Moldova, or, in full, the Republic of Moldova (rarely, Moldavia; Moldovan: Moldova, Republica Moldova) is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east and south. The country is a parliamentary democracy with a president as its head of state and a prime minister as its head of government. The official state language is Moldovan, identical in its literary form to Romanian. Russian is also widely spoken and is the native language for 11% of the population. The capital and largest city of Moldova is Chi?in?u.
In the Middle Ages, most of the present territory of Moldova was part of the Principality of Moldavia, and was annexed from the latter, then a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, by the Russian Empire in 1812, under the name of Bessarabia. Upon the dissolution of the Russian Empire in 1917-1918, Bessarabia joined Romania. In 1940, Bessarabia was occupied by the Soviet Union, and after changing hands in 1941 and 1944 during World War II, it was split between the Ukrainian SSR and the newly-created Moldavian SSR. Moldova declared its independence from the USSR on August 27, 1991. Despite signing international obligations to withdraw Russian military forces have remained on Moldovan territory; since 1993 they have been stationed in the breakaway republic of Transnistria.
Moldova is a member state of the United Nations, WTO, OSCE, GUAM, CIS, BSEC and other international organizations. Moldova has officially been a neutral country since its independence, and an early member of the NATO Partnership for Peace. Moldova currently aspires to join the European Union and is implementing its first three-year Action Plan within the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) of the EU. The largest part of the country lies between two rivers, the Dniester and the Prut. Moldova's rich soil and temperate continental climate (with warm summers and mild winters) have made the country one of the most productive agricultural regions and a major supplier of agricultural products in the region.
The western border of Moldova is formed by the Prut river, which joins the Danube before flowing into the Black Sea. In the north-east, the Dniester is the main river, flowing through the country from north to south.
The country is landlocked, even though it is very close to the Black Sea. While the northern part of the country is hilly, elevations never exceed 430 metres (1,411 ft)—the highest point being the Dealul B?l?ne?ti. The country's main cities are the capital Chi?in?u, in the center of the country, Tiraspol (in Transnistria), B?l?i and Tighina. |
