Why is Moldova separate from Romania considering the fact that they have a lot of things in common?
Moldova sits at an historic crossroads of Empires, where the Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires all met. Moldova was part of the province of Bessarabia, which was ceded to Russia by the Ottoman Turks in 1812. Romania was split between Austro-Hungarian rule in Transylvania, and Ottoman rule in Wallachia and Bessarabia. Following the revolutions in 1848 Wallachia and Bessarabia united to form Romania – without Transylvania, however, most of what is mow Moldova remained under Ottoman and then Imperial Russian rule. Even though the Moldovans speak Romanian, and that many consider themselves to be Romanian, the country has only been united with Romania for a very short time. From 1918 – 1940 and again from 1941 -1944. There seems to be little desire in Moldova to unite with Romania, despite Moldova’s poverty – probably because they may be considered second class citizens.
