Moldovenism
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Moldovenism a political ideology that claims a distinct identity for the Moldovans from Romanians.
The basis of Moldovenism can be found in the separation of Romania in 1812, when part of Moldavia was transferred to Russian Empire, where it was known as Bessarabia. At that point the very conept of a Romanian ethnicity was not fully forged as no Romanian nation existed, and the people of Bessarabia, similarly to the other Moldavians across the Prut River continued to view themselves as Moldovans which had a geographical rather than an ethnical meaning. After the union of the Romanian Principalities and the creation of Romania, the term Moldovan as an ethnic descriptor gradually fell out of use in Romania, while it was preserved in Bessarabia.
This doctrine was reinforced in the 1920s in the Moldavian ASSR by a group of political and cultural activists, who sought support of Stalin, although its form has changed during various periods. The evolution of the Moldovenist ideology in part revolved around the development of the Moldovan language.
The debate surrounding the nationality of the Moldovans has resurfaced after the fall of the USSR. One side continues to argue that Moldovans have always been Romanians, despite of the region's modern history separate from Romania. On the other hand, the other side emphasizes the distinciveness of Moldovans. Some continue to argue that Moldovans have always been separate from Wallachs and that thus the Moldovans from Moldova and Romania form a common ethnic group, distinct from the other peoples known as Romanians, whereas others state that the Moldovans from Bessarabia have changed due to their long isolation from Romania and that nearly two centuries of political separation was "more than ample time for each country to develop its own separate national identity" ["Moldovan: An Identity but not a Language"]
On 19 December 2003, the Moldovan Parliament adopted a controversial document called "The Concept on National Policy of the Republic of Moldova" which defines the official nationality policy of Moldova. The document revolves around the following ideas:
- there are two different peoples (Romanians and Moldovans) that live in both Moldova and Romania, speaking two different languages, Romanian and Moldovan.
- Romanians are an ethnic minority in Moldova.
- the Republic of Moldova is the rightful successor of the medieval Principality of Moldova.
On the other hand, the Romanian president, Ion Iliescu spoke about “two Romanian states, with a joint birth, culture and history”.
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