484

7. 8.

^ The Armistice Agreement with Rumania; September 12, 1944 ^ United States Department of State. Foreign relations of the United States, 1946. Paris Peace Conference: documents Volume IV (1946)

9.

^ Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Moldova

10. ^ . = Istoria Republicii Moldova: din cele mai vechi timpuri pin n zilele noastre / . . . 2-, . : Elan Poligraf, 2002. . 146. 360 . ISBN 9975-9719-5-4. 11. ^
a b

King 2000, p. 24

12. ^ Keith Hitchins, Rumania: 1866-1947 (Oxford History of Modern Europe). 1994, Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-822126-6 13. ^ Mitrasca 2002, pp. 3233 14. ^
a b

Prusin 2010, p. 84

15. ^ Mitrasca 2002, p. 34 16. ^ Mitrasca 2002, pp. 3536 17. ^ 18. ^
a b c d e a b c

Prusin 2010, p. 86

Mitrasca 2002, p. 36

19. ^ Mitrasca 2002, p. 85 20. ^ Charles Upson Clark, "Bessarabia", Chapter XIX, New York, 1926, Chapter 19 21. ^ Petre Cazacu, Moldova dintre Prut i Nistru 1812-1918,Chiinu, tiina, 1992, pp. 345-346 22. ^
a b

Mitrasca 2002, p. 35

23. ^ Mitrasca 2002, pp. 3637 24. ^ Wim P. van Meurs, The Bessarabian question in communist historiography, East European Monographs, 1994, p. 67 25. ^ Cristina Petrescu, "Contrasting/Conflicting Identities:Bessarabians, Romanians, Moldovans" in NationBuilding and Contested Identities, Polirom, 2001, p. 156 26. ^ King 35 27. ^ Mitrasca 2002, p. 109 28. ^ Livezeanu 2000, p. 56 29. ^ Livezeanu 2000, pp. 5657 30. ^
a b

Livezeanu 2000, p. 58

31. ^ Livezeanu 2000, p. 57 32. ^ Richard K. Debo, Survival and Consolidation: The Foreign Policy of Soviet Russia, 1918-1921, McGillQueen's Press, 1992, ISBN 0-7735-0828-7, pp. 113-114. 33. ^ Mitrasca 2002, p. 110

34. ^ Mitrasca 2002, p. 72 35. ^ Mitrasca 2002, p. 86 36. ^ Mitrasca 2002, pp. 111112 37. ^ Mitrasca 2002, p. 111 38. ^ Malbone W. Graham (October 1944). "The Legal Status of the Bukovina and Bessarabia". The American Journal of International Law (American Society of International Law) 38 (4): 667 673. doi:10.2307/2192802. Retrieved 2009-12-09; 39. ^ Mitrasca 2002, p. 411 40. ^ Mitrasca 2002, p. 345 41. ^ Mitrasca 2002, pp. 368369 42. ^ Mitrasca 2002, pp. 345,386 43. ^ Mitrasca 2002, p. 391 44. ^ Kellogg-Briand Pact, at Yale University. 45. ^ League of Nations Treaty Series, 1929, No. 2028. 46. ^ League of Nations Treaty Series, 1928, No. 2137. 47. ^ Mitrasca 2002, p. 124 48. ^ Marcel Mitrasca|2002, Moldova: A Romanian Province under Russian Rule. Diplomatic History form the Archives of the Great Powers, Algora Publishing 49. ^ Keith Hitchins, Rumania, 1866-1947, pp.436-437, Oxford University Press, 1994. ISBN 0-19-8221266, ISBN 978-0-19-822126-5 50. ^ Mitrasca 2002, p. 137 51. ^ German-Soviet Non-Aggression Treaty of August 23, 1939.Complete text online at wikisource.org. 52. ^
a b Scholar search

Ioan Scurtu,Istoria Basarabiei de la inceputuri pana in 2003, Editura Institutului Cultural Roman, pg.

327 53. ^ (Russian) 26 1940 . 54. ^ (Romanian) "Soviet Ultimata and Replies of the Romanian Government", in Ioan Scurtu, Theodora Stnescu-Stanciu, Georgiana Margareta Scurtu, Istoria Romnilor ntre anii 1918-1940, University of Bucharest, 2002 55. ^ Livezeanu 2000, p. 50 56. ^ Livezeanu 2000, p. 92 57. ^ Ioan Scurtu,Istoria Basarabiei de la inceputuri pana in 2003, Editura Institutului Cultural Roman, pg. 333 58. ^ The actual result of the first vote was 11 Reject the ultimatum, 10 Accept the ultimatum, 5 For negotiations with the USSR, and 1 Abstained. 59. ^ Template:Havnb

60. ^ Piotr, Eberhardt (2003). Ethnic Groups and Population Changes in Twentieth-Century Central-Eastern Europe: History, Data, Analysis. M.E. Sharpe. p. 559. ISBN 0-7656-0665-8, 9780765606655. - Page 213, Table 4.31 61. ^
a b

Alexandru Usatiuc-Bulgr "Cu gndul la "O lume ntre dou lumi": eroi, martiri, oameni-

legend" ("Thinking of 'A World between Two Worlds': Heroes, Martyrs, Legendary People"), Publisher: Lyceum, Orhei (1999) ISBN 9975-939-36-8 62. ^ "Hitler's Europe", Time, Monday, July 1, 1940 63. ^ "Background Note: Romania", United States Department of State, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, October 2007. The text says: "Romania entered World War II on the side of the Axis Powers in June 1941, invading the Soviet Union to recover Bessarabia and Bukovina, which had been annexed in 1940." 64. ^ "Turnul Dezrobirii Basarabiei" (in Romanian). Literatura i Arta. Retrieved 2012-02-17. 65. ^ Romanian: {{{1}}} www.worldwar2.ro 66. ^ XX . . .http://www.soldat.ru/doc/casualties/book/chapter5_13_11.html 67. ^ Treaty of Peace with Roumania at Australian Treaty Series 1948, No. 2 68. ^ Comisia Prezidenial pentru Analiza Dictaturii Comuniste din Romnia: Raport Final / ed.: Vladimir, Dorin Dobrincu, Cristian Vasile, Bucureti: Humanitas, 2007, ISBN 978-973-50-1836-8, p. 747 69. ^ Igor Cau, ""Politica naional" n Moldova sovietic", Chiinu, Ed. Cartdidact, 2000, p. 32-33 70. ^ (Russian) Mikhail Semiryaga, "Tainy stalinskoi diplomatii", Moscow, Vysshaya Shkola, 1992, p. 270 71. ^ "Literatura i Arta", 12 December 1991 72. ^ Report, p. 747-748 73. ^ R. J. Rummel, Table 6.A. 5,104,000 victims during the pre-World War II period: sources, calculations and estimates, Freedom, Democracy, Peace; Power, Democide, and War, University of Hawaii. 74. ^
a b

(Romanian)Martiri pentru Hristos, din Romnia, n perioada regimului comunist, Editura Institutului

Biblic i de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Romne, Bucureti, 2007, pp.3435 75. ^ http://www.historia.ro/exclusiv_web/actualitate/articol/un-analist-rus-recunoaste-urss-anexatbasarabia-28-iunie-1940-video 76. ^ Mihai Adauge, Alexandru Furtun, Basarabia i Basarabenii, Uniunea Scriitorilor din Moldova, Chiinu, 1991, ISBN 5-88568-022-1, pp. 342-347 77. ^ Dan Dungaciu, p.11 78. ^ Gheorghe E. Cojocaru, Politica extern a Republicii Moldova. Studii., Ediia 2-a, Civitas, Chiinu, 2001, p. 126+128 79. ^ Dan Dungaciu, p. 11-13 80. ^ Resolution project published also in Moldova Suveran, 20 iunie 1991 81. ^ Primria a instalat n faa Guvernului o piatr n memoria victimelor regimului comunist 82. ^ http://www.jurnaltv.md/ro/news/28-iunie-zi-de-ocupatie-sovietica-114081/#

83. ^ Prim-ministrul Vlad FILAT a prezidat astzi edina ordinar a Guvernului 84. ^ Prim-ministrul Vlad FILAT a participat astzi la aciunile consacrate memoriei victimelor deportrilor i represiunilor politice

[edit]References
(English) George Ciornescu, "40th Anniversary of Annexation of Bessarabia and Northern Bucovina", Radio

Free Europe report, July 23, 1980.

(English) George Ciornescu, "The Problem of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina during World War II",

Radio Free Europe report, December 2, 1981. Mikhail Meltyukhov, Stalin's Missed Chance
(Romanian) Andreea Tudorica, Ovidiu Ciutescu, Corina Andriuta, "Giurgiuleti, piedic n calea lui

Stalin", Jurnalul Naional, June 26, 2007

(Romanian) Alexandru Usatiuc-Bulgr "Cu gndul la O lume ntre dou lumi: eroi, martiri, oameni-

legend" ("Thinking of 'A World between Two Worlds': Heroes, Martyrs, Legendary People"), Publisher: Lyceum, Orhei (1999) ISBN 9975-939-36-8

King, Charles (2000). The Moldovans. Hoover Press. ISBN 978-0-8179-9792-2. Livezeanu, Irina (2000). Cultural Politics in Greater Romania: Regionalism, Nation Building, and Ethnic Struggle, 1918-1930. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-8688-3.

Mitrasca, Marcel (2002). Moldova: a Romanian province under Russian rule. New York: Agora. ISBN 978-1-892941-86-2.

Prusin, Alexander V. (2010). The Lands Between: Conflict in the East European Borderlands, 1870-1992. Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-929753-5.

[edit]External

links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina

"Molotov-Ribbentrop pact", from Wikisource "Romanian Army in the Second World War" International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania: Final Report (2004) The June/July 1940 Romanian Withdrawal from Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina and its Consequences on Interethnic Relations in Romania

(Romanian) "Text of Litvinov-Titulescu pact" (Romanian) "Joachim von Ribbentrop to Viaceslav Molotov, regarding of Bessarabia and

Bukovina, June 25, 1940"

(Romanian) "The Ultimatum notes and Romanian responses"

[show]

World War II
[show]

Soviet occupations
[show]

NaziSoviet relations before 1941

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_occupation_of_Bessarabia_and_Northern_Bukovina

Moldovan
The Moldovan language, technically classified as part of the Romanian language, has a complex political history surrounding its name and origin. Most scholars agree that Moldovan is essentially the same language as Romanian. However, the constitution of the present-day Republic of Moldova specifies the official language of the country to be Moldovan rather than Romanian, and the people of Moldova continue to assert a distinct Moldovan linguistic identity. The historical and

socio-political reasons for the ongoing debate surrounding the classification of the modern language make Moldovan an interesting point of study.

Classification of the Moldovan Language

Although the Moldovan language carries its own distinct linguistic label, the vast majority of linguists agree that Moldovan is technically the same language as Romanian, a Romance language derived from Latin. Four main dialects are recognized within the Romanian language: Aromanian or Macedo-Romanian, Megleno-Romanian, Istro-Romanian and Daco-Romanian. Both the form of Romanian spoken in Romania and the Moldovan language are classified as a form of Daco-Romanian, also known as Romanian Proper.

Of the remaining Romanian dialects, Aromanian is the most prominent, spoken primarily in Kosovo, Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania and Greece. The other two dialects, Megleno-Romanian and Istro-Romanian, spoken in parts of northern Greece and Croatias Istria Peninsula respectively, are nearly extinct.

Early History of the Moldovan Language

The Daco-Romanian language finds its roots in the Latin once spoken in the ancient Roman province of Dacia. There is little information available about the early Dacians and their language. It is known that the Dacians were conquered by Rome around 106 AD, and were subsequently exposed to the Vulgar Latin language used in the Roman Empire at the time.

These Roman colonizers enacted an intense agenda of Romanization, disseminating the Vulgar Latin language and enforcing its use so that it soon became the main tool of communication for business and government purposes in the province of Dacia.

Historical Development of Early Daco-Romanian

In the 3rd century, the Roman Empire withdrew from Dacia, leaving a significant Latin language influence in its wake. Scholars now believe that the ancient Dacian languages influence on the Romans Latin resulted in the unique dialect that became the basis for the modern Daco-Romanian language.

From the 7th to 10th centuries, the area of Dacia came under a heavy Byzantine influence that had a significant effect on the languages development. Thanks to contact with Byzantine forces, the Dacians were introduced to a wide variety of other languages, including Greek, Hungarian and Slavic tongues.

Moldova Under the USSR: Creating a Unique Moldovan Identity

With the USSRs annexation of Moldova in the 1940s, Moldova underwent a significant cultural shift that established a unique Moldovan identity free of Romanian influence. Given the fact that the countries share a common border, its no surprise that Romania and Moldova have long shared linguistic and cultural traditions. The Soviet government sought to sever these ties, however, and took extreme measures to accomplish this.

Romanian intellectuals living in Moldova were persecuted or deported from the country, while all Romanian literature was officially banned. The Soviet government also made efforts to promote Moldovan folk culture, which consequently flourished throughout this period. Interestingly, the Soviet government took pains to subvert any

evidence of Moldovan folk cultures Romanian origins. For example, the opinca, a Romanian-originated moccasin that had been part of the traditional Moldovan national folk costume, was exchanged for a Russian-style boot.

Written Moldovan Language and Literature

The earliest known example of written Daco-Romanian dates from circa 1521. Surprisingly, the Aromanian dialect (spoken in Kosovo, Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania and Greece) does not have any evidence of the written form until more than 200 years later, dating from 1731. The first specifically literary texts that claimed a Moldovan identity distinct from the Romanian language were religious texts that appeared in the mid-17th century. Under Soviet rule, the Moldovan language underwent significant changes. In keeping with the USSRs attempts to establish a distinct Moldovan identity separate from Romanian influence, Soviet scholars insisted that Moldovan was a distinct language from Daco-Romanian. The language was referred to specifically as Moldovian in order to distinguish it from Romanian Proper, and it was written using the Cyrillic alphabet also used by the Russian language. Moldovan literature also underwent significant developments during the Soviet era. The Soviet government introduced a new genre of literature, socialist realism, which essentially turned Moldovan literature into a means of Communist propaganda. Moldovan authors Emelian Bucov and Andrei Lupan are two writers noted for their use of Soviet-sanctioned socialist realism during this era.

Conflict Surrounding the Contemporary Moldovan Language

The issue of whether Moldovan is a distinct language from Romanian remains a contentious one. The debate peaked when the script of the Moldovan language was changed to a Latin alphabet toward the end of Soviet rule in 1989. This shift led many to argue that the language, which now shared a script with Romanian Proper, should now simply be called Romanian. The Moldovan constitution refers to the state language as Moldovan, while the 1991 Moldovan declaration of independence (from the USSR) refers to the language as Romanian.

Although it is now generally acknowledged that Daco-Romanian and Moldovan are essentially identical, the modern Moldovan people and country continue to emphasize the existence of a distinct Moldovan language. Today, both the terms Moldovan and Romanian are used to refer to the language of Moldova, which is home to an estimated 1.5 million native Moldovan language speakers. The countrys national anthem, Limba Noastra (literally Our Language), and its national motto Limba Noastra-i o Comoara (Our language is a treasure) both emphasize the Moldovan peoples desire to maintain their distinct Moldovan linguistic identity.

LANGUAGE, RELIGION, AND CULTURE

Moldova Table of Contents

Language
The Moldovan dialect of Romanian, spoken by the majority of the people of Bessarabia, was viewed by both the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union as an impediment to controlling the local populace. Under the tsars, Romanian-language education and the

Romanian press were forbidden as part of a process of forced Russification. Stalin justified the creation of the Moldavian SSR by claiming that a distinct "Moldavian" language was an indicator that "Moldavians" were a separate nationality from the Romanians in Romania. In order to give greater credence to this claim, in 1940 Stalin imposed the Cyrillic alphabet on "Moldavian" to make it look more like Russian and less like Romanian; archaic Romanian words of Slavic origin were imposed on "Moldavian"; Russian loanwords and phrases were added to "Moldavian"; and a new theory was advanced that "Moldavian" was at least partially Slavic in origin. (Romanian is a Romance language descended from Latin.) In 1949 Moldavian citizens were publicly reprimanded in a journal for daring to express themselves in literary Romanian. The Soviet government continued this type of behavior for decades. Proper names in Moldova were subjected to Russianization as well. Russian endings were added to purely Romanian names, and individuals were referred to in the Russian manner by using a patronymic (based on one's father's first name) as a middle name. In 1989 members of most of the Moldavian SSR's nationalities claimed their national language as their mother tongue: Romanians (95 percent), Ukrainians (62 percent), Russians (99 percent), Gagauz (91 percent), Bulgarians (79 percent), and Roma (82 percent). The exceptions were Jews (26 percent citing Yiddish), Belarusians (43 percent), Germans (31 percent), and Poles (10 percent). Although both Romanian written in the Cyrillic alphabet (that is, "Moldavian") and Russian were the official languages of the Moldavian SSR, only 62 percent of the total population claimed Romanian as their native language in 1979. If ethnic Romanians are subtracted from this number, the figure falls to just over 1 percent. Only 4 percent of the entire population claimed Romanian as a second language. In 1979 Russian was claimed as a native language by a large proportion of Jews (66 percent) and ethnic Belarusians (62 percent) and by a significant proportion of ethnic Ukrainians (30 percent). Proportions of other nationalities naming Russian as a native language ranged from 17 percent of ethnic Bulgarians to 3 percent of ethnic Romanians (urban Romanians were more Russianized than rural Romanians). Russian was claimed as a second language by a sizable proportion of all the nationalities: Romanians (46 percent), Ukrainians (43 percent), Gagauz (68 percent), Jews (30 percent), Bulgarians (67 percent), Belarusians (34 percent), Germans (53 percent), Roma (36 percent), and Poles (24 percent). On August 31, 1989, the Supreme Soviet of Moldavia passed the Law on State Language, which made Moldovan written in the Latin alphabet the state language of the Moldavian SSR. Because of pressure exerted by non-Romanian ethnic groups, Russian was retained as the language of interethnic communication. In areas where non-Romanian ethnic groups were the majority, the language of that majority could also be used as a means of communication. Because of strong objections raised by the non-Romanian nationalities, implementation of the law was delayed. The new Moldovan constitution, adopted August 27, 1994, states that Moldovan, written in the Latin script, is designated as the official language, but provisions were made for Russian and other languages to be used in areas of minority concentrations. Russian was

also to be the language of interethnic communication. On April 27, 1995, President Snegur asked Parliament to change the name of the language in the constitution, from Moldovan to Romanian, in response to demonstrations and strikes led by students. According to Moldovan law, it would be six months before a proposed change to the constitution could be made. Religion Culture

Religion
Moldova Table of Contents Most of Moldova's population are Orthodox Christians. In 1991, about 98.5 percent of the population belonged to this faith. The Soviet government strictly limited the activities of the Orthodox Church (and all religions) and at times sought to exploit it, with the ultimate goal of destroying it and all religious activity. Most Orthodox churches and monasteries in Moldova were demolished or converted to other uses, such as warehouses, and clergy were sometimes punished for leading services. But many believers continued to practice their faith in secret. In 1991 Moldova had 853 Orthodox churches and eleven Orthodox monasteries (four for monks and seven for nuns). In addition, the Old Russian Orthodox Church (Old Believers) had fourteen churches and one monastery in Moldova. Before Soviet power was established in Moldova, the vast majority of ethnic Romanians belonged to the Romanian Orthodox Church (Bucharest Patriarchate), but today the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) has jurisdiction in Moldova. Russian, Romanian, and Turkic (Gagauz) liturgies are used in the church. After the recent revival of religious activity, most of the clergy and the faithful wanted to return to the Bucharest Patriarchate but were prevented from doing so. Because higherlevel church authorities were unable to resolve the matter, Moldova now has two episcopates, one for each patriarchate. In late 1992, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia issued a decree upgrading the Eparchy of Chisinau and Moldova to a metropolitan see. Moldova also has a Uniate minority, mainly among ethnic Ukrainians, although the Soviet government declared the Uniate Church illegal in 1946 and forcibly united it with the Russian Orthodox Church. The Uniate Church survived underground, however, outlasting the Soviet Union itself. Despite the Soviet government's suppression and ongoing harassment, Moldova's Jews managed to retain their religious identity. About a dozen Jewish newspapers were started in the early 1990s, and religious leaders opened a synagogue in Chisinau; there were six Jewish communities of worship throughout the country. In addition, Moldova's government created the Department of Jewish Studies at Chisinau State University, mandated the opening of a Jewish high school in Chisinau, and introduced classes in Judaism in high schools in several cities. The government also provides financial support

to the Society for Jewish Culture. Other religious denominations in Moldova are the Armenian Apostolic Church, SeventhDay Adventists, Baptists, Pentecostals, and Molokans (a Russian Orthodox sect). Citizens in independent Moldova have much greater religious freedom than they did under the Soviet regime. Legislation passed in 1992 guaranteed religious freedom but did require that all religious groups be officially recognized by the government. In 1992 construction or restoration of 221 churches was under way, but clergy remained in short supply.
Search