The annexation of Bessarabia to the Russian Empire in 1812 and its consequences for the people living between the Prut and Nistru River are discussed at an international conference themed “Bessarabia – 1812. National problem, international involvements” in Chisinau. The event brought together historians and researchers from over ten countries. There will be presented about 50 communications that will be later incorporated into a scientific volume that will be published. “This academic seminar aims to critically treat the most controversial and important historical event of our people – the Bucharest pact of 1812 – so that we better know and perceive our place in history and the world,” said the president of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova Gheorghe Duca. He also said that while part of the Russian Empire, Bessarabia did not develop and became a peripheral community. The international colloquium was organized due to the effort made by a number of organizations and institutions, including the Academies of Sciences or Romania and Moldova, said the vice president of the Romanian Academy Dan Berindei. According to him, the two centuries during which Moldova and Romania had been divided did not lead to the separation of the people on both sides of the Prut. The conference takes place in Chisinau on May 14 and 15 and closes in Iasi on May 16, when it is 200 years of the signing of the Bucharest Peace Treaty, by which Bessarabia was ceded to the Russian Empire.