Movement for unification of Romania and Moldova
Encyclopedia
A movement for the reunification of Romania
and Moldova
began in both countries after the Romanian Revolution of 1989
and the beginning of glasnost
policy in the Soviet Union
. The question of reunification is recurrent in the public sphere of the two countries, often as a speculation, both as a goal and a danger.
Individuals who advocate the unification are usually called "unionists" (unionişti). Some support it as a peaceful process based on consent in the two countries, others in the name of a "Romanian historical right over Bessarabia
". The supporters of the union refer to the opponents as "Moldovenists
" (moldovenişti).
had been part of the Principality of Moldavia
until it was annexed by the Russian Empire
in 1812. During the Russian Revolution of 1917
, a newly formed Parliament (Sfatul Ţării
) declared Bessarabia's autonomy inside a Russian state. In 1918, after the Romanian army entered Bessarabia, the makeshift parliament decided on independence, only to review its position and ultimately decide on a conditional union with Romania. The conditions, including the provisions for autonomy, were ultimately dropped.
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 strongly promoted the Moldovan ethnic identity, against other opinions that viewed all speakers of the Romanian language
as part of a single ethnic group, taking advantage of the incomplete integration of the Bessarabia into the interwar Romania.
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 reformed Russian Cyrillic, rather than the obsolete Romanian Cyrillic that ceased to be used in the 19th century in the Old Kingdom and 1917 in Bessarabia.
On 6 May 1990, after several decades of strict separation, Romania and the Moldovan SSR lifted temporarily border crossing restrictions, and thousands of people crossed the Prut River which marked their common border.
The factors hindering the unification were complex, ranging from the caution of political leaders in Moldova and Romania, the war in Transnistria, and, perhaps more importantly, the mentality of large parts of the population in Moldova (and to some extent in Romania) who were indifferent or opposed to such a project.
In his address to the Romanian parliament, in February 1991, Mircea Snegur
, the Moldovan president, spoke of a common identity of Moldovans and Romanians, referring to the "Romanians of both sides of the Prut River". In June 1991, Snegur talked about Moldova moving toward the reunification with Romania, adding that the USSR is not making great efforts to stop it.
While many Moldovan intellectuals supported the union and wanted a "reunion with the Romanian motherland", there was little popular support for it, with more than 70% of the Moldovans opposing it, according to a 1992 poll. At the same time, Transnistria
, the eastern part of Moldova, inhabited by a Slavic majority, used the putative danger of unification with Romania as a pretext for its own aspirations for independence.
" became the symbols of the new independent Moldova. Following the growing tension between the pro-union governing Moldovan Popular Front and president Snegur, in particular over unification, the president moved closer to the Moldovanist group of Agrarians, and appointed their candidate Andrei Sangheli
as prime minister. As a result, and especially after the victory of Agrarians in the 1994 elections, Moldova began distancing itself from Romania. The state flag was slightly modified, and the anthem changed to "Limba noastră
". The Moldovan referendum of 1994 for an independent Moldova was seen by many public figures to be aimed at implicitly excluding a union with Romania. Furthermore, the constitution adopted in 1994 by the new Parliament dominated by Moldovanist Agrarians and Socialists called the official language "Moldovan", as opposed to the earlier Declaration of independence that called it "Romanian". The attempt by Moldovan president Mircea Snegur in 1996 to change the name of the official language to "Romanian" was dismissed by the Moldovan Parliament as "promoting Romanian expansionism".
A "Concept on National Policy" was adopted in 2003 by the Communist dominated Parliament, stating that Moldovans and Romanians are different peoples, and that the latter are an ethnic minority in Moldova.
Before 2005, only the Christian-Democratic People's Party
, one of the political heirs of the Moldovan Popular Front, actively supported unification. However, the stance of the Christian-Democrats changed significantly after they started collaborating closely with the ruling Moldovan Communists. During the elections of April 2009, the alliance of National Liberal Party (Partidul Naţional Liberal) and the 'European Action' Movement (Miscarea Actiunea Europeana) ran on a common platform of a loose union with Romania
, but accumulated only around 1% of the votes.
published a series of articles and interviews with Stanislav Belkovsky
, an influential political commentator from the Russian Federation, who proposed a plan of a unification between Romanian and Moldova excluding Transnistria. Speculations followed whether his plan is backed by higher circles in the Kremlin, but they were never confirmed. Nevertheless, several journalists and scholars dismissed the plan as a diversion, also pointing out several ambiguities, such as the status of the city of Tighina
situated on the right bank of Dniester but under Transnistria
n control, and, more importantly, the unlikelihood of Moldova's acquiescence to such a plan.
In January 2006, the Romanian president Traian Băsescu
declared that he strongly supported the Moldovan bid for joining the European Union
and that "the minimal policy of Romania is for the unification of the Romanian nation to take place within the EU". The phrase "minimal policy" led to questions whether there is also a maximal policy.
According to a poll conducted in Romania in January 2006, 44% of the population supports a union with Moldova, and 28% rejects it. Also, of those supporting the union, 28% support a union with Moldova, including Transnistria
, while the rest of 16% support a union without Transnistria.
In July 2006, the Romanian president Traian Băsescu
, claimed to have made a proposal to the Moldovan president Vladimir Voronin
that "Moldova join the EU together with Romania in 2007" and that the alleged offer was rejected. Băsescu also added that Romania would respect this decision and would help Moldova to join EU on its own.
In October 2006 the Romanian newspaper Cotidianul
estimated the cost of a union with Moldova at 30-35 billion euro, and attracted criticism from the Romanian newspaper Ziua
, as well as "Timpul" for exaggerating the costs and disregarding other dimensions of a possible union.
A poll conducted by IRI in Moldova in November 2008 showed that 29% of the population would support a union with Romania, while 61% would reject it.
After Moldovan parliamentary election of April 2009, the 2009 Moldova civil unrest
, the Moldovan parliamentary election of July 2009
, and the creation of the governing Alliance for European Integration
, a new wave of speculations about the union followed. The Party of Communists, now in opposition, claimed that "the unionists came to power".
In November 2009, political commentator Stanislav Belkovsky
declared in an interview with Radio Free Europe
that April 2009 marks the beginning of the process of Moldova's return to Romania.
Traian Băsescu
made a state visit to Moldova along with a number of ministers to announce several projects that would intensify ties between the two countries, and the offer of 100 million euro grant for infrastructure projects. Băsescu called Moldova his "soul project". Private Romanian investments are also expected to increase significantly, with the opening of a Moldovan-Romanian business and investment office, and the takeover of the online news portal Unimedia by Romanian group Realitatea-Cațavencu group, owned by businessman Sorin Ovidiu Vântu
..
On February 15, 2010, the Rădăuți-Lipcani border crossing between Romania and Moldova opened and the remnant Soviet barbed wire
fence on the Moldovan side of the border with Romania was dismantled.
In January 2010, Mircea Druc
, the former prime minister of Moldova between 1990 and 1991, declared that the unification of Romania and the Republic of Moldova is inevitable. However, acting President Mihai Ghimpu
denied in an interview with the Russian language newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda
v Moldove" that such a move will be taken, stating that a union is not included in the program of the governing coalition. On another occasion he declared that if the people wanted unification, neither he, nor anyone else could stop them. He admitted on several occasions to personally share unionist views. However in August 2010 he declared that the proposition of an "inter-state union" between Romania and Moldova was "a very stupid" idea.
A poll conducted by IPP Chisinau in November 2007 shows that 33.6% of the Moldovan population is interested in holding Romanian citizenship, while 58.8% is not interested. The main reason of those interested is: feeling Romanian (31.9%), the possibility of traveling to Romania (48.9%), and the possibility of traveling and/or working in the EU (17.2%).
In 2010, the Romanian government created National Agency for Citizenship to process the large number of applications for Romanian citizenship coming especially from Moldovan citizens.
, when the Russian Empire
annexed what would later be called Bessarabia
. The proponents see the unification as a reversal of this historical division, a reversal inspired by the rather short-lived Union of Bessarabia with Romania
(1918–1940) disrupted by the Soviet occupation.
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
began in both countries after the Romanian Revolution of 1989
Romanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...
and the beginning of glasnost
Glasnost
Glasnost was the policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of the 1980s...
policy in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The question of reunification is recurrent in the public sphere of the two countries, often as a speculation, both as a goal and a danger.
Individuals who advocate the unification are usually called "unionists" (unionişti). Some support it as a peaceful process based on consent in the two countries, others in the name of a "Romanian historical right over Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
". The supporters of the union refer to the opponents as "Moldovenists
Moldovenism
Moldovenism is a political term used to refer to the support and promotion of the Moldovan identity and Moldovan culture.Some of its supporters ascribe this identity to the medieval Principality of Moldavia...
" (moldovenişti).
Background
BessarabiaBessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
had been part of the Principality of Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
until it was annexed by the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
in 1812. During the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, a newly formed Parliament (Sfatul Ţării
Sfatul Tarii
Sfatul Țării was, in 1917-1918, the National Assembly of the Governorate of Bessarabia of the disintegrating Russian Empire, which proclaimed the independent Moldavian Democratic Republic in December 1917, and then union with Romania in April 1918.-Russian participation in World War I:In August...
) declared Bessarabia's autonomy inside a Russian state. In 1918, after the Romanian army entered Bessarabia, the makeshift parliament decided on independence, only to review its position and ultimately decide on a conditional union with Romania. The conditions, including the provisions for autonomy, were ultimately dropped.
In 1940, during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Romania agreed to an ultimatum and ceded the region to the Soviet Union, which organized it into the Moldavian SSR
Moldavian SSR
The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic , commonly abbreviated to Moldavian SSR or MSSR, was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union...
. The Soviets strongly promoted the Moldovan ethnic identity, against other opinions that viewed all speakers of the Romanian language
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
as part of a single ethnic group, taking advantage of the incomplete integration of the Bessarabia into the interwar Romania.
The official Soviet policy also stated that Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
and Moldovan
Moldovan language
Moldovan is one of the names of the Romanian language as spoken in the Republic of Moldova, where it is official. The spoken language of Moldova is closer to the dialects of Romanian spoken in northeastern Romania, and the two countries share the same literary standard...
were two different languages and, to emphasize this distinction, Moldovan had to be written in a new Cyrillic alphabet (the Moldovan alphabet
Moldovan alphabet
The Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet is a Cyrillic alphabet designed for the Moldovan language in the Soviet Union and used from 1938 to 1989 . Its introduction was decided by the Central Executive Committee of the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic on May 19, 1938...
) based on the reformed Russian Cyrillic, rather than the obsolete Romanian Cyrillic that ceased to be used in the 19th century in the Old Kingdom and 1917 in Bessarabia.
Revival of nationalism (1988–1992)
In September 1989, with the liberalization in the Soviet Union, the Moldovan SSR Parliament declared Moldovan as the official language, and also asserted the existence of a "Moldovan-Romanian linguistic identity".On 6 May 1990, after several decades of strict separation, Romania and the Moldovan SSR lifted temporarily border crossing restrictions, and thousands of people crossed the Prut River which marked their common border.
The factors hindering the unification were complex, ranging from the caution of political leaders in Moldova and Romania, the war in Transnistria, and, perhaps more importantly, the mentality of large parts of the population in Moldova (and to some extent in Romania) who were indifferent or opposed to such a project.
In his address to the Romanian parliament, in February 1991, Mircea Snegur
Mircea Snegur
Mircea Ion Snegur was the first President of Moldova 1990-1996. Before that he was Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet 1989-1990 and Chairman of the Supreme Soviet from 27 April to 3 September 1990...
, the Moldovan president, spoke of a common identity of Moldovans and Romanians, referring to the "Romanians of both sides of the Prut River". In June 1991, Snegur talked about Moldova moving toward the reunification with Romania, adding that the USSR is not making great efforts to stop it.
While many Moldovan intellectuals supported the union and wanted a "reunion with the Romanian motherland", there was little popular support for it, with more than 70% of the Moldovans opposing it, according to a 1992 poll. At the same time, Transnistria
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
, the eastern part of Moldova, inhabited by a Slavic majority, used the putative danger of unification with Romania as a pretext for its own aspirations for independence.
Political ties and unionism
Following the declaration of independence on 27 August 1991, the Romanian flag defaced with the Moldovan coat of arms and the Romanian anthem "Deşteaptă-te, române!Desteapta-te, române!
"Deșteaptă-te, române" is Romania's national anthem....
" became the symbols of the new independent Moldova. Following the growing tension between the pro-union governing Moldovan Popular Front and president Snegur, in particular over unification, the president moved closer to the Moldovanist group of Agrarians, and appointed their candidate Andrei Sangheli
Andrei Sangheli
Andrei Sangheli is a Moldovan politician.-References:...
as prime minister. As a result, and especially after the victory of Agrarians in the 1994 elections, Moldova began distancing itself from Romania. The state flag was slightly modified, and the anthem changed to "Limba noastră
Limba noastra
For the Moldovan public holiday on 31st August, see National Language Day"Limba noastră" has been since 1994 the national anthem of the Republic of Moldova. For a short period before that, the official anthem of the country was Deşteaptă-te, române!, which is also the national anthem of Romania....
". The Moldovan referendum of 1994 for an independent Moldova was seen by many public figures to be aimed at implicitly excluding a union with Romania. Furthermore, the constitution adopted in 1994 by the new Parliament dominated by Moldovanist Agrarians and Socialists called the official language "Moldovan", as opposed to the earlier Declaration of independence that called it "Romanian". The attempt by Moldovan president Mircea Snegur in 1996 to change the name of the official language to "Romanian" was dismissed by the Moldovan Parliament as "promoting Romanian expansionism".
A "Concept on National Policy" was adopted in 2003 by the Communist dominated Parliament, stating that Moldovans and Romanians are different peoples, and that the latter are an ethnic minority in Moldova.
Christian-Democratic People's Party (Moldova)
The Christian Democratic People's Party is a Christian democratic political party in Moldova. In the last legislative elections on March 6, 2005, the party won 9.1% of the popular vote and 11 out of 101 seats. Led by Iurie Roşca, the CDPP and the liberal PNL are the only major political parties in...
, one of the political heirs of the Moldovan Popular Front, actively supported unification. However, the stance of the Christian-Democrats changed significantly after they started collaborating closely with the ruling Moldovan Communists. During the elections of April 2009, the alliance of National Liberal Party (Partidul Naţional Liberal) and the 'European Action' Movement (Miscarea Actiunea Europeana) ran on a common platform of a loose union with Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, but accumulated only around 1% of the votes.
Political commentary
In 2004 and later, the Romanian newspaper ZiuaZiua
Ziua was a major Romanian daily newspaper published in Bucharest. It was published in Romanian with a fairly sizeable and often informative English section. Ziua was founded in 1994 by Sorin Roşca Stănescu, eventually becoming foreign-owned...
published a series of articles and interviews with Stanislav Belkovsky
Stanislav Belkovsky
Stanislav Alexandrovich Belkovsky is a Russian political analyst and communication specialist. A political conservative, he is said to be very close to Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky...
, an influential political commentator from the Russian Federation, who proposed a plan of a unification between Romanian and Moldova excluding Transnistria. Speculations followed whether his plan is backed by higher circles in the Kremlin, but they were never confirmed. Nevertheless, several journalists and scholars dismissed the plan as a diversion, also pointing out several ambiguities, such as the status of the city of Tighina
Tighina
Bender or Bendery, also known as Tighina is a city within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova under de facto control of the unrecognized Transnistria Republic since 1992...
situated on the right bank of Dniester but under Transnistria
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
n control, and, more importantly, the unlikelihood of Moldova's acquiescence to such a plan.
In January 2006, the Romanian president Traian Băsescu
Traian Basescu
Traian Băsescu is the current President of Romania. After serving as the mayor of Bucharest from June 2000 until December 2004, he was elected president in the Romanian Presidential Elections of 2004 and inaugurated on December 20, 2004...
declared that he strongly supported the Moldovan bid for joining the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and that "the minimal policy of Romania is for the unification of the Romanian nation to take place within the EU". The phrase "minimal policy" led to questions whether there is also a maximal policy.
According to a poll conducted in Romania in January 2006, 44% of the population supports a union with Moldova, and 28% rejects it. Also, of those supporting the union, 28% support a union with Moldova, including Transnistria
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
, while the rest of 16% support a union without Transnistria.
In July 2006, the Romanian president Traian Băsescu
Traian Basescu
Traian Băsescu is the current President of Romania. After serving as the mayor of Bucharest from June 2000 until December 2004, he was elected president in the Romanian Presidential Elections of 2004 and inaugurated on December 20, 2004...
, claimed to have made a proposal to the Moldovan president Vladimir Voronin
Vladimir Voronin
Vladimir Nicolaevici Voronin is a Moldovan politician. He was the third President of Moldova from 2001 until 2009 and has been the First Secretary of the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova since 1994...
that "Moldova join the EU together with Romania in 2007" and that the alleged offer was rejected. Băsescu also added that Romania would respect this decision and would help Moldova to join EU on its own.
In October 2006 the Romanian newspaper Cotidianul
Cotidianul
thumb|right|Old logo of Cotidianul newspaper, used in the [[inter-war period]], and in the early 1990sthumb|right|The logo used between 2003 and 2007...
estimated the cost of a union with Moldova at 30-35 billion euro, and attracted criticism from the Romanian newspaper Ziua
Ziua
Ziua was a major Romanian daily newspaper published in Bucharest. It was published in Romanian with a fairly sizeable and often informative English section. Ziua was founded in 1994 by Sorin Roşca Stănescu, eventually becoming foreign-owned...
, as well as "Timpul" for exaggerating the costs and disregarding other dimensions of a possible union.
A poll conducted by IRI in Moldova in November 2008 showed that 29% of the population would support a union with Romania, while 61% would reject it.
After Moldovan parliamentary election of April 2009, the 2009 Moldova civil unrest
2009 Moldova civil unrest
The 2009 civil unrest in Moldova began on April 7, 2009, in major cities of Moldova before the results of the 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election were announced...
, the Moldovan parliamentary election of July 2009
Moldovan parliamentary election, July 2009
- Pre-election developments :The country's parliament, elected months earlier, was dissolved by president Vladimir Voronin on 15 June 2009, after it had twice failed to elect a new president....
, and the creation of the governing Alliance for European Integration
Alliance for European Integration
The Alliance for European Integration is the ruling coalition in Moldova since the July 2009 election.-Overall context :After April 2009 election and the civil unrest, the climate in Moldova became very polarised. The parliament failed to elect a new president. For this reason, the parliament was...
, a new wave of speculations about the union followed. The Party of Communists, now in opposition, claimed that "the unionists came to power".
In November 2009, political commentator Stanislav Belkovsky
Stanislav Belkovsky
Stanislav Alexandrovich Belkovsky is a Russian political analyst and communication specialist. A political conservative, he is said to be very close to Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky...
declared in an interview with Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a broadcaster funded by the U.S. Congress that provides news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East "where the free flow of information is either banned by government authorities or not fully developed"...
that April 2009 marks the beginning of the process of Moldova's return to Romania.
Traian Băsescu
Traian Basescu
Traian Băsescu is the current President of Romania. After serving as the mayor of Bucharest from June 2000 until December 2004, he was elected president in the Romanian Presidential Elections of 2004 and inaugurated on December 20, 2004...
made a state visit to Moldova along with a number of ministers to announce several projects that would intensify ties between the two countries, and the offer of 100 million euro grant for infrastructure projects. Băsescu called Moldova his "soul project". Private Romanian investments are also expected to increase significantly, with the opening of a Moldovan-Romanian business and investment office, and the takeover of the online news portal Unimedia by Romanian group Realitatea-Cațavencu group, owned by businessman Sorin Ovidiu Vântu
Sorin Ovidiu Vântu
Sorin Ovidiu Vântu is a Romanian businessman and owner of the Realitatea-Caţavencu media company. In 2008 he was considered the 5th richest man in Romania with an estimated net worth between 800 and 850 million euros....
..
On February 15, 2010, the Rădăuți-Lipcani border crossing between Romania and Moldova opened and the remnant Soviet barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
fence on the Moldovan side of the border with Romania was dismantled.
In January 2010, Mircea Druc
Mircea Druc
Mircea Druc is a Moldovan and Romanian politician who served as Prime Minister of Moldova between 26 May 1990 and 22 May 1991....
, the former prime minister of Moldova between 1990 and 1991, declared that the unification of Romania and the Republic of Moldova is inevitable. However, acting President Mihai Ghimpu
Mihai Ghimpu
Mihai Ghimpu Mihai Ghimpu Mihai Ghimpu (born 19 November 1951, Coloniţa, Moldova, is a Moldovan politician. He was Speaker of Parliament from 28 August 2009 to 30 December 2010 and Acting President from 11 September 2009 until 28 December 2010.-Family:...
denied in an interview with the Russian language newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda
Komsomolskaya Pravda
Komsomolskaya Pravda is a daily Russian tabloid newspaper, founded on March 13th, 1925. It is published by "Izdatelsky Dom Komsomolskaya Pravda" .- History :...
v Moldove" that such a move will be taken, stating that a union is not included in the program of the governing coalition. On another occasion he declared that if the people wanted unification, neither he, nor anyone else could stop them. He admitted on several occasions to personally share unionist views. However in August 2010 he declared that the proposition of an "inter-state union" between Romania and Moldova was "a very stupid" idea.
Dual citizenship for Moldovan citizens
Between 1991 and 2009, some 140,000 Moldovan citizens obtained Romanian citizenship. According to some estimates, as many as 1 million Moldovan citizens requested Romanian citizenship by 2009 .A poll conducted by IPP Chisinau in November 2007 shows that 33.6% of the Moldovan population is interested in holding Romanian citizenship, while 58.8% is not interested. The main reason of those interested is: feeling Romanian (31.9%), the possibility of traveling to Romania (48.9%), and the possibility of traveling and/or working in the EU (17.2%).
In 2010, the Romanian government created National Agency for Citizenship to process the large number of applications for Romanian citizenship coming especially from Moldovan citizens.
Action 2012
In April 2011, a coalition of NGOs from Romania and Moldova created the civic platform "Acţiunea 2012" (English: Action 2012), whose aim is to "raise awareness of the necessity of the unification between Romania and the Republic of Moldova". Year 2012 was chosen as a reference to the bicentennial commemoration of the 1812 division of historical MoldaviaMoldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
, when the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
annexed what would later be called Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
. The proponents see the unification as a reversal of this historical division, a reversal inspired by the rather short-lived Union of Bessarabia with Romania
Union of Bessarabia with Romania
On , the Sfatul Ţării, or National Council, of Bessarabia proclaimed union with the Kingdom of Romania.-Governorate of Bessarabia:The 1812 Treaty of Bucharest between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empires provided for Russian annexation of the eastern half of the territory of the Principality...
(1918–1940) disrupted by the Soviet occupation.
See also
- Controversy over linguistic and ethnic identity in MoldovaControversy over linguistic and ethnic identity in MoldovaA controversy exists over the national identity and name of the native language of the main ethnic group in the Republic of Moldova. The issue more frequently disputed is whether Moldovans constitute a subgroup of Romanians or a separate ethnic group...
- Romanian-Moldovan relations
- Bessarabia Romanian LandBessarabia Romanian LandBessarabia, Romanian Land is the name of a campaign which promotes unification between Romania and Moldova.-Campaign:The campaign consists of:...
- Greater RomaniaGreater RomaniaThe Greater Romania generally refers to the territory of Romania in the years between the First World War and the Second World War, the largest geographical extent of Romania up to that time and its largest peacetime extent ever ; more precisely, it refers to the territory of the Kingdom of...