What’s Going On In Moldova?

These are days when news moves thick and fast. Blink, and you miss something that might be very pertinent to some important happenings.

Central to this story is the courageous leader of Gagauzia ‘autonomous region’ (I was looking for that phrase earlier but couldn’t recall it) of Moldova, which sits between the larger part of that country and the other autonomous region – Transdniestra. That area is going to feature large in the near future, and you have to admire the pluck of this young leader. It is a brave stand she is taking. And good things may come from that.

‘Head of Gagauzia sees no grounds for conflict between autonomous region, Chisinau’ – TASS – April 22, 2024

This is quite exciting, and much more so than counting how many Ukrainians or Russians may have died today.

As with many other parts of Eastern Europe, these named regions, including the whole of Moldova have a history of being deemed part of various countries over time, making it virtually impossible to establish who should really best incorporate them into their borders. Transdniestria, which declared itself independent some time ago although I’m not sure if any state actually recognises that break [you’ll need to look up the details yourself]. It covers the whole of the eastern borders of Moldova including all land east of the river Dniestr. Much of Moldovan industry is located there and a large number of Russians also live there, which is probably why they are protected by a Russian military garrison. Gagauzia has a similar history but its separation is constitutionally recognised and legally protected. The Gagauzians are mostly of Turkic origin. The larger part of Moldova west of the Dniestr has a mainly Romanian (Roman) ethnic population and was at some stage also part of Romania. It is all very complicated, made more so by all the historic border changes. At one time, all of them being Soviet Russian Republics. Moldova took umbridge to the Russian military presence on what it deems its own land, but Russia will always look after it s estranged ethnic peoples if push comes to shove, and the Moldovans [variously referred to as Moldavians – which was the country’s name at times] cut off power to the breakaway region. However, I believe Moldova is reliant on energy supplies from Russia, which it receives at reasonable and negotiated prices. If the country was governed sensibly, instead of trying to partner with a bankrupt European Union, they could probably negotiate transit income from Russia to Hungary and Serbia. I am not clear on that just now. Perhaps that is already happening. But it is a very interesting situation because I am sure both Hungary and Serbia would love to have borders with Russia and enjoy secure energy for their own industrial future.


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