Moldova has been described as being "part Romanian, part Russian, and wholly Moldovan." Because it lies between the two giant forces of Russia and Romania, Moldova has been the focal point for border disputes and expansionist policies. The Moldovan people are descendents of the Dacians who were conquered by the Romans in AD 100. Over the next thousand years the region was invaded periodically by neighboring countries and it also became a settlement for the diaspora of Magyars, Slavs and Bulgarians who were spreading across Eastern Europe. It was also a trading center for Byzantine, Italian and Greek merchants making Moldavia (as part of Romania) a cross section of various cultures and races.

 

In the mid-14^th century Moldavia succumbed to Turkish military might and became part of the Ottoman empire. It remained under Turkish authority until the year 1711 when Russia first appeared on the Moldavian scene. For the next sixty years Turkey and Russia waged war over Moldavia, frequently changing hands between the two powers. In 1774 Austria acquired northern Moldavia and brokered a peace treaty between the Russians and Turks. In 1812 the eastern half of Moldavia was given to the Russians and the rest of the region was given to Romania. Still, Russia persistently tried to gain more control of the region and in 1878 succeeded in expanding its borders into Romania.

 

The Russian region of Moldavia (renamed Bessarabia) remained under Russian control until the 1918 Bolshevik Revolution. It used this chaotic situation to declare independence but quickly decided to reunite with Romania to protect itself against neighboring Ukraine. The reunification with Romania was not recognized by the new Soviet Union and in 1924 a group of peasants, loyal to Lenin, formed a breakaway Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (MASSR), which later became known as the Transdniestr republic. In 1939 the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet-German agreement on dividing Eastern Europe, handed Bessarabia back to the USSR renamed the entire region the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (MSSR).

 

During WWII the area was reoccupied by Romanian forces and thousands of Bessarabian Jews were deported to Auschwitz. At the close of the war, 1944, Romania was forced to relinquish their claim upon the teratory turning it back to Soviet control. The soviets attempted to Russisify Moldavia by deporting over 25,000 ethnic Moldavians to Siberia and Kazakhstan, closing Jewish synagogues, and imposing the Cyrillic script on the Latin-based Romanian alphabet to make it look more Russian.

 

With the collapse of Communism in the mid 1980’s a succession of reforms were implemented to include the Latin alphabet being reintroduced as the official written language, the recognition of the Moldovan flag and in 1991 a declaration of full independence with Mircea Snegur, a communist, as its first democratically elected president.

 

Since their independence in 1991 Moldova has had to deal with new problems stemming from its ethnic minorities. The Slavic minorities in the Transdniestr area wanted to keep their cultural and social ties with Russia. In the south the Turkish-speaking Gagauz minority worried about possible reunification with Romania. When Moldova declared its independence the Transdniestr declared its independence from Moldova and reiterated its loyalty to Mother Russia. The Gagauz minority was vying for a separate state in the southeast but withdrew its demand after it was promised greater representation in the Moldovan government. The Transdniestr republic remained obstinate in its refusal to join Moldova even to this day.

Security for the Transdniestr republic is comprised of an uneasy peacekeeping force consisting of Russian, Dnstr, and Moldovan troops. Sporadic fighting still occurs between the rebel separatists and Moldovan military and there is constant pressure on the Moldovan government from hard-line secessionists for the Moldovan government to recognize Transdniestr independence.

 

In addition to the territorial disputes the country is suffering from economic woes, a growing illicit drug trade, and a political struggle between those desiring faster reforms and others calling for a return to communist-style government.