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| Anatol Țăranu | |
With the proclamation of the independence of the Republic of Moldova in 1991, the problem of national identity of the new sovereign state appeared naturally and this implied the clear identification of the parameters of the titular nation or of the “majority ethnic group”, in relation to which the emergence of the new statehood as a form of organization and promotion of the specific interests of this community that is different from the neighboring ones was justified. The case of the Republic of Moldova is a special one in the constellation of former Soviet national republics, which became sovereign states, namely due to the identity problem that even three decades after the proclamation of independence continues to generate heated debates both among elites and among the widest segments of the population.
European historical model of modern state and deviation from it
The European historical model of the modern state involves the construction of an identity that is distinct from neighbors’ identity, is built around the majority ethnic group that imposes itself through cultural, linguistic unity and a common history cemented for centuries. But this model becomes impractical in the case of the contemporary Moldovan state due to the identity dichotomy of the majority population, which was split into Romanians and Moldovans by targeted policies of national segregation. Those who identify themselves as Romanians argue that the Moldovan ethnic identity is an artificial construct developed by the Soviets for imperial interests, and the true national identity of the people is Romanian. Those who consider themselves Moldovans say the opposite: over the course of centuries, a distinct Moldovan nation was formed in the area eastward the Prut River, with its own identity, different from the Romanian, with its own set of historical and even linguistic characteristics. It is true that any attempt to draw a distinct line between Romanian culture and the so-called Moldovan culture fails lamentably, not to mention a difference between the Romanian and Moldovan languages. Seen only from this point of view, the Moldovan nation presents itself as an artificially developed construct.
Unfavorable historical influences
The specificity of Moldovan identity eastward the Prut River developed in the context of border changes and geopolitical rivalries between large neighboring states that claimed this territory. Historically, the population of Bessarabia participated in the processes of identity formation within the medieval principality of Moldova in the extended pan-Romanian cultural and linguistic space, being influenced along the way by the great geopolitical players of that time - the Ottoman Empire (XV-XVIII centuries), the Russian Empire (1812-1918) and the Soviet Union (1940-1991). Although Moldova was under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire for a long time, this did not produce major cultural consequences. The Turks had no right to live in Moldova, spread Islam or build mosques on its territory. The principality was not subject to Muslim law and did not touch the national identity of Moldovans somehow.
The situation changed dramatically after 1812, after Bessarabia became part of the Tsarist Empire and then of the USSR. It is noteworthy that the process of formation and consolidation of the Romanian nation in its modern form, of the pan-Romanian state and national identity began in the western part of Moldova at that time, while Bessarabia as a province of the Russian Empire was artificially excluded from this process. The isolation of the inhabitants of this region from the Romanian national mass and the massive Russification of the indigenous population led to a century of stagnation in the process of developing the ethnolinguistic and cultural identity of Bessarabian Romanians. During the Soviet period, cultural stagnation was accompanied by ferocious policies of anti-Romanian identity deconstruction. But all the efforts of imperial policies did not lead to the formation of a Moldovan identity distinct from the Romanian one, even if the identity profile of Moldovans eastward the Prut River continues today to preserve distortions of national consciousness in certain segments of society. Today the Republic of Moldova represents a kind of identity “sandwich” located between Ukraine and Romania, which causes enormous difficulties of societal mobilization with the objective of ensuring sustainable development.
Two projects to form national identity
An overview of the modern history of the Republic of Moldova shows that after the proclamation of independence, two major projects of national identity formation started simultaneously: one aimed at building Romanian identity, carried out in this space from 1918 to 1940, and the other aimed at the Moldovan nation inherited from the Soviet period. Being in the sphere of interests of major geopolitical actors in the region, the development of Moldovan society depended on the sociocultural environment of the influential regional states. The varied geopolitical scenarios in which the Republic of Moldova participated also created a series of more or less resistant constructs of the population’s identity, which in time took root and around which conflicts that led to the identity fragmentation of Moldovan society today developed.
The division of Moldovan society along the line of demarcation of the two identity projects – the Romanian and Moldovan (Moldovenist) ones - creates enormous difficulties on the way of forming values-oriented statehood. The part of Moldovan society that shares the pro-Romanian position has always played a significant role among Moldova’s political and intellectual elites and is naturally based on values shared with the European Union. The Romanian identity project is eminently Europeanist as a choice of civilization and national emancipation.
Justification for stealing Bessarabian territory
The second project of cultural and political identity is the Moldovan one, which has its origins in Soviet policies that induced through various coercive methods the perception of differences between Moldovans and Romanians in an attempt to justify the occupation of Bessarabia by the Russian and Soviet empires. This project lasted for almost two centuries and anti-Romanian policies of great intensity were promoted in over 50 years. The results of these policies are still felt today, perpetuating a real identity war in Moldovan society and resulting, in its acute forms, in separatist conflicts and even degenerating into a hot war in 1992 in Transnistria. The Moldovan identity project is eminently anti-European, pleading the cause of rapprochement with the Moscow-dominated Eurasian economic, political and cultural space. In 2018, the Republic of Moldova, on the initiative of Igor Dodon, who held office of President at that time, received the status of observer in the Eurasian Economic Union, with the obvious objective of undermining the European perspectives for the Moldovan state.
Despite the fact that the perception of belonging to the Moldovan ethnicity continues to prevail among the Moldovan citizens, the Moldovan identity project meets with the lack of meaning-forming characteristics (values, norms, ideals, symbols, goals, etc.), typical of a distinct nation. The results of a number of surveys of the perception of fundamental qualities and values of Moldovan citizens revealed that most of those who call themselves Moldovans cannot clearly define the characteristics, behavioral patterns of their community, different from those of the Romanians.
Identity war against background of European integration
At the same time, the characteristics of the cultural and linguistic composition of the Republic of Moldova indicate that the Romanian project has expanded in scale. Compared to the 1990s, today every third Moldovan citizen identifies himself/herself with the Romanian nation, and Romanian linguistic identity is recognized by more than half of those surveyed. But the most important thing is that the supporters of the project to affirm the Romanian cultural identity make up the predominant part of the intellectual elite and the middle class of Moldovan society. This clearly shows the main development direction of the identity project in the Republic of Moldova.
Today, the identity war in Moldovan society is taking place against the backdrop of the European integration of the Republic of Moldova. The Moldovan identity project is divided between the followers of vulgar anti-Romanian and anti-European Moldovanism and the followers of pro-European civic Moldovanism, but who avoid to exhaustively recognize the Romanian identity of Moldovans eastward the Prut River, while the Romanian identity in the Republic of Moldova is completely associated with the European option, without any significant difference. Hence the conclusion about the European perspectives of the Republic of Moldova, which can most easily be achieved either in the identity formula of the second Romanian state, or by implementing the project to restore the Romanian national unity through the political union of the Republic of Moldova with Romania. Only the Romanian identity guarantees the people of the Republic of Moldova membership in the European Union, while the Moldovenist identity, even if this is disguised in European clothes, maintains the risk of deviation from the path of European civilization and return to the area of the so-called “Russian world”.
IPN publishes in the Op-Ed rubric opinion pieces submitted by authors not affiliated with our editorial board. The opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily coincide with the opinions of our editorial board.
