Appearing in the Middle Ages, the territory of Moldova has been disputed by empires for centuries. After the breakup of the USSR, independent Moldova remained torn between Russian influence and the future envisaged within the European Union.
4 mins
1359: several duchies from the Middle Ages – Hotin, Soroca, Hansca, Bârlad… – merged and formed the principality of Moldavia. The territory extends between the Carpathian Mountains and the Dniester River. Then, in 1367, the region of Bessarabia (where the principality of Wallachia is located) was attached to Moldavia, which allowed the latter to expand on the banks of the Danube and have access to the Black Sea .
From the 16th to the 19th century: the territory of Moldova is coveted by several states and empires: Hungary, Poland, Russia and the Ottoman Empire.
1812: the signing of the Treaty of Bucharest. The Ottoman Empire cedes Bessarabia to Russia (the east of the country) after six years of war and five occupations since 1711. The Ottoman Empire takes possession of western Moldova.
1878: the Ottomans recognize the independence of Romania, including western Moldavia.
1918: after the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, Bessarabia declared independence and requested attachment to Romania.
1920: the Treaty of Paris recognizes the unification of Bessarabia with Romania, but the Soviet Union categorically refuses this union.
1924: establishment of the Autonomous Soviet Republic of Moldova east of the Dniester.
1940: Russia annexes the territory of Bessarabia and attaches it to Moldova, which becomes the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic.
1941: Allied with Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union, Romania reoccupies Bessarabia.
1944: during the advance of the Red Army towards the west, Bessarabia returned to Soviet control. More than 100,000 Romanians, accused of collaboration, are deported. The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic is part of the USSR. It includes the large part of Bessarabia as well as the region of Transnistria, which was already part of the Soviet Union.
1950 to 1990: the population almost doubled from 2.3 million to 4.4 million due to improved living conditions and internal migration within the Soviet Union.
August 27, 1991: the independent Republic of Moldova is proclaimed after the collapse of the Eastern bloc and the disappearance of the USSR. But, east of the Dniester, the Russian-speaking population rejects independence, which is the project of the Moldovan majority, and secedes. Supported by Russia, this territory escapes the control of Moldova. In 1992, the Dniester War broke out between the two territories. After the conflict, Transnistria remains de facto independent and Russian troops are deployed there. However, the international community considers that it is still part of Moldova.
1994: the Moldovans west of the Dniester refuse, by referendum, unification with Romania.
2001: with 50% of the votes in the legislative elections, the communists returned to government.
2013: : Moldova, led by the pro-European Iurie Leanca, is turning more towards the West. Russia responded by closing its borders to some Moldovan exports and threatening to disrupt the flow of Russian natural gas to the country.
2014: the Moldovan Parliament ratifies an association agreement with the EU.
2015: the political class is shaken by a large-scale fraud. A billion dollars, or 15% of GDP, was embezzled. Former liberal Prime Minister Vlad Filat is arrested.
2020: the pro-European opposition candidate, Maia Sandu, is elected new president of the republic, defeating the outgoing pro-Russian president, Igor Dodon. She is the first woman elected president.
2022: The European Council grants Moldova candidate status to the EU.
2024: presidential election and referendum for the inclusion in the Constitution of the country’s objective of joining the European Union. The outgoing president, Maia Sandu, is running for a second term. Organized in the context of the war in Ukraine, the vote is a major electoral test for the policy of rapprochement with the European Union of Maia Sandu, whose main opponents advocate a rapprochement with Russia.