Change of Perspective: Moldova

The Republic of Moldova borders Romania to the east

Last week I went to the Republic of Moldova. As I’ve studied Romanian geography and history, I’ve learned that the region known as Moldova was split between “Romanian Moldova” (the eastern part of Romania) and “Bessarabia” (Basarabia in Romanian), which now makes up the Republic of Moldova.

Between the two world wars, Bessarabia was united with Romania. December 1, 1918, is celebrated in Romania as the national holiday – when Transylvania, Bessarabia, and other areas with predominantly Romanian populations were united with the kingdom of Romania, forming “Great Romania.” In fact, many Romanians today share the sentiment that Bessarabia should be reunited with Romania.

Common graffiti in Romania claims "Bessarabia is Romania"

When I arrived in Chișinău (pronounced Kee-sheen-oh), the capital city of the Republic of Moldova, I could see the obvious similarities with Romania. All the signs are in Romanian, the people speak Romanian, the streets even share the same names as those in Romanian cities (named after famous places or people: Ștefan Cel Mare si Sfînt, Sarmizegitusa, Decebal, Traian, Dacia). The Moldovan flag is identical to the Romanian flag, with the exception of the addition of the Moldovan coat of arms in the center.

But as I interacted with people, I started to notice that there’s more to Moldova than the Romanian perspective I had learned. Moldova is not just an extension of Romania. There was another perspective concerning the Moldovan identity.

The Moldovan language had to be written in Cyrillic letters
under Soviet Rule. This says "Bine ați venit" or "Welcome".
August 31, 1989, is celebrated as "Language Day" when
the Moldovan language was made the official language
and the Latin alphabet was reintroduced.

There is a lot of Russian influence in Moldova. Bessarabia has gone back and forth between Russia and Romania during the past 200 years. Most recently -- from World War II until 1991 -- it was part of the USSR. (Romania, while under a communist government, was never part of the USSR.) As part of the Soviet Union, the official language was Russian, written in Cyrillic alphabet. Ethnic Russians were moved into the area. A significant percentage of the population still identifies itself as Russian. They don’t speak the Romanian language. They communicate with the rest of the population in Russian, which is still known to many Moldovans who had to learn it during the Soviet era.

Moldovan (L) and Romanian (R) flags

But as the days went by, I began to notice a third perspective as well. This one is neither Romanian nor Russian. It’s Moldovan. It’s the voice that gives an independent identity to the people of Moldova. It recognizes that it shares much with Romania, but strives to keep its independence from Romania. This is best exemplified in two areas. First, since 1991 the Republic of Moldova has been an independent state – aligned neither with Russia nor with Romania. Second, the official language of the Republic of Moldova is Moldovan. For all practical purposes, Moldovan is exactly the same as Romanian. (In fact, I was complimented for speaking Moldovan so well.) Some Moldovans see naming their language "Romanian" as promoting the Romanian perspective of Bessarabia explained above, mainly that it should be part of Romania. It's also worth noting that some Moldovans feel so strongly against being part of Romania that they consider 1918 not as a time when they were united with Romania, but when Romania invaded Bessarabia and occupied their territory.

Three different perspectives. Which is right? Which is wrong? Maybe both. Maybe neither. I think that the truth lies somewhere in between, that each voice adds a piece to the mosaic that makes up the Moldovan identity. And who knows how many perspectives I would have heard if I had stayed for more than a week.


Below is a video about the work of the Church of the Nazarene in Moldova.