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===Moldovans and Romanians in different censuses=== |
===Moldovans and Romanians in different censuses=== |
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Before the fall of Soviet Union, the official census in the Moldovan SSR recorded all Romance speakers as Moldovans. |
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[[Image:Harta etnica a Republicii Moldova - 2004.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ethnic composition of the Republic of Moldova in the 2004 census, self-reported Moldovans in blue]] |
[[Image:Harta etnica a Republicii Moldova - 2004.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ethnic composition of the Republic of Moldova in the 2004 census, self-reported Moldovans in blue]] |
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All censuses in the [[Moldavian SSR]] and Moldova to date counted Moldovans and Romanians separately. |
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The [[2004 Moldovan Census|2004 census results]] reported that out of the 3,383,332 people living in Moldova (without Transnistria), 75.81% declared themselves Moldovans and only 2.17% Romanians. <ref name="mold-census">National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova: [http://www.statistica.md/recensamint.php?lang=ro 2004 Census results in Moldova]</ref> |
The [[2004 Moldovan Census|2004 census results]] reported that out of the 3,383,332 people living in Moldova (without Transnistria), 75.81% declared themselves Moldovans and only 2.17% Romanians. <ref name="mold-census">National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova: [http://www.statistica.md/recensamint.php?lang=ro 2004 Census results in Moldova]</ref> According to [[Moldova Azi]], a group of international observers considered the census was generally conducted in a professional manner, although they reported several cases when enumerators encouraged respondents to declare themselves Moldovans rather than Romanians. <ref> [http://lists.microlink.lv/pipermail/minelres/2006-June/004633.html Experts Offering to Consult the National Statistics Bureau in Evaluation of the Census Data], ''Moldova Azi'', May 19, 2005, story attributed to [[AP Flux]]. Retrieved September 28, 2008, see also [http://azi.md/news?ID=34282 Experts Offering to Consult the National Statistics Bureau in Evaluation of the Census Data], ''Moldova Azi'', May 19, 2005, story attributed to [[AP Flux]]. Retrieved January 21, 2009.</ref> |
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The [[Ukrainian Census (2001)|2001 census in Ukraine]] counted 258,600 Moldovans and 150,989 Romanians. The self-identified Moldovans live mostly in the historical regions of [[Bessarabia]] (the [[Budjak]] region of the [[Odessa oblast]] and the [[Novoselytskyi Raion]] of [[Chernivtsi oblast]]), whereas the self-identified Romanians live mostly in the Northern Bukovina and Hertsa regions of the [[Chernivtsi oblast]]. <ref name=ukr-census>[http://www.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/results/nationality_population/nationality_1/s5/?botton=cens_db&box=5.1W&k_t=00&p=60&rz=1_1&rz_b=2_1], [http://www.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/results/nationality_population/nationality_1/s5/?botton=cens_db&box=5.1W&_t=73&p=60&rz=1_1&rz_b=2_1], [http://www.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/results/nationality_population/nationality_1/s5/?botton=cens_db&box=5.1W&k_t=51&p=60&rz=1_1&rz_b=2_1], [http://www.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/results/general/estimate/] 2001 census results in Ukraine</ref> |
The [[Ukrainian Census (2001)|2001 census in Ukraine]] counted 258,600 Moldovans and 150,989 Romanians. The self-identified Moldovans live mostly in the historical regions of [[Bessarabia]] (the [[Budjak]] region of the [[Odessa oblast]] and the [[Novoselytskyi Raion]] of [[Chernivtsi oblast]]), whereas the self-identified Romanians live mostly in the Northern Bukovina and Hertsa regions of the [[Chernivtsi oblast]]. <ref name=ukr-census>[http://www.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/results/nationality_population/nationality_1/s5/?botton=cens_db&box=5.1W&k_t=00&p=60&rz=1_1&rz_b=2_1], [http://www.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/results/nationality_population/nationality_1/s5/?botton=cens_db&box=5.1W&_t=73&p=60&rz=1_1&rz_b=2_1], [http://www.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/results/nationality_population/nationality_1/s5/?botton=cens_db&box=5.1W&k_t=51&p=60&rz=1_1&rz_b=2_1], [http://www.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/results/general/estimate/] 2001 census results in Ukraine</ref> |
Revision as of 13:10, 14 April 2010
Regions with significant populations | |
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Moldova 2,741,849 (2004) (Transnistria included) [1] Ukraine 300 (2000) [10] | |
Languages | |
Romanian (see also Moldovan language) | |
Religion | |
Predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christians, with the majority belonging to the Moldovan Orthodox Church and a minority belonging to the Metropolis of Bessarabia. | |
Related ethnic groups | |
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Moldovans or Moldavians (Romanian/Moldovan: Moldoveni; also written Молдовень in the Moldovan Cyrillic script currently used only in Transnistria) are the current inhabitants of the territory of historical Principality of Moldova. The territory is currently divided among Romania (42%), Ukraine (24%, including Northern Bukovina, Hertsa, Northern Bessarabia and Budjak) and the Republic of Moldova (34%).
This article will refer primarily to the Romance speakers of the Republic of Moldova, the historical Bessarabia and diaspora originating in these regions. There is an ongoing controversy whether or not they are part of the Romanian nation. There is significantly less or no controversy about the inhabitants of other parts of historical Moldova (East Romania, Hertsa and Northern Bukovina, and their belonging to the Romanian nation. [12] [13]
Population
What Moldovans think about themselves
A poll conducted in the Republic of Moldova by IMAS-Inc Chisinau in October 2009 presented a detailed picture. The respondents were asked to rate the relationship between the identity of Moldovans and that of Romanians on a scale between 1 (entirely the same) to 5 (completely different). The poll showed that 26% of the entire sample, which included all ethnic groups, claimed the two identities were the same or very similar, whereas 47% claimed they were different or entirely different. The results varied significantly among different categories of subjects. For instance, while 33% of the young respondents (ages 18-29) chose the same or very similar and 44% different or very different, among the senior respondents (aged over 60) the corresponding figures were 18.5% and 53%. The proportion of those who chose the same or very similar identity was higher than the average among the native speakers of Romanian/Moldovan (30%), among the urban dwellers (30%), among those with higher education (36%), and among the residents of the capital city (42%).[14]
According to a study conducted in the Republic of Moldova in May 1998, when the self-declared Moldovans were asked to relate the Romanian and Moldovan identities, 55% considered them somewhat different, 26% very different and less than 5% identical.[15]
A survey carried out in the Republic of Moldova by William Crowther in 1992 showed that 87% of the Romanian/Moldovan speakers chose to identify themselves as "Moldovans", rather than "Romanians".[16]
Moldovan Intellectuals and the Romanian Identity
As opposed to large segments of the population, a significant number of major Moldovan intellectuals consider themselves and Moldovans part of the Romanian nation:
Maria Cebotari (1910-1949) one of the most famous sopranos born in Bessarabia said „Never and in no circumstance has it crossed my mind to say that I am anything else than a Romanian from Bessarabia, or, simply, a Romanian.“ [17]
Grigore Vieru (1935-2009), prominent Moldovan poet, a staunch supporter of Pan-Romanianism " Moldovans hurt me too/ Inhumanly/ But I'm happy that Romanianness/Still lives in them " (Bessarabia with Sorrow) [18]
Eugen Doga (b. 1937), a famous Moldovan composer, explained in an interview his visit to Alba-Iulia (Romania) "This is the capital of the unification, a real Mecca [...]. I think people come here not forced, but freely, for a return to their brothers" [19]
Gheorghe Duca (b. 1952), president of the Moldovan Academy of Sciences said "Just like the whole Romanian nation, that Grigore Vieru praised, I cannot believe the Poet left home forever" [20]
Constantin Tanase (b. 1949), director of the Moldovan newspaper "Timpul de dimineata", one of the most influential opinion leaders from Moldova [21] [22] "The academia, the political and cultural elite has to show that Romanianness in the Republic of Moldova is not an extremist whim, but a reality and a condition of the existence of this state" [23]
The resolution of the "Association of Historians from the Republic of Moldova" (AIRM) from October 28, 2009 in favor of teaching the history of Romanians in Moldovan schools reads "The people of the Moldovan SSR were subjected to the Communist ideology, with the aim of replacing the Romanian identity of the native population, with one newly created" [24]
The welcome message of the Union of Writers from Moldova is a quote from Mircea Eliade: "We invite you to become initiated in the literary life of Bessarabia, border Romanian land subjected to a long, too long terror of history" [25]
The national poet of Moldova and Romania, Mihai Eminescu was born and lived outside of the territory of the current Republic of Moldova and considered himself Romanian. He is often quoted as saying "We are Romanians and period./Suntem romani si punctum."[26]
Moldovans and Romanians in different censuses
All censuses in the Moldavian SSR and Moldova to date counted Moldovans and Romanians separately. The 2004 census results reported that out of the 3,383,332 people living in Moldova (without Transnistria), 75.81% declared themselves Moldovans and only 2.17% Romanians. [27] According to Moldova Azi, a group of international observers considered the census was generally conducted in a professional manner, although they reported several cases when enumerators encouraged respondents to declare themselves Moldovans rather than Romanians. [28]
The 2001 census in Ukraine counted 258,600 Moldovans and 150,989 Romanians. The self-identified Moldovans live mostly in the historical regions of Bessarabia (the Budjak region of the Odessa oblast and the Novoselytskyi Raion of Chernivtsi oblast), whereas the self-identified Romanians live mostly in the Northern Bukovina and Hertsa regions of the Chernivtsi oblast. [29]
In Russia, 172,330 Moldovans have been counted in the 2002 Russian census. They are concentrated mostly in Moscow, but also in some rural areas in Kuban, southern Siberia, and the Russian Far East, where they were deported generations ago. Around 20,000 Moldovans live in Kazakhstan, mostly in the former capital Almaty, but also in some rural areas in the northern parts of the country (another destination of Soviet deportations).
Regional Moldovan Identity inside Romania
The largest share of the territory of the historical Principality of Moldavia (approximately 42%) together with all its formal capitals (Târgul Moldovei, Suceava and Iaşi) and the famous painted churches are located in Romania. The river Moldova (possibly, the origin of the name of the Principality, see Etymology of Moldova) now flows entirely through Romania. After the Russian occupation of Bessarabia in 1812, and Austrian occupation of Bukovina in 1775, the rest of Moldova united with Walachia and formed the modern Romania.
According to the Romanian census of 2002, the population of the 8 counties that were once part of the Principality of Moldavia is 4.7 millions.[30] The number of people, if any, who possibly declared themselves as Moldovans in this census is impossible to know, since Moldovan is officially considered a regional identity in Romania.[31] However, the Romanian-speaking inhabitants of these counties, when they refer to themselves as "Moldovan" also consider themselves integral part of the Romanian nation.[32]There is essentially no identity controversy on this issue in Romania.
However, isolated incidents exist. In February 2007, a small group of Romanian citizens who created the "Moldovan Community in Romania" (Comunitatea moldovenilor din România) attempted unsuccessfully to gain recognition of the minority status for Moldovans from Romania. Around the same time, during a visit to Moldova, three delegates met with President Vladimir Voronin, who promised them his support. The Community was later dissolved[33][34] with its members citing disagreement with Voronin's opinions as the reason behind the discontinuation of their movement.[35]
In 1998, Constantin Simirad, the former mayor of Iaşi founded the Party of the Moldovans (Partidul Moldovenilor) which later joined the Social Democratic Party[36]. However, Simirad never claimed that his party promoted the interests of a distinct ethnic group, but rather the regional interests in a centralized country.[37]
In Romania, the Moldovans from Bessarabia are often called Bessarabians (basarabeni) in order to distinguish them from the Moldovans living in East Romania. [38]
History of Identity in the Historical Principality of Moldova
According to Miron Costin, a prominent chronicler from the 17th century Moldavia, the inhabitants of the Principality of Moldavia spoke Romanian and called themselves "Moldovans", but also "Romanians", which is "their old and more correct name". [39]. Also, the Slavic neighbours called Moldovans "Vlachs" or "Volokhs", a term equally used to refer to the Romanian speakers from Wallachia, Transylvania, and the Balkan peninsula. [40]
As the ethnonym "Romanian" was gaining more and more popularity throughout the West Moldavia and Bukovina during the 19th century, its dissemination in Bessarabia, a more backward and rural province of the Russian Empire at the time, was welcomed mostly by the Romanian-oriented intellectuals, while the majority of the uneducated rural population continued to use the old self-identification "Moldovans".[41][42]
Until the 1920s, historians generally considered Moldovans as a subgroup of the Romanian ethnos.[43] After 1924, within the newly created Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet authorities supported the creation of a different standardized language (see Moldovan language) to prove that Moldovans form a separate ethnic group.[44] [45]
If in the past, the term "Moldovan" has been used to refer to the population of the historical Principality of Moldavia. However, for the inhabitants of Bessarabia living under the Russian rule, the term gained a ethnic connotations by the beginning 20th century: in May 1917, at a congress of Bessarabian teachers, a dispute arose over the identification of the native population; a group protested against being called "Romanians", affirming they were "Moldovan"[46], while another group, led by the poet Alexei Mateevici, supported the view that the Moldovans are also Romanians.[47]
In 1918, Bessarabia joined the Kingdom of Romania, following a vote of Sfatul Ţării. The circumstance of the vote was itself complex, since the Romanian troops were present in Bessarabia at the request of the Sfatul Ţării as it was facing exterior threats and anarchy. [48] [49] By the time of the union, the largely illiterate Romanian-speaking peasants of Bessarabia did not consider themselves part of a larger Romanian nation, and there was no mass nationalist movement as in other regions, such as Transylvania. [50] The unified Romanian state promoted a common identity for all its Romanian-speaking inhabitants. Owing partly to its relative underdevelopment compared to other regions of Greater Romania, as well as to the low competence and corruption of the new Romanian administration in this province, the integration process of Bessarabia in the unified Romanian state was less successful than in other regions and was soon to be disrupted by the Soviet occupation. [51] [52] [53]
In 1940, during World War II, Romania agreed to an ultimatum and ceded the region to the Soviet Union, which organized it into the Moldavian SSR. The Soviets began a campaign to create or strengthen a Moldovan identity (Moldovenism) different from that of the rest of Romanian speakers, taking advantage of the incomplete integration of the Bessarabia into the interwar Romania.[54] The official Soviet policy also stated that Romanian and Moldovan were two different languages and, to emphasize this distinction, Moldovan had to be written in a new Cyrillic alphabet (the Moldovan alphabet) based on the Russian Cyrillic, rather than the older Romanian Cyrillic that ceased to be used in the 19th century in the Old Kingdom and 1917 in Bessarabia.[55]
The Politics of Identity in the Republic of Moldova
The Moldovan political forces have diverging opinions regarding the identity of Moldovans. (see also Controversy over linguistic and ethnic identity in Moldova).
The right wing and center-right political forces tend to support the existence of a common Romanian-Moldovan ethnic group and a common language, the center-left forces incline to emphasize the local Moldovan identity without explicitly denying a wider Romanian identity, whereas the political left claims the existence of two different ethnic groups. [56] [57] [58] [59] [60] [61] This contradiction is reflected in the official state documents issued in successive legislatures.
The Declaration of Independence of 1991 calls the official language "Romanian" [62], and the first anthem adopted by the independent Moldova was "Deşteaptă-te, române" ("Awaken, Romanian!"), the same as the anthem of Romania.
Mirroring different political configurations of the later Moldovan Parliament, the Constitution of Moldova (1994) calls the official language "Moldovan"[63], while the "Concept of the National Policy of the Republic of Moldova" (2003) [64] [65] adopted by the Communist-dominated Parliament distinguishes explicitely Moldovans and Romanians as ethnic groups, and so does the census of 2004.
Religion in the Republic of Moldova
The major denomination in Moldova is Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The majority of Moldovan Orthodox Christians belong to the Moldovan Orthodox Church, a branch of the Russian Orthodox Church, while a minority belongs to the Metropolis of Bessarabia, a branch of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Both bodies are in full communion, the dispute between them being purely territorial and revolves around the legitimate succession of the interwar Metropolitan See of Bessarabia. As of 2007, the Moldovan Orthodox Church has 1255 parishes, while the Metropolis of Bessarabia has 219.[66]
See also
- Movement for the unification of Romania and Moldova
- Controversy over linguistic and ethnic identity in Moldova
- Ethnogenesis
- Moldovan diaspora
References
- ^ 2004 census results
- ^ census 2001
- ^ census 2002
- ^ [1] at the Istituto nazionale di statistica, page 6, figure2.
- ^ Portugal acolheu 440 277 imigrantes legais
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6]
- ^ This includes all self-declared Moldovans, according to official data, living in the Republic of Moldova and other countries of the former Soviet Union, as well as some Moldovan citizens living abroad, regardless of ethnicity. The rest of some 5 million Romanian-speakers living on the territory of the Principality of Moldova who self-identify as Romanians, according to official data, were counted only among Romanians
- ^ "Official Chisinau Seeks Recognition Of Moldovan Ethnicity And Minority In Romania" The Jamestown Foundation, February 28, 2007
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernivtsi_Oblast#Population_and_Demographics
- ^ http://www.interlic.md/download/988/
- ^ Pal Kolsto, Hans Olav Melberg National Integration and Violent Conflict in Post-Soviet Societies: The Cases of Estonia and Moldova, pg. 31-34, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002, ISBN 0742518884
- ^ Charles King, "The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the Politics of Culture", Hoover Press, 2000, pg. 159
- ^ (Romanian) „Niciodata si in nici o imprejurare nu mi-a trecut prin cap sa spun altceva decit ca sunt românca din Basarabia sau, pur si simplu, - românca.“ http://punkt.md/revista/citeste/articol/in_hac_habitasse_platea_dictumst///nb/1/nc/3.html
- ^ "In mine-au dat si moldovenii/ Necrestineste/ Ci-s fericit ca-n ei romanul/ Tot mai traieste" (Basarabie cu jale).
- ^ http://social.moldova.org/news/eugen-doga-alba-iulia-e-capitala-unirii-i-o-adevrat-mecca-205133-rom.html Aici e capitala unirii şi o adevărată Mecca [...] Cred că lumea nu vine aici cu forţa ci din propria iniţiativă, pentru o întoarcere la fraţi.
- ^ http://social.moldova.org/news/gheorghe-duca-nu-exista-loc-de-targ-privind-limba-romana-206104-rom.html La fel ca şi întreaga românime, pe care Grigore Vieru a glorificat-o, nu pot să cred nici eu că Poetul a plecat pentru totdeauna de-acasă.
- ^ http://www.vipmagazin.md/top-moldoveni/Cei_mai_influen%C5%A3i_moldoveni_2009/CONSTANTIN_T%C4%82NASE._Liderul_incontestabil__al_presei_autohtone/
- ^ http://www.vipmagazin.md/top-moldoveni/Cei_mai_influen%C5%A3i_moldoveni_2005/Constantin_T%C4%83nase._Directorul_de_opinie/
- ^ Academia, elitele politice şi culturale trebuie să demonstreze că românismul R. Moldova nu e un moft extremist, ci o realitate şi o condiţie a existenţei acestui stat." http://www.timpul.md/articol/basarabia-1812-%E2%80%93-r--moldova-2012-8485.html
- ^ http://www.airm.reg.md/wp/?p=287 Populaţia R.S.S.M. a fost supusă ideologiei comuniste, care avea scopul de a înlocui identitatea românească, a majorității populației locale, cu alta, nou creată.
- ^ http://www.uniuneascriitorilor.md/index.html Vă invităm să vă iniţiaţi în domeniul vieţii literare a Basarabiei, pământ românesc de „margine” supus unei lungi, prea lungi „terori a istoriei” (Mircea Eliade).
- ^ http://www.timpul.md/articol/suntem-romni-si-punctum-2093.html
- ^ National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova: 2004 Census results in Moldova
- ^ Experts Offering to Consult the National Statistics Bureau in Evaluation of the Census Data, Moldova Azi, May 19, 2005, story attributed to AP Flux. Retrieved September 28, 2008, see also Experts Offering to Consult the National Statistics Bureau in Evaluation of the Census Data, Moldova Azi, May 19, 2005, story attributed to AP Flux. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ [7], [8], [9], [10] 2001 census results in Ukraine
- ^ http://www.recensamant.ro/
- ^ The Handbook of the Census Staff, 2001, at UNECE website
- ^ Vladimir Socor: "Official Chisinau Seeks Recognition Of Moldovan Ethnicity And Minority In Romania" The Jamestown Foundation, February 28, 2007
- ^ Template:Ro icon http://www.bbc.co.uk/romanian/news/story/2007/02/070226_profil_marian_russo.shtml
- ^ http://www.roportal.ro/stiri/stirea-614380.htm
- ^ Template:Ro icon [11]
- ^ http://www.ziua.net/display.php?data=2001-11-19&id=76849
- ^ http://www.ziaruldeiasi.ro/local/vaslui/costantin-simirad-a-pus-la-vaslui-bazele-partidului-moldovenilor~ni432
- ^ Template:Ro icon [12]
- ^ Miron Costin, De neamul moldovenilor. Aşa şi neamul acésta, de carele scriem, al ţărâlor acestora, numele vechiŭ şi mai direptŭ ieste rumân, adecă râmlean, [...] tot acest nume au ţinut şi ţin pănă astăzi şi încă mai bine munténii decât moldovénii, că ei şi acum zic şi scriu ţara sa rumânească, ca şi românii cei din Ardeal. Şi aşa ieste acestor ţări şi ţărâi noastre, Moldovei şi Ţărâi Munteneşti numele cel direptŭ de moşie, ieste rumân, cum să răspundŭ şi acum toţi acéia din Ţările Ungureşti lăcuitori şi munténii ţara lor şi scriu şi răspundŭ cu graiul: Ţara Românească
- ^ Roger-William Seton Watson, A history of the Romanians, Cambridge University Press, 1934
- ^ Cristina Petrescu, "Contrasting/Conflicting Identities:Bessarabians, Romanians, Moldovans" in Nation-Building and Contested Identities, Polirom, 2001, p. 157
- ^ Charles King, Moldovan Identity and the Politics of Pan-Romanianism, Slavic Review, Vol. 53, No. 2. (Summer, 1994), pp. 345-368.
- ^ King, pg. 2
- ^ King, pg. 3
- ^ Michael Bruchis. The Language Policy of the CPSU and the Linguistic Situation in Soviet Moldavia, in Soviet Studies, Vol. 36, No. 1. (Jan., 1984), pp. 119.
- ^ Stuart J. Kaufman, Modern Hatreds: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War, Cornell University Press, 2001, ISBN 978-0-8014-8736-1, pg. 134
- ^ Template:Ro icon Mateevici's speech at the teachers' congress at Romanian wikisource
- ^ Charles King, The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the politics of culture, Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, 2000, page 33 "The occupation of Bessarabia by the Romanian[s troops], although carried out after an appeal of members of the Sfatul Tarii and other Moldovan organizations, was not universally welcomed"
- ^ Petrescu, Cristina. Contrasting/Conflicting Identities: Bessarabians, Romanians, Moldovans in Nation-Building and Contested identities: Romanian & Hungarian Case Studies. Editura Polirom. 2001. As Sorin Alexandrescu suggests, taking into account the situation at that time, the chaos in Russia and the undecided balance in the war, it is reasonable to suppose that the presence of Romanian troops in Bessarabia created a situation in which the majority in the Sfatul Tãrii decided to rally the faction that was advocating the union with Romania as a solution for overcoming of the triple threat of Bolshevism, Ukrainian expansionism and general anarchy.
- ^ Livezeanu, Irina. Cultural Politics in Greater Romania: Regionalism, Nation Building, and Ethnic Struggle, 1918-1930. Cornell University Press, 2000. pp. 98-99
- ^ Charles King, The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the politics of culture, Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, 2000
- ^ Petrescu, Cristina. Contrasting/Conflicting Identities: Bessarabians, Romanians, Moldovans in Nation-Building and Contested identities: Romanian & Hungarian Case Studies. Editura Polirom. 2001. "The members of this overwhelmingly rural, mostly illiterate and quasi-immobile peasant population, who had no sense of national identification with the Romanians, but had idealized memories from the Tsarist period, found themselves overnight citizens of Romania. It was the transition from the Tsarist-type of local government to the Romanian-type of centralized modern state with a corrupt administration that alienated the Bessarabians, many of whom felt, as the interviewed persons bear witness, that they were rather occupied by their alleged brothers than united with them." (page 157)
- ^ Petrescu, Cristina. Contrasting/Conflicting Identities: Bessarabians, Romanians, Moldovans in Nation-Building and Contested identities: Romanian & Hungarian Case Studies. "The stories told by a group of Bessarabians coming from several villages of Bãlþi county, who, it should be noted, chose to come to Romania instead of living under the Soviet regime, seems to suggest that their native region was the only province acquired after World War I where the Romanian central authorities did not succeed in integrating their own coethnics, among whom some even felt nostalgia for the Tsarist period. Although citizens of Greater Romania, a large majority of Bessarabians did not even begin to consider themselves part of the Romanian nation, going beyond their allegiance to regional and local ties.11 In short, as these oral history interviews reveal, during the interwar period, the Romanian homogenizing state failed in its attempt to transform the peasants of Bessarabia into Romanians." (page 154)
- ^ King, The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the politics of culture; Mackinlay, pg. 135
- ^ Mackinlay, pg. 140
- ^ http://www.adevarul.ro/international/europa/Istoria-Marian-Filat-Lupu-Vlad_0_128987562.html "Vom învăţa istoria noastră - cea a românilor, aşa cum este şi firesc", a zis Filat./"We will teach our history - that of Romanians, as it is natural" "După părerea noastră, cea mai bună variantă [...] ar fi istoria statului nostru – istoria Republicii Moldova. Fără a pune accente pe momente sensibile, care ar putea duce la o scindare în societate.", a zis liderul Partidului Democrat, Marian Lupu/"In our opinion, the best option [...] would be the history of our state - the history of the Republic of Moldova. Without focussing on the sensitive moments, which would bring division in our society"
- ^ http://www.formula-as.ro/2010/902/spectator-38/petru-bogatu-republica-moldova-nu-mai-poate-fi-orientata-spre-moscova-12015 [Vlad Filat] referindu-se la Romania si Republica Moldova, a zis ca noi suntem unii si aceiasi. Si asta spune totul despre sentimentele sale nationale./[Vlad Filat] refering to Romania and Moldova, said that we are one and the same
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6pN4oDVxfY&feature=related "Moldovenii sunt romani"/"Moldovans are Romanians", said Dorin Chirtoaca in an interview at Realitatea TV, March 27, 2008
- ^ http://www.pl.md/libview.php?l=ro&idc=82&id=987 Priorities of the Liberal Party:[...] Promoting cultural policies based on the unity of culture, history, patrimony, traditions and language of the Republic of Moldova and Romania;
- ^ http://www.e-democracy.md/files/parties/pcrm-program-2008-ro.pdf Numai consolidarea în continuare a poporului moldovenesc, aprofundarea bilingvismului şi a toleranţei interetnice îi vor permite Moldovei nu numai să-şi păstreze identitatea unică, dar şi să devină, într-un anumit sens, un model de relaţii între naţiuni, limbi şi culturi/Only the continued consolidation of the Moldovan people, the deepening of the [Moldovan-Rusian] bilingualism and of the ethnic tolerance would allow Moldova to preserve its unique identity, and become, in a certain sense, a model for living together of different nations, languages, cultures
- ^ http://www.hotnews.ro/stiri-esential-5562890-interviu-vladimir-voronin-poporul-moldovean-vazut-cea-mai-mare-injosire-propriei-lui-independente-steagul-romaniei-parlament.htm Pentru prima data, intreg poporul moldovean a vazut, practic in direct, cea mai mare injosire a propriei lui independente, a propriei democratii, cand de pe cladirile Parlamentului si administratiei prezidentiale au fost smulse insemnele de stat, iar in locul lor au fost desfasurate steagurile Romaniei../For the first time, the entire Moldovan people has seen, practically live, the thorough humiliation of its own indepedence, democracy, when from the buildings of the Parliament and Presidency the state flags were snatched, and replaced with those of Romania
- ^ http://www.europa.md/upload/File/alte_documente/Declaratia%20de%20Independenta%20a%20Republicii%20Moldova%202(1).doc
- ^ Constitution of the Republic of Moldova. Article 13, Chapter 1, 1994-06-29,
The official language of the Republic of Moldova is Moldovan, written in Latin script.
- ^ "L E G E privind aprobarea Conceptiei politicii nationale de stat a Republicii Moldova".
- ^ Gribincea A., Grecu, M. The Concept on National Policy of the Republic of Moldova UNHCR.
- ^ International Religious Freedom Report 2007, by the US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
Further reading
- Matthew H. Ciscel (2007) The Language of the Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and Identity in an Ex-Soviet Republic", ISBN 0739114433 - About the identity of the contemporary Moldovans in the context of debates about the their language.
- King, C. (2000) The Moldovans: Romania, Russia and the Politics of Culture, Hoover Institution Press, ISBN 0-8179-9792-X.