Strengthening Social Cohesion and A Common Identity in The Republic of Moldova

Strengthening
Social Cohesion
and a Common Identity
in the Republic of Moldova
Key Issues and

Practical Recommendations
Chișinău,
January 2018
Strengthening Social Cohesion
and a Common Identity
in the Republic of Moldova
Key Issues and Practical Recommendations
Chișinău, January 2018

AUTHORS
Iulian Groza, Executive Director, Institute for European Policies and
Reforms (IPRE), Chișinău
Prof. Dr. Mathias Jopp, Director, Institut für Europäische Politik (IEP),
Berlin
Vladislav Kulminski, Executive Director, Institute for Strategic

Initiatives (IPIS), Chișinău
Vadim Pistrinciuc, MP, Member of Board of Institute for Strategic

Initiatives (IPIS), Chișinău
Andrei Popov, President, Institute for Strategic Initiatives (IPIS),

Chișinău
Adrian Popescu, Associate Expert for Public Administration, Institute

for Strategic Initiatives (IPIS), Chișinău
Iulian Rusu, Expert for Legal Issues, Institute for European Policies
and Reforms (IPRE), Chișinau
Strengthening Social Cohesion and a Common Identity in the Republic of Moldova
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This paper has been elaborated in the framework of the project

“Strengthening the national identity of Moldova within the EU
Association process (MIDEU)”, kindly supported by the German Federal
Foreign Office.
The opinions expressed in this publication are the sole responsibility

of the authors and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the
German Federal Foreign Office.
The authors would also like to acknowledge the input and feedback
given by Dr. Ewa Chylinski (ECMI Flensburg), Sergiu Constantin
(Institute for Minority Rights at Eurac Research), Julien Danero Iglesias
(Affiliate Researcher at the University of Glasgow), Viktoria Palm (IEP),
Dominic Maugeais (IEP), Stanislav Ghiletchi (IPRE) and Alina Mîţu
(IPIS).
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................ 5
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................... 7
1. ETHNO-CULTURAL COMMUNITIES IN MOLDOVA: HISTORICAL

PERSPECTIVE, CURRENT SITUATION................................................. 9
1.1. A history of changing borders and geopolitical rivalry........... 9

1.2. Ethnic composition of Moldova............................................. 10
1.3. Dividing lines between ethnic communities.......................... 12
1.4. Legal basis and state institutions.......................................... 17
2. RETHINKING INTERETHNIC RELATIONS AND IDENTITY

IN MOLDOVA.................................................................................. 24
2.1. Survey Results among experts and participants
at MIDEU Town Hall Meetings................................................ 24
2.2. Reconceptualizing the “integration of national
minorities”............................................................................... 33
3. KEY CHALLENGES.......................................................................... 38
4. FROM ETHNIC TO CIVIC IDENTITY............................................... 43
5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.................................. 46

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Despite a centuries-long history of largely harmonious interethnic re-

lations and lack of enmity among its ethnic and linguistic groups, the
society in the Republic of Moldova is divided along ethnic and linguis-
tic lines. A crisis of identity, lack of social cohesion and increasing
identification with many compartmentalized identity groups is one of
the most serious challenges that hampers Moldova’s development
and precludes its people from jointly advancing common interests,
such as economic development and building a functional state that is
responsive to its citizens.
Moldova does not have a clear definition of a titular nation or a “ma-

jority ethnicity” – Moldovan or Romanian - and this topic continues
to stir up intemperate debates among both Moldova’s elites and the
public. Neither of these two identity discourses is likely to become
dominant in the foreseeable future. “Ethnic minorities” in Moldova
(Gagauz, Ukrainians, Russians, Bulgarians and others) do not regard
themselves as “minorities”, “diasporas”, or the “remnants” of Moldo-
va’s Russian or Soviet past. They do not mainly identify themselves
with “kin states”; rather, they see themselves as the people who have
been living in Moldova for hundreds of years, have deep roots in the
country and are therefore an integral part of the “nation”.
Politicians from all sides of the political spectrum do not address the
existing ambiguities; instead, they exploit latent misunderstandings,
conflicting worldviews and divergent aspirations of different ethnic
communities. The government’s policy has so far been to avoid a
clear, and uncomfortable, discussion or take action to address prac-
tical issues, which could improve the situation and lay the foundation
for the emergence of a common identity of allcitizens of the Republic
of Moldova.
5
Moldova’s society is generally prepared for harmonious interethnic re-
lations and for a gradual emergence of a common civic identity, thanks
to a large level of interethnic tolerance and mutual acceptance at the
grass-roots level. Yet, people remain divided and a certain potential
for interethnic tensions exists due to the lack of knowledge about dif-
ferent ethnic communities, an intemperate political discourse which
frequently portrays other ethnic groups as a threat, as well as the lack
of effective practical policies to address main challenges.
This paper is an attempt to generate a constructive discussion about

a possible integrationist model of society, which could emerge around
a civic identity. A civic identity could coalesce around a state-building
and institutional modernization program, which would increase loyalty
to the state – the Republic of Moldova. This would limit the room for
politicians to exploit identity-related dividing lines within society and
increase Moldova’s prospects to become a strong and stable demo-
cratic state.
6
INTRODUCTION
In its independent history, Moldova achieved some successes but was

also confronted with far-reaching setbacks. One of the crucial issues
which prevented progress is an identity crisis, manifested through
cleavages within the majority ethnicity, as well as inability to suc-
cessfully include Moldova’s significant ethno-cultural minorities into
mainstream processes. These communities went through a painful
transition from an “elite” in the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic to
their current, and hotly contested, status of “national”, or “ethnic mi-
norities”.
The inclusion of ethnic communities did not occupy a prominent

place in academic and practical discussions or policy-making in
the Republic of Moldova. Ethno-cultural communities (which in
Moldova are often referred to as “Russian-speakers”) point out a
lack of government-sponsored language training programs, poor
quality of language instruction in schools, underrepresentation in
state institutions and political parties as well as divisive political and
media discourses. A lack of focused and sustained government and
civil society policies to address these issues undermines Moldova’s
efforts to create an inclusive society and leads to separation and
isolation of society. “Identity entrepreneurs” use ethnic divisions to
advance their political goals by stoking people’s fears and feeding
on their stereotypes. The emergence of a sense of “we, the citizens
of the Republic of Moldova” becomes difficult and leaves the large
intellectual potential of ethnic communities untapped, thus limiting
Moldova’s development.
Despite historically harmonious relations, after years of divisive poli-

tics and discourse, important segments of those belonging to ethnic
minorities seem to be living in a parallel world, and the knowledge of
7
different ethnicities about each other remains limited. Media coverage
is alarmist, with hate speech not uncommon.
A practical policy to support interethnic dialogue and harmony and

resolve key practical issues will help Moldova to become a stronger,
more united country, a home for all its citizens. Integration of ethnic
communities is an important goal for any government. It is also one
of the prerequisites for Moldova’s peaceful and democratic develop-
ment, which could strengthen societal resilience against external and
internal challenges.
This paper has been elaborated in the framework of the project

“Strengthening the national identity of the Republic of Moldova within
the EU-Association process (MIDEU)”, supported by the German
Federal Foreign Office. The project brought together representatives
of ethnic communities and public authorities in Moldova as well as
national and international experts. This paper draws on the results
and findings from project activities, such as Town Hall Meetings,
Press Clubs, Conferences, a survey among participants of the
events, in-depth discussions with key stakeholders in Moldova and
representatives of the international community as well as an analysisof
existing documents and strategies. It is an attempt to generate a
discussion about a civic identity in Moldova, built around the concept
of citizenship and state-building, and based on a historical experience
of peaceful co-existence.
The paper identifies most pressing issues and formulates possible

remedies to address them. A precondition for implementing these
recommendations is building aconsensus at the grass-roots level as
well as creating solid advocacy channels between the government and
civil society. These could become the building blocks of an integration
strategy that would facilitate the integration of ethnic communities,
reinforce their sense of belonging to the state and supplement limited
capacities of state institutions to pursue effective civic integration
policies.
8
1. ETHNO-CULTURAL COMMUNITIES
IN MOLDOVA: HISTORICAL PER-
SPECTIVE, CURRENT SITUATION
1.1. A HISTORY OF CHANGING BORDERS

AND GEOPOLITICAL RIVALRY
The Republic of Moldova is a country “sandwiched” between Romania

and Ukraine. Historically, the territory of the country has been under the
suzerainty of powerful regional players, most of the time the Ottoman
Empire (15th-18th century), Russian Empire (1812-1918) and the Soviet
Union (1940-1991). The historical principality of Moldova reached its
height under Stefan cel Mare (1457-1504). In 1812 the Eastern part
of the historical principality of Moldova (known as Bassarabia at the
time which included present-day Moldova) was annexed by Russia.
The Western part of the historical principality of Moldova, comprising
about half of the territory and more than two thirds of the population,
as well as historical capitals and key cultural centers, joined the neigh-
boring principality of Wallachia to create, first, the common state of
Joint Principalities of Moldova and Walachia in 1859, and then Roma-
nia in 1862. While the Western part of Moldova embarked on the pro-
cess of forming the Romanian state and a Romanian national identity,
Bassarabia as the province of the Russian Empire did not participate
in this process.
Following the Russian revolution of 1917, in January of 1918

Bassarabia declared its independence and united with Romania two
months later. Historically, the Eastern part of present-day Moldova,
known today as the Transnistrian region, was not part of medieval
Moldova. It remained under Soviet control after the 1917 revolution
(being separated from the rest of Moldova by the Dniester river). In
9
1924, a Moldovan Soviet Autonomous Socialist Republic was created
there, largely in order to attract Bassarabia into the Soviet sphere of
influence. In 1940, under the provisions of the Molotov-Ribbentrop
pact, Bassarabia became part of the Soviet Union. In 1941 it again
became part of Romania. In 1944 it became part of the Soviet Union
again, where it stayed until 1991.
Geopolitically, Moldova has been within the sphere of interests of many

players. These geopolitical reshuffles created a range of fundamental
identity benchmarks (self-identification, commitment to a set of views,
values, historical experience and a sense of belonging to different
ethnic communities) which solidified and around which the conflict
would revolve after the country found itself at a crossroads following
the collapse of the former Soviet Union1.
1.2.ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF MOLDOVA
1.2.1 Historical trends
The presence of many ethnic and linguistic communities in Moldova

has a long tradition and contributed to common spiritual and cultural
heritage of the Moldovan people. Here, Moldovans, Russians,
Ukrainians, Gagauz, Bulgarians, Jews, Roma and representatives of
other ethnic groups have lived mostly peacefully. As a result, at the
grass-roots level Moldova has been largely characterized by interethnic
peace and understanding2. This was very different from countries where
fundamental ethnic differences persisted and where the elites tried to
engineer ethnic harmony against the grain of the grass-roots level.
The ethnic composition of Moldova became what it is today following

key historical events, which are hotly contested to the present day.
After Bassarabia became part of the Russian Empire in 1812, the
national composition of Bassarabia province started to change,
1 King, Charles. The Moldovans: Romania, Russia and the Politics of Culture. Stanford:
Hoover Institution Press, 1999, p. 80-95
2 However, latent inter-ethnic tensions erupted at the instigation of elites, as was the
case with the pogroms in 1903 and the war in the Transnistrian region in 1992.
10
especially after the resettlement of tens of thousands of Bulgarians

and Gagauz, and later Germans, Jews, Russians and Ukrainians.
After unification with Romania in 1918, a census conducted in 1930

showed that there were 2,853,200 people living in Bassarabia, in-
cluding 1,610,800 Romanians/Moldovans (56.5%), 351,900 Russians
(12.3%), 314,200 thousand Ukrainians (11.0%), 204,800 Jews (7.2%),
162,600 Bulgarians (5.7%), 98,100 Gagauz (3.4%), 81,100 Germans
(2.8%) , 13,500 Roma (0.5%) and 8,100 Poles (0.3%).3
After the Second World War, from 1959 to 1989, the number of Moldo-
vans in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic increased by 48%, the
number of Ukrainians by 42%, of Gagauz by 58%, of Bulgarians by 42%,
while the number of Russians registered a 191% increase (Table 1).
Table 1: Ethnic composition of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (MASSR):
Nationality 1959 1970 1979 1989

Moldovans 1,887,000 2,304,000 2,526,000 2,795,000
Ukrainians 421,000 507,000 561,000 600,000
Russians 293,000 414,000 506,000 562,000
Gagauz 96,000 125,000 138,000 153,000
Jews 95,000 98,000 80,000 66,000
Bulgarians 62,000 74,000 81,000 88,000
Roma 7,000 9,000 11,000 12,000
Belarusians 6,000 10,000 14,000 20,000
1.2.2 Current Situation
Today, according to the 2014 general census, Moldova’s population

is approximately 2.9 million4. Moldovans make up 75.1% of the total
population. 7.0% self-identified as Romanians. Ukrainians account for
3 Lucian Boia. Romania. Borderland of Europe. Reaction Books, London, 2001, p. 21.
4 Statistica md: http://www.statistica.md/pageview.php?l=ro&idc=479
11
6.6%, Gagauz for 4.6 %, Russians for 4.1%, Bulgarians for 1.9%, Jews
0.11%, Roma 0.3% and other nationalities 0.5%, among them Belar-
usians, Poles, Armenians, Germans, and Tatars5. Ethnic communi-
ties are not territorially divided and are interspersed across Moldova,
except for the Gagauz people, who live in the South of Moldova. The
data on Moldova does not include the Transnistrian region, over which
fighting occurred in the early 1990s and which remains outside of the
control of the central government6.
In today’s Republic of Moldova, there is a strong intermix of two lan-

guages – the state language (Romanian/Moldovan) and Russian. Al-
most all citizens whose mother tongue is Romanian/Moldovan also
speak fluently or at least understand the Russian language and are
familiar with the Russian culture. Although the proportion of Russian
speakers and ethnic minorities who speak Romanian is smaller than
the number of Romanians/Moldovans who speak Russian, there is a
large degree of openness towards learning the respective other lan-
guage and culture.
1.3 DIVIDING LINES BETWEEN ETHNIC COMMUNITIES
The disintegration of the USSR was accompanied by a polarization of

the population of the former Moldavian SSR on the basis of ethnolin-
guistic criteria. In the newly independent states (with the exception of
5 National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova: Population and Housing

Census in the Republic of Moldova, May 12-25, 2014; http://www.statistica.md/pa-
geview.php?l=en&idc=479. The population census is one of the official sources of
statistical data disaggregated by ethnicity. The 2014 population census was con-
ducted with serious questions as to its organization and the quality of collected ma-
terial. In addition, information on ethnic origin of individuals is contained in the State
Population Register, but data collection in terms of ethnicity must be improved, ta-
king into account the principle of self-identification. There are no other mechanisms
for collecting statistical data on ethnic origin in the Republic of Moldova.
6 According to the population census in Transnistria, conducted in 2015, the region
had 475,665 inhabitants – 31.9% Moldovans, 30.4% - Russians and 28% Ukrainians.
The data are comparable with the numbers of 1995, when Moldovans accounted for
34.1%, Russians – 30.1% and Ukrainians – 28%. As in the case of right-bank Mol-
dova, there are serious questions about the validity of the data, as the real rates of
immigration have been much higher. Ref - Ria.ru, Transnistria’s population declined
by over 14% in 11 years, https://ria.ru/world/20160513/1432571354.html
12
the Russian Federation), Russian became a minority language. How-

ever, unlike in the Baltic States or in the Caucasus, in Moldova there
was not only a split between minorities and the majority, but also a
rift within the majority group between Moldovans and Romanians and
between those calling the language Moldovan and those insisting the
only correct name is Romanian. Since the national revival movement
of the late ‘80s, the identity and language debate became dominated
by two vocal and irreconcilable groups - “We are Romanians” vs “Mol-
dovans are different from Romanians”. Ethno-cultural communities
traditionally sided with the “Moldovans” camp, fearing that “Roma-
nian” identity is a step towards Moldova’s unification with Romania.
To this day, there is no consensus of mainstream identity in the Re-
public of Moldova - Moldovan or Romanian?
1.3.1 Moldovan vs Romanian

and controversy over the state language
The first of these two groups - “We are Romanians” - insists that Mol-
dova should develop as an ethnic state, based on the language of the
majority ethnic group – Romanian - and with an understanding that
the “Moldovan” nation is an artificial construct developed by the Soviet
Union to justify, legitimize and maintain Moldova’s separation from its
true roots in Romania. According to this school of thought, all citizens
of the Republic of Moldova who speak Romanian, irrespective of their
self-identification, are Romanians.
Among the country’s intellectual and political elites, this group has
occupied a prominent position. During at least three periods of Mol-
dova’s contemporary history - 1989-1993, 1998-2001 and 2009-2017
- the exponents of this movement were part of governing coalitions,
conditioning their support for governments’ policies with the promo-
tion of their stance in the area of language and identity. First of all, this
related to the introduction and maintaining of the subjects “Romanian
language and literature” and “History of Romanians” in schools and
university curricula.
The second group - „Moldovenists” - trace their origins to the Soviet

position which sought to highlight the differences between Moldovans
13
and Romanians, elevating Moldovans living in Soviet Moldova (and
also in some regions of Soviet Ukraine) to a separate nation distinct
from Romanians. The most evident element of these efforts was the
decision to adopt a Cyrillic script for the Moldovan language, in defi-
ance to the Romanic nature of the language that has Latin at its basis.
This position was the only acceptable position during the Soviet Union
until Gorbachev’s perestroika movement.
Attempts to speak about the Romanian language and the brother-

ly nature of the Romanian/Moldovan speaking populations in Soviet
Moldova and Romania were not only rejected, but considered criminal
offences punishable by law. Those espousing and publicly expressing
such views were not hired in important positions or barred from career
promotions, and sometimes fired from their jobs and imprisoned on
charges of nationalism and anti-Soviet propaganda.
To avoid repressions, most of those who disagreed with the official

stance on the Soviet Moldovan identity preferred not to express their
opinions on this subject publicly, beyond the circle of family and trust-
ed friends. Until the late 1980s, there were no organized movements
for Romanian language or identity, while sporadic attempts to promote
these views were suppressed. It was only with the Perestroika move-
ment that representatives of the local intelligentsia started to raise the
issue of language - the need to make it an official language and adopt
a Latin script. These efforts culminated on August 31, 1989, when the
Parliament adopted the language law proclaiming the Moldovan lan-
guage in Latin script as the state language of Soviet Moldova. August
31st became the National Language Day (later renamed the Romanian
Language Day). Together with the adoption of the National Tricolor
resembling the Romanian flag, these moves were seen as victories for
the Romanian camp and a setback for „Moldovenists”.
In 2013, the Constitutional Court passed a decision according to which

the 1991 Declaration of Independence of Moldova, which defines the
language as Romanian, prevails over the text of the Constitution.7 This
was met with protests from those who consider the language Moldo-
7 Decision no. 36 from 5 December 2013 of the Constitutional Court on the interpreta-
tion of article 13 para. (1) of the Constitution.
14
van and who argued the Constitution prevails over the Declaration of
Independence.
The debate over the name of the state language leaves little room
for compromise solutions. The pro-Romanian camp demands the
replacement of the term “Moldovan language” with “Romanian lan-
guage”. Those who vocally oppose this change insist on defending the
“Moldovan language” and present it as a battle for Moldova’s survival
as an independent state. According to the 2014 census, 23.3% call
their native language Romanian, while 57% call it Moldovan. Repre-
sentatives of ethno-cultural communities, irrespective of whether they
speak the language or not, by and large prefer to colloquially refer to
it as Moldovan.
1.3.2 The status of the Russian language
With respect to the Russian language, the 1989 Law on the function-
ing of languages on the territory of the Moldavian SSR recognized
the status of the Russian language as a language of interethnic com-
munication8. Russian de facto remained the second language in the
country throughout the years of independence. About one-fifth of the
population consider Russian to be their mother tongue. There is often
a feeling that ethnic communities are bundled together as “Russian
speakers” who do not necessarily keep to their ethnic traditions and
language – Gagauz, Bulgarian, Ukrainian etc. All normative acts is-
8 Article 1 of this law stated: “The Russian language as a state language is used in all
spheres of political, economic, social and cultural life and, in connection with this,
performs the function of the language of interethnic communication on the terri-
tory of the republic. The Moldavian SSR guarantees to all residents of the republic
free instruction in the state language at the level necessary for the performance
of official duties.” Indeed, at first, free courses on the study of the Moldovan lan-
guage for public servants and enterprises were opened, but this gradually ended.
In addition, the right of citizens to use the Russian language or another language of
national minorities is prescribed in Article 13 of the 1994 Constitution of the Republic
of Moldova “The State Language, the Functioning of Other Languages,” which states:
(2) The State recognizes and protects the right to preserve, develop and function
Russian language and other languages used in the country. (3) The state shall pro-
mote the study of the languages of international communication. (4) The procedure
for the functioning of languages on the territory of the Republic of Moldova shall be
established by an organic law.
15
sued by central public authorities are translated into Russian9. Local
authorities with a majority population of Russian, Ukrainian or Bulgar-
ian residents can pass local acts in their language with subsequent
translation into the state language.10 Courts use the state language
as the main language. If the parties agree to the use of a different lan-
guage, it can be used during proceedings.11 However, this has become
increasingly difficult, as access to court proceedings in languages
other than the state language is limited. Citizens may use the Russian
language for correspondence with local and central public adminis-
tration12 and may address petitions to public authorities in Russian.
At parliamentary sessions, translation is provided for MPs who do not
speak the state language. Draft laws are presented in both the state
language and Russian. MPs who present draft laws in Russian or the
state language have their drafts translated into the respective other
language by the Parliament’s Secretariat.13
1.3.3 Political polarization
Interethnic division is often used by politicians for election purposes.

During election campaigns political parties often use different nos-
talgias and phobias, especially those inherited from the Soviet past.
Some political parties insist on the idea that the Republic of Moldova
is the “second Romanian state”, that “we are all Romanians!” Others,
on the contrary, pedal the topic of the Russian language, promising to
give it the status of the second state language. In particular, it was one
of the issues of the electoral campaign of PCRM (Communist Party) in
2001, which helped them to win the election, and of the PSRM (Social-
9 Article 10 of the Law no. 3465/1989 on the functioning of the languages spoken in
the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, article 1 of the Law no. 173/1994 on the
publication and entry into force of official acts
10 Article 10 of the Law no. 3465/1989
11 Article 24 of the Civil Procedure Code no. 225/2003, article 16 of the Criminal Proce-
dure Code no. 122/2003
12 Article 6 of the Law no. 3465/1989
13 Article 47 paras. (8,9) of the Law no. 797/1996 on the approval of the Regulations of
the Parliament
16
ist Party), which helped them to gain the largest number of votes in a
fragmented Parliament in 2014. This exploitation of linguistic identity
and geopolitical themes for narrow party interests deepens the split
and misunderstanding in society.
The multi-faceted dividing lines exploited by politicians prevent a con-

structive dialogue on common goals and objectives for a Moldovan
state. Instead of focusing on developing societal cohesion and inte-
grating ethnic communities, improving the quality of teaching of the
state language and developing allegiance to the country among its
citizens, the focus of the debate in society is shifted to three polariz-
ing issues – Romanian vs Moldovan language, Romanians vs Moldo-
vans, history of Romania vs history of Moldova. These issues currently
dominate the public debate.
1.4. LEGAL BASIS AND STATE INSTITUTIONS
1.4.1 Normative and legal acts
Moldova has a rather developed legislative basis for interethnic rela-

tions and minority protection, but laws are not implemented to a suf-
ficient degree. The preamble of the Constitution emphasizes “(…) the
continuity of the Moldovan people statehood within the historical
and ethnic framework of its growing as a nation” and the desire “to
satisfy the interests of citizens of a different ethnic origin who
alongside with the Moldovans constitute the people of the Republic of
Moldova“14.
The Constitution recognizes the main elements of identity that the

state must preserve: “The State recognises and guarantees all its
citizens the right to the preservation, development and expression
of their ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity. “ (Article 10, 2).
These principles, stipulated in the Constitution of the Republic of Mol-
dova, correspond to international and regional documents, including
the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.
14 Constitutional Court: Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, available at: http://www.

constcourt.md/public/files/file/Actele%20Curtii/acte_en/MDA_Constitution_EN.pdf
17
Moldova is party to several conventions and treaties: the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Articles 2
and 4); The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (Article 13); UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Ed-
ucation (Article 5); and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights
of Persons Belonging to National, Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Mi-
norities. Moldova signed a number of bilateral treaties on friendship
and cooperation with Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Poland, which
contain special provisions for the protection of the rights of national
minorities. However, Moldova has not ratified the European Charter for
Minority Languages.
In March 2017, the Council of Europe’s Advisory Committee issued

an opinion on Moldova’s compliance with the Framework Convention
for the Protection of National Minorities15. As noted by the Council of
Europe, Moldova does not sufficiently fulfill its obligations to protect
national minorities, in connection with which a number of problems
remain unresolved. In the opinion of European observers, in Moldo-
va there exists widespread stigmatization (hanging social labels) and
stereotypes and, as a result, discrimination against national minorities
persists, and persons belonging to national minorities are “margin-
alized (…), without being given adequate space to develop their own
identities and positions.”16
The national legal framework includes more than 30 legislative and gov-
ernmental acts, the most important are the Law on the Functioning of
Languages, the Law on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National Mi-
norities and the Legal Status of Their Organizations, the National Con-
cept for Cultural and Ethnic Relations, as well as the Law on Equality.
An important document is the Strategy for the consolidation of inter-

ethnic relations in the Republic of Moldova for 2017-202717. The
15 Council of Europe, Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protec-
tion of National Minorities, Fourth Opinion on the Republic of Moldova - adopted on
25 May 2016, avalaible at https://rm.coe.int/16806f69e0
16 Council of Europe, Fourth Opinion on the Republic of Moldova, p. 2, https://rm.coe.
int/16806f69e0
17 Government Decision no. 1464 from 30.12.2016 on the approval of the Strategy
18
strategy is a political document which defines national mechanisms

for strengthening citizenship in the Republic of Moldova, for enhanc-
ing the study of the state language by national minorities, including
adults, for protecting minority languages, for increasing the participa-
tion of ethno-cultural communities in public life and for the promotion
of intercultural dialogue. The strategy was developed with the support
of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities.
Despite the fact that this Strategy establishes goals and objectives
for a long-term period (11 years), the mechanisms for its implemen-
tation and clear targets/guidelines/milestones/costing are lacking,
which raises questions about its impact and the results it will pro-
duce. For the actions that are envisaged, the Strategy does not es-
tablish clear benchmarks, timeframes and monitoring mechanisms
for regular evaluation and consistent implementation. The measures
proposed in the strategy focus more on cultural, ethnographic actions,
such as protection and preservation of culture, and programs which
are designed to avoid interethnic tensions. The strategy fails to tackle
problems, concerns and issues, such as integration of ethno-cultural
communities, language learning, political and government representa-
tion, meaningful participation in decision-making. Effective programs
and actions to construct a civic identity and to strengthen allegiance
to the Moldovan state are not included either.
In support for the implementation of the Strategy for the consolida-

tion of interethnic relations in the Republic of Moldova for 2017-2027,
the Bureau for Inter-ethnic relations has developed an Action Plan for
2017-2020, which was approved by the Moldovan government on No-
vember 15, 2017. The Action Plan provides for a range of research and
surveys to better understand the situation. It also includes measures
to promote participation of citizens in government service, such as
conducting analysis of existing situation and understanding the ra-
tio of ethnic communities representation in government agencies and
encouraging a more active dialogue between the government and
for the consolidation of interethnic relations in the Republic of Moldova for 2017-
2027, available in Romanian at: http://lex.justice.md/index.php?action=view&-
view=doc&lang=1&id=369024 (last accessed 6 November 2017)
19
civil society through national forums and participatory events. The
plan includes the creation of ethno-barometer in Moldova to measure
the involvement and participation of minorities, as well as some lan-
guage training for civil servants, protecting the languages of ethnic
communities and strengthening language diversity. One other area is
promoting inter-cultural dialogue, trainings for mass media to devel-
op products that better reflect ethnic issues. Other measures include
information campaigns among citizens to increase the feeling of civil
belonging to the state, lessen intolerance, xenophobia, ethnic stereo-
typing and inter-ethnic tensions.
On the positive side, the Action Plan specifies timeframes and indi-
cators to measure implementation success. Furthermore, the Action
Plan includes a variety of agencies in its work, including the Presiden-
cy, line ministries, the State Chancellery. The direction of the measures
is quite useful but some of them are still rather vague and not planned
with sufficient depth to open the way to credible implementation. For
instance, the Bureau of Interethnic Relations remains the agency that
bears the main responsibility for the implementation of more than
25 measures. Taking into consideration the limited capacities of the
Bureau, as discussed below, timely implementation of all measures
seems unlikely. Also, successful implementation will require consid-
erable funding and resources, which are not available yet. The planned
sources of funding through the state budget will likely fall short of re-
quirements. The impact of the Action Plan is therefore hard to predict
and its proper implementation will require coordination between state
institutions, efficient planning and implementation, as well as financial
resources. The Bureau would greatly benefit from support and help in
implementing these measures properly and with sufficient depth.
1.4.2 Gagauz-Yeri autonomy
The resolution of nascent ethnic tensions in the southern part of Mol-

dova, Gagauzia, in the early 1990s was hailed as one of the more suc-
cessful examples of dispute resolution in South-Eastern Europe. The
Gagauz autonomous unit, Gagauz-Yeri, was created in southern Mol-
dova to safeguard the cultural, linguistic and local government rights
20
of the Gagauz people, an ethnic community with a distinct ethnic iden-

tity and a defined territory.
The example of Gagauzia is the only example in Moldova of a people

who have territorial representation and an autonomous region. The
case of Gagauzia is a special case which can’t be applied elsewhere
in Moldova, because other ethnic communities in Moldova are inter-
spersed territorially with the majority ethnicity and do not have terri-
torial boundaries.
The population of Gagauzia is 155,000, or about 4.5% of the total

population of Moldova. In 1994, the Government of Moldova adopted a
law on the special legal status of Gagauz Yeri, which provided for self-
government and autonomous rights for the region. The Gagauzia Basic
Law (Ulojenie) was passed in 1998. The Gagauz autonomy now has a
parliament (35 members elected in single-member constituencies), a
Governor (Bashkan, elected for a 4-year term) and an Executive (headed
by the Bashkan). The autonomous region enjoys certain powers of
local government and budget. However, the Gagauzia (Gagauz-Yeri)
Act on the Special Legal Status of 1994 does not provide any specific
provision for Gagauz’ representation in the Moldovan Parliament. The
documents that define the status of Gagauzia contain contradictions,
which often lead to divergent interpretations, misunderstandings,
internal struggles and disputes both within the autonomous region and
between the central government and the autonomy. For several years,
the Parliament of Moldova and the Gagauz People’s Assembly have
had a mechanism to clearly delineate the power of the autonomous
region and resolve the underlying disputes, which largely seem related
to the distribution of resources and budgetary powers.
1.4.3 Institutional framework
The Republic of Moldova has several institutions and public authori-

ties that deal with the rights of national minorities. At the parliamen-
tary level, the Committee on Human Rights and Interethnic Relations
addresses issues of protection and inclusion of national minorities. At
the executive level, the Bureau for Interethnic Relations is responsible
21
for policy development, regulatory frameworks and the implementa-
tion of laws in this area. The Bureau is also in charge of supporting
ethno-cultural organizations and promoting cooperation with and
between government institutions to implement national policies and
international commitments in the field of minorities’ rights. The Bu-
reau is also responsible for the protection of cultural and linguistic
heritage of minorities, the teaching of the state language to ethno-cul-
tural communities, promotion of tolerance, respect for cultural and lin-
guistic diversity, preventing and combating discrimination, support for
inter-ethnic integration into political, cultural, social and economic life,
as well as social cohesion programs.
The Bureau is in charge of both policy development and implemen-

tation in the field of interethnic relations. The Bureau has modest hu-
man capacity (19 employees), and is responsible for implementing the
entire Strategy (which includes around 30 measures). It has insuffi-
cient financial capacity to support activities organized jointly with eth-
no-cultural organizations.
The main platform used by the Bureau to maintain relations and consult
ethnic communities is the Coordination Council for Ethno cultural
Organizations. Currently, there are 93 ethno-cultural organizations
registered with the Ministry of Justice.
The Ministry of Education, Culture and Research and the Ministry of

Health, Social Protection and Family, as well as local public adminis-
tration also play a role in the integration of ethnic communities. How-
ever, there is only one person dealing with the education of minorities
in the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research. There is no dedi-
cated staff responsible for working with ethno-cultural communities
at the district level, and the task is usually performed by district Vice
Presidents dealing with social affairs.
Policy development must be done in coordination between these

agencies and other central public administration authorities, particu-
larly the Deputy Prime Minister responsible for social issues. In reality,
this coordination happens rarely, and actions remain largely symbolic
(conferences, concerts), while policy development and implementa-
tion is uncoordinated and oftentimes inefficient.
22
Therefore, there is a gap between existing policy documents and in-

stitutional structures and real problems in the field of interethnic re-
lations. Although a number of policy papers and legislation exists, the
real issues are superficially reflected in policy documents and are not
efficiently addressed in practice.
There is no wide-scale, constructive involvement of relevant

government institutions, media channels, CSOs, and ethnic
community organizations to address current problems and difficulties.
Institutionally, it is done sporadically, on a case-by-case basis, while
the Bureau for Interethnic Relations does not have the capacity to deal
with the tasks that it is supposed to fulfil. Even if the Bureau had enough
capacity, it would face difficulties fulfilling its task as this is a complex
undertaking that requires wide-scale institutional involvement.
23
2. RETHINKING
INTERETHNIC RELATIONS
AND IDENTITY IN MOLDOVA
Public discussions organized with members of ethnic communities

within the framework of the MIDEU project revealed discrepancies
between the stated goals of Moldova in terms of interethnic relations
and the real situation. At the moment, we can witness multiple gaps
between official policies, political narratives and the situation of ethnic
communities. The events organized within the project revealed a situ-
ation that does not fit into standard patterns and provided a rather un-
expected diagnosis of interethnic relations in the Republic of Moldova.
2.1 SURVEY RESULTS AMONG EXPERTS AND PARTICIPANTS

AT MIDEU TOWN HALL MEETINGS
In the framework of the 3 Town Hall Meetings in the regions (Com-

rat, Balti, Cahul), the project organizers distributed questionnaires on
self-identification and values among participants. Survey participants
were leaders of ethnic organizations, NGO activists, students, and
people who have firsthand experience in dealing with ethnic relations
at the grass-roots level.
It is important to mention that the survey is NOT a nationally sampled

poll, so no statistical conclusions can be extrapolated to the national
level. However, the results of the survey give a general overview of the
respondents’ perception of identity and core values.
83 persons participated in this survey. The demographic structure

of the sample has a large gender bias – 63% of the interviewed are
female and 37% are male. Also, 38% of those interviewed represent
24
ethnic minorities and the proportion of Moldovans/Romanians in the

survey was 62%. It is important to mention that on the national sample
the proportion of ethnic minorities is 20% and the proportion of Roma-
nians/Moldovans is around 80%.
The data on respondents is provided below:
Chart 1: Profile of the respondents
Chart 2: Do you consider yourself a Moldovan?
Regarding self-identity, 48% of the respondents said they consider

themselves Moldovans and 51% said they do not consider themselves
Moldovans.
25
Chart 3: If you do not consider yourself to be Moldovan, what is your identity?
Almost half of those who do not consider themselves Moldovans

consider themselves Romanians (49%). 16% of respondents identified
themselves as Gagauz, while 9% each identified themselves as
Bulgarians, Russians and Ukrainians. Nationwide, many Russian-
speaking minorities often identify themselves as Russians.
Chart 4. Key factors in defining national identity
26
In the opinion of 99% of respondents (who claimed these factors are

important and very important), culture and traditions are the key deter-
minants in defining identity, followed by civil rights and liberties (88%).
84% think that identity is determined by a national idea, a sense of na-
tional belonging and the language. 83% emphasized common history
and 73% ethnic belonging (more than 10% compared to the national
level). This shows closeness in perceptions among ethnic commu-
nities. The most important factors (over 50%) are therefore (1) culture
and traditions, (2) rights and freedoms, (3) the language; (4) the na-
tional idea (project).
Chart 5: Is being a citizen of Moldova the same as being a Moldovan?
Only 23% of respondents believe that being a citizen of Moldova is the

same as being a Moldovan. Over three quarters of respondents said it
was not the same.
Asked to give an explanation for this opinion, 16% of respondents said

that many nationalities live in Moldova; 13% think that the citizen of a
country can be of any nationality and 11% consider themselves citi-
zens of Moldova but not Moldovans.
When abroad, 56% of those interviewed introduce themselves as Mol-

dovans, by 7% more than at home. That difference in self-identification
may be the case because inside of Moldova the representatives of eth-
27
nic communities contrast themselves against the Moldovan majority,
while abroad they present themselves as Moldovans to ‘contrast’ with
other nationalities.
Chart 6: Why ethnicity is not citizenship
Chart 7: When abroad, do you present yourself as a Moldovan?
When asked about the things that make one proud as a Moldovan,
among the most frequently mentioned issues were: preservation of
traditions (41,5%), followed by culture (29,3%), language (19,5%), hard-
28
working people (17,1%), history (14,6%), patriotism (12,2%), the inde-

pendence of the state (11%), hospitality (9,8%), nice nature and climate
(8,5%), the Gagauz autonomy (8,5%), a nice country (7,3%), cuisine and
good food (7,3%), citizenship and nation (6,1%), family and family val-
ues (6,1%), tolerant people (6,1%), state symbols (4,9%), wines (4,9%).
Answers to this open question show that there is a common under-
standing among different ethnic communities when it comes to basic
values and core features of the Republic of Moldova.
Chart 8. What makes you proud as a citizen of Moldova.
When asked about the main factors which negatively affect national
unity, a majority of respondents mentioned political parties and their
activity (almost 90% of respondents said it has a very large or large
negative impact), poverty, lack of a national idea and involvement of
other countries. The Transnistrian conflict is rather high up on the list
as well (72% consider it as having a negative impact).
29
Chart 9: Factors which affect national unity
A slight majority considers history (60%) and language (54%) to have

a negative impact, but at the same time a significant share of respon-
dents think that history (39%) and the name of the language (44%) do
not negatively affect the country’s unity. Almost half of respondents
cite unification with Romania as a factor, while the other half think it is
not a factor at all. EU integration and linguistic and cultural differences
have the least perception as dividing factors.
Chart 10. Where are ethnic minority rights better protected?
Only one out of six respondents thinks that the rights of ethnic minori-
ties are better protected in Russia. Over ¾ of those polled said that
30
the rights of ethnic minorities are better protected in the EU. That also
indicates that people have a good knowledge about ethnic minority
rights in Europe and value the opportunities that it offers.
Chart 11. What actions should the government take to enhance national unity?
Among the actions that the government could take to consolidate

national unity, 77% cited promotion of a national idea and ensuring
citizens’ wellbeing, 74% cited defending citizens’ rights and freedoms;
66% mentioned programs for minorities to study the state language;
63% argued the government should promote a state-wide project; 62%
cited national tolerance programs and 57% said the government should
promote and preserve the culture and languages of the minorities.
Asked to name key values and characteristics of the Moldovan people,

a high number of respondents cited the willingness to work hard –
25,6%, friendship, openness and hospitality – 19,5%, respect for tra-
ditions – 19,5%, respect for language – 15,9% and respect for religion
- 15,9%.
31
Chart 12. Values and characteristics of the Moldovan people:
After answering all questions, the number of those who identify them-
selves as Moldovans increased by 10% from before the survey, to a to-
tal of 56%. This shows that there is fertile ground for dialogue and for
building a united country immune to hate speech and over-politicized
narratives on ethnic minorities.
2.2 RECONCEPTUALIZING
THE “INTEGRATION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES”
Analyzing Moldova’s experience in interethnic integration, relevant

studies in the field, as well as roundtables within the project, the
conclusion is that grass-roots NGOs, community organizations and
the government need to pragmatically rethink policies in the field
of interethnic relations. The very formulation of the problem as the
32
“integration of national minorities” is perhaps misplaced in Moldova’s

realities, distorts the nature of the real problem Moldova is facing,
and needs to be re-conceptualized. Most experts and the public
participating in interviews, tTwn Hall Meetings and roundtables within
the project advanced the idea that it would be more effective to use
the notion of integrating “ethno-cultural communities”, instead of
“national minorities”.
Some of the key arguments are:
1. Trying to build a common identity around ethnic self-identifi-

cation of the majority population is a wrong lead. This is the
case because the “titular nation” or the “majority ethnicity”
is divided into “Moldovan” and “Romanian” identities. Those
who identify themselves as Romanians argue that the Mol-
dovan identity is a Soviet invention, and that the real identi-
ty is Romanian. Those who consider themselves Moldovan
emphasize the opposite – that a separate Moldovan nation
emerged over the past several centuries, that it has a dis-
tinct identity, which is neither Russian nor Romanian, that it
has a set of recognizable identity benchmarks, symbols, and
historical narratives.
Neither one nor the other position is likely to become a dominant

view in Moldova in the foreseeable future. Even the fiercest
critics of Romanian identity will not deny its legitimacy. In
other words, a classic integrationist approach, where all other
ethnicities would be integrated around the majority titular
nation, or a majority ethnicity, is not likely in Moldova, and
can’t serve as a starting point for building a unifying identity.
This is the case because it would inevitably lead either to the
need to integrate the so-called “Romanian minority”, along
with other minorities, into the majority “Moldovan” identity.
Any attempt, whether academic or legal, to use the term ethnic
minority in relation to Romanian Moldovans will inevitably
lead to escalation of tensions in society and cannot become a
tool for harmonizing interethnic relations in the country. The
other option for an “ethnic identity” would be to integrate all
ethnicities, including Moldovans, into a potential Romanian
33
ethnic majority that would extend beyond the borders of
the Republic of Moldova. Either of these two options is not
feasible.
2. Attempts to apply the notion of a “national minority” to Mol-

dovan Ukrainians, Russians, Gagauz and Bulgarians provoke
exactly the same kind of negative reaction. Non-majority eth-
nic communities (Ukrainians, Russians, Gagauz, Bulgarians,
etc) do not see themselves as “diasporas”, or “situational
minorities” associated with any past Russian or Soviet “civ-
ilizational” practice of “denationalizing” Moldova, and also do
not see themselves as any kind of direct “agents” of influence
from their “kin” states - Russia, Ukraine or Bulgaria. To the
contrary, as a rule, they emphasize the length of their stay in
Moldova (“for centuries”), their roots in the country, their be-
longing to the founding nation18. They consider themselves an
integral part of Moldova’s society. Against this background it
could be concluded that the concept of “integration of national
minorities” is seen as problematic and counter-productive by
ethno-cultural communities themselves.
3. There is a high level of peaceful coexistence and tolerance

of all ethnic segments of Moldova in the widest - cultural
– sense of modern Moldovan statehood. Everyday peaceful
relations at the grass-roots level could provide the founda-
tion for a common identity of all citizens of Moldova, and
could act as a bulwark against attempts by politicians to
use ethnicity and language as divisive factors. The titular
population (Moldovan-Romanian) mostly views other ethnic
segments as a natural, rooted component of the local ethnic
landscape and not as “aliens” who have been resettled to
Moldova from elsewhere to change the ethnic composition
of the titular nation.
18 For example, the young Gagauz referred to Stefan cel Mare and other key historical
figures when speaking about Moldova, ref. Академия Наук Молдовы, Институт
Культурного Наследия, И.И. Кауненко, Н.Г. Каунова, Н.В. Иванова, Идентичность
в системе этнопсихологического и этнологического знания в Республике
Молдова, Кишинев, 2015
34
Geopolitical preferences of the titular population (the European

Union vs the Russian-led Customs Union) are also distributed
almost equally. The titular population sees fluency in the state
language by non-native speakers as a very high manifestation
of goodwill. From the other end, it is confirmed that poor
knowledge of Romanian is not due to “ethnic resistance”, as
is frequently portrayed, but rather due to the lack of viable
strategies to promote language learning among communities
through academic and lifelong learning programs. This fact
also denotes the openness of ethno-cultural communities to
Romanian language learning projects. This is a starting point
for ethnic communities to come to terms with the lost role and
importance of the Russian language and make transition to
new realities.
4. As our analysis and polls show, Moldova’s historical narra-

tive (Stefan cel Mare, “Great principality of Moldova” from the
Middle Ages), positive emotional involvement in local sym-
bolic geography (Codri, Old Orhei, Soroca, Chisinau - “flow-
er of stone”), ethnographic, musical culture and the cuisine
of Moldova are all integral components of the worldview of
these ethnic communities. These cultural identity markers are
as deeply ingrained in the self-identification and worldview of
ethnic communities as they are in the worldview of the ma-
jority.
5. All ethnic communities share similar basic ideas about what

could form the basis of societal unity in the Republic of Mol-
dova – culture and traditions, civil rights and liberties, and,
crucially, promotion of a development project for the country.
Surprisingly, the majority does not consider history and the
name of the language to have a negative impact on the coun-
try’s unity. There is an un-explored field of projects but also of
policies in the field of interethnic relations that could move the
interethnic relations from the area of pressures and specula-
tions to a new area, that of active citizenship and the spirit of
community membership. Moldova is itself a best-case prac-
tice of living together, of preservation of culture and language,
35
of ethnically mixed communities. All these examples stay at
the level of community and are rarely brought to the national
level as good practices that need to be parts of national poli-
cies or projects for reintegration of ethnic communities.
6. Self-identification as “Moldovans” occurs more at the level

of citizenship. The majority of respondents consider them-
selves Moldovan citizens, thus emphasizing citizenship, its
civic aspects, and even the fact that they pride themselves on
being Moldovan citizens. Most experts who took part in dis-
cussions recognized that it would be much more effective to
use the concept of mutual consolidation of all ethno-cultural
communities and talk about the protection of their rights and
freedoms, as a more precise definition of the essence of the
problem and a more correct ground for setting appropriate
goals and objectives.
7. The contradictions in Moldova’s society in interethnic rela-

tions are due to opportunistic geopolitical provocations from
Moldova’s elites and political parties, rather than something
that is rooted in the Moldovan society itself. While Moldova’s
society has good starting conditions for mutual integration of
ethno-cultural communities, political elites stoke fears and
divisions in society, promoting their vested interests and pre-
venting progress.
The current attitude of political parties in this area avoids

an honest discussions and clear policies on this issue, and
sometimes demonstrates extreme forms of politicization of
identity. Endless political talks and campaigns about histo-
ry and language impede the consolidation of social relations
and tolerance among the various ethno-cultural communities.
Traditions, diversity, the feeling of belonging to the community
are all elements of interethnic cohesion specific to all cultures,
including the majority ethnicity. The political agenda is often
abundant in narratives about different identities: the name
of the language, influence of Russia, geopolitics and ethnic
identity. It is much more efficient to set a proper agenda for
public discussions, models of interethnic tolerance, integra-
36
tion, mechanism in ensuring inclusive education and models

to counter discrimination.
8. Active expert and political assistance of the European Union

to ethno-cultural communities of Moldova in creating a unified
state is in demand. Moreover, it is precisely in this area that
a supportive position of the EU, as well as of pan-European
structures such as the Council of Europe and the OSCE, could
yield positive responses and appreciation from non-titular
populations, who perceive and value European practices in
the field of interethnic relations as a more secure and stable
guarantee of their rights than any other frameworks. This was
most clearly manifested when discussing the Strategy for
the Integration of National Minorities, the Fourth Opinion on
Moldova by the Advisory Committee on the FCNM, as well as
the report of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination.
37
3. KEY CHALLENGES
In order to increase social cohesion in the Republic of Moldova and

build a strong and united state, which would include all ethnic com-
munities, the key challenges to be addressed are:
1. Need for a strategic framework
Discrepancies between government policies and actions and the

expectations of ethno-cultural communities and organizations
have been noted as one of the concerns. Although Moldova has an
institutional framework, a specialized agency in the field of interethnic
relations and a complex legal framework, they do not address challenges
in the field of interethnic relations and do not contribute to the forming
of a common civic identity. Public consultations, conferences and
roundtables are organized on a regular basis, but policies and actions
initiated at the government level do not meet the expectations of ethno-
cultural communities.
The nstitutional framework for anti-discrimination remains weak.

Moldova has an equality body and anti-discrimination legislation but
they are not effective mechanisms as they do not seem to address the
key issues, monitor political or media discourse or flag discrimination
and inflammatory language.
The current policy framework is not fully consistent with some key
international documents to which Moldova is a party. Policies do
not reflect the provisions of international documents such as the
Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities
(Conclusion 4 with reference to the Republic of Moldova (2016)).
Most policy documents in the field of interethnic relations target
cultural heritage and the maintenance of traditions but are very weak
38
or inconsistent in terms of assuring the right to education, language

training or facilitating representation of ethnic communities in public
administration. Actual policies do not offer enough operational tools
to counter discriminatory practice or hate speech.19
2. Failure of education policies
The use of educational tools and the education system to strengthen

relationships between ethno-cultural communities has been a latent
failure20. Some participants spoke about a true “identity chaos”, both
at the level of the majority of society (language, identity, etc.) and con-
cerning the identity of ethno-cultural communities (forgetting one’s
own language in favor of the language of interethnic communication,
politicizing ethnic identity). For example, the Gagauz autonomy, cre-
ated to maintain and preserve the Gagauz culture, functions mostly in
Russian in its public administration, its school and university system.
Following the analysis of the interviews carried out during the project
events, there is insufficient knowledge among ethnic communities
about each other, but also insufficient education on their own culture
and traditions. It is important to note that educational programs are
largely managed by community-based organizations, which denotes
the desire of communities to participate in new, dynamic, interactive
and depoliticized cultural educational programs.
History is taught in all schools using the same textbooks and curric-
ula. Issues of non-majority ethnic communities are not addressed in
19 The Ministry of Justice along with the OHCHR office in Moldova developed in 2015
a draft law on the amendment of the Criminal Code and Misdemeanors Code which
complements the two pieces of codified legislation with crimes and misdemeanors
committed based on reasons of prejudice, contempt or hate, the draft Law develo-
ped by the MoJ may be consulted here in Romanian: http://www.justice.gov.md/
public/files/transparenta_in_procesul_decizional/coordonare/2015/noiembrie2015/
Proiect_de_lege_hate_crime_actuala.pdf
20 According to the Ministry of Education, there are 1,363 schools in the country, inclu-
ding: 1,088 Romanian language and 262 minority schools - 259 (Russian); 2 (Ukrai-
nian); 1 (Bulgarian). There are no schools teaching in the Gagauz language. In 1,088
schools Russian is taught, Gagauz in 48 schools, Ukrainian in 46 schools and Bulga-
rian in 28 schools.
39
textbooks. Educational policies overall do not promote the study of
common history, intercultural dialogue and the idea of a shared soci-
ety where people have multi-layered identities.
3. Failures of language policies
Poor knowledge of the state language is a major obstacle for upward

social mobility in Moldova for graduates of Russian-language schools,
especially in terms of government positions. Policies to help ethnic
communities better learn and communicate in the state language
have been a failure. Ethnic communities perceive their insufficient pro-
ficiency in the state language as a gap that needs to be addressed, and
very few of them continue to see the Russian language as somehow
superior, which would give them any potential advantages or a sense
of pride. Representatives of ethnic communities who know the state
language do not hesitate to point this out or to mention that they are
proud of it.
Most representatives of ethno-cultural communities want to know

and speak the language of the country, and they clearly see and rec-
ognize the limits of educational programs in this respect. This is true
both for school education and for adult education.
Since 2011, the Ministry of Education has implemented a pilot project

“Educational integration of students who speak other languages by
expanding the number of study subjects studied in Romanian”. Within
this project, 8 subjects in 32 schools with minority language teaching
are taught in the state language. More than 3000 students are the ben-
eficiaries of this project. This project is an example of practical policy
which could help address one of the key issues. However, it was not
implemented on the national level.
In 2015, the Government approved the National Program to improve

the quality of learning of Romanian language in educational institu-
tions with languages of national minorities (2016-2020). The budget
for three years – 2016, 2017 and 2018 - was just 1.7 million MDL. The
actions which should have been realized based on the National Pro-
gram were achieved only in part.
40
A nationwide educational policy to promote the study of the state lan-

guage and to attract ethnic communities to work in the public sector
could tap into their creative energy to promote Moldova’s develop-
ment.
4. Insufficient representation and participation

of ethnic communities
Legislation does not provide specific conditions for the promotion

of representatives of ethno-cultural communities in government in-
stitutions or politics. According to current regulations, vacancies in
government institutions are filled in through competition and there are
no proportional representation mechanisms for ethno-cultural com-
munities who speak the state language. There are no stimulating ele-
ments for representatives of ethno-cultural communities.
There are no official statistics on the employment of minorities in

government institutions. Unofficially it is admitted that the number of
representatives of ethno-cultural communities in government insti-
tutions is insignificant. From this point of view, it is considered that
official data on modest representation in state institutions could lead
to criticism of government policy on the integration of ethno-cultural
communities.
The legal and institutional framework should provide not only for the
representation of and consultation with ethnic communities but to en-
sure their input into and real influence on the decision-making pro-
cess.
5. Lack of media policies that support mutual understanding
Media has a great influence in the sense that it can promote communi-
cation of tolerance and understanding in society, or can encourage di-
visive and inflammatory rhetoric, where other identities are portrayed
as a threat. Inflammatory political and societal rhetoric has recently
become more frequent in public and TV discourse, while proper media
monitoring is lacking.
41
Despite proliferating discriminatory political narratives, government
institutions don’t address that and do not seek, together with ethnic
communities, an appropriate classification and answer to these prob-
lems. Meetings with ethnic communities organized by the government
largely ignore these issues, and discussions focus on the preservation
of cultural heritage.
Existing policies do not meet the dynamics of changing social rela-

tionships and the influence of the new media. Discriminatory speech
increasingly penetrates social networks. For example, recently there
have been very intense offensive discussions and campaigns on
Facebook related to the claim of the Gagauz for more autonomy in ac-
cordance with the 1994 law. At the beginning it was just a discussion
about the opportunity to change legislation, but latter both sides of
the problem started to promote aggressive messages, inciting to hate
and bigotry. There is no policy or strategy to condemn or stop such
incidents in the social media.
Reducing intolerance and hate speech in mass media and social net-
works, as well as promoting a range of cultural awareness programs,
would therefore be an important aspect in the effort of reducing divi-
sive discourses.
42
4. FROM ETHNIC
TO CIVIC IDENTITY
The analysis of the current situation, discussions with representatives

of ethnic communities, as well as the survey have shown that in the
search for a common identity in the Republic of Moldova a concep-
tualization of a new approach and a program for interethnic relations
focused on citizenship and a “civic identity” might be promising.
A civic identity is based on the concept of citizenship, which ensures

the rights and opportunities for all citizens. In Moldova, it could cen-
ter around the historical experience of peaceful co-existence and the
core idea of Moldova’s state-building and institutional modernization
program. Moldova’s European choice, strong relations with Moldova’s
neighbors, including Romania, Ukraine and Russia and, crucially, the
functionality of Moldova’s institutions, respect for human rights, bet-
ter quality of life and economic opportunities, which would work in the
interests of all citizens, are possible pillars of a “civic identity” shared
by all citizens of Moldova.
As the term “Moldovan” is discredited for important political stake-

holders and activists, the notion “Moldovan civic identity” should per-
haps be avoided, and the concept of the “civic identity of the Repub-
lic of Moldova” should be promoted instead. This civic identification
could ensure loyalty from all ethnic communities to the state and cre-
ate bonds between different ethnicities.
Importantly, the program should include all ethno-cultural communi-

ties without exception, and promote their interaction in an open-mind-
ed setting with the majority ethnicity (majority titular nation). The em-
phasis on younger age category should lead to positive, long-lasting
effects as opposed to practices promoted over the last 26 years.
43
As intense communication with ethnic communities throughout the
project shows, policies to promote a common civic identity could be
based on the following principles:
• many people in Moldova have developed a defensive reaction

to any attempts to touch upon their identity. Policies should
respect the principle of not pressuring people to give up their
identity and to adopt another one, but to have them feel safe
in their respective identity and develop a civic identity at the
same time. Different linguistic identities and ethnic self-iden-
tification can be accommodated within the common civic
identity of the citizens of Moldova;
• education should lay the basis for civic identity, carefully de-
scribe complex and sensitive episodes from the country’s past
and develop a core of ideas that could unite society;
• a serious debate on the promotion of civic identity must come in

parallel with a serious effort to expose and counter attempts of
various political actors to play the “identity card”. Political elites
often use the ethnic card either to hide their failures in other
areas or to mobilize their core electorate. The “ethnic card”
proved to be the easiest way to mobilize voters. It works par-
ticularly well in the atmosphere of fear, so some political forces
that rely on such tactics are directly interested in exacerbating
the threats and demonizing the other side. Exposing and coun-
tering these efforts could contribute to the creation of a sense of
“us” - “sense of togetherness, solidarity and mutual trust”;
• It is important to depoliticize linguistic policies. The language

should not be used as a political argument. Building Moldo-
va’s civic identity should not come from the politicians, but
from the grass-roots community level, respectable civil soci-
ety activists and organizations that would be trusted by repre-
sentatives of competing views;
• constructing a civic identity of Moldova is a longer term pro-

cess, which can only be advanced through continuity and
commitment from each incoming government;
44
• diversity should not be seen as a liability and vulnerability, but

rather can be transformed in a factor of strength and to the
country’s competitive advantage;
• successful cases of representatives of ethnic groups learn-

ing the Romanian language and occupying important deci-
sion-making positions to promote Moldova’s national inter-
ests must be showcased.
45
5. CONCLUSIONS
AND RECOMMENDATIONS
CONCLUSIONS
• Moldova’s society remains divided along ethnic and linguistic

lines. Lack of cogent policies to open social doors to represen-
tatives of ethno-cultural communities impedes social mobility
for ethnic minorities; as a result, Moldova misses out on devel-
opment opportunities because of their untapped potential;
• Moldova’s elites exploit and deepen the divide and frequently

portray other ethnic groups as a threat;
• Ethnic contradictions are not rooted in Moldova’s society itself.

At the grass-roots level, Moldova’s society has been character-
ized by largely harmonious interethnic relations;
• Moldova does not have a clear definition of a titular nation or a

“majority ethnicity” – Moldovan or Romanian - and its several
iterations continue to stir up intemperate debates among both
Moldova’s elites and the public. A clear “dominance” of a ma-
jority ethnicity – Romanian or Moldovan - is not feasible. There-
fore, uniting the country cannot be based on ethnicity.
• “Ethnic minorities” in Moldova (the Gagauz, the Ukrainians, the

Russians, the Bulgarians, etc) do not regard themselves as “mi-
norities”; they do not promote the interest of “kin states”. They
see themselves as an integral and historically rooted part of
Moldova as an independent state and often perceive the term
“minorities” as exclusive.
• Different linguistic identities and ethnic self-identification could

coexist under the umbrella of a common civic identity of the citi-
46
zens of Moldova. A common civic identity as citizens of Moldova

with equal rights and opportunities could be a way forward.
• Moldova’s society is prepared for a concept of civic identity.

There is a common foundation among different ethnic commu-
nities when it comes to basic values and features of the Repub-
lic of Moldova. All ethnic communities share similar basic ideas
about what could define a common civic identity of the Repub-
lic of Moldova – culture and traditions, civil rights and liberties,
and, crucially, promotion of a credible development project for
the country;
• Moldova has an institutional and legislative framework for in-

tegration of ethnic communities; however, it is not always ef-
fectively implemented, which leaves large gaps. Problems accu-
mulate and are not addressed. A large gap exists between policy
documents and real problems in the field of interethnic relations.
Coherent and sustained strategy to address the key issues has
been lacking;
• Educational and language policies have not been effective in in-

tegrating ethnic communities into mainstream social, political
and economic life;
• Active expert and political assistance of the European Union to

protect the rights of ethno-cultural communities of Moldova is
appreciated by non-titular population, who see the EU as the
most credible framework to protect their rights;
47
RECOMMENDATIONS
• Pragmatically rethink policies in the field of interethnic rela-

tions - from integration of national minorities, which provokes
resentment, to a less controversial and more inclusive policy of
integration of ethno-cultural communities and the protection of
their rights and freedoms;
• The Moldovan government and ethnic communities should take

a proactive approach to implement international obligations and
domestic regulations, cover the gaps in the existing legal–in-
stitutional framework and design the necessary measures to
reduce them;
• Facilitate and promote integration of persons belonging to eth-

no-cultural communities in the social, administrative, cultural,
political and economic life of the Republic of Moldova. The legal
and institutional framework should provide not only for the rep-
resentation of and consultation with ethnic communities but to
ensure their input into and real influence on the decision-making
process.
• Ensure that the resources allocated for the national integration

strategy are sufficient and that its implementation is assessed
through transparent monitoring mechanisms.
• Elaborate and put into effect a country-wide program to study

the state language as a key prerequisite for enhancing minori-
ties’ access to government positions and seek support of inter-
national partners for a program of this magnitude;
• Create a deeper and more interested partnership among organi-

zations and structures of ethno-cultural communities, the ma-
jority population and the government in order to jointly promote,
through legislative and executive channels, concrete measures
to integrate ethnic communities and address the most pressing
issues;
• Promote education campaigns on ethnic and cultural diversity

in Moldova. Look into a possibility of introducing a course on
48
„the history and culture of ethnic communities in Moldova” in

high schools and university curricula. The course could demon-
strate cultural and linguistic diversity of Moldova over the cen-
turies and help support interethnic solidarity and mutual open-
ness. The course would complement existing history courses
and could be prepared and advocated by experts and leaders of
all ethno-cultural communities, through wide public and grass-
roots consultations.
• Build consensus among all ethnic communities - minorities and

the majority - that several school subjects in Russian language
schools could be taught in the state language, in order to equip
graduates with functional knowledge of the state language af-
ter graduation. After grade 4, introduce in Russian language
schools a Romanian literature course, taught by native speakers
and involving extensive reading and essay writing. This would
help students to master the language at a sufficient functional
degree.
• Combat hate speech in media and social networks, encourage

youth movements against the language of hate and confronta-
tion. Conduct seminars for young people on the language of
hate and confrontation and establish monitoring of mass media
and social networks.
• Create a regular series of thematic TV spots about each eth-

nic community for younger target audience, in order for different
ethnicities to “rediscover” each other, reduce stereotypes and
increase mutual respect between ethnic groups.
• Provide specialized training to law students in the protection of

minority rights and anti-discrimination under the general um-
brella of Ethnic Communities Ombudsmen.
49

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Strengthening

Key Issues and

Chișinău, January 2018

Vladislav Kulminski, Executive Director, Institute for Strategic

Vadim Pistrinciuc, MP, Member of Board of Institute for Strategic

Andrei Popov, President, Institute for Strategic Initiatives (IPIS),

Adrian Popescu, Associate Expert for Public Administration, Institute

This paper has been elaborated in the framework of the project

The opinions expressed in this publication are the sole responsibility

1. ETHNO-CULTURAL COMMUNITIES IN MOLDOVA: HISTORICAL

1.1. A history of changing borders and geopolitical rivalry........... 9

2. RETHINKING INTERETHNIC RELATIONS AND IDENTITY

4. FROM ETHNIC TO CIVIC IDENTITY............................................... 43

5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.................................. 46

Despite a centuries-long history of largely harmonious interethnic re-

Moldova does not have a clear definition of a titular nation or a “ma-

This paper is an attempt to generate a constructive discussion about

In its independent history, Moldova achieved some successes but was

The inclusion of ethnic communities did not occupy a prominent

Despite historically harmonious relations, after years of divisive poli-

A practical policy to support interethnic dialogue and harmony and

This paper has been elaborated in the framework of the project

The paper identifies most pressing issues and formulates possible

1.1. A HISTORY OF CHANGING BORDERS

The Republic of Moldova is a country “sandwiched” between Romania

Following the Russian revolution of 1917, in January of 1918

Geopolitically, Moldova has been within the sphere of interests of many

1.2.ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF MOLDOVA

1.2.1 Historical trends

The presence of many ethnic and linguistic communities in Moldova

The ethnic composition of Moldova became what it is today following

especially after the resettlement of tens of thousands of Bulgarians

After unification with Romania in 1918, a census conducted in 1930

Table 1: Ethnic composition of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (MASSR):

Nationality 1959 1970 1979 1989

1.2.2 Current Situation

Today, according to the 2014 general census, Moldova’s population

In today’s Republic of Moldova, there is a strong intermix of two lan-

1.3 DIVIDING LINES BETWEEN ETHNIC COMMUNITIES

The disintegration of the USSR was accompanied by a polarization of

5 National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova: Population and Housing

the Russian Federation), Russian became a minority language. How-

1.3.1 Moldovan vs Romanian

The second group - „Moldovenists” - trace their origins to the Soviet

Attempts to speak about the Romanian language and the brother-

To avoid repressions, most of those who disagreed with the official

In 2013, the Constitutional Court passed a decision according to which

1.3.2 The status of the Russian language

1.3.3 Political polarization

Interethnic division is often used by politicians for election purposes.

The multi-faceted dividing lines exploited by politicians prevent a con-

1.4. LEGAL BASIS AND STATE INSTITUTIONS

1.4.1 Normative and legal acts

Moldova has a rather developed legislative basis for interethnic rela-

The Constitution recognizes the main elements of identity that the

14 Constitutional Court: Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, available at: http://www.

In March 2017, the Council of Europe’s Advisory Committee issued

An important document is the Strategy for the consolidation of inter-

strategy is a political document which defines national mechanisms