Historical background

The name “Moldova” appears for the first time in documents regarding the creation of the principality of Moldova by Bogdan I in 1359. The maximum consolidation of Moldova took place under the rule of Stefan cel Mare (Stefan the Great, 1457-1504) who succeeded in keeping the state independent from the hegemony of the Ottoman Empire.

After the death of Stefan cel Mare in 1504 the principality was annexed to the Ottoman Empire for next three centuries. In 1812, as a result of the Russian-Turkish wars, the Eastern territory of Moldova (Basarabia), situated between the Prut and Nistru rivers, was handed over to the Russian Empire, while the Western part (the present territory of Romania) was occupied by Turks.

After the unification of the Romanian principalities in 1859, Basarabia’s representative institution - the State Council (Sfatul Ţarii) voted in 1918 the unification of Basarabia with Romania. This Union is officially recognized by the United Kingdom, France, Japan and Italy at the Paris Peace Conference in 1920.

The Soviet rule did not accept the idea of losing territory and in response to the unification created on the Eastern territory of the Greater Romania the little Autonomous Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (currently a part of it being called Transnistria). In 1940, after signing the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact on August 23 1939, Stalin occupied Basarabia, which existed until 1991 as a Union Republic of the USSR, called the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (MSSR).

On June 23 1990, during the disintegration of USSR, Moldova proclaimed its sovereignty and later, on the 27th of August 1991, the independency of the State. On the 2nd of March 1992, Moldova has become a member of the United Nations, being recognized by 180 States of the world. Currently Moldova maintains commercial relations with more than 150 states.