1. INTRODUCTION
Moldova, republic in southeastern
Europe. In Moldovan, the state language, the country's official name
is Republica Moldova. Moldova is bordered on the north, east,
and south by Ukraine and on the west by Romania. Moldovans are the country's
largest ethnic group, although other ethnic groups constitute a majority
in some regions. Chişinău (Kishinau) is Moldova's capital and largest
city.
Present-day Moldova comprises a large part of the eastern
half of the historic principality of Moldavia (the principality is generally
known by the Westernized form of the name). At its largest extent, in
the Middle Ages, the principality stretched from the Dniester River
in the east almost to the Carpathian Mountains in the west. Much of
the eastern half of Moldavia, between the Prut and Dniester rivers,
was traditionally known as Bessarabia (Bessarabiya). Moldavian territory
was divided in 1812, when the Ottoman Empire took control of all of
the land west of the Prut River and Russia took control of the rest.
The Russian government gave the name Bessarabia to the territory under
its control to distinguish it from neighboring Ottoman-controlled Moldavia.
In 1918 Bessarabia became independent and then united
with Romania. Troops of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR,
the successor to the Russian Empire) occupied Bessarabia in 1940. The
Soviet government joined most of Bessarabia to part of the already existing
Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), across the Dniester
River, to form the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR). Romania
regained Bessarabia in 1941 but lost it again to the USSR in 1944. When
the USSR collapsed in 1991, the republic became the independent country
of Moldova. In addition to the region of Bessarabia, present-day Moldova
also includes territory along the left bank of the Dniester known as
Trans-Dniester. The remainder of the historic principality of Moldavia
is now part of Romania and Ukraine.
After declaring independence in 1991, Moldova signed the
agreement establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS),
an organization composed of former Soviet republics. Moldova became
a formal member of the CIS in 1994. That year the country adopted its
first post-Soviet constitution. In the early 1990s secessionist movements
among certain ethnic groups took hold in the Trans-Dniester region and
in the Gagauz region in the south. While the status of the Trans-Dniester
region remained an issue as of 1999, the armed conflict over Moldova's
territorial integrity was largely resolved by the mid-1990s.
2. LAND AND RESOURCES
Moldova is a landlocked country that covers an area
of about 33,700 sq km (about 13,000 sq mi). It was the second smallest
republic of the former USSR, after Armenia. The terrain of Moldova is
primarily a hilly plain interspersed with deep river valleys. The average
elevation is 147 m (482 ft) above sea level. The Kodry Hills occupy
the central portion of Moldova, rising to a maximum elevation of about
430 m (about 1,410 ft) at Mount Bălăneşti.
Moldova contains an extensive river system; more than
3,000 rivers and streams traverse the country. The two largest rivers
are the Dniester and the Prut, both of which rise in the Carpathian
Mountains in Ukraine, to the north of Moldova. The Dniester, the larger
of the two rivers, flows through the eastern portion of Moldova in a
southeasterly direction. It forms part of the country's border with
Ukraine in the northeast, cuts through Moldova's interior, and meets
the Ukrainian border again in the southeast, where it reenters Ukraine
and then empties into the Black Sea. The Prut, a major tributary of
the Danube River, forms Moldova's entire western border with Romania.
At the extreme southern tip of Moldova, the Prut joins the Danube, which
flows eastward and empties into the Black Sea. Other major rivers include
the Yalpug, the Byk, and the Reut.
The hills in the central portion of Moldova are
densely forested, mostly with oak and hornbeam trees. Linden, maple,
beech, and wild fruit trees also grow in Moldova. Cultivated crops have
largely replaced the natural grass cover of the plains, or steppes,
in northern and southern Moldova. Grassy salt marshes are common in
some river valleys.
A wide variety of wildlife inhabits Moldova, although
the population of certain animals, such as wolves, has declined dramatically
during the last century. Roe deer, which are native to the region, are
abundant. The spotted deer, which was introduced to Moldova, is also
well established. Members of the weasel family, including badgers, martens,
ermines, and polecats, are common. Other mammals include wild boars,
foxes, and hares. Common birds include larks, jays, and blackbirds.
Some species, such as the wild goose, are migratory.
Natural resources in Moldova include deposits of lignite,
phosphorite, and gypsum. Three-quarters of the country is covered in
chernozem, an exceptionally fertile type of soil that is ideal for agriculture.
Moldova's climate is continental, with conditions modified
somewhat by the Black Sea. Winters are fairly mild, with average daily
temperatures in January ranging from -5° to -3°C (23° to 27°F). Summers
are quite warm, with average daily temperatures in July generally exceeding
20°C (68°F) and daily highs occasionally reaching 40°C (104°F). Precipitation
is fairly light and irregular and occurs least in the south, where it
averages 350 mm (14 in) per year. Precipitation is greatest in the higher
elevation areas, where it can exceed 600 mm (20 in) per year. Moldova's
climate is conducive to agriculture, especially grape growing.
The environment of Moldova suffered extreme degradation
during the Soviet period, when industrial and agricultural development
proceeded without regard for environmental protection. Excessive use
of pesticides resulted in heavily polluted topsoil, and industries lacked
emission controls. The Moldovan government is now burdened with the
Soviet legacy of ecological mismanagement. Environmental initiatives
are administered by the State Department for Environmental Protection.
High levels of pesticide and fertilizer use have been linked with elevated
rates of disease and infant mortality. Soil contamination and groundwater
pollution are associated problems.
3. THE PEOPLE OF MOLDOVA
Moldova has a population (2001 estimate) of 4,431,570,
giving it an average population density of 132 persons per sq km (341
per sq mi). The country's inhabitants are concentrated in the northern
and central portions of the country. During the Soviet period, Moldova
had the highest population density of any Soviet republic, although
it was one of the least urbanized. Some 53 percent of the population
lives in urban areas. Chişinău, the capital, is located on
the Byk River in the central part of the country. Other important cities
include Tiraspol and Tighina (also called Bender), both located on the
Dniester River in eastern Moldova, and Bălţi, in north central
Moldova. The rural population is clustered in large villages.
Ethnic Moldovans constitute about 65 percent of Moldova's
population. The next largest ethnic group is Ukrainians, who make up
about 14 percent of the population, followed by Russians, who constitute
about 13 percent. Russians and Ukrainians migrated to Moldova in large
numbers after World War II (1939-1945), although settlement by these
peoples also predated the war. Both groups live almost exclusively in
Moldova's major urban centers and in the Trans-Dniester region in the
east, where they constitute slightly more than half of the population.
Other ethnic groups include Gagauz (a Turkic people) and Bulgarians;
these two groups reside primarily in the southernmost regions of Moldova,
having settled there in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
The state language of Moldova is called Moldovan. It
is essentially a dialect of Romanian, a Romance language derived mainly
from the Latin language. In 1938 the Soviet government mandated that
the Cyrillic alphabet (the script of the Russian language) be used for
Moldovan instead of the Latin (or Roman) alphabet, in part to bolster
its claim that the Moldovan and Romanian languages were separate. In
1989 Moldovan officials passed a law that made Romanian the official
language and reintroduced the Latin alphabet. In the constitution adopted
in 1994 the language was officially renamed Moldovan. Russian is widely
spoken in Moldova and is the predominant language in the Trans-Dniester
region. The Gagauz people traditionally speak Gagauz, a Turkic language,
although many are also fluent in Russian. Russian missionaries created
a Cyrillic alphabet for the Gagauz language in 1895.
Christianity is the predominant religion in Moldova.
Most people in the country belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church, and
there is also a small Roman Catholic community. Unlike most other Turkic
peoples, who are traditionally Muslim, the Gagauz are adherents of Orthodox
Christianity. The Communist regime of the Soviet period was officially
atheistic and hostile toward religion. Moldova began to experience an
upsurge in religious practice in the late 1980s, when the regime relaxed
restrictions. This increased after independence, when all restrictions
on religious expression were lifted.
Moldova has an adult literacy rate of 100 percent.
Illiteracy is slightly higher among the female population than the male
population. Education in Moldova is compulsory between the ages of 6
and 17, or through the first cycle of secondary education (the second
cycle lasts an additional three years). During the Soviet period, the
government established a comprehensive system of universal and tuition-free
education. Most schools taught in the Russian language, and education
was the primary method of Communist indoctrination. In the early 1990s
the government of independent Moldova introduced sweeping changes in
educational content, especially in the areas of literature, language,
and history. Institutes of higher education include Moldovan State University
(founded in 1945), the Technical University of Moldova (1964), the State
Agricultural University of Moldova (1932), and the Moldovan G. Musicescu
Academy of Music (1940), all located in Chişinău. The capital
is also the site of the Moldovan State Art Museum.
The cultural development of Moldova was tied historically
to that of Romania, reflecting the Romanian origin of Moldova's majority
population. The first Moldovan books were religious texts that appeared
in the mid-17th century. Prominent figures in Moldova's cultural development
include the author Ion Creanga and the poet Mihai Eminescu, both of
whom wrote during the 19th century. After the USSR annexed Moldova in
the 1940s, the Soviet government sought to sever the region's close
cultural ties with Romania. Romanian literature was officially banned,
and many ethnic Romanian intellectuals were executed or deported. During
the Soviet period, a government-mandated genre called socialist realism
transformed art and literature into a form of Communist propaganda.
The characteristics of socialist realism were strongly evident in the
early works of Moldovan writers Emelian Bucov and Andrei Lupan, among
others. Perhaps the most well-known Moldovan writer during the Soviet
period was Ion Druţa, whose works include the play Casa mare (The Parlor, 1962) and the novel Balade de cîmpie (Ballad
of the Steppes, 1963).
Moldova has a rich folk culture, which flourished
during the Soviet period. The Soviet government strongly promoted Moldovan
folk music and dance, but it also introduced subtle distortions to hide
the folk traditions' Romanian origins. For example, the national folk
costume was changed to replace the Romanian opinca, a traditional
moccasin, with the Russian boot. An ancient folk ballad, the Miorita, holds special significance in Moldovan folk culture. Folk traditions
such as ceramics and weaving continue to be practiced in rural areas.
4. ECONOMY
Moldova's rich black soil makes agriculture the foundation
of its economy. When Moldova was part of the USSR, Soviet central planners
made its primary role one of supplying food products to the rest of
the Soviet Union. The Moldovan economy suffered from the disruption
of trading relationships following the breakup of the USSR. The conflict
in the Trans-Dniester region greatly compounded the economic turmoil.
Moldova's light industry, which is highly dependent on trade outside
the republic, suffered the most. Moldova has survived many of the most
severe hardships of its transformation to a free-market economy; however,
the country's economic vitality remains highly dependent upon the size
of its crop harvest. The gross domestic product (GDP), which measures
the value of goods and service produced, was $1.2 billion in 1999.
With assistance from the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and other international organizations, Moldova initiated widespread
privatization and strict monetary controls soon after independence.
The policies contained inflation-which had resulted in prices increasing
by as much as 20 times annually in the early 1990s-to one of the lowest
rates in the former Soviet republics. To privatize housing and industry,
the government issued vouchers to residents based on the number of years
they had worked for state enterprises. Residents exchanged the vouchers
for ownership shares in enterprises or for housing. By 1997 the majority
of former state enterprises were in private hands. Moldova was among
the first of the former Soviet republics to allow private ownership
of farmland.
Moldova's economy is built upon agriculture, which contributed
25 percent of GDP in 1999. The country's extremely fertile land and
temperate climate allow for the cultivation of a variety of crops. Moldova
is a leading producer of grapes, tobacco, and rose oil. Other crops
include wheat; maize; vegetables, such as tomatoes and potatoes; sugar
beets; and fruit. Livestock raising, particularly pigs, and milk production
are also important.
Industry, which accounted for 22 percent of GDP in 1999,
is dominated by food processing. The country has traditionally specialized
in frozen and canned vegetables. It is also well known for sparkling
wines and brandy produced from its grape harvest. Other industries use
locally grown sunflowers and soybeans to make vegetable oil, and beets
to process raw sugar. During the Soviet era, manufacturing plants were
developed to produce military equipment and consumer goods, and Moldova
remains a significant producer of carpets, refrigerators and freezers,
washing machines, and televisions. Moldova also has a metal-refining
industry, almost entirely dependent upon imported raw materials and
fuels. More than one-quarter of Moldova's industrial plants are in the
disputed Trans-Dniester region.
While Moldova has small oil and natural gas reserves,
it must import most of its fuels from Russia. Fuel payments are a constant
drain on the country's economy. In 1998, 93 percent of its electricity
was produced in thermal plants burning fossil fuels; the remainder was
produced in a single hydroelectric facility on the Dniester River.
Moldova's principal trading relationships are with other
former Soviet republics, chiefly Russia and Ukraine. Trade with countries
to the west is increasing, led by exchanges with Romania and Germany.
Food and agricultural products account for about one-half of exports,
while the leading imports are fuel, electricity, and mineral products.
Moldova used the Russian ruble as its legal tender until
November 1993, when it introduced its own currency, the leu (plural lei; 10.52 lei equal U.S.$1; 1999 average).
5. GOVERNMENT
Moldova ratified a new constitution in 1994 to replace
the one of the Soviet period. The constitution confirmed Moldova's status
as an independent and democratic republic. It guarantees that all citizens
aged 18 and older may vote and provides for various other civil rights
and freedoms.
The president of Moldova is head of state. The president
is elected by the Parliament to a four-year term and may serve no more
than two consecutive terms. Before 2000 the president was directly elected.
The president nominates the prime minister and, upon his or her recommendation,
the cabinet. The prime minister and the cabinet must be approved by
the Parliament. The president is empowered to dissolve the Parliament.
The constitution provides that the president may be impeached for criminal
or constitutional offenses.
The Parliament (Parlamentul) is the supreme legislative
body of Moldova. A unicameral (single-chamber) assembly, it consists
of 101 deputies, who are directly elected for four-year terms. The Parliament
convenes for two ordinary sessions per year and may hold extraordinary
sessions as well. In addition to enacting laws and performing other
basic legislative functions, the Parliament is empowered to declare
a state of emergency, martial law, and war.
Moldova's judicial system includes the Supreme Court of Justice
(the country's highest court), the Court of Appeal, and the Constitutional
Court. Tribunals and courts of law adjudicate at the local level. There
is also a Higher Magistrates' Council, which is composed of 11 magistrates
who serve for a period of five years. The council acts to ensure the
appointment, transfer, and promotion of judges. The president of Moldova
appoints judges to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Justice
after the Higher Magistrates' Council makes its recommendations. The
judges are initially appointed for five-year terms; their terms may
then be renewed for a period of ten years, after which they may continue
to serve until they reach retirement age. The Constitutional Court is
the supreme authority on constitutional matters; its decisions are not
subject to appeal. It is composed of six judges-two chosen by the president,
two by the Parliament, and two by the Higher Magistrates' Council-who
each serve for six years.
For purposes of local government, Moldova is divided
into 38 districts, 1 autonomous region (Gagauz-Eri), and 10 urban municipalities
(including Chişinău). The municipalities are administered
separately from the districts. All of the local jurisdictions are governed
by locally elected councils. The prefects and mayors of districts and
municipalities are appointed by Moldova's president after being nominated
by the local councils.
The 1994 constitution included a provision to give the Gagauz
and Trans-Dniester regions autonomous status, although the terms of
self-governance were to be determined through later negotiations. Revision
of this special status would require a three-fifths vote of the Parliament.
In December of that year, the Moldovan Parliament passed the Law on
the Special Status of Gagauz-Eri. Ratified by a local election in the
Gagauz region in March 1995, the law allows Gagauz-Eri substantial autonomy,
while keeping foreign policy, defense, and monetary issues in the hands
of the Moldovan government. The Moldovan government and leadership in
the Trans-Dniester region have yet to reach a settlement on Trans-Dniester's
official status.
Moldova has many political parties. Those represented
in the government include the Communist Party of Moldova, the Democratic
Convention, and the Bloc for a Democratic and Prosperous Moldova. The
Communists won the greatest number of seats (but not a majority) in
the parliamentary elections of 1998. The Communists succeeded in winning
a majority of the seats in the elections of 2001.
During the Soviet period, all armed forces were part
of a centralized security system. After Moldova gained independence
from the USSR, the government of the republic began to create a national
defense force. In 1999 Moldova's armed forces numbered 9,500 personnel;
most were in the army, with 1,000 in the air force. In addition, Moldova
has a paramilitary force of about 2,500 (attached to the Ministry of
the Interior) and a riot police force of 900. Military service is compulsory
for 18-year-old males for up to 18 months. The 1994 constitution established
Moldova as a permanently neutral state.
Moldova is a member of the United Nations (UN),
the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Partnership for Peace program
of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the Council of
Europe (CE).
6. HISTORY
For most of its history, the majority of the territory
that constitutes present-day Moldova was the region of Bessarabia, the
eastern half of the historic principality of Moldavia. The name Bessarabia derives from a medieval prince, Basarab I, who at one time ruled the
southern part of the region. The principality of Moldavia encompassed
Bessarabia but extended west to the Siret River near the Carpathian
Mountains. From north to south it stretched from the region of Bukovina
to the Black Sea. Along with the principality of Walachia to the southwest,
Moldavia was one of two principal regions inhabited by Romanian-speaking
peoples (sometimes known as Vlachs).
In the mid-13th century Hungarian expansion had driven
many Vlachs to settle south and east of the Carpathian Mountains. Legend
suggests that in the 14th century Prince Dragos of Transylvania (then
a Hungarian province) founded Moldavia and named it after a small mountain
stream that his forces crossed upon entering the area. In about 1359
Bogdan I ruled the first independent Moldavian principality described
in historical records. Moldavia was bordered to the southwest by Walachia,
a feudal state that Basarab had unified in about 1310. Poland and Hungary
lay to Moldavia's north, often exerting some control over Moldavian
princes. The Moldavians had to defend their eastern border against the
Tatars and their southern border against the Ottoman Empire. During
the late 15th century Moldavia came under increasing pressure from the
Ottomans. Despite military victories by Stephen the Great, who ruled
from 1457 to 1504, Moldavia ultimately succumbed and had to submit to
the rule of the Ottoman Empire.
In 1599 Michael the Brave, a Walachian prince,
led a revolt against the Ottomans and united Moldavia, Walachia, and
Transylvania (a third principality where Romanian speakers lived). However,
following Michael's assassination in 1601, the previous divisions reappeared,
with the Ottomans regaining control of Moldavia and Walachia and Hungary
taking Transylvania. The differentiation between the eastern and western
parts of Moldavia, with the eastern half often identified as Bessarabia,
began around this time.
Russia annexed the region of Bessarabia after the Russo-Turkish
War of 1806-1812 as part of the Treaty of Bucharest, leaving a greatly
reduced Moldavia still under Ottoman domination. The Ottomans gradually
relinquished control of Moldavia to Russia as well. With Russia's defeat
in the Crimean War (1853-1856), Moldavia and southern Bessarabia gained
independence from the Ottoman Empire and Russia, and the two regions
joined again. Moldavia united with independent Walachia in 1859, when
assemblies of both principalities elected a single leader, Alexandru
Ion Cuza, as their prince. The united principalities assumed the name
Romania in 1862.
Romania's territorial integrity did not last long. In 1878 Russia
regained southern Bessarabia, and the region remained part of the Russian
Empire until the Russian Revolution of 1917. In March 1918, toward the
end of World War I, the legislature of Bessarabia voted in favor of
unification with Romania. At the Paris Peace Conference of 1920, the
United States, France, Britain, and other Western countries officially
recognized Bessarabia's incorporation into Romania.
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR),
which was founded in 1922 under Russian leadership, did not accept the
unification of Bessarabia with Romania. In 1924 Soviet authorities established
the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) east of the
Dniester River, within the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR).
The Soviet government used the Moldavian ASSR as a base for agitation
to pressure Bessarabia to reunify with the USSR. The Ukrainian town
of Balta was the capital of the Moldavian ASSR until 1929, when the
capital was transferred to Tiraspol.
In August 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World
War II, the USSR acquired Bessarabia as a result of the German-Soviet
Nonaggression Pact, which divided Central and Eastern Europe into German
and Soviet spheres of influence. Soviet forces occupied Bessarabia in
June 1940. In August the Soviet government proclaimed the Moldavian
Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) and abolished the Moldavian ASSR. The
new Moldavian republic included the central portion of Bessarabia and
the Trans-Dniester region, a narrow slice of territory east of the Dniester
River that had been part of the Moldavian ASSR. Chişinău (Russian Kishinev) was named the capital of the new republic. The remainder
of Bessarabia, including its southern section that bordered the Black
Sea, was merged into the Ukrainian SSR. In 1941 Romania, an ally of
Nazi Germany, declared war on the USSR and reclaimed Bessarabia with
German military assistance. Soviet forces reoccupied the territory in
1944 and formally reestablished the Moldavian SSR.
After World War II, Soviet policy in the Moldavian
SSR was devoted to integrating the republic's economy, politics, and
culture into the Soviet Union. Private ownership of land was abolished,
and the state established collective and state farms on expropriated
farmland. The Moldavian SSR remained predominantly rural throughout
the Soviet period, although new industries were introduced in urban
areas. Russians, who were officially encouraged to settle in the republic,
became the predominant ethnic group in the cities. Although no official
language was ever named in the republic, Russian was the preferred language
in government, business, and education. The Soviet government attempted
to negate the Moldavian SSR's cultural ties with Romania. This was most
evident in the Soviet language policy, which maintained that the language
of ethnic Moldovans was entirely separate from the Romanian language.
To reinforce this idea, the Soviets mandated that the Moldovan language
switch from the Latin to the Cyrillic alphabet.
The Communist Party of Moldavia (CPM), a branch of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), was the only party legally
allowed to function in the republic. Two future leaders of the USSR,
Leonid Brezhnev and Konstantin Chernenko, held prominent positions in
the CPM during the early part of their careers; neither of the two leaders
were ethnic Moldovans. Brezhnev served as first secretary (leader) of
the CPM from 1950 to 1952, and Chernenko was head of the party's propaganda
department from 1948 to 1956. After Brezhnev's term, the leadership
of the CPM was given over to ethnic Moldovans, who faithfully followed
the official course set by the CPSU. The Moldavian SSR was among the
more conservative republics of the USSR.
In the mid-1980s Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced
political and economic reforms that fostered the formation of quasi-political
groups in the USSR. In the Moldavian SSR, several such groups emerged
in the late 1980s but were denied legal status. In May 1989 these groups
allied to form the Popular Front of Moldova (PFM). In June an estimated
70,000 people attended an anti-Soviet demonstration organized by the
PFM. This was followed by large demonstrations in Chişinău
in support of a government proposal to make Romanian the official language.
A majority of the Ukrainians, Russians, and other ethnic minorities
in the republic opposed the proposal, which was amended as a result.
Under pressure from the PFM, the republic's Supreme Soviet (legislature)
in August 1989 declared Romanian the official language of Moldavia.
Russian was to remain the language of interethnic communication.
In the Trans-Dniester region, where Russians and Ukrainians
make up slightly more than half of the population, the local authorities
refused to enact the new language law. A political movement called Yedinstvo (Russian for "unity"), which was growing in several Soviet republics
facing nationalist upheaval, formed in Moldavia to represent the interests
of the republic's Slavic minorities. Yedinstvo was particularly strong
in Trans-Dniester. In January 1990 voters approved a local referendum
advocating greater autonomy for the Trans-Dniester region. Tensions
developed between ethnic Moldovans and the Russian speakers in Trans-Dniester
and the Gagauz people in southern Moldavia. The tensions eventually
escalated into secessionist movements in the eastern and southern portions
of the republic. The Gagauz people in the south declared a separate
Gagauz SSR in August, which was followed by a similar declaration in
the Trans-Dniester region in September. Although the Moldavian Supreme
Soviet annulled the declarations immediately, the two regions proceeded
to hold local elections for their own newly created legislatures. Negotiations
were held in Moscow in November, but the two secessionist groups and
the Moldavian government failed to resolve the crisis.
Meanwhile, elections to the Moldavian Supreme Soviet took
place in February 1990. Parties other than the CPM were not allowed
to publicly support candidates in the election, although a number of
independent candidates were openly sympathetic to the aims of the PFM.
The new Supreme Soviet elected Mircea Snegur, a reform-oriented CPM
member, as its chairperson. (Snegur became the first president of the
republic in September, after that post was created.) Like many other
reform-oriented ethnic Moldovan Communist leaders, Snegur shifted loyalty
to the PFM as the strength of opposition to the Soviet regime grew.
In June the Supreme Soviet changed the republic's name from the Moldavian
SSR to the Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova. In the first major
step toward secession from the USSR, the Supreme Soviet adopted a declaration
of sovereignty later that month. The legislature also declared the Soviet
Union's annexation of Bessarabia in 1940 to have been illegal.
On May 23, 1991, the SSR of Moldova changed
its name to the Republic of Moldova, and the Supreme Soviet was renamed
the Parliament. On August 27, following a failed coup against Soviet
leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow led by Communist hardliners, Moldova
declared its independence from the USSR. The Moldovan parliament banned
the CPM, CPM members became members of the PFM, and the PFM officially
took control of government. In December Moldova held direct presidential
elections, and Snegur was elected unopposed. Also that month, Moldova
joined the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a loose organization
of former Soviet republics, amid the USSR's disintegration into 15 successor
states.
When Moldova became independent from the USSR, the PFM-led
government under Prime Minister Mircea Druc began to advocate Moldova's
unification with Romania. Sporadic conflict occurred in the Trans-Dniester
area in late 1991, as the secessionists consolidated control over the
region. In early 1992 President Snegur authorized military action against
the rebels. The secessionists, aided by a Russian Cossack contingent
and the Russian army forces stationed in the region, retained control
over the disputed area. In July a cease-fire agreement was reached,
and a combined peacekeeping force of Russian, Moldovan, and Trans-Dniestrian
troops was deployed in the region.
In June 1992, meanwhile, the PFM-dominated Council of
Ministers resigned. The PFM, which had renamed itself the Christian
Democratic Popular Front, had lost popular support for its policies
advocating unification with Romania. Failed domestic initiatives also
had eroded the party's support. By August a new government was formed.
It was led by the Agrarian Democratic Party (ADP)-composed mostly of
former Communists-which opposed unification with Romania. President
Snegur, who allied himself with the ADP, strongly supported this stance.
The ADP favored closer relations with Russia and the other members of
the CIS.
In February 1994 Moldova held its first multiparty elections
to the Parliament. The ADP won the largest number of seats. A bloc of
socialist parties won the next largest number. In April the legislature
cemented Moldova's status within the CIS by ratifying the 1991 agreement
that established the organization. However, Moldova declared that it
would not take part in CIS military or monetary alliances.
In July 1994 Moldova adopted its first post-Soviet
constitution. The constitution reaffirmed Moldova's status as an independent
political and cultural unit and included provisions for the autonomy
of the breakaway regions of Gagauz and Trans-Dniester. It also referred
to the country's official language as Moldovan, rather than Romanian.
The Gagauz leadership and the Moldovan government quickly reached an
agreement under which the Gagauz region was to enjoy broad powers of
self-administration. Meanwhile, Snegur refused to meet the Trans-Dniester
secessionists' demands for recognition of Trans-Dniester as an independent
state, and the dispute continued in that region. Also in 1994, the government
reached an agreement with Russia to remove all Russian troops from the
Trans-Dniester region within three years.
In December 1996 Moldova held its first multi-candidate
presidential elections. Snegur, who had formed his own party, the Party
of Rebirth and Conciliation of Moldova, resumed a pro-Romanian position
and campaigned for more rapid reform. He was defeated in the elections
by Petru Lucinschi, a former leader of the Communist Party of Moldova.
Lucinschi advocated closer ties with Russia and pledged to work to resolve
the Trans-Dniester issue. He also argued for more efficient government
and less corruption.
Negotiations between the Moldovan government and the Trans-Dniester
leadership, which had been frozen since mid-1996, resumed in 1997. In
early May both sides signed a memorandum calling for the peaceful settlement
of their conflict. According to the agreement, which was mediated by
Russia, Moldova will retain its present borders, including Trans-Dniester.
The document envisions a large degree of autonomy for Trans-Dniester
and calls for future talks to determine the official status of the region.
The complete removal of remaining Russian troops depends on the two
sides reaching a mutually acceptable settlement. As of early 1999 this
had yet to occur.
In parliamentary elections in March 1998, the reestablished
Communist Party of Moldova won the largest number of seats. However,
the CPM did not have a majority, and a coalition of parties, led by
the centrist Bloc for a Democratic and Prosperous Moldova and the reformist
Democratic Convention, formed a ruling majority. Ion Ciubuc was appointed
prime minister that month. In February 1999 Ciubuc resigned, saying
that parliament and the ruling coalition stymied his efforts at market
reforms. The parliament appointed Ion Sturza to replace Ciubuc in March.
A power struggle between parliamentary deputies and
President Lucinschi ended in 2000 when the Parliament voted to abolish
direct presidential elections. However, in December 2000 the Parliament
failed four times to elect a new president, so Lucinschi dissolved the
Parliament and scheduled parliamentary elections for February 2001.
In the elections the Communist Party won 71 of the 101 seats. In April
2001 the Parliament elected Communist Party leader Vladimir Voronin
as president.
(source Microsoft ® Encarta ® Encyclopedia
2002. © 1993-2001 Microsoft
Corporation. All rights reserved.)
