Moldova
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This article is about the modern state. For the principality, see Moldavia. For other uses, see Moldova (disambiguation).
Moldova i/mɔːlˈdoʊvə/,[nb 1][nb 2] officially the Republic of Moldova (Romanian: Republica Moldova pronounced [reˈpublika molˈdova]), also known as Moldavia,[10] is a landlocked[11] country in Eastern Europe located between Romania to its west andUkraine to its north, east and south. Its capital city is HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi%C8%99in%C4%83u" \o "Chișinău" Chișinău.
Moldova declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991 as part of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. A new constitution was adopted July 29, 1994. A strip of Moldova's internationally recognised territory on the east bank of the river Dniester has been under the de facto control of the breakaway government ofTransnistria since 1990.
As a result of a decrease in industrial and agricultural output since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the relative size of theservice sector in Moldova's economy has grown to dominate its GDP and currently stands at over 60%. Moldova remains, however, the poorest country in Europe.[11][12]Moldova is a parliamentary republic with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. It is, among other organizations, a member state of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization (WTO), theOrganization 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). The country aspires to join the European Union[13] and, to this end, has implemented an initial three-year action plan within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).[14]
Etymology[ HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moldova&action=edit&section=1" \o "Edit section: Etymology" edit]
Main article: Name of MoldovaThe name "Moldova" is derived from the Moldova River; the valley of this river was a political centre when the Principality of Moldavia was founded in 1359.[15] The origin of the name of the river is not clear. According to a legend recounted by Moldavian chroniclers HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimitrie_Cantemir" \o "Dimitrie Cantemir" Dimitrie Cantemir and HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigore_Ureche" \o "Grigore Ureche" Grigore Ureche, the river was named by prince HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drago%C8%99" \o "Dragoș" Dragoș after hunting an aurochs: after the chase, his exhausted hound Molda drowned in the river. The dog's name was given to the river and extended to the Principality.[16]History[ HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moldova&action=edit&section=2" \o "Edit section: History" edit]
Main article: History of MoldovaPrehistory[ HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moldova&action=edit&section=3" \o "Edit section: Prehistory" edit]
In 2010, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldowan" \o "Oldowan" Oldowan flint tools were discovered at Bayraki that are 800,000-1.2 million years old. This demonstrates that early humans were present in Moldova during the early Paleolithic.[17] During the Neolithic stone age era, Moldova's territory was the centre of the large HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucuteni-Trypillian_culture" \o "Cucuteni-Trypillian culture" Cucuteni-Trypillian culture that stretched east beyond the Dniester River in Ukraine, and west up to and beyond the Carpathian Mountains in Romania. The inhabitants of this civilization, which lasted roughly from 5500 to 2750 BC, practiced agriculture, raised livestock, hunted, and made intricately designed pottery.[18]Antiquity and Middle Ages[ HYPERLINK