Not many people are aware of the existence of this small landlocked country, or of its tragic recent history, which has somehow managed to keep a low profile in the public awareness when compared to the other similar stories throughout the Eastern Bloc .

The story of the Moldovan state begins with the splitting of the Moldavian Principality in 1812, following the Russian-Turkish war. The Principality would then for the first time be torn apart between russian and turkish influence. After the end of the first world war the territory would become an integral part of Romania, only to be divided again by the signing of the Molotov -Ribbentrop Pact in1939. Following the end of the second World War, Moldova would undergo a second wave of russian and cultural colonization.

The USSR was at that time trying to homogenize its newly acquired territories and disarm any potential local resistance. In the newly created Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic russian colonization was taking an previously unseen route: creating a distinct “moldovan” identity, as opposite to the “romanian” one, as recognized by the native population. This new identity would imply the creation of a separate history, that emphasized Moldova’s distinct identity, and the creation of a new “moldovan” language, which even though was nothing more than a light dialect of romanian, was now being written in its own cyrillic alphabet.

While social pressures managed to force change in Eastern/Western Germany, the wall dividing Moldova and Romania is still very much in place. In higher education the focus is still on courses taught in russian language, even though romanian is the native language of over 80% of its population. There have been reports even as late as 2009 of children not having access to education in their native romanian language. As it appears, the russians have managed to slowly build a separate national identity for the new Moldovan state, and even the younger generations now see themselves as being “moldovans”, not romanians. Worth mentioning is the fact that the moldovan intelectual elites are educated either in Romania or in Western Europe, as opposed to the traditional political elites, which are invariably russian-educated. How this bears on the future leadership of the country remains to be seen.

This brings to the forefront the question of if and how would Moldova integrate itself into the European Union. While the country now has a romanian-orientated government, the cultural and economic gap dividing the two countries is still wide enough to prevent their unification in the near future. The European Union though is quietly pushing for the integration of Moldova into its ranks, and this can be seen as the closest thing to the disappearance of the wall dividing the two countries. While the border will still exist, it will no longer be the wall that it used to be. This solution could prove to be satisfying for both sides, as it maintains the sense of a moldovan national identity without the artificial division of the two countries.

Radu Matei