Moldovans

Moldovans
Moldoveni

Total population
(c. 3.4 million[1])
Regions with significant populations
Moldova 2,741,849 (2004) (Transnistria included)[2]  Ukraine 258,619 (2001)[3]  Russia 156,400 (2010)[4]  Italy 142,583 RM citizens (legal residents, 2011)[5]  Spain 17,426 RM citizens (legal residents, 2011)[6]  Romania 15,000 RM citizens (legal residents, 2009)[7]  Kazakhstan 14,245 (2009)[8]  Portugal 13,586 RM citizens (legal residents, 2011)[9]  Greece 9,920 RM citizens (legal residents, 2006)[10]  Canada 8,050 Moldovans (legal residents, 2011)[11]  United States 7,859 Moldovans (legal residents, 2000)[12]  Belarus 3,465 (2009)[13]  Latvia 2,284 (2011)[14]  Bulgaria 893 (2011)[15]  Lithuania 540 (2011)[16]  Kyrgyzstan 505 (2009)[17]  Estonia 502 (2011)[18]  Tajikistan 157 (2010)[19]
Languages
Primarily Moldovan/Romanian
Religion
† Orthodox Christianity belonging to the Moldovan Orthodox Church (under the Russian Orthodox Church) or to the Metropolis of Bessarabia (under the Romanian Orthodox Church).
Related ethnic groups
Romanians, Vlachs, Aromanians

Moldovans (in Moldovan/Romanian moldoveni pronounced [moldoˈvenʲ]) are the largest population group of the Republic of Moldova (75.8% of the population),^[2] and a significant minority in Ukraine^[3] and Russia.^[4] Under the variant Moldavians, the term may also be used to refer to all inhabitants of the territory of historical Principality of Moldavia, currently divided among Romania (47.5%), Moldova (30.5%) and Ukraine (22%), regardless of ethnic identity.

This article refers primarily to the Romance-speakers of the Republic of Moldova, the historical Bessarabia and diaspora originating from these regions.^[20] There is an ongoing controversy whether Moldovans are a fully fledged ethnic group or a subgroup of the Romanian ethnic group.

Population

Moldovan self-awareness

A poll conducted in the Republic of Moldova by IMAS-Inc Chișinău 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%).^[21]

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.^[22]

A survey carried out in the Republic of Moldova in 1992 showed that 87% of the Romanian/Moldovan speakers chose to identify themselves as "Moldovans", rather than "Romanians".^[23]

Moldovan intellectuals and the Romanian identity

As opposed to large segments of the population, a significant number of major Moldovan intellectuals considered themselves part of the Romanian nation.

Alexei Mateevici (1888–1917), author of the Moldovan national anthem Limba noastră said at a congress of Bessarabian teachers in 1917: "Yes, we are Moldovans, sons of the old Moldavia, but we belong to the large body of the Romanian nation, that lives in Romania, Bukovina and Transylvania. Our brothers from Bukovina, Transylvania and Macedonia don't call themselves after the places they live in, but call themselves Romanians. That is what we should do as well!"^[24]

Emanoil Catelli (1883–1943) a politician of the Moldavian Democratic Republic, and later of Romania, said in 1917: "The Moldovans who remained silent for 106 years, should speak louder today [...] because they are Romanians, and only the Russians demoted them to the role of 'Moldovans.'"^[25]

Alexandru Averescu (1859-1938), a Romanian marshal and politician originary from Bessarabia, lead the Romanian troops in 1918 and reached an agreement with the Allied Powers, recognizing Bessarabia's union with Romania

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."^[26]

Grigore Vieru (1935–2009), prominent Moldovan poet, a staunch supporter of Pan-Romanianism, wrote, "Moldovans hurt me too/ Inhumanly/ But I'm happy that Romanianness/Still lives in them " (Bessarabia with Sorrow) ^[27]

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." ^[28]

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" ^[29]

Constantin Tănase (b. 1949), director of the Moldovan newspaper "Timpul de dimineață", one of the most influential opinion leaders from Moldova ^[30][31] "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."^[32]

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"^[33]

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" ^[34]

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, period. (Suntem români şi punct)".^[35]

Censuses

Ethnic composition of the Republic of Moldova in the 2004 census, self-reported Moldovans in blue/purple

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.^[36] 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.^{[37] [38]}

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.^[39]

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).

Ethnic divisions in Chernivtsi Oblast (Ukraine) with self-declared Moldovans in green, respectively

Ethnic division of Budjak (Ukraine) with self-declared Moldovans in green

Regional identity in Romania

The largest share (47.5%) of the territory of the historical Principality of Moldavia 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 annexation of Bessarabia in 1812, and Austrian annexation of Bukovina in 1775, the rest of Moldova united with Wallachia and formed the modern Romania.

In 1998, Constantin Simirad, the former mayor of Iaşi founded the Party of the Moldavians (Partidul Moldovenilor) which later joined the Social Democratic Party.^[40] However, the party's declared objective was to represent the interests of the Moldavia region in Romania rather than any ethnic identification.^[41]

According to the Romanian census of 2002, there are 4.7 million Romanian speakers in the eight counties that were once part of the Principality of Moldavia.^[42] 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.^[43] The Romanian-speaking inhabitants of these counties generally refer to themselves as "Moldavians", but declare Romanian ethnicity.^[44]

In February 2007, a small group of Romanian citizens who created the "Moldovan/Moldavian Community in Romania" (Comunitatea moldovenilor din România) attempted unsuccessfully to gain recognition of the minority status for Moldovans from Romania. The organization was initially registered legally, but the decision was soon reverted. Around the same time, during a visit to Moldova, three delegates met with President Vladimir Voronin, who promised them his support. Being denied legal recognition the Community eventually dissolved.^[45][46]

In Romania, the Moldovans from Bessarabia are usually called Bessarabians (basarabeni) in order to distinguish them from the inhabitants of Eastern Romania.^[47]

Identity in the historical Principality of Moldova

The Moldavian Principality in the 15th century

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, he notes, comes from "romanus".^[48][49] Also, the Slavic neighbours called Moldovans "Vlachs" or "Volokhs", a term equally used to refer to all native Romance speakers from Eastern Europe and the Balkan peninsula.^[50]

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 rural population continued to use the old self-identification "Moldovans".^[51][52]

Until the 1920s, historians generally considered Moldovans as a subgroup of the Romanian ethnos.^[53] 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.^[54][55]

A 1908 map of Romanian dialects (Banat, Moldovan, Muntenian)

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 an ethnic connotation 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",^[56] while another group, led by the poet Alexei Mateevici, supported the view that the Moldovans are also Romanians.^[57]

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. ^{[58] [59]} 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.^[60] 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.^[61][62][63]

Kingdom of Romania (1918-1940) and the MASSR

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 strengthen the Moldovan identity different from that of the rest of Romanian speakers, taking advantage of the incomplete integration of the Bessarabia into the interwar Romania (see also Moldovenism).^[64] 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 Cyrillic 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.^[65]

Identity and politics in Moldova

The major Moldovan political forces have diverging opinions regarding the identity of Moldovans. (see also Controversy over linguistic and ethnic identity in Moldova). This contradiction is reflected in their stance toward the national history that should be taught in Moldovans schools. Forces such as the Liberal Party (PL), Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM) and Our Moldova Alliance (AMN) support the teaching of the history of Romanians. Others, such as the Democratic Party (PD) and the Party of Communists (PCRM) support the history of Republic of Moldova ^{[66][67] [68] [69]}

The diverging opinions are also reflected in the official state documents issued in successive legislatures. The Declaration of Independence of 1991 calls the official language "Romanian",^[70] 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",^[71] while the "Concept of the National Policy of the Republic of Moldova" (2003) ^[72][73] adopted by the Communist-dominated Parliament distinguishes explicitly Moldovans and Romanians as ethnic groups, and so does the census of 2004

On December 5, 2013, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova ruled that the Romanian language is the official language of this country, in agreement with the Declaration of Independence of 1991.^[74][75]

Religion in 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.^[76]

See also

• Movement for the unification of Romania and Moldova
• Controversy over linguistic and ethnic identity in Moldova
• Ethnogenesis
• Moldovan diaspora

References

1. 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 citizens of the Republic of Moldova living abroad, regardless of ethnicity. The rest of some 5 million Romanian-speakers living on the territory of the Principality of Moldavia who self-identify as Romanians, according to official data, were counted only among Romanians
2. 2004 census results
3. "The distribution of the population by nationality and mother tongue". All-Ukrainian population census. State Statistics Committee of Ukraine. 2001. Archived from the original on January 30, 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
4. "4.1. National composition of population". 2010 All-Russia Population Census. Basic Results. Russian Federal State Statistics Service. 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
5. Istituto nazionale di statistica latest figures at 131,000 on Dec 31st 2010.
6. "Spain 2011 Census". Retrieved 13 November 2014.
7. 15.000 de cetateni moldoveni traiesc in Romania | Ziarul Financiar
8. Ethnic composition, religion and language skills in the Republic of Kazakhstan
10. "Error" (PDF). Retrieved 13 November 2014.
11. Statistics Canada. "2011 National Household Survey: Data tables". Retrieved 11 February 2014.
12. 2000 Census
13. Belarus Census 2011
14. PMLP - Iedzīvotāju reģistrs
16. Lithuanian Census 2011
17. 5.01.00.03 Национальный состав населения
18. "Estonian Census 2011". Retrieved 13 November 2014.
19. ҲАЙАТИ МИЛЛӢ, ДОНИСТАНИ ЗАБОНҲО ВА ШАҲРВАНДИИ АҲОЛИИ ҶУМҲУРИИ ТОҶИКИСТОН ҶИЛДИ III
20. "Official Chisinau Seeks Recognition Of Moldovan Ethnicity And Minority In Romania" The Jamestown Foundation, February 28, 2007
21. http://www.interlic.md/download/988/
22. 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 0-7425-1888-4
23. Charles King, "The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the Politics of Culture", Hoover Press, 2000, pg. 159
24. "Da, suntem moldoveni, fii ai vechii Moldove, însă facem parte din marele trup al românismului, aşezat prin România, Bucovina şi Transilvania. Fraţii noştri din Bucovina, Transilvania şi Macedonia nu se numesc după locurile unde trăiesc, ci-şi zic români. Aşa trebuie să facem şi noi!" Alexei Mateevici, Opere, vol. I, Chişinău, Ştiinţa, 1993, p. 463, după „Şcoala moldovenească”, an. 1, nr. 2 - 4, iulie-septembrie, 1917, p. 55 - 57.
25. (Romanian) „Moldovenii care au tăcut timp de 106 ani, trebuie să vorbească astăzi mult mai tare, [...] căci ei sunt români, numai ruşii i-au degradat la rolul de "moldoveni".“ http://www.literaturasiarta.md/pressview.php?l=ro&idc=115&id=730&zidc=1
26. (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 Archived July 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
27. "In mine-au dat si moldovenii/ Necrestineste/ Ci-s fericit ca-n ei romanul/ Tot mai traieste" (Basarabie cu jale).
28. 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.
29. 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.
30. CONSTANTIN TĂNASE. Liderul incontestabil al presei autohtone - VIP Magazin
31. CONSTANTIN TĂNASE. Directorul de opinie - VIP Magazin
32. 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
33. 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. Archived September 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
34. 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).
35. "Suntem romni si punctum!". Timpul - Ştiri din Moldova. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
36. National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova: 2004 Census results in Moldova Archived March 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
37. BBCRomanian.com
38. 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 Archived March 4, 2006, at the Wayback Machine., Moldova Azi, May 19, 2005, story attributed to AP Flux. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
39. , , , 2001 census results in Ukraine Archived January 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
40. http://www.ziua.net/display.php?data=2001-11-19&id=76849
41. Ziarul de Iasi. "Costantin Simirad a pus, la Vaslui, bazele Partidului Moldovenilor". Retrieved 13 November 2014.
42. http://www.recensamant.ro/ Archived April 24, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
43. The Handbook of the Census Staff, 2001, at UNECE website
44. Vladimir Socor: "Official Chisinau Seeks Recognition Of Moldovan Ethnicity And Minority In Romania" The Jamestown Foundation, February 28, 2007
45. (Romanian) Comunitatea moldovenilor din România: scopuri şi lideri
46. "Comunitatea Moldovenilor din România se va autodizolva". Retrieved 13 November 2014.
47. (Romanian)
48. Miron Costin, De neamul moldovenilor. Şi acum mulţi ne zic noao, ţării noastre [Moldova] şi Ţării Muntenéşti, streinii, Daţiia, însă norodul, neamul lăcuitorilor, nu ş-au schimbatŭ numele său, ci tot romanus, apoi cu vréme şi îndelungate vacuri romani, apoi rumâni pănă astăzi.
49. 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
50. Roger-William Seton Watson, A history of the Romanians, Cambridge University Press, 1934
51. Cristina Petrescu, "Contrasting/Conflicting Identities:Bessarabians, Romanians, Moldovans" in Nation-Building and Contested Identities, Polirom, 2001, p. 157
52. Charles King, Moldovan Identity and the Politics of Pan-Romanianism, Slavic Review, Vol. 53, No. 2. (Summer, 1994), pp. 345-368.
53. King, pg. 2
54. King, pg. 3
55. 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.
56. Stuart J. Kaufman, Modern Hatreds: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War, Cornell University Press, 2001, ISBN 978-0-8014-8736-1, pg. 134
57. (Romanian) Mateevici's speech at the teachers' congress at Romanian wikisource
58. 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"
59. 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.
60. Livezeanu, Irina. Cultural Politics in Greater Romania: Regionalism, Nation Building, and Ethnic Struggle, 1918-1930. Cornell University Press, 2000. pp. 98-99
61. Charles King, The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the politics of culture, Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, 2000
62. 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)
63. 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)
64. King, The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the politics of culture; Mackinlay, pg. 135
65. Mackinlay, pg. 140
66. http://adevarul.ro/international/europa/istoria-romanilor-scolile-moldovene-vlad-filat-vrea-marian-lupu-nu-1_50ad27ce7c42d5a6638fb911/index.html Vlad Filat, president of PLDM "Vom învăţa istoria noastră - cea a românilor, aşa cum este şi firesc"/"We will teach our history - that of Romanians, as it is natural" Marian Lupu, president PD: "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"
67. Petru Bogatu - "Republica Moldova nu mai poate fi orientata spre Moscova" - Spectator - Numarul 902 - Anul 2010 - Arhiva - Formula AS
68. Partidul Liberal // Declaraţii politice
69. Scandalul manualelor de istorie integrată
70. Archived March 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
71. 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.
72. "L E G E privind aprobarea Conceptiei politicii nationale de stat a Republicii Moldova".
73. Gribincea A., Grecu, M. The Concept on National Policy of the Republic of Moldova UNHCR.
74. "Global Legal Monitor: Moldova: Romanian Recognized as the Official Language - Global Legal Monitor - Law Library of Congress - Library of Congress". Retrieved 13 November 2014.
75. "The text of the Declaration of Independence prevails over the text of the Constitution". Retrieved 13 November 2014.
76. 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 0-7391-1443-3 - About the identity of the contemporary Moldovans in the context of debates about their language.
• King, C. (2000) The Moldovans: Romania, Russia and the Politics of Culture, Hoover Institution Press, ISBN 0-8179-9792-X.