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The Republic of Moldova a country in southeastern Europe. It borders with Ukraine in the north, east and south and Romania in the west. Part of the territory of Moldova is controlled by the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. Moldova is located in the extreme southwest of the East European Plain, in the second time zone, and occupies most of the interfluve of the Dniester and Prut, as well as a narrow strip of the left bank of the Dniester in its middle and lower reaches.

The surface of Moldova is a hilly plain, dissected by river valleys. The average height above sea level is 147 m, and Mount Balanesti reaches its maximum height of 429.5 m.

Airports of the Republic of Moldova

Beltsy Airport

Chisinau International Airport

Hotels Republic of Moldova 1 - 5 stars

Moldova weather

The climate is temperate continental. Winter is mild and short, summer is hot and long. The average temperature in January is -4°C, in July +21°C. Absolute minimum -36°C, maximum +42°C. The average annual rainfall ranges from 380-550 mm.

Language of Moldova

State language: Moldovan

The majority of the population knows Russian well, English is used in the tourism sector.

Currency of Moldova

International name: MDL

In circulation - banknotes of denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 lei, as well as coins of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 bani.

Cash, including US dollars, euros and rubles, can be easily exchanged for lei at any of the many exchange offices and banks.
ATMs are available at almost every major bank, and in a number of new shopping centers. Payment by credit cards is accepted in expensive hotels, in some of the largest shopping centers in Chisinau and in a number of restaurants.

The Pridnestrovian Republic adopted its own currency - the Pridnestrovian ruble, equal to 100 kopecks. This is a non-convertible currency that does not circulate outside of Transnistria. The use of credit cards and traveler's checks on the territory of Transnistria is almost impossible.

Visa

Easy entry mode

For Mr. Russia, entry into Moldova is visa-free. All you have to do is show your passport at the border.

Customs restrictions

The import of foreign currency into the country is not limited (it is better to declare money). The export of banknotes, coins and checks in foreign currency is allowed within the amount specified in the customs declaration. Mandatory declaration of all banknotes, coins and checks in foreign and local currencies. The import and export of banknotes, coins and checks in the amount not exceeding 2500 Moldovan lei is allowed. In addition, it is allowed to take out of the country banknotes, coins and checks in foreign currency in the amount of up to $50,000 (or equivalent). Amounts above this limit are transferred only by bank transfer.

Duty-free import of things is allowed if the imported goods are not intended for industrial or commercial activities or if the number of imported goods does not exceed the established norms (often change - it is better to consult the consulate before the trip). If goods are imported or exported in quantities exceeding normal needs, then it is necessary to prove that the goods are not intended for commercial purposes.

When importing firearms, edged weapons, explosives, gas cartridges, permission from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Moldova is required. When importing animals - a veterinary certificate. When importing drugs in quantities greater than necessary for one person for one course of treatment, as well as narcotic and psychotropic substances for medical purposes, a permit from the Ministry of Health is required. It is forbidden to import food products without a certificate of conformity, poisonous, radioactive, explosive substances and objects, printed and pictorial materials that contain propaganda of the ideas of war and violence.

Mains voltage

Kitchen

Dishes of Moldovan cuisine are popular far beyond the borders of the republic. This is not accidental, since the wide use and original arrangement of a variety of vegetables and fruits, all kinds of spices and seasonings give many dishes a unique taste and spiciness. Experts say that the Moldovan cuisine, which has a great historical experience, is among the extremely tasty and healthy thanks to the rich vegetable and fruit assortment, as well as the art of combining different products.

Country code: +373

First level geographic domain name:.md

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Description

Moldova is an integral part of Europe with a rich and expressive history. This country, located in the contact zone of various cultural and historical currents - the Carpatho-Balkan, Central European and Eurasian, has harmoniously absorbed various cultural traditions of the Proto-Indo-European peoples and the most ancient Indo-Europeans, including the Thracians, Slavs, Celts, Goths, Huns, etc., subsequently formed its own specific and unique features.

Despite its small area, the Republic of Moldova has a significant potential for tourism development, represented by the geomorphological features of its territory, including all natural monuments, landscape reserves, nature reserves and geological monuments of European and world significance.

Geography

Moldova is a small state in the southeastern part of Europe, bordering Romania in the west, and Ukraine in the north, east and south. Moldova is small in area. It can be driven by car in 4 hours. The area of ​​the territory is only 33,845 square kilometers. This is a little less than the Bryansk or Tambov regions of Russia, but a little more than such European states as Albania or Belgium.

Moldova occupies most of the interfluve of the Dniester and Prut, as well as a narrow strip of the left bank of the Dniester in its middle and lower reaches. Has no access to the sea. The surface of Moldova is a hilly plain, dissected by river valleys. The highest heights are located in the far north - at the junction with the Volyn-Podolsk Upland, as well as in the Central Moldavian Upland (in Kodry), where the highest point of the country is located - Mount Balaneshty (429 m). The landscape is mostly grassy steppe, hilly terrain ideal for vineyards and orchards. All rivers of Moldova belong to the Black Sea basin.

Time

Time difference between Moldova and Moscow: -1 hour. Daylight saving time is the last Sunday in March at 1 am, back is the last Sunday in October at 1 am.

Climate

The climate of Moldova is temperate continental. Winter is mild and short, summer is hot and long. Little precipitation falls. Their average annual precipitation ranges from 380-550 mm. The average temperature in January is -4 °C, in July - +21 °C. Autumn comes gradually. Its first months are characterized by warm and sunny weather. Then the air temperature drops, the number of days with fogs increases. Winters are characterized by frequent and sharp fluctuations in air temperature. The snow cover lasts one to two months. The weather in spring is very unstable.

The positive features of the climate of Moldova include high temperatures, the duration of sunshine. The negative side is a lack of moisture, sometimes leading to droughts, as well as heavy rains in the warm season.

Language

The Moldovan language is the official name of the dialect of the Romanian language as the state language of Moldova. It is a Moldovan dialect, along with other regional Romanian dialects: Muntenian, Oltenian, Ardelenian (Transylvanian) and others. In written language since the XIV century. the Cyrillic alphabet was used, which was replaced by the Latin alphabet between the two world wars of the 20th century. During the Soviet period, the Cyrillic alphabet was introduced again, but after gaining independence, a complete romanization was carried out.

Religion

In Moldova, 90% of the population professes Orthodoxy. However, there are two Orthodox metropolises in the country - Bessarabian and Moldavian. The Moldavian Metropolis is subordinate to the Russian Orthodox Church. The Bessarabian Metropolis is subordinate to the Romanian Orthodox Church and has 124 parishes. In addition, about 0.15% of the population profess the Old Believers. The religious traditions of Orthodoxy are closely intertwined with Moldovan culture, so that even many people who declare themselves atheists continue to participate in religious holidays, attend church, etc.

Population

Population (including the population of the Left Bank) - 3,395 thousand people. Population density 125.7 people. per 1 sq. km. The urban population is 47%, rural - 53%. The national composition of the population reflects the processes that have taken place in Moldovan society over the past 15 years. The number of Ukrainians in comparison with 1989 decreased by 2.9%, and Russians by 3.9%. The number of Gagauz increased by 0.3%, and Romanians - by 2.1%. At the same time, the number of Bulgarians living in Moldova decreased by 0.1%. It should be noted that the majority of Moldovans, Gagauzians and Bulgarians live in rural areas, while Russians, Romanians and Ukrainians mostly live in cities.

Electricity

Mains voltage 220 - 240 V, current frequency 50 Hz.

Emergency Phones

901 - fire department

902 - police

903 - ambulance

904 - emergency service

Connection

On the territory of Moldova there are two mobile operators in the GSM and UMTS standards - Orange, Moldcell and two operators in the CDMA standard - Unite and the second in Transnistria - Interdnestrcom. Communication standard - GSM 900. Major Russian operators have roaming. The operator of the state secure information and telecommunication systems is the State Enterprise Center for Special Telecommunications.

There are a lot of Internet cafes in Chisinau and Balti, the average cost of an hour on the Web is $0.5. The connection speed can be different: there are both modern, fast ADSL systems and modem connections. In small towns, the Internet is a rarity.

You can make a call from pay phones located on the streets, as well as at the post office. To pay, you must purchase a phone card sold in kiosks or hotels. To call to Russia, dial 0 + 7 (Russian code) + city code + number of the called subscriber.

Currency exchange

The national currency of Moldova is the Moldovan leu (MDL), equal to 100 bani. In circulation there are denominations of 200, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1 MDL, as well as coins of 50, 25, 10, 5 and 1 bani. You can exchange currency at exchange offices, as well as in hotels. Credit cards and traveler's checks are accepted by only three banks in Chisinau, whose offices are located throughout the city.

The Pridnestrovian Republic adopted its own currency - the Pridnestrovian ruble, equal to 100 kopecks. This is a non-convertible currency that does not circulate outside of Transnistria. The conditions for exchanging foreign currency for the Transnistrian ruble are extremely strict and constantly changing due to inflation. The system of denominations of banknotes is extremely confusing. The use of credit cards and traveler's checks on the territory of Transnistria is almost impossible.

Visa

Citizens of Ukraine, Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan do not need a visa to Moldova to visit Moldova for up to 90 days.

Since 2006, by the decision of the Parliament of Moldova, visas have been canceled for citizens of the EU countries, the USA, Israel, Canada, Switzerland, Turkey and Japan.

When traveling with children, the following documents must be presented:

Birth certificate of the child;

Passport of the child or the passport of the parent in which the child is entered (for children who have reached the age of six, a photograph must be glued into the passport without fail);

If the child is traveling accompanied by one of the parents or third parties, a notarized power of attorney from the remaining parent is required to take the child out.

Citizens of countries not listed above must apply for visas in advance at the embassies and consulates of Moldova.

The term for issuing Moldovan visas at the consulates and embassies of the country is usually 2-3 working days. If necessary, a visa can be issued urgently, while an additional 50% of the cost of the visa will be charged.

Types of visa: tourist - single entry visa for 1 month or double for 1 month, business - single entry for 1 month or double for 1 month, or multiple entry for 1 month, or multiple entry visa for 2 months, or multiple visa for a period of 3 months, or multiple entry for a period of 6 months, or multiple entry for a period of 12 months. Transit visa - unilateral, double.

All foreign citizens must register with the police within a period not exceeding 3 days from the date of arrival in the country.

Customs regulations

The import of foreign currency into the country is not limited. Mandatory declaration of all banknotes, coins and checks in foreign and local currencies. The export of banknotes, coins and checks in foreign currency is allowed within the amount specified in the customs declaration. The import and export of banknotes, coins and checks is allowed for an amount not exceeding 2,500 Moldovan lei. In addition, it is allowed to take out of the country banknotes, coins and checks in foreign currency in the amount of up to $50,000 (or equivalent). Larger amounts are transferred only by bank transfer. Larger amounts are transferred only by bank transfer. Duty-free import of things is allowed if the imported goods are not intended for industrial or commercial activities or if the amount of imported goods does not exceed the established norms (they often change, so it is better to check with the consulate before the trip). If goods are imported or exported in quantities exceeding normal needs, then it is necessary to prove that the goods are not intended for commercial purposes. It is allowed to import any number of things for personal use. When importing firearms, cold steel, explosives, gas cartridges, permission from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Moldova is required. Jewelry made from precious stones and metals that are not homogeneous, up to five pieces, does not need to be declared.

Holidays and non-working days

March 1: March 1 is a remarkable spring holiday, when people give martisors to their loved ones and friends - symbols of new life and the beginning of spring. Despite the fact that this day is not a day off, there is a revival in the streets, and red and white martisors pinned to clothes give out the solemn mood of their owners. This tradition exists not only in Moldova. In neighboring Romania, as well as in Bulgaria, residents also welcome the arrival of spring with martisors.

The traditional music festival Martisor is celebrated from 1 to 10 March. Both amateur artistic groups and professional performers are invited to the festival.

April: Major religious holidays are also celebrated in the spring, the dates of which are “movable”, that is, they change from year to year. So Orthodox Easter is celebrated after the first new moon following the day of the spring equinox; not less than a week after the Jewish Passover. Easter celebration lasts 2 days, which are non-working. And a week after the beginning of the celebration of Easter, the Orthodox celebrate the so-called Memorial Day. These days, it is customary for the whole family to gather in the parental home, as well as visit the graves of loved ones.

August 27: The Independence Day of Moldova, celebrated since 1991, is an official holiday.

Along with Independence Day and traditional holidays celebrated in the countries of the Christian world, some special holidays are celebrated in Moldova.

August 31: "Limba Noastra" - "Our language" holiday. On this day, residents honor national poets and writers. As a rule, a concert is organized in the center of Chisinau, in which dance ensembles, Moldovan and foreign pop stars take part. August 31 is declared a non-working day in Moldova.

In addition to the usual holidays, numerous festivals are held in Moldova every year. Among them:

- "Maria Biesu invites" (a week of opera and ballet with guest performers from all over the world)

Days of Russian Culture

Days of Ukrainian culture.

Rock concerts and festivals are regularly held in Chisinau. For example, the annual John Lennon Memorial Festival "Ave Beatles"

Transport

Moldovan highways make up a network with a total length of 12,300 km. Thanks to the Dniester, Moldova has access to the Black Sea, the Prut gives it access to the Danube. The most important inland ports on the Dniester are Bendery and Rybnitsa, on the Prut - Ungheni. The international airport is located in Chisinau.

Bus service in Moldova is very well developed, but at the same time chaotic. Usually used are old German minibuses and buses that have long served their time. In large cities, some of the buses follow the schedule (Chisinau, Balti, Ungheni), in other cities - as full.

The leading place in international transportation belongs to railway transport. The main railway lines: Razdelnaya - Tiraspol (PMR) - Bendery (PMR) - Chisinau - Ungheni - Balti - Oknita - Chernivtsi, Balti - Rybnitsa (PMR) - Slobodka, Bendery (PMR) - Bessarabka - Reni.

There is no subway in Moldova.

Tips

Tipping is at your discretion. In restaurants, their average amount is 10%. Taxi fares can be rounded off.

The shops

Shops in Chisinau will satisfy the needs of the most demanding customer, offering a variety of goods for every taste.

First of all, there are several supermarket chains in the city, where you can always find fresh products, a wide range of goods and where you will be served by qualified staff.

The very first supermarket in Chisinau - Green Hills Market - is located in the Botanica district and has been providing its customers with goods of both foreign and domestic production for about ten years. Own confectionery, culinary and meat dumpling shops produce branded products. Green Hills stores now operate in other parts of the city.

The second well-known network is Fidesco stores in the Center, Riscani and Chekany, serving the population and guests of the capital in retail trade.

The 47 Parallel Shop No. 1 supermarket chain is one of the most popular in the city today: more than five thousand people visit the store every day. The first "Shop No. 1" opened more than two years in the city center. The second store was opened in 2002 on the first floor of the Sun City shopping center. Shop No. 1 offers visitors, in addition to food, a wide selection of household goods, as well as household chemicals. The product range includes more than twelve thousand items. Store No. 1 is famous for the products of its culinary workshop, as well as a huge selection of cheeses, both domestic and imported.

The Botanica district has become home to the Cvin chain of stores, which, among other things, are famous for their own culinary products.

National cuisine

Food traditions are very stable in Moldova. Moldovan national cuisine is distinguished by an abundance of vegetables and fruits, all kinds of spices and seasonings. A variety of dishes are prepared from zucchini, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, beans, radishes, onions, pickled and canned vegetables. Seasonings - garlic, pepper, savory - significantly increase the taste, give them a special aroma and sharpness. Beef, pork, poultry, lamb, and fish are widely used in the preparation of second courses in Moldavian cuisine. The main methods of heat treatment are frying, stewing. Many meat dishes are fried on a grill (over hot coals on a grate previously greased with lard). The most typical for Moldavian cuisine is hominy, which is made from very thickly brewed cornmeal. Hominy is eaten with borscht, salted fish, cracklings, but mostly with sheep cheese, milk and sour cream. No less popular among Moldavians are chicken soup with vegetables (zame de geine), jellied roosters (resol), snacks such as mashed beans, smoked meat, cabbage rolls, which are often wrapped in a grape leaf, dishes cooked on a grill - kostitsa, mititei .

National flour products are vertuts and placindas with various minced meat, and sweet dishes are a variety of drinks and fruits.

Especially popular in Moldova are such sweet dishes as nougat, sherbet, halva (alvica), quince marshmallow (kitonoage), marshmallow, soufflé, gogosh, thick fruit and berry juice (peltya).

An integral attribute of Moldovan cuisine is local wine. The wine industry in Moldova is well developed. In addition to many brands of wines from major producers, homemade wine is often served at the table. Many families have their own recipes and grape varieties that have been passed down from generation to generation. Of the local grape varieties, Feteasca Albe, Feteasca Regale, Rara Neagre are known, and of strong ordinary wines - Luchafer, Sherry, Budzhakskoe, Buket Moldavii.

Attractions

Moldova has a significant tourism potential, consisting of attractions of various types and levels, labor resources, and infrastructure. Recreational resources are its most important part. They are based on natural objects that can be used to meet the needs for recreation and to organize sectors of the economy that specialize in recreational services.

Chisinau triumphal arch: this architectural monument has several names: Holy Gates, Victory Arch, Triumphal Arch. The arch, 13 meters high, was erected in 1840 and became the decoration of the center of Chisinau.

The lower level of the arch consists of two-way pedestrian passages and is decorated in the Corinthian style. The upper level is decorated in a classic style. A massive bell weighing 6.4 tons is suspended under the dome of the arch, and chimes are mounted in the pediment.

The history of the creation of the arch is interesting. The governor-general of Bessarabia, M. Vorontsov, appealed to the Russian Emperor Nicholas I with a request that 1,500 pounds of copper be used to cast bells for the Chisinau Cathedral. And the tsar presented to the Kishinev cathedral part of the Turkish cannons captured as trophies in the Russo-Turkish war.

In Moldova, there is the only museum of alcoholic beverages, built in the shape of a bottle, 28 meters high (the largest building of this shape in the world). Five magnificently decorated halls house a collection of over six thousand types of various alcoholic beverages from more than 100 countries of the world, which includes rare, exclusive, numbered and souvenir items, some of which are about 300 years old. The walls of the tasting room are made in the form of honeycombs. In which wine and cognac bottles are placed. A cozy atmosphere will be complemented by a fireplace and candles, national music, and highly professional staff will serve you. The complex, located 70 km from Chisinau in a picturesque corner, includes apartments with 4 * service for one, two or more persons, restaurants, bars, a sauna with a swimming pool, a large tennis court, a gym.

The capital of Moldova is the city of Chisinau, is also called "a city of white stone, bathed in a sea of ​​greenery." It is located in a beautiful river valley. Bull. Chisinau becomes uniquely beautiful thanks to the original architectural creations of the great architects Bernardazzi, Shchusev and others. A host of personalities lived and worked in the city, who made a huge contribution to the development of national culture, and during the years of exile, the great Russian poet A.S. Pushkin. Immersed in the greenery of parks, the city center has been preserved in the style of the mid-19th century, without a large number of modern high-rise buildings. These are mainly government and public buildings, made in the spirit of modern architecture.

The oldest church in Chisinau: the oldest architectural structure in the city is the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, which has long been known in the city as Mazarakievsky. The church building was built in 1757, presumably by Vasily Mazaraki, a military official and treasurer.

Moldova is a country of vineyards and winemaking. Unfortunately, most of the famous wineries can only be visited during officially sanctioned tours, but this is more than offset by the experience of the visit. Cricova, located 15 km north of Chisinau, is the starting point for "wine" tours. It is almost entirely an underground city with a labyrinth of underground streets stretching for more than 60 km. All the streets are named after wine varieties, so you can wander along Cabernet Street and then visit Pinot Street or Isabella Boulevard.

Bendery (Tigina)- one of the oldest cities in Moldova. Its beautiful 17th century fortress, as well as the city itself, has been severely damaged during recent ethnic conflicts. Balti (150 km north of the capital) is the main industrial center of the country. The main products from this area are sugar, vegetable oils and furs. In the vicinity of the city there are a large number of hiking and horse trails passing through picturesque small villages, each of which is a nearly finished open-air museum, and the local wines and folk cuisine of the area are known throughout the country.

Resorts

The resorts of Moldova are valued for their originality and sophistication. The most famous all over the world is the resort of Moldavia Sergeevka. It is located on the shore of the Budak lake. There are many medical sanatoriums that will gladly accept vacationers and people who need to improve their health. In sanatoriums there are departments of apparatus physiotherapy, there are also equipped rooms for physiotherapy exercises and much more, which allows a person to remain healthy unusually young even when old age has begun to imperceptibly creep up on him, leaving marks on his face in the form of wrinkles and settling shortness of breath in the lungs.

It is definitely worth visiting such a city in Moldova as Cahul. The city is known for its thermal and mineral resorts. During the existence of the USSR, its mud baths were very popular. The balneological resorts of the Tyrdzhauk springs are also well known.

There has always been a stream of tourists to the cities of the Transnistrian region of the country. Bendery, Balti, Cahul attract travelers with medieval architectural structures, as well as numerous churches and temples. In Cahul, in addition, thermal mineral springs are located right in the city, here you can also visit the beautiful natural reserve of medicinal herbs.

City Bendery is considered the historical center of Moldova, where the museum of history is located, many buildings of the 19th century. In the suburbs of Varnitsa, there is a museum in honor of Charles 12, and here a source of healing mineral water, which is very famous outside the country, broke through the thickness of earthen layers and looked out. But in the vicinity of the city you can visit the Turkish garden in Talmazy, the Noul Neamts monastery, Khirbovets, in which there is a dendrological park.

There are 5 prof. dignity. (2550 seats) for patients with diseases of the cardiovascular and nervous systems, organs of movement and support, digestion, respiration, as well as gynecological diseases; 11 san. administered by health authorities (mainly for the treatment of adults and children with various forms of tuberculosis); 11 professional holiday homes and boarding houses (approx. 7,000 beds). It is in charge of health-improving institutions in the resorts of Sergeevka (Odessa region) and Koblevo (Nikolaev region).

Definitely worth visiting the city Magpie, in which at the beginning of the second millennium the inhabitants erected a fortress, it withstood more than a dozen battles. Standing near the fortress itself, it seems that one can still distinguish the cries of the assault of the attackers and the strangled roar of the besieged. To the south of this city, on the banks of the Dniester, there is a recreation area called Trifauti.

For excursions, monuments, museums and theaters of Chisinau are interesting, as well as historical and arch. monuments: fortresses in Soroca and Bendery (16th century), churches of the Assumption in the city of Kaushany (beginning of the 18th century) and in the monastery. Caprians (16th century). In Old Orhei (near the city of Orhei), the remains of a castle (14th - 15th centuries) have been preserved, in Saharna and Zhabka - cave monasteries (16th - 17th centuries), etc.

The content of the article

MOLDOVA, The Republic of Moldova is a state in southeastern Europe. Its area is 33.7 thousand square meters. km, borders in the west with Romania, in the north, east and south - with Ukraine. The capital is Chisinau. Until 1940, most of the territory of the present Republic of Moldova was part of the historical region of Bessarabia, conquered in the 16th century. Turks, and in 1812 became part of Russia. In 1918, after the October Revolution in Russia, this territory was included in Romania. In 1940, Romania ceded Bessarabia to the USSR. Bessarabia, after some changes in the borders, was transformed into the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (MSSR), and the latter in May 1990 into the Republic of Moldova. August 27, 1991 Moldova declared its independence.

NATURE

Moldova is a flat and hilly country. Its average elevation above sea level is 147 m. The highest point is Balanesti, it has a mark of 429.5 m. The relief is very variable, due to sharp fluctuations in altitude in small spaces. This is due to the fact that Moldova is located on various geological structures: the southwestern edge of the Russian platform, sedimentary marine rocks, the deep Fore-Dobrudzha trough, the slope of the Dobruja crystalline massif. There are five flat and four elevated regions. The "Codri" - the Central Moldavian upland, or low mountains - are distinguished by their originality. A remarkable element of the relief is the gyrtops: depressions in the form of amphitheaters formed in loose rocks under the influence of long-term erosion and landslide processes.

There are few large rivers, but many small and medium ones. Only 8 rivers - Dniester, Prut, Reut, Ikel, Byk, Botna, Yalpug and Kogilnik - have a length of more than 100 km. Except for the Dniester and the Prut, all rivers feed on local runoff. The largest - the Dniester (in ancient times - Tiras) - originates in the Carpathians at an altitude of 759 m above sea level. In 1954, a hydroelectric power station was built on the Dnieper near the city of Dubossary, and above the dam a large reservoir was formed with a depth of 14–18 m in places - the “Dubossary Sea”, which is the largest body of water in the republic. In the lower reaches of the Dniester there is a large fresh Kuchurgan estuary connecting with it. The Prut, also beginning in the Carpathians, on the territory of Moldova has a wide worked-out valley with terraces and a developed floodplain. The water in the river is fresh, according to ancient folk beliefs, it is healing. Unlike the Dniester, the Prut is navigable only in a small area. There are many lakes in the wide floodplain of the Prut south of Cahul. The internal rivers of Moldova are shallow. The Bic River, on the banks of which Chisinau is located, is blocked by a dam. The resulting reservoir, the Chisinau Sea, has an area of ​​about 1000 hectares.

The soils are very fertile, various chernozems predominate, which are common in all steppe and forest-steppe regions of the republic. The best varieties of winter wheat, corn, sugar beets, tobacco, apple and pear orchards grow well on the chernozems of Northern Moldavia. The uplands in the center of the republic are covered with brown forest soils, below them there are gray podzolized forest soils. These soils, both brown and gray, are suitable for fruit trees and vines. Another group of soils - floodplains - is used for intensive horticulture and vegetable growing.

Natural conditions are very diverse. Back in 1848, the geographer K.I. Arseniev wrote that Bessarabia is “a wonderful mixture of dry steppes with the most fruitful arable land, rich meadows and gardens.” Moldova is located in two natural zones: forest-steppe and steppe. However, the natural vegetation has been preserved only in patches; the virgin steppes were plowed up as early as the end of the 19th century. Hornbeam-oak forests grow in Kodri, beech is also present. In Kodry there is also Lozovo-Kapriyanovsky protected forest area - one of the largest in the republic. In the floodplains, areas of tall oaks have been preserved, the oldest oak forest is in the Prut floodplain. In the Prut forests there are also thickets of wild grapes.

POPULATION

As of 2009, 4320 thousand people lived in Moldova. The birth rate was 11.12 per 1 thousand inhabitants, the death rate was 10.78. The annual population growth is approximately 0.18%. Average life expectancy is slightly over 70.8; in men - 67.1, in women - 74.71.

The majority of the population (78.2%) are Moldovans. Ukrainians 8.4%, Russians -5.8%, Gagauzians - 4.4%, Bulgarians - 2%, Jews and Gypsies - 1.3%.

The predominant religion is Orthodoxy. There are also communities of Baptists, Seventh-day Adventist Christians, Roman Catholics, and Jews.

Religion.

The predominant religion is Orthodox Christianity. Slavic minorities and the Gagauz are also Orthodox Christians.

Cities.

The largest city and capital of Moldova - Chisinau (734.2 thousand inhabitants in 1995), is located in the center of the country. More than 50% of its population are Moldovans, 25% - Russians, 13% - Ukrainians. This is the largest industrial center of Moldova.

The second largest city of Tiraspol (203.7 thousand inhabitants in 1995) is located on the left bank of the Dniester River. Moldovans make up 18% of the population here, while Russians - 41%, and Ukrainians - 32%. It is an important administrative, transport and industrial center. Among other large cities, Balti (156.7 thousand inhabitants) and Bendery (Tighina, 136.6 thousand) stand out. In both cities, Moldovans are a minority of the population.

GOVERNMENT AND POLICY

The current Constitution of the Republic of Moldova was adopted by the Parliament on July 29, 1994, July 19, 1996, and amended on July 5, 2000. According to the Constitution, the Republic of Moldova is a democratic constitutional state, in which the dignity of a person, his rights and freedoms, the free development of the human personality, justice and political pluralism are proclaimed the highest values. The Constitution stipulates that in the event of inconsistencies between the covenants and treaties on fundamental human rights, to which the Republic of Moldova is a party, and domestic laws, international norms take precedence.

According to Article 11 of the Constitution, deployment of armed forces of other states on the territory of Moldova is not allowed. Declares its permanent neutrality.

The official language is Moldovan based on the Latin alphabet. At the same time, the right to preserve the Russian language and other languages ​​used on the territory of the country is recognized.

State device.

Moldova is a parliamentary republic whose constitution is based on the principle of separation of powers. Legislative power is exercised by a unicameral parliament of 101 deputies elected by free and secret ballot based on proportional representation in a national constituency. The Electoral Code establishes the following barriers (electoral qualifications):

1) for a party, socio-political organization - 6%,

2) for an electoral bloc formed from two parties and (or) socio-political organizations - 9%,

3) for an electoral bloc formed from three parties and (or) socio-political organizations - 12%.

The term of office of Parliament is 4 years. Parliament adopts and interprets laws, calls referendums, approves the main directions of the state's domestic and foreign policy, exercises parliamentary control over the executive branch, approves the state budget and exercises control over its execution, ratifies international treaties. Sessions of Parliament are convened twice a year.

Parliament adopts constitutional (i.e. - on the revision of the constitution), organic and ordinary laws. Organic laws are adopted by a majority vote of elected deputies. They regulate, in particular, the electoral system, the organization and activities of the parliament and the government, the judiciary, the organization of local government, the regime of local autonomy, the organization and activities of political parties, the general regime of labor relations, trade unions and social protection, the state of emergency and martial law and some other areas. Ordinary laws are adopted by a majority vote of the deputies present. The most important issues of the life of society and the state are submitted to a referendum.

Legislative initiative belongs to the deputies of parliament, the president and the government.

The head of state is the president, elected by parliament by secret ballot; A candidate who receives three-fifths of the votes of the deputies is considered elected. The President may be a citizen who has the right to elect, has reached the age of 40, has lived in the territory of the Republic for at least 10 years and knows the state language. The term of office of the president is 4 years, the same person cannot hold this position for more than two consecutive terms. In case of committing acts that violate the provisions of the constitution, the president can be removed from office by parliament by a two-thirds vote of the elected deputies.

The President participates in negotiations, concludes international treaties on behalf of the Republic, accredits and recalls diplomatic representatives at the proposal of the government, accepts letters of credence and recall from diplomatic representatives of other states, is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, promulgates laws. Other powers of the president include: awarding state awards, conferring military ranks, resolving issues of citizenship, appointing to public office, and granting pardons. In the exercise of his powers, the president issues decrees that are binding on the entire territory of the state.

The conduct of the domestic and foreign policy of the state is ensured by the government, which consists of the prime minister, first deputy and deputies, ministers and other members. The program of activities and the composition of the government are discussed at a meeting of parliament. Parliament expresses a vote of confidence in the government by a majority vote of elected deputies. Based on a vote of confidence, the president appoints the government. If it is impossible to form a government, the president, after consultation with the parliamentary factions, has the right to dissolve the parliament.

Justice

exercised by the Supreme Court of Justice, the appellate chambers and the courts. Judges are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Superior Council of Magistracy. The position of a judge is incompatible with any other paid activity, with the exception of teaching and research activities.

The President, Vice-Presidents and Judges of the Supreme Court of Justice are appointed by the Parliament on the proposal of the Superior Council of Magistracy. They must have at least 10 years of experience as a judge. The competence of the Supreme Court of Justice, among others, includes a trial in case of initiation of charges against the President by Parliament.

The Superior Council of Magistracy consists of 11 magistrates, whose term of office is 5 years. It includes by right the Minister of Justice, the Chairman of the Supreme Court of Justice, the Chairman of the Appeals Chamber, the Chairman of the Economic Court, the Prosecutor General, and also 6 elected members. The Superior Council of Magistracy is called upon to ensure the appointment, movement, promotion and disciplinary action of judges.

The constitution also sets out the basic requirements for the judiciary. All court hearings are open to the public. Trial in camera is allowed only in cases established by law, in compliance with all rules of judicial procedure. Legal proceedings are conducted in the Moldovan language, but persons who do not know the Moldovan language or do not speak it have the right to familiarize themselves with all the documents and materials of the case, to speak in court through an interpreter. In accordance with the law, legal proceedings may also be conducted in a language acceptable to the majority of persons participating in the judicial process. Court decisions may be appealed by interested parties and competent state authorities in accordance with the law.

The system of prosecution authorities includes the General Prosecutor's Office, territorial and specialized prosecutor's offices. The Prosecutor General and prosecutors subordinate to him, in accordance with the law, supervise the precise and uniform execution of laws by public administration bodies, legal and natural persons and their associations, protect the rule of law, the rights and freedoms of citizens, and promote the administration of justice. The Attorney General is appointed by Parliament, the subordinates are appointed by the Attorney General and report to him. The term of office of prosecutors is 5 years.

The only body of constitutional justice in the republic is the Constitutional Court, which is independent of any other public authority and is subject only to the Constitution. Constitutional Court:

– exercises control over the constitutionality of laws, regulations and resolutions of Parliament, decrees of the President, resolutions and orders of the government, upon request,

- interprets the Constitution,

- speaks out on proposals for the revision of the Constitution,

- confirms the results of republican referendums,

- confirms the results of parliamentary and presidential elections,

- ascertains the circumstances justifying the dissolution of parliament, the suspension of the office of the president or the temporary exercise of the duties of the president,

– resolves exceptional cases of unconstitutionality of legal acts submitted by the Supreme Court of Justice,

- takes decisions on issues the subject of which is the constitutionality of the party.

Laws and other normative acts or parts thereof become invalid from the moment the Constitutional Court adopts an appropriate decision, and the decisions of the Constitutional Court themselves are final and not subject to appeal.

The Constitutional Court is composed of six judges appointed for a six-year term, with two judges appointed by Parliament, two by the President and two by the Superior Council of Magistracy. Judges of the Constitutional Court are irremovable during their term of office.

Administrative-territorial structure.

The new law on the administrative-territorial structure was adopted on December 27, 2001. In accordance with it, the country is divided into 32 districts, 5 municipalities (Chisinau, Balti, Tiraspol, Bendery, Comrat), the autonomous territorial unit of Gagauzia and the administrative-territorial units of the Left Bank of the Dniester, which special forms and conditions of autonomy may be granted and on which the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR) currently exists.

Gagauzia is an autonomous-territorial formation with a special status as a form of self-determination of the Gagauz, which independently, within its competence, resolves issues of a political, economic and cultural nature. The law on the special legal status of Gagauzia was adopted by the Parliament of Moldova on December 23, 1994.

At the beginning of 2002, there were 1,678 settlements in Moldova, of which 66 were urban settlements. An uncertain situation has developed with the municipality of Bendery, which, with the exception of the suburban village of Varnitsa, recognizes the jurisdiction of the PMR, but at the same time, the new law did not include the city in the territories where it can to create Transnistrian autonomy. There are other areas of disputed jurisdiction.

Political parties.

The Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova became the leading political party in Moldova after the 2001 elections. Banned in 1991, the Communist Party registered in April 1994 under a new name, and in December 1994 its first congress took place, which adopted the party program. Vladimir Nikolaevich Voronin was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee at the organizational plenum held after the congress. In March 1995, the PCRM was admitted to the UPC-CPSU.

In 1998, for the first time after the ban in 1991, the party took part in the parliamentary elections, winning 40 out of 101 deputy mandates. A year later, the communists received over 2,000 seats in local authorities. In the summer of 2000, on the initiative of the PCRM, the Parliament introduced amendments to the Constitution of the country, which made it possible to switch to a parliamentary form of government. In early parliamentary elections, the party won 71 mandates, thus obtaining a qualified majority, which gives the right to amend the Constitution if necessary.

Christian Democratic People's Party was established on May 20, 1989, is the ideological successor of the Popular Front of Moldova (1989-1992) and the Christian Democratic Front of Moldova (1992-1998). Member of the Christian Democratic International. In the 1998 parliamentary elections, in a bloc with the Renaissance and Reconciliation Party, she received 19.2% of the vote (26 seats), in 2001, speaking independently, she received 8.3% of the vote (11 seats). He is the main opponent of the Communist Party.

Other major parties are the Agrarian Democratic Party of Moldova (established in 1991), the Socialist Party, the Democratic Party, the Forta Noua Social and Political Movement, the Social Liberal Party, the Equal Rights Social and Political Movement, the Centrist Union of Moldova and some others.

Social Liberal Party is a center-right political party based on the doctrine of social liberalism. He stands for the construction of a democratic state with a competitive market economy, for integration into the European Union. The party was established on May 9, 2001 (Europe Day), and Dr. Oleg Serebrian, vice-rector of the Independent University of Moldova, was elected its first president.

On July 19, 2003, the Social Democratic Alliance, the Liberal Party, the Alliance of Independents and the People's Democratic Party merged into a new political organization - Moldova Noastra(“Our Moldova”), co-chaired by Dmitry Bragish. The unifying doctrine of the organization was social liberalism.

Dynamics of political life.

Since 1990, Moldova has faced acute social and political problems. The diverse ethnic composition of the country and the political crisis at the end of the Soviet period created an extremely difficult situation. From the side of the radical parties there were demands for the unification of the country with Romania, which, however, did not meet with the support of the majority of the population. In 1991, large-scale fighting broke out between government troops and forces advocating autonomy for Transnistria. This republic, unrecognized by Chisinau, was formed in September 1990, even during the existence of the USSR, its inhabitants opposed secession from the Soviet Union along with Moldova. The authorities of Moldova tried by force to occupy the territory of the rebellious republic from the end of 1991 to the middle of 1992, but this attempt failed, the autonomy survived.

In late 1992 - early 1993, a regrouping of political organizations took place, which was accompanied by a decrease in the influence of the nationalists of the Popular Front, and a coalition of agrarian deputies and former communists (members of the faction of independent deputies) took a dominant position in parliament.

In February 1994 parliamentary elections were held. The ADP won 43.2% of the vote and won an absolute majority in parliament (56 out of 104 seats). The socialist bloc, which included allied parties of the agrarians, achieved the support of 22% of the vote and took 28 seats. Moldovan national (pro-Romanian) parties suffered a serious defeat. The more moderate supporters of these parties found themselves in a better position. The Peasantry and Intelligentsia Bloc received 9.2% of the vote (11 seats), and the CDNF 7.5% of the vote (9 seats). In early 1994, the parliament adopted a new constitution, which entered into force on July 29, 1994. Having come to power, the agrarians took steps to resolve interethnic conflicts. The desire for autonomy on the part of the Gagauz in mid-1994 was satisfied. Significant progress was also made in relations with the supporters of the autonomy of Transnistria.

In the 1998 parliamentary elections, the PCM achieved great success, exploiting the growing dissatisfaction with the course of economic reforms carried out by the ADP government.

The Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova won the early parliamentary elections in February 2001 with 49.9% of the vote. The electoral bloc "Alliance of Braghis" (Socialist Party of Moldova, Party of Social Democracy "Furnica", Centrist Union of Moldova, Movement of Professionals "Speranta - Hope", Social and Political Movement "New Force") took the second place - 13.4% of the votes and 19 places. In third place is the Christian Democratic People's Party with 8.3% of the vote (11 seats). The remaining parties and electoral blocs did not overcome the required electoral threshold.

Police and armed forces.

The police are subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior, the armed forces to the Ministry of Defense. There is an armed police corps, consisting of about 4 thousand people. Initially, a two-year military service project for men over the age of 18 was introduced for a short time, and later a transition to a small army on a contract basis was envisaged. However, when in early 1991 hostilities broke out between supporters of national independence and Transnistria, the mobilization of men aged 18 to 40 was announced in Moldova. In 1998, the mandatory military service was reduced to 18 months. According to 1997 estimates, the combat-ready armed forces numbered more than 11 thousand people. The number of reservists who can be drafted into the ranks of the armed forces is approx. 300 thousand. In 1998, more than 1,145 thousand people were considered fit for military service. After the NATO Secretary General's visit to Chisinau in January 1999, it was decided to reduce the size of the army from 10 thousand to 6.5 thousand.

Foreign policy.

The 1994 constitution confirmed the status of Moldova as a neutral country. The foreign policy activity of Moldova was complicated due to its geographical position, peculiarities of historical development and ongoing internal inter-ethnic conflicts. The main diplomatic efforts were aimed at resolving the conflict in Transnistria and at stabilizing relations with regional authorities.

A ceasefire agreement reached in July 1992 ended the war but did not lead to a final resolution of the conflict. In August 1994, the governments of Russia and Moldova signed an agreement on the gradual withdrawal of the warehouses of the 14th Army from Moldovan territory. Moldova pledged to find a political solution to the conflict with Transnistria. This decision was subsequently confirmed by a memorandum dated May 8, 1997. In April 1999, a deadline was set for the withdrawal of troops.

Romania was the first state to recognize the Republic of Moldova. Close cooperation with Romania was encouraged by the leaders of the Popular Front. However, after some time, especially after the 1994 elections, relations between the countries worsened. The prospect of unification, unacceptable for the Russian and Gagauz minorities, served as the main reason for the aggravation of the interethnic conflict. Nationalist elements in Romania regarded the concessions to autonomy supporters as evidence of a pro-Russian orientation. Accordingly, opposition to Romanian interference in the affairs of Moldova increased, and the discontent of the Romanian nationalists in connection with the refusal of unification and the desire of Moldova to develop relations with Russia led to a wave of hostile rhetoric in the Romanian Parliament.

ECONOMY

In the pre-Soviet period, Moldova was a purely agrarian country; in the 1940s, its economy was based mainly on agriculture and the production of consumer goods. During the Soviet period, industrialization began, primarily in Chisinau and Transnistria. Along with the food industry, the textile industry, mechanical engineering and electronics appeared. In the early 1990s, industry already provided almost 2/5 of the national income. The economy of Moldova, which had practically no mineral resources, was largely dependent on imports. For example, power plants operated exclusively on imported energy sources (oil, oil products and coal).

After the country left the USSR and despite the implementation of market reforms, the economic development of Moldova was held back due to the ongoing instability both within the country and abroad. Regional conflicts prevented the establishment of reliable trade ties between Moldova and other former Soviet republics.

According to the World Bank, in 1995 the gross national product (GNP) was about $3.9 billion, or $920 per capita. In the first half of the 1990s, the country's GDP declined annually and in 2002 was estimated at 11.51 billion US dollars. In 1996, the government initiated the introduction of a three-year program aimed at accelerating the transition to a market economy. Moldova managed to obtain loans from the IMF, which made it possible to implement this program.

Agriculture

remains the most significant area of ​​economic activity. Private ownership of land was legalized only in 1991, but the sale of agricultural land began only after 2001. Agriculture provides more than 2/5 of the national income. The mild climate and fertile soils make it possible to grow a large number of crops. Moldova is a major producer of grapes and wine products. Its orchards produce large crops of plums, apricots, cherries and peaches. Fruit cultivation is concentrated in the north, in the central regions and in the Dniester valley. Tobacco is an important commercial crop. Sugar beet is grown everywhere in the country, which provides raw materials for numerous sugar factories. Sunflower is grown for vegetable oil. Corn and wheat are sown everywhere; they are consumed in the domestic market, used as fodder and exported. Meat production accounts for less than half of total agricultural production. About half of the meat products are pork, followed by beef, poultry, and lamb.

Industry.

In Moldova, some branches of heavy industry that emerged during the Soviet period, as well as light and food industries, are developed. The leading branch of heavy industry is mechanical engineering, the main products of which are electric motors, electrical and agricultural equipment. There is a chemical industry (production of plastics, synthetic fibers, paints and varnishes), as well as building materials and cement. Among the consumer goods are fabrics, clothing, refrigerators, furniture, televisions, radios. The food industry is of great importance. According to IMF estimates, in Moldova (with the exception of Transnistria) the share of food products in 1995 was 50% of the total production. The food industry produces a wide range of products, including canned vegetables and fruits (jams, jellies, fruit juices), refined sugar and vegetable oil. Moldova is known for its wines, including sparkling and cognacs.

Industry, including mining, construction and energy production, made up an ever-increasing significant share of the Moldovan economy in the early 1990s, despite a general decline in production. In 1995, industry accounted for 36.4% of the increase in net material product. In 1994, 19.4% of the country's able-bodied population was employed in the industrial sector. In the second half of the 1990s, there was a significant reduction in industrial production.

Transport.

The main means of communication in Moldova are railways and roads. Railway lines connect the main economic centers - Chisinau, Bendery, Tiraspol and Balti. They also follow to Iasi and Galati in Romania, to Odessa, Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine. In 1992, the total length of Moldovan railways was 1328 km. The lower reaches of the Prut and Dniester rivers are navigable, but water transport is of little importance. In 1996, the length of roads in Moldova reached 12.3 thousand km, of which 10.4 thousand were paved. Asphalt roads connect the main cities and are the main means of communication within the country. However, most of the roads are in poor condition, and the lack of gasoline makes road transport difficult.

International trade.

During the Soviet period, Moldova was an importer of industrial raw materials, manufactured goods and fuel. The main export items were fresh and processed agricultural products. After gaining independence, the volume of foreign trade, oriented to a large extent to the CIS countries, fell sharply, although trade with these countries accounts for more than 2/3 of the total volume of foreign trade operations. The main trading partners are Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Belarus and Germany. Exports are dominated by agricultural products (primarily wines and tobacco), textiles, machinery and chemical products. The main import items are oil, natural gas, coal, cars, food. In 1996, Moldova's trade deficit reached $254.1 million.

Economic reforms.

After gaining independence, Moldova made great strides in reforming the planned economy. In January 1992, Parliament voted to withdraw from the ruble zone in order to establish full control over the economy. In November 1993, the Moldovan leu was introduced as the national currency. Private property was legalized, a number of joint-stock companies and joint ventures appeared. In January 1991, a law on privatization was adopted. Privatization is based mainly on a voucher system: each citizen was given vouchers in accordance with seniority, which can be used to purchase shares in privatized enterprises. It was supposed to transform collective farms into joint-stock companies.

The fate of economic reforms became unclear after the victory of the PCM in the 1998 parliamentary elections. Communists opposed to market reforms received enough votes in parliament to control certain initiatives of the president.

SOCIETY

Significant changes took place in the Moldavian society after the Second World War. Before the war, it was predominantly an agrarian country, after 1945, the processes of urbanization, industrialization, and the eradication of illiteracy began. By 1999, 47% of the country's residents were city dwellers, and 53% lived in rural areas.

Moldovan society is ethnically heterogeneous. There are significant differences in the living conditions of the main ethnic groups. Although Moldovans make up a significant proportion of the urban population, they form the vast majority only in rural areas. No more than a quarter of Moldovans live in the 10 largest cities. On the other hand, Russians are predominantly city dwellers, and more than 72% of them live in the 10 largest cities. Ukrainians live in ancient villages and cities (47% of Ukrainians are dispersed in cities). The Gagauz and Bulgarians are concentrated in the south, mainly in the countryside, where they originally settled in the 19th century. Many Gagauz live in the southern cities of Comrat and Ceadir-Lunga.

CULTURE

Many Moldovans know the Romanian literary language, and in everyday life they widely use the Moldovan dialect (dialect). In the written language of Moldovans since the 14th century. the Cyrillic alphabet was used, which was replaced by the Latin alphabet between the two world wars of the 20th century. During the Soviet period, the Cyrillic alphabet was reintroduced, but after the country left the USSR, a complete romanization was carried out.

Public education.

Compared with the beginning of the 20th century, when the literacy rate was exceptionally low, Moldova made great strides in public education. Illiteracy was completely eradicated. The education system was based on 10 years of compulsory education, with its continuation in vocational schools, technical schools or higher educational institutions. In 1991 there were 13 higher educational institutions in Moldova with over 53,000 students. Chisinau is home to the Moldovan State University, the Independent Free University, the Agricultural, Polytechnic, Pedagogical and Medical Universities, the International University of Economics and the Academy of Economic Studies. Universities also operate in Tiraspol, Cahul and Balti. Until 1990, there was parallel education in Moldovan and Russian in secondary schools. In higher educational institutions, teaching was conducted mainly in Russian. Currently, the Moldovan government sets the task of predominantly transferring teaching into Romanian at all levels of education, which requires the training of appropriate teaching staff.

Literature.

The roots of Moldovan literature are in Moldovan folklore. Ancient songs (voinitsky - heroic and haidutsky songs-poems) tell about the victories of the heroes over the forces of nature, repelling the Turkish and Tatar invasions. Such songs are performed in recitative and are accompanied by playing national instruments: kobza, chimpoy (bagpipe), violin. An outstanding monument of Moldovan folklore is the shepherd's ballad Mioritsa.

In the 15th–18th centuries chronicle writing develops, which from the 17th century. began to be conducted in the Moldovan language. The chroniclers Grigory Urenke (90s of the 16th century - 1647), Miron Kostin (1633-1691), I. Nekulce (1672-1746) denounced the tyrannical rule of the Ottoman conquerors, resurrected the heroic pages of the liberation struggle of the Moldavians against the Turks. The work of M. Kostin About the Moldavian tribe, from which country their ancestors came, written in an acutely polemical form, marks the beginning of Moldavian historiography.

In the 18th century fiction is born: lyric poetry (Ion Cantacuzino), allegorical novel (Dmitry Cantemir), poetic chronicle. Dmitry Kantemir (1673–1723) is an outstanding statesman and scientist-encyclopedist of European scale. He is the author of philosophical, regional studies and historical works, the most important of which are Description of Moldova, History of the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire, Hieroglyphic history.

In the 19th century Moldovan writers began to collect folklore stories and use them in their works. The first publisher of folk songs was Vasile Alexandri, who made a significant contribution to the design of the Moldavian literary language. The classics of Moldavian literature are also M. Eminescu, C. Stamati, A. Donich, I. Creange and others. In 1820–1823, A. S. Pushkin was in exile in Bessarabia, who also showed considerable interest in Moldavian song books. He reworked the Moldavian folk song "arde-me, frizhe-me" (cut me, burn me) and included it in his poem Gypsies.

At the beginning of the 20th century The most notable phenomenon in Moldovan literature was the work of the poet Alexei Mateevich. In the second half of the 20th century the works of A. Lupan, Em. Bukov, I. Drutse were widely known

Mass media.

Several radio and television stations operate in Moldova. The main government dailies are Moldova Suverane (Sovereign Moldova) and Nezavisimaya Moldova. The Union of Writers of Moldova publishes the weekly Literatura shi Arta, the main printed organ covering cultural events in the country and abroad.

Music.

The source of Moldovan music is folk songs. A special place among them belongs to doins - drawn-out songs of a lyric-epic nature.

Until the beginning of the 30s of the 19th century. the leading role in music belonged to folk musicians - lautars. Among them stood out the work of Barbu Lautaru, who became a legendary figure. Thanks to the tours of European musicians (Schumann, Liszt, etc.), European music also penetrated the region. On the other hand, Moldovan folklore attracted Russian composers - Verstovsky, Glinka, Eizrich, who used his motives in their works. In 1900, a society of music lovers "Harmony" was created, in 1900 - the Chisinau Music College.

In 1930, the Moldavian choir "Doina" began its activity in Tiraspol, in 1935 - a symphony orchestra.

The first Moldavian opera - Grozovan was written by D. G. Gershfeld and staged at the State Opera and Ballet Theatre.

Moldovan folk dances have become widely known thanks to their masterful performance by the artists of the dance ensemble "Zhok".

customs and holidays.

The main religious holidays in Moldova are the same as in other Orthodox nations - Easter and Christmas. August 27 is the national holiday Independence Day, and August 31 is the national holiday "Our Language Day" (in connection with the adoption in 1989 of the Law on the Romanian language as a state language).

STORY

State formation.

The ancestors of the Moldavian people are the Vlachs (Volochs), the ethnic basis for the formation of which, as modern science suggests, was the Romanized Geto-Dacian population that lived on both banks of the Danube. The Vlachs in ancient times lived in communities. The community was ruled by a council of wealthy peasants. The council also included a “knez” (leader), who initially exercised power in wartime. Gradually, power passed to the knez and became hereditary.

The first political formations of the Vlachs arose in the form of “knezats” and voivodeships, the socio-political prerequisites for the Moldavian statehood were formed in the bowels of the Old Russian state. In the middle of the 13th c. Mongols seized power over the region, in the 14th century. - Hungarians. In 1359, voivode Bogdan, with a part of the Vlachs, moved to the territory called in the sources “Moldovan land” (the center is the basin of the Moldova River) and established his power over most of the Eastern Carpathian region, and in 1365 he achieved recognition of the independence of the state. Thus, an independent Moldavian principality arose with its capital in the city of Siret.

First rulers.

The first Moldavian rulers had the title of "voivode", and from the beginning of the 15th century. - "lord." The first to wear this title was Alexander the Good (1400–1432). His power was formally unlimited: he issued charters, signed treaties with foreign states, was the supreme commander and judge. However, the boyars, who were members of the Boyar Rada, played an important role in the state: not a single issue of domestic and foreign policy was resolved without their participation.

In the fall of 1455, the ruler Peter III Aron was forced to agree to pay tribute to the Turkish sultan, but Stephen III the Great (1457–1504), who deposed Aron and built a network of fortresses and frontier fortifications, in 1473 refused to pay tribute. The Sultan, who decided to subjugate Stephen by force, suffered a defeat in January 1475 at the Vaslui River. During the reign of Stefan, Moldova's foreign policy ties with Russia strengthened. The union was supplemented by family ties: the son of Grand Duke Ivan III was married to Elena, daughter of Stephen III.

under Turkish rule.

However, at the beginning of the 16th century. The Moldavian principality fell into vassal dependence on Turkey. The Sultan was paid an annual tribute - harazhd. The Moldavian ruler was confirmed on the throne by the sultan, as a sign of loyalty to whom the rulers were obliged to send sons or close relatives to Istanbul, who were practically in the position of hostages there. During the 16th and 17th centuries almost 50 lords changed on the Moldavian throne. The central government was weak, the country was actually ruled by the boyar oligarchy - representatives of the 75 most influential families. The class of feudal lords also included "servants" - Moldavian nobles who served in the army of the ruler and received land holdings on the right of the estate for their service.

The peasants, who in the 15th century. were considered formally free, from the second half of the 17th century. began to fall into serfdom from the boyars. According to the new order, a peasant who lived on boyar land for 12 years became a serf. Such peasants (called vechins) worked on the feudal lord's household for a fixed number of days, paid quitrents in kind and money to their master, and delivered to him handicrafts; they could be inherited, mortgaged, sold along with the land. The serf gypsies were in an even worse position.

During the reign of Vasily Lupu (1634-1653) the first set of Moldovan laws was compiled - the Code (1646). The norms of criminal law, reflected in the Code, were in force until the middle of the 18th century, and civil law - until the spread of the all-Russian legislation in the territory of Bessarabia in the first half of the 19th century.

In February 1654, the ruler Gheorghe Stefan sent his representative Ivan Grigoriev to Moscow with a request to accept Moldavia as Russian citizenship; in March 1656, Russian-Moldovan negotiations began on this issue. Due to the complicated international relations (Russian-Swedish war and other events), the negotiations remained without consequences, but their very fact caused a negative reaction from the Turkish sultan: in March 1658, George Stefan was removed from the throne.

In 1711, the ruler Dmitry Cantemir concluded an agreement with Peter I, according to which he became Peter's vassal, and the latter was obliged to restore Moldavia within its former borders. The Moldavian army fought together with the Russian against the Turks, but the failure of the Prut campaign of Peter I prevented the implementation of this agreement. Dmitry Kantemir himself with his associates moved to Russia, where he wrote most of his works.

Since 1711, the Moldavian boyars lost the right to elect rulers, and the Turkish government every three years began to appoint people alien to Moldavia from among the Greek aristocracy, who had transferred to the service of the Sultan, as rulers. These representatives of the Greek nobility (called Phanariotes) ruled Moldova for over 100 years. The Phanariot rulers did not have the right to maintain their army and conduct foreign policy, but had to collect and send tribute to the Sultan.

During the Russian-Turkish wars of the 18th century. The Russian army liberated Moldavia from the Turks three times. According to the Kyuchuk-Kainarji peace of 1774 with Turkey, Russia received patronage over Moldavia. Turkey undertook to return to Moldavia the lands taken from her, to exempt the taxable population from taxes for two years and not to demand tax arrears from them during the years of the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. The result was the weakening of Turkish oppression and the strengthening of economic ties with Russia, where Moldavia exported wine and fruits and from where imported furs, iron products, linen and ropes.

As a result of the Russo-Turkish war of 1787–1791, according to the Treaty of Jassy, ​​the territory between the Bug and the Dniester was annexed to Russia, and according to the Bucharest peace treaty, which summed up the Russo-Turkish war of 1806–1812, the territory between the Dniester and the Prut (Bessarabia) was annexed.

As part of Russia.

The inclusion of Moldovan lands in the Russian Empire did not mean the restoration of Moldovan statehood. Moldovan lands were divided among various administrative units. Only Bessarabia, where the compact majority of Moldovans lived, received a special legal status.

In the first years after the accession, the old system of administration of the region was preserved, which was beneficial to the Moldavian boyars, as well as the former land relations, laws and customs. In accordance with the adopted in 1813 Rules of the provisional government of the Bessarabian region Bessarabia was administered by the governor (the boyar Scarlat Sturdza became him) and the provisional regional government. The region was divided into 9 tsinuts, in each of which police officers from the Moldavian boyars were appointed by the governor. Police officers were subordinate to okolashi (volost foremen).

In 1816, the position of governor was established in Bessarabia, and in 1818, the Supreme Council of 11 people and the regional court, consisting of the criminal and civil chambers. The criminal court was guided by Russian, civil - Moldovan laws. In 1828 with the adoption Institutions for the management of the Bessarabian region, On the territory of Bessarabia, an all-Russian administrative system of government was introduced. Office work in the Moldavian language ceased, in 1873 the Bessarabian region was turned into a province.

A stream of immigrants rushed to the annexed territories: both from abroad (Bulgarians, Gagauz, Germans, etc.), and from the central and Ukrainian provinces. Here military-economic settlements were created from retired soldiers, Cossacks, military personnel. Less severe feudal oppression and favorable natural conditions attracted peasants who fled from serfdom here. Moldavian lands continued to be agricultural, but the ratio between livestock and agriculture changed, the last in the middle of the 19th century. became the dominant industry. The industry developed slowly, in the pre-reform period, specific industries prevailed - salt and fishing with fish processing.

In 1818, the local boyars were equalized in rights and privileges with the Russian nobility, the lower strata of the ruling class (boernashi) in the 40s received the right to personal nobility. However, the main category of peasants - the Tsarane - were not equated with serfs in Russia. They were declared "free farmers", but for the use of landlords and monastic lands they had to serve corvee and pay dues. Small landowners - rezeshi - were less dependent on the feudal lords and were mainly in the position of taxable peasants.

In 1820 Kishinev became one of the centers of the revolutionary movement in Russia. The Decembrists created the Kishinev Council here, headed by M.F. Orlov, who commanded the 16th division. The Chisinau Decembrists launched propaganda among the soldiers, preparing them for an armed uprising. For the training of cadets and soldiers, Lancaster schools were created, the leader of which was the poet VF Raevsky, a participant in the Patriotic War of 1812. To expand their influence, the Decembrists also used the Ovid Masonic Lodge, founded in Kishinev in 1821. A close relationship was also established with the secret political society of the Greek rebels "Filiki Eteria" operating on the territory of Bessarabia.

The revolutionary propaganda of the Decembrists led to the fact that at the end of 1821 there were unrest in four of the six regiments of the 16th division. After their suppression, M.F. Orlov was removed from command of the division, and V.F. Raevsky was arrested and imprisoned in the Tiraspol fortress.

Peasant reform on Moldovan lands was carried out at different times. In the left-bank regions of Transnistria, which were part of the Kherson and Podolsk provinces, it was carried out on the basis of Regulations on peasants who emerged from serfdom dated February 19, 1861. For the Kherson province, it was planned to free the peasants and allocate them with land in the amount of 3 to 7 acres for a ransom.

In Bessarabia Regulations concerned only an insignificant part of the peasants, since the serfs made up only one percent of the population here. For the bulk of the peasants, the tsarans, the reform was carried out on the basis of the law of July 14, 1868. The allotment (an average of 2.9 acres) was transferred here for family use. For state peasants and colonists, special reforms were carried out in 1869 and 1871, according to which they received from 8 to 11 acres of land per capita, and for a smaller ransom.

In southern Bessarabia, a reform was carried out in 1864. The peasants received land here for hereditary family use, but their allotment was smaller than in the Novorossiysk provinces. In the south of the region, where the bulk of the land was in the use of state peasants and colonists, the peasants received land on favorable terms for ownership, respectively, 30 and 50 acres per head of the family. The existing land system was preserved here even after the return of these areas to Russia in 1878.

The peasant reform contributed to the development of capitalist forms of production, farming, and rent. Bessarabia became one of the provinces of commercial grain farming, viticulture, horticulture, and tobacco growing also began to develop at a faster pace. Trade played an important role in the economy of the province; the share of industry continued to be insignificant.

During the Russian-Turkish war of 1877–1878, volunteer detachments were formed on the territory of Moldova to fight against Turkey, including the formation of the Bulgarian militia. In Chisinau, the Red Cross Society prepared brothers of mercy for Bulgaria. As a result of the war, the southern part of Bessarabia with ports on the Danube again became part of Russia.

Revolution 1905–1907 in Russia it also spread to Moldovan lands. On August 21, 1905, a general political strike began in Kishinev, which turned into a demonstration the next day and led to an armed clash between the workers and the troops and police. In October, the railroad workers from Chisinau, Balti, Tiraspol, as well as printers and workers from many workshops, joined the all-Russian political strike. Unrest also gripped the peasants, the army and the navy. In January 1906, a peasant uprising broke out in the village of Komrat, Bendery district, which had to be suppressed with the help of troops. The national liberation movement intensified, the demand was put forward for children to be taught in their native language, newspapers began to be published in the Moldavian language.

Stolypin's agrarian reform also affected Bessarabia. During 1907–1913, 11,810 peasant farms of the Bessarabian province separated from the community and secured 130,000 acres of land as private property. About 60 thousand peasants moved to Siberia and Kazakhstan.

During the First World War, railroad construction developed at an accelerated pace in Moldova, caused by the needs of the front. At the same time, a decline began in agriculture, caused by the mobilization of the able-bodied male population into the army and economic ruin, and expressed in a reduction in sown areas and gross grain harvest. Almost with the beginning of the war, the peasant movement intensified in the region. In connection with the conscription into the army, the peasantry refused to pay state and zemstvo taxes, resisted the requisition of livestock.

In the first days of the February Revolution of 1917, organs of the Provisional Government were formed in Moldavia. On March 6, the chairman of the zemstvo council of the Bessarabian province, the landowner Mimi, was appointed provincial commissar. Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies arose in Chisinau, Bendery, Balti and other large cities.

In October 1917, Sfatul tsarii (“Council of the Country”) was created and the autonomy of Moldova was declared, a decision was made to create a Moldavian national army. On December 2, 1917, the Council proclaimed Bessarabia the Moldavian Democratic Republic, and on January 24, 1918, declared its independence. By agreement with Sfatul tsarii, Romanian troops entered the territory of Bessarabia. At the same time, the II Congress of Rumcherod (the executive committee of the Soviets of the Romanian Front, the Black Sea Fleet and the Odessa region) held in Odessa on December 10–23, 1917, proclaimed a course towards establishing the power of the Soviets on the territory of Moldavia. In response to the advance of the Romanian troops, the Council of People's Commissars of Russia severed diplomatic relations with Romania and sent units of the Red Army to Bessarabia.

The conflict led to the division of Moldovan lands. On April 9, 1918, Sfatul tsarii, by an insignificant majority of votes, decided to unite the MDR with Romania, and Soviet power was established on the territory of the left bank of the Dniester region during 1919–1921. In the autumn of 1924, at the III session of the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee of the VIII convocation, the Law on Education within the Ukrainian Socialist Republic of the Autonomous Moldavian Socialist Soviet Republic (MASSR) was adopted. The republic included 11 districts on the left bank of the Dniester, the capital was the city of Balta, since 1929 - the city of Tiraspol.

The First All-Moldavian Congress of Soviets (April 19-23, 1925) adopted a constitution that determined the state structure of the republic, a manifesto To the peoples of Moldova and elected the CEC of the Moldavian ASSR. G.I. Stary was elected Chairman of the Presidium of the CEC at the first session of the CEC, A.I. Stroev became the head of government. The Moldavian ASSR was thus included in the system of state bodies of the Soviet Union.

The creation of a large-scale industry began in the republic, primarily food and building materials. In 1935, the Tiraspol Thermal Power Plant went into operation. Private enterprises were nationalized, and in 1929-1931, a complete collectivization of peasant farms was carried out.

In the second half of the 1930s, the leadership of the MASSR, as well as many ordinary people, were subjected to Stalinist repressions. In May 1937, a number of members of the government (including the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the MASSR G.I. Stary), party, Komsomol and Soviet workers were dismissed, and then arrested and repressed. All of them were accused of treason and espionage "in favor of royal Romania."

On June 26 and 27, 1940, the government of the USSR sent two notes to the Romanian government, which contained demands for the return of Bessarabia and the transfer of Northern Bukovina to the USSR as a means of "compensating for the enormous damage that was inflicted on the Soviet Union and the population of Bessarabia by the 22-year rule of Romania in Bessarabia." On June 28, Romania withdrew its troops and administration from Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina.

Moldavian SSR.

On August 2, 1940, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a law On the formation of the Moldavian SSR. 6 out of 9 Bessarabian counties and 6 out of 14 districts of the former MASSR became part of the new union republic. The northern part of Bukovina, Khotyn, Akkerman and Izmail districts of Bessarabia were included in the Ukrainian SSR. By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of November 4, 1940, 8 regions of the MASSR were also transferred to Ukraine.

In the cities, villages and towns of Moldova, new authorities were created: the executive committees of the soviets and local Soviet governments. In January 1941, elections were held to the Supreme Soviet of the Moldavian SSR, at the first session of which the constitution of the republic, similar to the soviet, was approved.

In accordance with the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 15, 1940, banks and credit institutions, loan and savings banks, railway and water transport, trams and buses, communications facilities, basic industrial enterprises, power plants, large trading enterprises, oil tanks, medical and socio-cultural institutions, large residential buildings. About 500 industrial enterprises were nationalized on the territory of 6 counties of the former MASSR.

In late July - early August 1941, the territory of the Moldavian SSR was completely occupied by fascist troops. The right-bank districts became part of the so-called Bessarabia governorate, the left-bank districts became part of the so-called Trasnistria (Transnistria) governorate. Unlike "Transnistria", transferred by the Nazis to the Romanian kingdom for temporary "administration and economic exploitation", the governorships of "Bessarabia" and "Bukovina" were declared an integral part of Romania. In the period 1941-1944, about 80 anti-fascist underground organizations and groups operated on the territory of Moldova; by the beginning of 1944, almost all of them were defeated. The partisan movement intensified only in the summer of 1944 during the preparation of the Iasi-Kishinev operation.

On March 17, 1944, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front reached the Dniester and the border of the Moldavian SSR, and by March 25, Soviet troops had already occupied more than 100 settlements on the right bank of Moldova. Troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front captured Tiraspol on April 12, 1944.

On August 20, 1944, the Iasi-Chisinau operation began, in which the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts, the Black Sea Fleet and the Danube military flotilla took part. On August 21, the city of Yassy was taken, on August 24, Chisinau was liberated. In just 10 days, 22 German divisions were surrounded and liquidated.

After the war, 245,000 hectares of farmland were transferred into the hands of landless and landless peasants, seed and fodder loans, and loans for the purchase of livestock were allocated. Part of the peasant farms was exempted from taxes. In 1946-1947, the territory of Moldavia was subjected to a terrible drought, which led to extremely low yields of cereals and grasses. However, the Stalinist system of compulsory grain procurements, extended to the republic, forced local party and Soviet bodies to continue to carry out state deliveries. This led to mass starvation and even death of the population. The federal government urgently provided food and grain assistance to the republic, which did not improve the situation, since grain deliveries, which deprived the peasants of insurance food supplies, were not canceled. “A paradoxical situation developed in the republic,” modern Moldovan historians note. - The Moldavian village in the autumn months became a place of oncoming transportation of bread. One stream - aid from the district points "Zagotzerno" went to the villages, and the other - grain procurements - went in the opposite direction to the same points. "According to various estimates, from 150 to 300 thousand people died of starvation in the republic during these years .

In 1949, a mass collectivization of agriculture was carried out, accompanied by the expulsion of the prosperous part of the peasantry.

In 1988, two opposition groups emerged: the Democratic Movement in Support of Perestroika and the Aleksey Mateevich Musical and Literary Club. On May 20, 1989, the Popular Front of Moldova was created, which advocated the autonomy of the republic. With the direct participation of these organizations in the summer of 1989, numerous demonstrations took place in Chisinau under the slogan: “Moldova to Moldovans!” The demonstrators demanded the political and economic independence of Moldova, the annulment of the consequences of the German-Soviet treaty of 1939, and the recognition of the status of the official language of the republic for the Moldovan language. In response to this, on July 8, the founding congress of the inter-movement "Unitate-Unity" was held.

On August 31, 1989, the Supreme Soviet of the MSSR proclaimed Moldavian the official language in the "political, economic, social and cultural spheres", Russian - the language of interethnic communication. A law was passed On the return of the Latin script to the Moldovan language. Mircea Snegur was elected Chairman of the Supreme Council with the support of the Popular Front.

February 25, 1990 elections were held to the Supreme Soviet of the Moldavian SSR. Most of the seats were won by supporters of the Popular Front. On April 27, the state symbols were changed in the country, the blue-yellow-red tricolor resembling the Romanian blue-yellow-red tricolor was introduced as the state flag. Deputies opposed to the Popular Front left the parliament on May 24.

On August 2, at the II Extraordinary Congress of the working people of Pridnestrovie, who did not want to leave the USSR, a decision was made to form the Pridnestrovian Moldavian SSR, and on November 22-25 elections to the Supreme Council of the republic were held. However, the Supreme Soviet of the MSSR declared these elections invalid.

On March 6, 2005, parliamentary elections were held in Moldova, in which 64.84% of voters took part. 45.98% of voters voted for the "Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova" (PCRM), 28.53% for the "Democratic Moldova" bloc (BDM), and 9.07% for the "Christian Democratic People's Party" (PPCD). The elections were monitored by 747 observers from the OSCE, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the European Union, as well as 2.5 thousand local observers. Russian observers were expelled from Moldova on the eve of the elections.

On April 4, 2005, the parliament re-elected the incumbent President Vladimir Nikolayevich Voronin for a new term (75 deputies voted for him). The second candidate, Giorgi Duku (head of the republic's Academy of Sciences, also a candidate from the Communist Party) received one vote. Voronin's inauguration took place on April 7, 2005.

The Republic of Moldova.

On May 23, 1991, the Moldavian SSR was renamed the Republic of Moldova, and on August 27, based on the decision of the Great National Assembly held in Chisinau, the parliament of the republic adopted the Declaration of Independence.

From the end of 1991 to the middle of 1992, pro-government armed groups unsuccessfully tried to take control of the territory of Transnistria, which advocated autonomy, which escalated almost into a civil war. By the end of the summer of 1992, the death toll in it exceeded several hundred people. Most of the city of Bender, which became the main center of the conflict, was destroyed by pro-government troops, thousands of refugees fled the area. After the establishment of a truce, negotiations began on the future of the country.

The conflict in Transnistria increased the polarization of Moldovan society and led to a decrease in the Popular Front's popularity. The growth of hostility towards the deputies of the Popular Front, whose number was constantly decreasing due to the transition to the opposition parties, led to the fact that the parliament voted for self-dissolution and holding new elections on February 27, 1994.

These elections were marked by a sharp change in political course - the rejection of the policy of unification with Romania, pursued in the early stages of independent development. The pro-Romanian nationalist parties basically lost their political influence, they were replaced by parties that defended national independence. The most popular was the Agrarian Democratic Party (ARP), for which 43.2% of the electorate voted; she won 56 out of 104 seats in parliament. The Socialist Bloc, an ally of the agrarians, won 28 seats. Pro-Romanian parties won only 17% of the vote.

The final results of the elections immediately affected the political life of Moldova. The agrarian government, having a majority of seats in parliament, reached a political consensus and immediately began to reorient foreign and domestic policy. The authorities signed an agreement with Gagauzia, thereby resolving the critical situation dictated by the desire of the Gagauzians for autonomy. On December 23, 1994, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova adopted a law on the territorial autonomy of Gagauzia (Gagauz Yeri). Since 1992, the southern Taraclia region, populated mainly by Bulgarians, has been seeking greater autonomy. Steps were taken to normalize relations with the Transnistrian authorities. On July 29, 1994, a new constitution was enacted. This document reflected the "Moldovan" orientation of the new political majority. References to the Romanian language and the Romanian people, which characterized the main provisions of the early drafts of the constitution, were removed and replaced by references to the Moldovan language and the Moldovan people, while national independence was maintained as the main principle of Moldovan statehood.

Disappointment with these additions to the constitution provoked protests from student groups in March-April 1995. To curb dissatisfaction, President Snegur introduced a six-month moratorium on discussion of the language issue and created a special commission to consider it. At the same time, the parliament twice - in 1994 and 1995 - rejected the proposal to recognize Romanian as the state language.

In June 1995, President Snegur stepped down from the leadership of the ADP, disagreeing with its demand to approve the Romanian language as the state language. Snegur's conflicts with the leadership of the ADP did not stop. When in 1996 he tried to dismiss Defense Minister Pavel Creanga, the parliament declared this decision unconstitutional.

In the November 1996 presidential election, none of the candidates won the required 50% of the vote. Repeat elections were held in December, in the first round Snegur received 39% of the vote, and ADP candidate Piotr Luchinsky - 28%. However, Luchinsky won the second round with 54% of the vote and in January 1997 took office as president.

In the first year of his presidency, Lucinschi strongly supported economic reforms. The PCM was the main opponent of the market reforms. In the March 1998 parliamentary elections, the communists won 30% of the vote (40 seats) in parliament. Since neither party won a decisive majority of the seats, a coalition government was formed with the participation of the Movement for a Democratic and Prosperous Moldova, the Democratic Convention of Moldova and the Party of Democratic Forces. The new parliament recognized Romanian as the state language of Moldova.

The 1994 Constitution confirmed the neutrality of the Republic of Moldova in international relations. The status of Transnistria was not specifically stipulated, but it was stated that the settlements on the left bank of the Dniester could be granted special forms and conditions of autonomy. Detailed negotiations on the status of Transnistria were conducted in 1995. In mid-1996, the governments of Moldova and Transnistria came to an agreement on the autonomous status of Transnistria. The course of negotiations was held back by ongoing disputes over the conditions for the withdrawal of Russian troops and military equipment from Transnistria. The eastern part of the former Moldavian SSR, the so-called Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), with its capital in Tiraspol, is not de facto part of the Republic of Moldova. The legislative and executive branches of power of the PMR ignore the laws of Moldova. The PMR has all the attributes of statehood (flag, capital, president, parliament, customs, police, finances).

In contrast to the PMR, the leaders of Gagauzia at the end of 1994 reached an agreement with the government of Moldova on the terms of autonomy. Gagauzia was guaranteed local self-government, and the Gagauz language became one of the three official languages ​​- along with Moldavian and Russian. The People's Assembly of Gagauzia (Halk Toplosu) received limited legislative powers. The highest official of Gagauzia is its head (bashkan), who is elected for a term of four years on the basis of universal, equal, direct suffrage by secret and free voting on an alternative basis. In a regional referendum held in March 1995, the official borders of Gagauzia were determined. By the end of 1998, the republic faced the strongest crisis since independence. In the economy, it was due to a sharp drop in trade turnover with Russia after the default on August 17, 1998, a further decline in industrial production and a reduction in GDP (in 1998 compared to 1997 by 10% and 7%, respectively), devaluation of the leu by 50%, and rising food prices. by 20–40%. The budget adopted on December 12, 1998 (revenue - 2.25 billion lei, or 300 million dollars, expenditure - 2.45 billion lei, or 330 million dollars) was adopted with the expectation of IMF loans, which were received in 1999 with delays. In January 1999 the prices of utilities and some goods rose by 70%.

MOLDOVA 21st century

The leadership of Moldova sees a way out of the crisis in tightening financial discipline and reorienting trade relations to the countries of the CIS, the Middle East and China. In domestic politics, President Lucinschi at a consultative referendum on May 23, 1999 during the elections to local authorities raised the issue of introducing presidential rule, thereby changing some of the provisions of the 1994 Constitution. This proposal did not receive the support of the majority. In the early parliamentary elections on February 25, 2001, the Communist Party won. On April 4, 2001, their leader Vladimir Voronin was elected president. After the 2005 parliamentary elections, the new parliament re-elected the incumbent president Voronin for a new term. More than 700 observers from the OSCE, PACE and the EU, as well as 2,500 local observers, followed the course of these elections. Russian observers were expelled from the country on the eve of the elections. On April 5, 2009 parliamentary elections were held. According to the results of counting the ballots, the Moldovan CEC announced the victory of the ruling Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM), which won 49.91% of the votes. Thus, the communists received 62–63 seats in parliament (out of 101).

Three other opposition parties also entered parliament: the Liberal Party (12.91%), the Liberal Democratic Party (12.23%) and Our Moldova Alliance (AMN) (9.88%). Opposition parties declared the elections rigged and said they were organizing mass protests. On April 7, a protest rally was held in Chisinau against the results of the parliamentary elections. The protesters also demanded the unification of Moldova with Romania. According to various estimates, 10-20 thousand people took part in the protest action. The action turned into riots. The protesters smashed the parliament and presidential administration buildings. By evening, the disturbances had ceased. Dozens of people were injured in the riots. The police detained about 200 people.

On April 7, a meeting was held between opposition leaders and representatives of the country's leadership. However, it did not bring results. The opposition demanded at least a recount of the votes, and at the most, the resignation of President Vladimir Voronin and the holding of new elections. V.Voronin blamed the opposition leaders, as well as some forces in Romania, for the incident. In this regard, the Romanian ambassador was declared persona non grata, and Moldova introduced a visa regime with Romania. However, opposition parties did not claim responsibility for the riots and said they had nothing to do with the pogroms.

On April 8, a protest demonstration took place again, this time several thousand people gathered near the government building. They demanded that they be given access to television, as well as the release of detained opposition supporters. Their demands were not met, although they threatened to seize government buildings. The police said that in the event of new riots, they would use force. By evening, the protesters dispersed.

On April 11, at a meeting of the Central Electoral Commission, the final results of the April 5 parliamentary elections were approved. The Communist Party won 60 seats in parliament, the Liberals and the Liberal Democrats 15 each, Our Moldova 11.

On April 12, V. Voronin appealed to the Constitutional Court of Moldova with a request for a complete and transparent recount of the results of the parliamentary elections. The court decided to recount the votes and scheduled the recount for April 15. The results were published on April 21st. They did not reveal significant discrepancies with the original data. The distribution of mandates in parliament remained the same.

On May 12, the parliament approved Voronin as speaker. However, the parliament was unable to elect a new head of state within the allotted time frame, and on June 15 Voronin dissolved the parliament.

On July 29 new elections were held. Although the Communists took first place, they received insufficient mandates to approve their presidential candidate. The rest of the opposition parties that entered the parliament formed a coalition. But this alliance also did not have enough votes to approve its candidacy for the head of state. On September 2, Voronin announced his resignation from the presidency. On September 10, Voronin appointed Vitaliy Pyrlog, Minister of Justice, as Acting Prime Minister, since on September 9, the head of the government, L. Greceanaia, announced her resignation. On September 11, Voronin officially resigned. At a meeting on September 11, the deputies decided by a majority of votes that the new speaker of parliament, the leader of the Liberal Party, Mihai Ghimpu, will act as acting president until the election of a new head of state.

On September 17, the Moldovan parliament accepted the resignation of the current cabinet of ministers. On the same day, Ghimpu appointed Vlad Filat, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party, to the post of prime minister.

On June 24, 2010, Ghimpu signed a decree according to which the day of June 28, 1940 was recognized in Moldova as "the day of the Soviet occupation." This decree split the Moldovan society. On July 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of Moldova declared this decree unconstitutional and canceled it.

The Moldovan Parliament twice (November 10 and December 7, 2009) failed to elect a head of state. The only candidate for the presidency both times was Mirian Lupu from the ruling Alliance for European Integration coalition. According to the constitution, the president in Moldova is elected by the parliament, so after June 16, 2010 he had to be dissolved. However, the interim executor did not want to dissolve parliament. The country's leadership decided to hold a referendum in order to amend the current constitution.

On September 5, 2010, a referendum was held, at which the question was raised: should changes be made to the constitution of the republic, allowing for popular presidential elections. But the referendum was declared invalid, since a low voter turnout was recorded (29.7% of voters, with at least 33% required).

On September 21, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic ruled that it was necessary to re-elect the Parliament. In this situation, under pressure from the Constitutional Court of Moldova, Ghimpu was forced to announce re-elections. On September 28, he announced the dissolution of parliament and set a date for new early elections.

On November 28, 2010, the opposition Communist Party won the parliamentary elections. The OSCE recognized the vote as in line with international standards. As a result, the communists received 42 seats in parliament. Liberal Democrats - 32 seats, Democrats - 15 and Liberals - 12. The Communists unsuccessfully tried to form a coalition with the Democrats. Although the Alliance for European Integration (AEI) did not receive the necessary number of votes to elect a president, the leaders of the three parties (Liberal Democrats, Democrats and Liberals) announced the formation of a coalition on December 30, 2010. Negotiations to create a coalition continued for more than a month.

According to the agreement, the top posts should be distributed as follows: prime minister - liberal democrat Vladimir Filat, president - democrat Mirian Lupu, speaker - liberal Mihai Ghimpu. Lupu will temporarily act as chairman of the parliament until he is elected head of state.

On January 14, 2011, the parliamentarians, by a majority vote from the Alliance, approved the composition of the new government headed by Vladimir Filat.

To control the activities of the government and coordinate the positions of the Alliance in the new coalition, the Alliance Council was created, and a presidium was created in the government and the position of the government secretary general and his deputies was introduced, who should coordinate the work of the cabinet.

On March 16, 2012, the President of the country was elected by the Parliament of the Republic. It was Nicolae Timofti who received 62 votes (the minimum number of votes required for election is 61). He was nominated by the Alliance for European Integration coalition.

At the beginning of March 2013, the government headed by V. Filat was dismissed. 54 deputies, communists, members of the Democratic Party and several independent deputies voted for a vote of no confidence.

Literature:

Soviet Union. Geographic description. Moldova. M., 1970
History of the Moldavian SSR from ancient times to the present day. Chisinau, 1982
Soviet Moldavia: Encyclopedia. Chisinau, 1982
Pages of the history of Soviet Moldova. Chisinau, 1990
On the issue of Gagauz autonomy. Chisinau, 1990
Nedelchuk V. The Republic of Moldova. Chisinau, 1992
Republic of Moldova in 1989–1991 View from the outside. Chisinau, 1992
The Bessarabian issue and the formation of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. Collection of official documents. Tiraspol, 1993
Ostapenko L.V., Subbotina I.A. Russians in Moldova: problems employment and migration. M., 1996
Bessarabia at the crossroads of European diplomacy. Documents and materials. M., 1996
Unrecognized Republic.Essays. Documentation. Chronicle, tt. 1–2. M., 1997



Useful data for tourists about Moldova, cities and resorts of the country. As well as information about the population, the currency of Moldova, the cuisine, the features of visa and customs restrictions in Moldova.

Geography of Moldova

The Republic of Moldova is a state in the southeast of Europe. It borders with Ukraine in the north, east and south and Romania in the west. Part of the territory of Moldova is controlled by the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. Moldova is located in the extreme southwest of the East European Plain, in the second time zone, and occupies most of the interfluve of the Dniester and Prut, as well as a narrow strip of the left bank of the Dniester in its middle and lower reaches.

The surface of Moldova is a hilly plain, dissected by river valleys. The average height above sea level is 147 m, the maximum is 429.5 m (Mount Balanesti).

State

State structure

Moldova has been a parliamentary republic since 1991. The head of state is the president. The head of government is the prime minister. Legislative power is vested in a unicameral parliament, which is elected for a four-year term.

Language

State language: Moldovan

The majority of the population knows Russian well, English is used in the tourism sector.

Religion

The predominant religion is Orthodoxy. There are also communities of Baptists, Seventh-day Adventist Christians, Catholics, Jews.

Currency

International name: MDL

In circulation - banknotes of denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 lei, as well as coins of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 bani.

Cash, including US dollars, euros and rubles, can be easily exchanged for lei at any of the many exchange offices and banks.
ATMs are available at almost every major bank, and in a number of new shopping centers. Payment by credit cards is accepted in expensive hotels, in some of the largest shopping centers in Chisinau and in a number of restaurants.

The Pridnestrovian Republic adopted its own currency - the Pridnestrovian ruble, equal to 100 kopecks. This is a non-convertible currency that does not circulate outside of Transnistria. The use of credit cards and traveler's checks on the territory of Transnistria is almost impossible.

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Cuisine of Moldova

Dishes of Moldovan cuisine are popular far beyond the borders of the republic. This is not accidental, since the wide use and original arrangement of a variety of vegetables and fruits, all kinds of spices and seasonings give many dishes a unique taste and spiciness. Experts say that the Moldovan cuisine, which has a great historical experience, is among the extremely tasty and healthy thanks to the rich vegetable and fruit assortment, as well as the art of combining different products.

The largest number of dishes are prepared in Moldova from vegetables - they are consumed fresh, boiled, fried, baked, stuffed, stewed, salted. Peppers, gogoshars, eggplants stuffed with various vegetables or rice with vegetables and meat are very tasty. Tomatoes stuffed with cheese are distinguished by their peculiar taste, which is often used as additives and toppings for vegetable, egg and meat dishes, which gives them a piquant taste. Extremely popular among Moldovans are givechi and moussaki (vegetable stews), which are made from various vegetables stewed over low heat with vegetable or animal fats and spices, as well as grain and green bean dishes with cheese or fried onions and vegetable oil.

Meat dishes are prepared from beef, pork, lamb, poultry meat, and preference is given to dishes cooked over hot charcoal on a grate - a thick iron grate, as well as in an oven in cauldrons or portioned ceramic pots.

Favorite first courses - zama, cheese. Moldovans eat borscht with no less pleasure. Most of the first courses in Moldova are prepared with the addition of a special kvass made from wheat bran.

An obligatory component of many dishes is spicy greens and spicy vegetables - leeks, celery, garlic, allspice, cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon, tarragon, star anise. Garlic is very popular. It is added to almost all meat and vegetable dishes, it is the basis of the muzhdei sauce, common in Moldova, which is served with meat, poultry and fish dishes.

Specifically Moldavian dishes include a number of farinaceous and sweet dishes and products. This is primarily hominy, made from cornmeal. Hominy is served with sheep's cheese, with milk, sour cream, butter, cracklings, etc. These are also twirls, pies - pies made from unleavened dough with various fillings - cheese, cottage cheese, potatoes, meat, onions, apples, pumpkin. These are prunes stuffed with nuts, and quince baked with rice, and much more.

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Small Moldova is often simply not noticed on the map of Europe. For some reason, it is believed that Moldova is a kind of "Romania in miniature". To some extent, this is, of course, true. But, nevertheless, Moldova is an independent unique state that any traveler will like. Moldova has medieval monasteries, churches, fortresses, and other interesting sights. In addition, this country has several balneological resorts and, of course, a lot of wine.

Geography of Moldova

Moldova is located in Eastern Europe. In the west it borders with Romania, and in the north, south and east - with Ukraine. The total area of ​​Moldova is 33,846 sq. km., and the total length of the border is 1,389 km.

About 13% of the territory of Moldova is occupied by forests, the highest point of the country is Mount Balanesti, whose height reaches 430 meters.

Capital

The capital of Moldova is the city of Chisinau, whose population now totals more than 730 thousand people. The settlement of people on the territory of modern Chisinau appeared in the first half of the 15th century.

Official language

In Moldova, the official language is Moldovan, belonging to the Romance language family.

Religion

The overwhelming majority of the Moldovan population (over 93%) professes Orthodox Christianity. However, there is also a small number of Protestants in the country (more than 1.9%).

State structure of Moldova

According to the Constitution of 1994, Moldova is a parliamentary republic, the head of which is the President, who is elected by the deputies of the local Parliament. The Moldovan Parliament consists of 101 deputies.

Deputies of the Moldovan Parliament are elected by direct universal suffrage for 4 years.

Climate and weather

The climate in Moldova is temperate continental with mild and dry winters and warm summers. The average air temperature in January is from -4C, and in summer +20C. As for precipitation, in the north of Moldova it falls on average 600 mm per year, and in the south - 400 mm.

Rivers and lakes

There are several large rivers in Moldova. These are, first of all, the Dniester, Prut, and Reut. In addition, Moldova has 600 meters of Danube coastline.

As for the lakes in Moldova, there are almost 60 of them in this country. The largest of them are Beleu, Drachele, Manta, and Rotunda.

History of Moldova

The first people on the territory of modern Moldova appeared about 6,500 years ago. During the Eneolithic period, Tripoli and Gumelnytsky cultures lived in Moldova. Then Cimmerians, Thracians, and even Scythians lived on the territory of modern Moldova.

At the beginning of the 6th century, the Slavs appeared in Moldova, and in the 10th century, the Cumans. Then a significant part of Moldova became part of the Mongol-Tatar Golden Horde.

Only in 1359 the Moldavian principality was formed, which was dependent on Poland. In 1456, the Principality of Moldavia became a vassal of the Ottoman Empire.

In the 18th century, Moldova fell into the sphere of interests of the Russian Empire. As a result of long wars with the Ottoman Empire, after the Kyuchuk-Kainarji peace, the Moldavian principality actually became part of the Russian Empire.

In accordance with the Bucharest Peace Treaty of 1812, Moldavia officially became part of Russia, while having greater autonomy. In 1871, Moldavia was transformed into the Bessarabian Governorate within Russia.

In January 1918, Bessarabia declared its independence from Russia. As a result of the turbulent events of the first half of the 20th century, part of Moldova (Bessarabia) was annexed to Romania, and the rest of the country formed the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, within the USSR.

In 1940, under pressure from the USSR, Romania was forced to agree to the annexation of Bessarabia to the Moldavian SSR.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Moldavian SSR received significant funds from the USSR budget for the development of industry, science, and housing construction. At that time, the standard of living in Moldova was one of the highest in the entire USSR.

In August 1991, Moldova declared its independence. After that, the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic was created in Tiraspol, which is now referred to as the so-called. "unrecognized" republics.

culture

Moldova is located at the intersection of Slavic and Latin (Catholic) cultures. Thanks to this, Moldovan culture is very original and unique.

The most popular holidays in Moldova are New Year, Christmas, Independence Day, National Language Day, "Martisor" (welcome of spring), Easter, Trinity, and National Wine Day.

The holiday "Martisor" is celebrated in Moldova every year on March 1. On this day, Moldovans give each other chains decorated with flowers - Martisors. This means that Spring conquers Winter.

Cuisine of Moldova

Moldovan cuisine is very similar to Romanian cuisine. At the same time, Russian, Ukrainian, and Turkish culinary traditions also had a noticeable influence on Moldovan cuisine. The main products of Moldovan cuisine are meat (beef, pork), potatoes, cabbage.

For tourists in Moldova, we definitely recommend trying Zama soup, lamb chorba, corn grain borscht, Moldavian schnitzel, hominy (corn porridge), olivanka (a dish of corn, sheep cheese, pork and flour), placinda with a variety of fillings (pastries), sarali with cottage cheese (reminiscent of pies), and much more.

Moldova is famous for its wines. In general, in Moldova there is a kind of cult of wine. Every year on the second Sunday of October, Moldova celebrates the Day of Wine. In addition, Moldovans make several good brands of cognac.

Sights of Moldova

The centuries-old history of Moldova is reflected in a large number of various sights. The top ten Moldovan attractions, in our opinion, include the following:

1. Novo-Nyametsky Monastery
2. Triumphal Arch in Chisinau
3. Wine cellars in Milestii Mici
4. Fortress Soroca
5. Monument to Stephen the Great in Chisinau
6. Monastery of Capriana
7. Memorial complex "Sherpen Bridgehead"
8. Hincu Monastery
9. Tipova Monastery
10. Causeni Church.

Cities and resorts

The largest cities in Moldova are Rybnitsa, Balti, and, of course, Chisinau.

There are many thermal and mineral springs in Moldova. Balneological resorts have been built near some of them. So, the mineral springs of the Moldavian city of Cahul were known in the days of the USSR.

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