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The roots of the Republic of Moldova
go back to one of the medieval Romanian principalities that at times was influenced by Galician Rus,
Hungary, Poland, Turkey
and finally absorbed by the Romanovs' Russian Empire in the early 19th
century as the province
of Bessarabia. The bolshevik revolution of 1917 and the chaos that
followed, led to the unification of Bessarabia with Romania in
1918.
At the beginning of World
War II Bessarabia was occupied by the USSR
then shortly re-conquered by Romania
and finally annexed by the USSR
in 1945 as "Moldavian SSR". The Soviet authorities re-drew the
administrative borders of the new "Soviet republic" by assigning
northern and southern districts of Bessarabia to Ukraine
making modern Moldova
landlocked. At the same time, 8 Ukrainian districts east of Diester (part of the former "Moldavian
Autonomy" within Ukraine) were incorporated into "Moldavian
SSR" creating some ethnic tensions between Romanian- and
Slavic-speaking communities.
Since its independence in
1991, the Republic of Moldova
has been trapped in economic crisis, political instability and aggressive
separatism strongly supported by Russia.
SEE ALSO:
THE
BALKANS
UKRAINE
BUKOVINA
GAGAUZIA
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for the
AN OUTLINE
OF MOLDOVAN HISTORY
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with historical maps and illustrations
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for the
CONFLICT
IN
TRANSNISTRIA
(1990-present)
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for
DEROMANIZATION OF MOLDOVA
(1940-1990)
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