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Sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine is the nation of Moldova. As with many landlocked countries in Central and Eastern Europe, it's had a long history as a crossroads for armies and people. In addition to serving as a crossroads of civilizations, it's also served as a buffer between major states and empires. All of which has made for a very interesting history. Learn more about Moldova and how it came to be on on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. This episode is sponsored by Mint Mobile. Now that the holidays are over, you might be feeling like you got a big spending hangover. The drinks, the holiday food, the gifts, it all adds up. Luckily, Mint Mobile is here to help you cut back on wireless spending this January. With 50% off Unlimited Premium Wireless, you can get 3, 6 or 12 months of Unlimited Premium Wireless for just $15 a month. All plans come with high speed data and unlimited talk and text delivered on the nation's largest 5G network. 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One of the sweaters I recently got from Quince is something that I have been wearing almost every single day and I love it. By partnering directly with ethical factories and top artisans, Quints cuts out the middleman to deliver premium quality at half the cost of similar brands and often even bigger discounts. Moreover, those competitor prices are often listed right on the Quince website. Refresh your winter wardrobe with quince. Go to quince.com daily for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns now available in Canada too. That's Q U-I-N-E.com daily free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com daily. The territory of today's Republic of Moldova lies mostly between the Prut and Dniester rivers, between Romania and Ukraine. That geography made it both a corridor and a buffer, a place where people mixed and where states rose, fractured and were absorbed. The territory of present day Moldova has been inhabited since prehistoric times. With archaeological evidence showing human settlement dating back to the Paleolithic era. The region became part of the cultural sphere of the Cucuteni Tripilliya civilization, one of the earliest European agricultural societies. Between the years 552750 BC these early inhabitants left behind remarkable pottery and evidence of sophisticated settlements. During antiquity, the area was populated by the Dacians, a Thracian people who established a powerful kingdom in the region. The Roman conquest of Dacia under emperor Trajan in 106 brought Roman administration, culture and language to the territory. Though Roman control was limited primarily to the areas to the south and west of Moldova property. The Romans withdrew in 271, but their linguistic and cultural heritage proved remarkably durable, forming the foundation of the Romanian language, which is spoken by Moldovans today. The period following the Roman withdraw saw waves of migrations across the region. Goths, Huns, Avars, Bulgars, Magyars, and eventually Slavic people that moved through or settled in the area. These migrations created an extremely complex ethnic and cultural landscape that would characterize the region for centuries. By the early medieval period, Slavic influence had become particularly strong, contributing significantly to the local language and culture. The medieval Principality of Moldavia emerged in the mid 14th century as a distinct political entity. According to tradition, the principality was founded around 1359 by an ethnic Romanian leader named Dragos. Though the state became more firmly established under Bogdan I, who came from a neighboring region. Around 1365. The principality stretched from the Carpathian Mountains to the Dniester river, encompassing territories of present day Moldova, northeastern Romania and parts of Ukraine. The young principality quickly had to navigate relationships with powerful neighbors. The Kingdom of Hungary claimed dominion over the territory, while the rising Ottoman Empire to the south posed an increasingly serious threat. The principality also maintained complex relationships with the Kingdom of Poland and later with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Stephen the Great, who reigned from 1457 to 1504, represents the golden age of medieval Moldavia. Stephen proved to be an exceptional military commander and diplomat, winning numerous battles against the Ottomans, Hungarians and Poles. He fortified the principality with a network of fortresses and monasteries, many of which still stand today as architectural treasures. Stephen managed to maintain Moldavian independence during a period when most of southeastern Europe fell under Ottoman control. The Orthodox Church canonized him as Stephen the Great and Holy, and he remains one of the most celebrated figures in Moldovan and Romanian history. Despite Stephen's success, Moldavia could not indefinitely resist ottoman pressure. In 1538, under Stephen's son, Petru Reish, the principality became an Ottoman vassal state. However, unlike territories fully incorporated into the Ottoman Empire, Moldavia retained considerable autonomy, including its own prince, army and internal administration. The Ottomans were primarily interested in tribute and strategic security rather than direct governance. The period from the 16th to 19th centuries was characterized by Moldavia's status as a buffer zone between competing empires. The principality maintained its nominal independence but was subject to increasing Ottoman interference in its internal affairs. The practice of appointing Greek rulers from Constantinople beginning in 1711 further diminished Moldavian autonomy and drained the principality's resources through corruption and heavy taxation. Russia's growing power brought new complications. The Russo Turkish wars of the 18th and early 19th centuries repeatedly devastated Moldavian territory as the two empires fought for control of the Black Sea region. The Treaty of Kuchu Kanarka in 1774 gave Russia the right to intervene on behalf of Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire, increasing Russian influence in Moldavia. A transformative moment came with the Treaty of Bucharest in 1812, which ended another Russo Turkish War. The treaty ceded the eastern half of Moldavia, the territory between the Prut and Dniester rivers, to the Russian Empire. The region then became known as Bessarabia, named after the Wallachian Basarab dynasty that had once ruled there. Wallachia was a region of what is today Romania. The division split the historical principality and created a boundary that would have long lasting consequences. The western portion of Moldavia remained nominally autonomous under Ottoman dominion and would eventually unite with Wallachia to form modern Romania. In 1859. Under Russian rule, Bessarabia underwent significant transformation. The Russian Empire encouraged colonization by various ethnic groups including Ukrainians, Russians, Germans, Bulgarians and Turks, making the region more ethnically diverse. The Russians also attempted to diminish Romanian cultural identity by promoting the idea that Moldavians were a distinct people from Romanians and by increasing the use of the Russian language in administration and education. The 19th century saw the development of a national awakening amongst Romanian speaking intellectuals in Bessarabia, though this movement was considerably weaker than in other parts of the Romanian speaking world due to Russian suppression. The abolition of serfdom in 1861 brought social changes, but Bessarabia remained one of the poorest and least developed provinces in the Russian Empire. The collapse of the Russian Empire during World War I created an opportunity for change in the chaos of the revolution. A Moldovan legislative assembly declared Bessarabia's autonomy in December of 1917 and in February 1918, its independence as the Moldavian Democratic Republic. However, facing threats from both Bolsheviks and Ukrainian nationalists, the parliament voted to unite with Romania in April of 1918. The unification with Romania was celebrated by many ethnic Romanians, but contested by other communities and by Soviet Russia, which never recognized the annexation. Interwar Bessarabia saw efforts at modernization and integration into Greater Romania, including land reform and expansion of Romanian language education. However, economic underdevelopment persisted, and ethnic minorities, particularly Ukrainians and Russians, often felt marginalized. The secret protocols of the Molotov ribbentrop Pact of 1939, which I covered in a previous episode, assigned Bessarabia to the Soviet sphere of influence. In June of 1940, the Soviet Union issued an ultimatum demanding Bessarabia's return. Romania, which was now isolated and facing German pressure to comply, evacuated the province without resistance. The Soviets quickly established the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, although they also transferred the southern and northern portions of Bessarabia to Ukraine and added the previously autonomous Transnistrian region east of the Dniester River. The Soviet period brought dramatic and often traumatic changes. In the first days of the occupation, the Soviet authorities began mass deportations of class enemies, intellectuals, former officials, and wealthy peasants to camps in Siberia and Central Asia. Romania's alliance with Nazi Germany led to the province changing hands again when Romanian and German forces occupied Bessarabia from 1941 to 1944. During this period, the Romanian regime implemented brutal policies, including the deportation and massacres of Jews and Roma. Soviet forces reconquered the territory in 1944, and more waves of deportations followed. The worst came in the late 1940s, when Soviet authorities deported tens of thousands Moldovans to Siberia and Central Asia, while a devastating famine, exacerbated by Soviet agricultural policies, killed tens of thousands more. The goal was to break any resistance to Sovietization and to suppress Romanian identity. The Soviet government systematically promoted a distinct Moldovan identity separate from Romanian identity, portraying Moldovans as a completely different nationality. They imposed the Cyrillic Alphabet on the Moldovan language, even though it's essentially identical to Romanian, which uses the Latin script. Russia became the dominant language in urban areas and the primary language of advancement in the Communist Party and administration. Despite these policies, Moldovans maintained connections to Romanian culture and language, though they had to be carefully concealed from Soviet officials. Under the more relaxed atmosphere of the Khrushchev and Brezhnev eras, the republic achieved some economic development, particularly in food processing and wine production. Though it still remained one of the poorest Soviet republics, the glasnost and perestroika reforms initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev in the mid-1980s unleashed long suppressed national feelings. The Moldovan Popular front, formed in 1989, advocated for greater autonomy, linguistic rights and closer ties to Romania. In August of 1989, massive demonstrations led to the adoption of laws making Moldovan again, which is basically Romanian, the state language, and returning to the Latin Alphabet. These developments alarmed Russian speaking minorities and led to separatist movements. The Turks in the south and the Russian speaking populations in the Transnistrian region east of the Dniester river feared marginalization in a Romanian dominated state. In 1990, the Transnistrian region declared independence from Moldova, leading to escalating tensions. Moldova declared independence on August 27, 1991, as the Soviet Union collapsed. After the Soviet collapse, the Moldavian SSR took the international name Republic of Moldova, using the form that had been standard in Soviet administration and in the Romanian language itself. Since 1991, Moldova has referred specifically to the independent country east of the Pruitt river, while Moldavia has remained in English as a historical term for the medieval principality or the Romanian region west of the Prut. The newly independent republic faced immediate challenges. The question of possible reunification with Romania divided society, with intellectuals generally favoring it, while many non Romanians and even some Romanians opposing it. Economic collapse accompanied independence as Soviet era trade networks disintegrated and Moldova's industrial enterprises lost their markets. The conflict with Transnistria escalated into open warfare in 1992, with support from Russian military forces stationed in the region. Transnistrian separatists successfully resisted Moldovan government control. A ceasefire in July of 1992 left Transnistria as a de facto independent state, unrecognized internationally but effectively outside of Moldovan control. This frozen conflict has remained unresolved for over three decades, with Russian troops still present in the region today. As of the time of this recording, Moldova is not a member of the EU or NATO. One issue that has consistently been raised but never brought to the forefront of Moldovan politics is the aforementioned prospect of a merger with Romania. Supporters of reunification argue that the two countries were historically one large Moldavian Romanian space and that reunification would correct a division imposed by 19th and 20th century empires. Moreover, it would provide a fast track method for Moldova to join the European Union, NATO, and by the year 2030, the Eurozone. If Moldova joined the EU and NATO separately, the process would probably take years or decades. Opponents point to Moldova's distinct post Soviet identity, internal divisions over language and orientation and the unresolved separatist region of Transnistria, as well as economic disparities and the risk of provoking Russia. Just days before the recording of this episode, the President of Moldova, Maya Sandu, said that she would vote in favor of unification with Romania if the subject were put to a referendum. One of the biggest industries in Moldova and the product that it's best known for, is wine. The wine industry remains culturally and economically important, with Moldovan wine starting to gain international recognition. Moldova's history reveals a small nation persistently caught between larger powers, struggling to maintain its identity and independence while adapting to successive waves of foreign domination. From a medieval principality to an Ottoman vassal state, a Russian province, a Soviet republic, and now an independent country, Moldova has undergone repeated transformations while maintaining a core cultural continuity rooted in its Romanian language, heritage and Orthodox faith. The country's future path, particularly regarding European integration and the unresolved Transnistria conflict, remains uncertain, but Moldova looks to continue its centuries old balancing act between the east and the West. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Austin Otkin and Cameron Kiefer. My big thanks go to everyone who supports the show over on Patreon. 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