I would like to add a post about my mother’s country.

We have been to Moldova 🇲🇩 a number of times and not just for summer holidays or birthdays, or even for Christmas.🎄

Most of Moldovan territory was a part of the Principality of Moldavia from the 14th century until 1812, when it was ceded to the Russian Empire by the Ottoman Empire (to which Moldavia was a vassal state) and became known as Bessarabia.

In 1856, southern Bessarabia was returned to Moldavia, which three years later united with Wallachia to form Romania. but Russian rule was restored over the whole of the region in 1878.

During the 1917 Russian Revolution, Bessarabia briefly became an autonomous state within the Russian Republic. In February 1918, it declared independence and then integrated into Romania later that year following a vote of its assembly.

The decision was disputed by Soviet Russia, which in 1924 established, within the Ukrainian SSR, a so-called Moldavian autonomous republic on partially Moldovan-inhabited territories to the east of Bessarabia.

In 1940, as a consequence of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Romania was compelled to cede Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union, leading to the creation of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (Moldavian SSR).

On 27 August 1991, as the dissolution of the Soviet Union was underway, the Moldavian SSR declared independence and took the name Moldova. But, the strip of Moldovan territory on the east bank of the Dniester has been under the de facto control of the breakaway government of Transnistria since 1990.

The constitution of Moldova was adopted in 1994, and the country became a parliamentary republic. The president is head of state and a prime minister is head of government.

Under the presidency of Maia Sandu, elected in 2020 on a pro-Western and anti-corruption ticket, Moldova has pursued membership in the European Union, and was granted candidate status in June 2022. Accession talks to the EU began on 13 December 2023. Sandu has suggested an end to Moldova's constitutional commitment to military neutrality in favour of a closer alliance with NATO. She strongly condemned Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

Moldova is the second poorest country in Europe by GDP per official capita after Ukraine, and much of its GDP is dominated by the service sector. It has one of the lowest Human Development Indexes in Europe, ranking 76th in the world (2022). Moldova ranks 68th in the world on the Global Innovation Index as of 2024.

Moldova is a member state of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, and the Association Trio.

The Republic of Moldova is a constitutional republic with a unicameral parliamentary system of government and competitive, multi-party elections. The constitution provides for executive and legislative branches as well as an independent judiciary and a clear separation of powers. The president serves as the head of state, is elected every four years, and can be re-elected once. The prime minister serves as the head of government, appointed by the president with parliament's support. The head of government in turn assembles a cabinet, subject to parliamentary approval. Legislative authority is vested in the unicameral Parliament of Moldova which has 101 seats and whose members are elected by popular vote on party lists every four years. The president's official residence is the Presidential Palace, Chișinău.

After the prime minister and government resigned in 2020 and the president and parliament failed to form a new government, early parliamentary elections were held in July 2021. According to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe observers, the 2021 parliamentary elections were well-administered and competitive, and fundamental freedoms were largely respected.

The Party of Action and Solidarity won 63 seats in the 101-seat parliament, enough to form a single-party majority.


Maia Sandu, Moldova's President since December 2020.

The 1994 Constitution of Moldova sets the framework for the government of the country. A parliamentary majority of at least two-thirds is required to amend the Constitution of Moldova, which cannot be revised in times of war or national emergency. Amendments to the Constitution affecting the state's sovereignty, independence, or unity can only be made after a majority of voters support the proposal in a referendum. Furthermore, no revision can be made to limit the fundamental rights of people enumerated in the Constitution. The 1994 constitution also establishes an independent Constitutional Court, composed of six judges (two appointed by the President, two by Parliament, and two by the Supreme Council of Magistrature), serving six-year terms, during which they are irremovable and not subordinate to any power. The court is invested with the power of judicial review over all acts of parliament, over presidential decrees, and over international treaties signed by the country.

The head of state is the President of Moldova, who between 2001 and 2015 was elected by the Moldovan Parliament, requiring the support of three-fifths of the deputies (at least 61 votes). This system was designed to decrease executive authority in favour of the legislature. Nevertheless, the Constitutional Court ruled on 4 March 2016 that this constitutional change adopted in 2000 regarding the presidential election was unconstitutional, thus reverting the election method of the president to a two-round system direct election.

After achieving independence from the Soviet Union, Moldova's foreign policy was designed with a view to establishing relations with other European countries, neutrality, and European Union integration. In May 1995, the country signed the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly Convention to become a member and was also admitted in July 1995 to the Council of Europe.

Moldova became a member state of the United Nations the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the North Atlantic Cooperation Council, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in 1992. 1994 saw Moldova become a participant in NATO's Partnership for Peace programme. Moldova joined the Francophonie in 1996, the World Trade Organization in 2001, and the International Criminal Court in 2002.

In 2005, Moldova and the European Union established an action plan that sought to improve cooperation between Moldova and the union. At the end of 2005, the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM) was established at the joint request of the presidents of Moldova and Ukraine. EUBAM assists the Moldovan and Ukrainian governments in approximating their border and customs procedures to EU standards and offers support in both countries' fight against cross-border crime.
After the 1990–1992 War of Transnistria, Moldova sought a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the Transnistria region by working with Romania, Ukraine, and Russia, calling for international mediation, and co-operating with the OSCE and UN fact-finding and observer missions. The foreign minister of Moldova, Andrei Stratan, repeatedly stated that the Russian troops stationed in the breakaway region were there against the will of the Moldovan government and called on them to leave "completely and unconditionally".

In 2012, a security zone incident resulted in the death of a civilian, raising tensions with Russia.