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For a short time in the 1990s, at the founding of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the name of the current Republic of Moldova was also spelled Moldavia. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country began to use the Romanian name, Moldova. Officially, the name Republic of Moldova is designated by the United Nations. History
- Transnistria
The region can also be referred to in English as Dniesteria,...
- Military
The Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova (Romanian:...
- Administrative Divisions of Moldova
Moldova has a total of 1,682 localities; from these 982 are...
- Per Capita
Map of sovereign states in Europe by projected 2023 GDP...
- Transnistria
- Overview
- Land
- Relief
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
Moldova, landlocked country lying in the northeastern corner of the Balkan region of Europe. Its capital city is Chișinău, located in the south-central part of the country.
Formerly known as Bessarabia, this region was an integral part of the Romanian principality of Moldavia until 1812, when it was ceded to Russia by its suzerain, the sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Bessarabia remained a province of the Russian Empire until after World War I, when it became a part of Greater Romania, and it reverted to Russian control in 1940–41 and again after World War II, when it was joined to a strip of formerly Ukrainian territory, the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, on the left bank of the Dniester River (Moldovan: Nistru) to form the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic. Upon the collapse of the Soviet Union in August 1991, this republic declared its independence and took the name Moldova. It became a member of the United Nations in 1992.
Moldova is bounded by Ukraine to the north, east, and south and by Romania to the west. The bulk of the republic lies between the great meandering Prut and Dniester rivers.
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Moldova lies to the east of the great arc of the Carpathian Mountains. It is underlain mostly by deep sedimentary rocks covering the southwestern portion of the ancient structural block known as the Russian, or East European, Plain. Harder crystalline rocks outcrop only in the north. Its surface is a hilly plain, with an average elevation of 482 feet (147 metres), cut by a deep network of river valleys, ravines, and gullies.
The uplands of the centre of the republic, the Codri Hills, lie at an average elevation of about 1,150 to 1,300 feet (350 to 400 metres), and the highest point, Mount Bălănești, in the west, reaches 1,407 feet (429 metres). These uplands are interlaced by deep, flat valleys, ravines, and landslide-scoured depressions separated by sharp ridges. Steep forested slopes account for much of the terrain. The Dniester uplands, their eastern slopes forming the high right bank of the Dniester River, border the central uplands on the east and northeast.
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The northern landscape of Moldova is characterized by the level plain of the Bălți steppe (500 to 650 feet [150 to 200 metres] in elevation) and also by uplands averaging twice this elevation, culminating in Vysokaya Hill (1,053 feet [321 metres]). The northern uplands include the strikingly eroded Medobory-Toltry limestone ridges, which border the Prut River.
In the south, the extensive Bugeac Plain is broken by numerous ravines and gullies, while, in the east, left-bank Moldova includes spurs of the Volyn-Podolsk Upland cut into by tributaries of the Dniester.
Moldova has a well-developed network of rivers and streams, all draining south to the Black Sea, but only about one-tenth of these exceed 6 miles (10 km) in length, and even fewer exceed 60 miles (100 km). In fact, many of these are small, shallow streams that dry up during the summer. The Dniester, the rapidly flowing main artery, is navigable alm...
The soils of Moldova are varied and highly fertile, with chernozem—rich black soils—covering three-fourths of the republic. The best-developed chernozem, fostering the growth of grain, tobacco, and sugar beets, is found in the north and in the low-lying parts of the central and Dniester uplands, as well as in the left-bank regions. Soil quality dim...
Moldova’s climate—warm and moderately continental—is characterized by a lengthy frost-free period, a comparatively mild winter, considerable temperature fluctuations, and, in the south, extended droughts. The average annual temperature is in the mid-40s F (about 8 °C) in the north and the low 50s F (about 10 °C) in the south, but the July averages ...
Northern and central Moldova is a forest zone, while a steppe belt crosses the south. There are more than 1,500 species of plants in the republic, with scenic expanses of forest, covering about 1,150 square miles (3,000 square km), of particular importance, especially in the central Codri Hills region. The most common trees are hornbeam and oak, followed by a rich variety including linden, maple, wild pear, and wild cherry. Beech forests are found at the sources of the Ichel and Bâcu rivers. At the beginning of the 19th century, forests covered about one-third of the country. However, a large increase in population severely reduced the forested areas. The extensive deforestation in the 19th century has also resulted in soil erosion, wind damage, a drop in the water table, flooding, desertification, and loss of fauna. Well aware of the raft of problems caused by the loss of so much of Moldova’s woodlands, authorities and scientists began lobbying for increased afforestation plans, and large-scale reforestation projects have been carried out in the republic since the early 1990s. The state’s plans initially met resistance from peasants who were fearful that their agricultural and grazing lands would be converted into less-profitable forests, but by the early 21st century increased crop and livestock yields had demonstrated the program’s success.
Moldova’s steppes originally were grass-covered, but most of them are now cultivated. Lush meadows and reed growths occur in the floodplains of the Dniester and portions of the Prut, while salt-marsh grasslands flourish in the saline valleys of the Cogâlnic, Ialpug, Botna, and lower Prut.
The animal life of Moldova is rich, despite the republic’s small size. Mammals include wild boar, wolves, badgers, wildcats, ermines, martins, and polecats. Roe deer, hare, foxes, and muskrat are of commercial importance. Siberian stags, fallow deer, and spotted deer also were successively introduced and are now prevalent.
There are many species of birds, both resident and migratory. The marshy lower reaches of Moldova’s rivers provide sanctuary for wild geese, migratory ducks, and herons, while white-tailed sea eagles are found in the floodplain forests. The wood lark, jay, song thrush, blackbird, hawk, and long-eared owl frequent the republic’s forests. Plentiful fish supplies include carp (raised in artificial reservoirs), perch, bream, ruff, and pike.
Moldavia (Romanian: Moldova, pronounced ⓘ or Țara Moldovei, literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: Молдова or Цара Мѡлдовєй) is a historical region and former principality in Central and Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River.
History of Moldova, a survey of the notable events and people in the history of Moldova, from ancient times to the present. Bessarabia—the name often given to the region of historical Moldavia between the Dniester and Prut rivers—has a long and stormy history. Part of Scythia in the 1st millennium.
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Moldavia, principality on the lower Danube River that joined Walachia to form the nation of Romania in 1859. Its name was taken from the Moldova River (now in Romania). It was founded in the first half of the 14th century by a group of Vlachs, led by Dragoș, who emigrated eastward from Maramureș in the Hungarian-controlled Carpathian Mountains.
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Dec 13, 2023 · Capital. name: Chisinau in Romanian (Kishinev in Russian) geographic coordinates: 47 00 N, 28 51 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October etymology: origin unclear but may derive from the archaic Romanian word chisla ("spring" or "water source") and noua ("new") because ...
Apr 17, 2024 · Background. A large portion of present-day Moldovan territory became a province of the Russian Empire in 1812 and then unified with Romania in 1918 in the aftermath of World War I. This territory was then incorporated into the Soviet Union at the close of World War II. Moldova has been independent from the Soviet Union since 1991.
