Portal:Moldova

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Location of Moldova
LocationEastern Europe

Moldova (/mɒlˈdvə/ mol-DOH-və, sometimes UK: /ˈmɒldəvə/ MOL-də-və; Romanian pronunciation: [molˈdova]), officially the Republic of Moldova (Romanian: Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, on the northeastern corner of the Balkans. The country spans a total of 33,483 km2 (13,067 sq mi) and has a population of approximately 2.5 million as of January 2023. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised breakaway state of Transnistria lies across the Dniester river on the country's eastern border with Ukraine. Moldova is a unitary parliamentary representative democratic republic with its capital in Chișinău, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre.

Most of Moldovan territory was a part of the Principality of Moldavia from the 14th century until 1812, when it was ceded to the Russian Empire by the Ottoman Empire (to which Moldavia was a vassal state) and became known as Bessarabia. In 1856, southern Bessarabia was returned to Moldavia, which three years later united with Wallachia to form Romania, but Russian rule was restored over the whole of the region in 1878. During the 1917 Russian Revolution, Bessarabia briefly became an autonomous state within the Russian Republic. In February 1918, it declared independence and then integrated into Romania later that year following a vote of its assembly. The decision was disputed by Soviet Russia, which in 1924 established, within the Ukrainian SSR, a so-called Moldavian autonomous republic on partially Moldovan-inhabited territories to the east of Bessarabia. In 1940, as a consequence of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Romania was compelled to cede Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union, leading to the creation of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (Moldavian SSR).

On 27 August 1991, as the dissolution of the Soviet Union was underway, the Moldavian SSR declared independence and took the name Moldova. However, the strip of Moldovan territory on the east bank of the Dniester has been under the de facto control of the breakaway government of Transnistria since 1990. The constitution of Moldova was adopted in 1994, and the country became a parliamentary republic with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. Under the presidency of Maia Sandu, elected in 2020 on a pro-Western and anti-corruption ticket, Moldova has pursued membership of the European Union, and was granted candidate status in June 2022. Accession talks to the EU began on 13 December 2023. Sandu has also suggested an end to Moldova's constitutional commitment to military neutrality in favour of a closer alliance with NATO and strongly condemned Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. (Full article...)

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Miniature from the 1473 Gospel at Humor Monastery

Stephen III, commonly known as Stephen the Great (Romanian: Ștefan cel Mare; pronunciation: [ˈʃtefan el ˈmare]); died on 2 July 1504), was Voivode (or Prince) of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He was the son of and co-ruler with Bogdan II, who was murdered in 1451 in a conspiracy organized by his brother and Stephen's uncle Peter III Aaron, who took the throne. Stephen fled to Hungary, and later to Wallachia; with the support of Vlad III Țepeș, Voivode of Wallachia, he returned to Moldavia, forcing Aaron to seek refuge in Poland in the summer of 1457. Teoctist I, Metropolitan of Moldavia, anointed Stephen prince. He attacked Poland and prevented Casimir IV Jagiellon, King of Poland, from supporting Peter Aaron, but eventually acknowledged Casimir's suzerainty in 1459.

Stephen decided to recapture Chilia (now Kiliia in Ukraine), an important port on the Danube, which brought him into conflict with Hungary and Wallachia. He besieged the town during the Ottoman invasion of Wallachia in 1462, but was seriously wounded during the siege. Two years later, he captured the town. He promised support to the leaders of the Three Nations of Transylvania against Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, in 1467. Corvinus invaded Moldavia, but Stephen defeated him in the Battle of Baia. Peter Aaron attacked Moldavia with Hungarian support in December 1470, but was also defeated by Stephen and executed, along with the Moldavian boyars who still endorsed him. Stephen restored old fortresses and built new ones, which improved Moldavia's defence system as well as strengthened central administration. Ottoman expansion threatened Moldavian ports in the region of the Black Sea. In 1473, Stephen stopped paying tribute (haraç) to the Ottoman sultan and launched a series of campaigns against Wallachia in order to replace its rulers – who had accepted Ottoman suzerainty – with his protégés. However, each prince who seized the throne with Stephen's support was soon forced to pay homage to the sultan. (Full article...)
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Did you know...

... that The "Golden Collection" from the State Enterprise Quality Wines Industrial Complex "Mileştii Mici" was recognized by the Guinness World Records as "the biggest wine collection in the world" on the 19th of August 2005. It contains over 1,5 million bottles of different types of wine – dry wines, dessert and sparkling wines.

...that according to the legend, voivode Dragoş founded Moldova as the result of an aurochs hunt. This is the popular explanation of aurochs head depicted on the coat of arms of Moldova.

...that only five of twelve stanzas of the original poem by Alexei Mateevici are included in the national anthem of Moldova.

...that Moldavian SSR had population density 128.2 people/km² and was the most densely populated republic of the Soviet Union.

...that Christian Orthodox is the predominant religion in Moldova. 98% of believers belong to the Orthodox Church, and its traditions are tightly entwined with the culture and patrimony of the country.

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Largest cities in Moldova
Source: Moldovan Census (2004); Note: 1. World Gazetteer. Moldova: largest cities 2004. 2. Pridnestrovie.net 2004 Census 2004. 3. National Bureau of Statistics of Moldova
Rank Pop. Rank Pop.
Chișinău
Chișinău
Tiraspol
Tiraspol
1 Chișinău 644,204 11 Comrat 20,113 Bălți
Bălți
Bender
Bender
2 Tiraspol 129,500 12 Strășeni 18,376
3 Bălți 102,457 13 Durlești 17,210
4 Bender 91,000 14 Ceadîr-Lunga 16,605
5 Rîbnița 46,000 15 Căușeni 15,939
6 Ungheni 30,804 16 Codru 15,934
7 Cahul 30,018 17 Edineț 15,520
8 Soroca 22,196 18 Drochia 13,150
9 Orhei 21,065 19 Ialoveni 12,515
10 Dubăsari 25,700 20 Hîncești 12,491

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  1. ^ "Largest wine cellar by number of bottles". Guinness World Records. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
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