Name of Moldova

The name of Moldova originates from the medieval Principality of Moldavia, which at its greatest extent included Moldova, and territories in eastern Romania and south-western Ukraine.

Origins of the name

The original and short-lived reference to the region was Bogdania, after Bogdan I, the founding figure of the principality.

The principality was probably named after its earliest capital, "Târgul Moldovei" (nowadays Baia, Suceava County), a market town on the banks of the Moldova River. Naming a market town after the river located nearby was a common practice all across the territories inhabited by Romanians: Târgu Jiu, Cetatea Dâmboviței (now Bucharest), Târgul Siretului, Curtea de Argeș, etc.

According to a legend recorded by Moldavian prince Dimitrie Cantemir in the 17th century, the first Moldavian ruler, Dragoş, named the country he founded after one of his hounds, Molda, who died during the hunt of an aurochs in the lands of the future principality.

An explanation was proposed by the Romanian historian Bogdan Petriceicu-Hasdeu, who connected the name of the river Moldova with Mulde, a river in Saxony, and Moldau, the German name of the river Vltava in the Czech Republic, and argues that all derive from the Gothic word for "dust" (Gothic: 𐌼𐌿𐌻𐌳𐌰, Runic: ᛗᚢᛚᛞᚨ) - Mulda. It is notable that this would not be the only river in Romania that got its name in connection to the word, as Prahova could be derived from the Slavic equivalent, Prah.

Moldova

Coordinates: 47°N 29°E / 47°N 29°E / 47; 29

Moldova (ⁱ/mɒlˈdoʊvə, mɔːl-/ or sometimes UK /ˈmɒldəvə/. Romanian: [molˈdova]), officially the Republic of Moldova (Romanian: Republica Moldova,  listen  ), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The capital city is Chișinău.

Moldova declared independence on August 27, 1991 as part of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The current Constitution of Moldova was adopted in 1994. A strip of Moldovan territory on the east bank of the river Dniester has been under the de facto control of the breakaway government of Transnistria since 1990.

Due to a decrease in industrial and agricultural output following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the service sector has grown to dominate Moldova's economy and currently composes over 60% of the nation's GDP. However, Moldova remains the poorest country in Europe.

Moldova is a parliamentary republic with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. It is a member state of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) and aspires to join the European Union.

Moldova (newspaper)

Moldova was a semimonthly newspaper published in Bârlad, Romania.

History

Though presented as being independent, the paper was published under the patronage of the "Academia Bârlădeană". The first issue of the newspaper hit the stands on January 2, 1931 and it appeared regularly until December 26, 1931. The following year, No.1-2 was published on March 1, 1932, and No.3 (the newspapers' last) on June 15, 1932.

The editor in chief of the newspaper George Nedelea and its main supporter was George Tutoveanu, at that time prefect of Tutova County. The main concern of the newspaper was the literary activity in the city of Bârlad. Besides George Tutoveanu, its main contributors were G. G. Ursu, Teodor Vlad, George Damaschin, Zoe G. Frasin, Ştefan Cosma, C.V. Slobozeanu, George Pallady, Emil Tudor, Nicolae Costăchescu and Cicerone Mucenic. Political articles were signed, among others by Ion Palodă (Isac Veinfeld), Mihai Lupescu, Marieta Creangă, and Ioan Antoniu.

References

Western Moldavia

Moldavia (Romanian: Moldova) is a geographical region situated in north-east of Romania. Also is called Western Moldavia or Romanian Moldavia. As a historical region, and former principality until its union with Wallachia in 1859, Moldavia included at various times in its history the regions of Bessarabia (with the Budjak) and the entire Bukovina; the larger part of the former is nowadays the independent state of Moldova, while the rest of it and the larger, northern part of Bukovina form parts of Ukraine.

The Romanian region itself consists of eight (or seven, sometimes Suceava County - most of it in southern Bukovina - is not included) counties, spanning over 46,173 km² (17,827 sq mi) (19.5% of Romania's territory). Its total population is 4,011,640 (20% of Romania's population). Most of Moldavia (6 out of 8 counties) is part of the Nord-Est development region, while the two southern counties (Galaţi and Vrancea) are in the Sud-Est development region.

Moldavian dialect

Moldavia

Moldavia (Romanian: Moldova pronounced [molˈdova]) is a historical region, and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river. An initially independent and later autonomous state, it existed from the 14th century to 1859, when it united with Wallachia as the basis of the modern Romanian state; at various times, the state included the regions of Bessarabia (with the Budjak) and all of Bukovina. The western half of Moldavia is now part of Romania, the eastern side belongs to the Republic of Moldova, while the northern and southeastern parts are territories of Ukraine.

Name and etymology

The original and short-lived reference to the region was Bogdania, after Bogdan I, the founding figure of the principality. The names Moldavia and Moldova are derived from the name of the Moldova River; however, the etymology is not known and there are several variants: