Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Moldova has been popping up in the news with increasing frequency.
The Republic of Moldova is a small country on Ukraine’s southwestern border, and in the spring of 2022, it seemed possible that Russia might also invade and occupy it.
This would have opened up a second front for Ukraine and brought Russia right up to the southeastern border of both the EU and NATO.
Since then, politicians in Germany and Europe have been paying more attention to Moldova than ever before.
In a show of solidarity, the EU granted both Ukraine and Moldova candidate country status in June 2022. Several European countries, above all Germany, provide Moldova with military support.
Moldova celebrates the 34th anniversary of its independence on August 27.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will be there to mark the occasion in what is a historic gesture and show of support.
Here’s what you need to know about Moldova.
When did Moldova become an independent state?
Most of the territory that makes up the Republic of Moldova — the area between the Rivers Dniester and Prut — used to belong to what was known as the Principality of Moldavia.
Russia annexed part of the principality (Bessarabia) in 1812 and it remained part of the Russian Empire until 1917.
In late 1917, the Moldavian Democratic Republic declared its independence from Russia. A year later it entered a union with the Kingdom of Romania.
After the Hitler-Stalin Pact, Stalin annexed the territory again in 1940 and turned it — together with parts of the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic east of the River Dniester — into a new Soviet Republic.
This republic declared its independence from the Soviet Union on August 27, 1991, creating the Republic of Moldova we know today.
Which ethnic groups live in Moldova?
About three-quarters of the 2.9 million people who live in the Republic of Moldova (including Transnistria) are Moldovan.
The largest national minority is the Ukrainians, followed by Gagauz, Russians, Bulgarians and Roma. There are also a small number of Poles and Germans.
What language is spoken in Moldova?
People in Moldova speak a Romanian dialect. It’s phonetically slightly different from standard Romanian but uses the same grammar and vocabulary with some regional variations.
Because the spoken language is virtually identical to Romanian, Moldovan is not considered a separate language.
Nevertheless, for over 30 years, there was a politically motivated dispute about what the official language of the country should be called.
Although the Constitutional Court ruled in 2013 that the language be known as Romanian, it was referred to in the constitution as “Moldovan” until 2023.
Is there discrimination against Russian-speakers in Moldova?
Although Russian was not an official language in Moldova, it was the main working language in cities and some parts of the country for several years after Moldova declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
At the time, the Romanian language was viewed by some as somewhat inferior.
There was and is no discrimination against Russian-speaking people in Moldova.
Although civil servants and some people working in the public sector are required to have a knowledge of Romanian, not all of them do. However, the state does not sanction them in any way and provides Romanian courses free of charge.
What is the Transnistria conflict?
Between 1989 and 1991, a movement of national Romanian rebirth began to gain traction in the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic. This triggered power struggles within the communist party there between reformers, who had jumped on the new national movement bandwagon, and pro-Moscow hardliners.
Even before Moldova declared its independence from the Soviet Union, the pro-Moscow faction broke away from Moldova, creating a separatist regime in the strip of land on the eastern bank of the Dniester known as Transnistria.
The reasons it gave for the move were the alleged discrimination of Russian-speakers and the possibility of reunification with Romania.
When the army and security forces of the Republic of Moldova tried to disempower the separatists in the spring of 1992, Russian troops, who had been stationed in Transnistria since Soviet times, took up arms against the country’s legitimate rulers.
This was Russia’s first post-Soviet war against an independent country.
Is Transnistria now an independent country?
After hostilities ended and a ceasefire was agreed in the summer of 1992, a dictatorial regime was established in Transnistria.
This regime is not recognized by the international community, including Russia. Indeed it is internationally recognized as part of Moldova.
To this day, it is organized and run both politically and economically by former — and in some cases still active — Russian secret service officers.
Up until recently, the regime’s primary source of income was Russian gas, which was paid for by Moldova. But the supply of Russian gas virtually ground to a halt in early 2025, leaving a question mark over the future of the region.
Who are the Gagauz?
The Gagauz are a Turkic, Christian-Orthodox ethnic group of around 200,000 people. About 150,000 of them live in southern Moldova in a region called Gagauzia. They migrated there from regions in what is now Bulgaria in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
After Moldova gained independence in 1991, political representatives of the Gagauz made a push for independence. This ended when the Moldovan Parliament granted Gagauzia autonomous legal status in 1994.
Gagauzia now enjoys far-reaching autonomy, being only subordinate to the Moldovan central government in matters of foreign, security and monetary policy.
Although the Gagauz were themselves the victims of Russian and Soviet assimilation policies and repression, most of them today speak Russian and are pro-Russian in outlook, which often leads to conflict with the government in Chisinau.
How great is Russia’s influence in Moldova?
For decades, the Kremlin used Russian gas exports to Moldova and the arbitrary blocking of agricultural imports from Moldova to Russia to keep the Republic of Moldova on a pro-Russian line.
Now that Moldova has extricated itself economically from Moscow’s grip, neither of these levers work anymore.
Instead, Russia has in recent years stepped up its hybrid and propaganda war via pro-Russian parties in Moldova and politicians like Ilan Shor. Just how successful this strategy is was illustrated by the extremely close result of Moldova’s EU referendum last fall.
Is reunification with Romania a possibility?
About 860,000 Moldovan citizens also hold Romanian citizenship. So, too, does Moldovan President Maia Sandu.
The reason for this is that it allows Moldovans to travel and work freely in the European Union, which many do.
Nevertheless, reunification with Romania isn’t on the cards in the short to medium term.
According to a survey conducted in mid-2025, about 60% of Moldovans, including many Romanian-speakers, would oppose the move.
However, given the two countries’ common history, culture and language, their ties are likely to deepen further in the future.
What this means for reunification in the long term remains to be seen.
A longer version of this article was originally published in German. It was translated and adapted by Aingeal Flanagan.
