The structure of ethnic communities in southern Moldova during the last 300 years suffered essential changes. Significant ethnic communities disappeared, being replaced by other ethnic groups that also disappeared and are now substituted by others. On the other hand, the communities in the central and northern districts were demographically preserved. The information was communicated by scientific researcher Dorin Lozovanu in the opening of the exhibition “Ethnic communities and diaspora in time and space” that was mounted at the Museum of Ethnography and Natural History in Chisinau, IPN reports.

The researcher said the German ethnic community in the southern part of the country, which was once as important as the Gagauz and Bulgarian communities, disappeared. “In the southern part or the steppe region, there was a population of different ethnic groups that was replaced by central European ethnic groups, which also disappeared and are now substituted by other nationalities. There was a major change in the south. The changes in other regions are not as drastic,” stated Dorin Lozovanu.

According to him, the current migration can lead to a reduction in the largest ethnic group. With the opening of the borders to the West, the citizens of the Republic of Moldova discovered other countries than the Russian Federation and few want to return home. “We witness a depopulation of the territory and, as we see, we are losing our generation of majority population. We are decreasing in number. The people leave, regrettably, and this is not a good indicator,” said the researcher.

Head of the Ministry of Culture’s Cultural Heritage Division Sergius Ciocanu in the same event said migration generates cardinal changes in the ethnic structure. “Many researchers of ours went to live abroad, forming ethnic communities there, and try not to lose contact with the native country. The ethnic communities that live here are also affected by the migration process,” he stated.

The exhibition “Ethnic communities and diaspora in time and space” was mounted on the sidelines of an international conference with the same topic. The exhibit, held during June 29-30, includes over 100 maps representing different development periods of the Republic of Moldova. Entrance is free of charge.