The Republic of Moldova is a small county, favorably situated in the Southeast part of Europe. This piece of land boasts a rich history, abundant in dramatic and agitated events.
From the XIV century, it was a part of the Moldova Principality, situated between Oriental Carpathians and the Nistru River, in the north bounded by Hotin, and in the South -- by the Low Danube and the Black Sea.
Following the Peace concluded in Burcharest in 1812, a part of this territory was assigned to Czarist Russia, which called it Bararabia -- an older name, earlier attributed to the southern part. The aim was to identify this territory as a separate geographic entity form the Moldova Principality.
The Independence of the Democratic Repubilc of Moldova was proclaimed in January 1918. And later, on March 27, 1918, it was decided to reunite it with Romania. The next annexure process took place in 1940, following the Molotov-Ribbentrop summit. According to this Basarabia became part of the USSR and was proclaimed as the Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldavia. It comprised only nine Basarabian countries and six districts from the left bank of the Nistru River. The present territory of Moldova is smaller compared to the area attributed to Russian authorities in 1812, since the North Hotin, Acherman, and the southern Ismil were given up in 1940 by the Soviet authorities to Ukraine.
Due to the restructuring process that started in the Central and Eastern Europe, in June 1990, Moldova proclaimed its sovereignty, and on August 27, 1991, it's State Independence. In March 2, 1992, the Republic of Moldova became a member of the United Nations.
GEOGRAPHY
Location: Eastern Europe, north-east of Romania
Population: 4,264,300 inh.
Border countries: Romania and Ukraine
Main Cities: Chisinau, Balti, Tighina (Bender), Tiraspol
Climate: moderate winters (in January -4-7 C degrees), warm summers (in July +25 +28 C degree)
Terrain: Hilly steppes in the north and center (Codru), plain in the south (Bugeac Plain)
Natural Resources: lignite, phosphorites, gypum, arable land
Soils: chernozemic (black soil), podzolic (forester soil)
LANGUAGES
The Constitution of Moldova states that the Moldovan language is the state language of the country. However, the term "Moldovan" is the official name for the Romanian language in the Republic of Moldova. In Moldova's declaration of independence, the same language is called Romanian.
The state language acts as the working language in the activity of all state bodies, state administration, and public authorities. The tranlation into Russian is assured. Russian, along with Moldovan, is used as a communication language among different nations. In order to meet the national-cultural needs of ethic groups inhabiting the territory of Moldova, the functioning of other languages, such as Ukrainian, Russian, Bulgarian, Jewish, Gypsy, etc. is guaranteed.
The most frequent spoken foreign languages are English, French, German, and Italian.
OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS
January 1: New Year
January 7: Orthodox Christmas
March 8: International Women's Dany
April 27: Orthodox Easter (for 2010)
May 1: International Labour Day
May 4: Memorial Easter (for 2010)
May 9: Victory Day (WWII)
August 27: National Day
August 31: Limba Noastra (National Language Day)
CURRENCY
The national currency, the Moldovan Leu, was introduced on November 29, 1993.
The National Bank of Moldova was established in 1991.
The current banknote series was introduced by NBM between 1993 and 1995.
More information about Moldova
Lonely Planet-Moldova
More information about Moldova
Lonely Planet-Moldova
