Moldova

Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It borders Romania in the west, North, East and Ukraine in the south. In addition, the unrecognized state of Transnistria lies across the Dniester River, east of the Ukrainian border. The largest city in the capital is Chişinău.

Most of Moldova's territory was part of the Principality of Moldavia until it was transferred to the Russian Empire by the Ottoman Empire (where Moldavia was a vassal) from the 14th century to 1812 and became known as Bessarabia. In 1856, southern Bessarabia was returned to Moldavia, and three years later it merged with Wallachia to form Romania, but in 1878 Russian rule was restored throughout the region. During the Russian Revolution of 1917, Bessarabia temporarily became an autonomous state within Russia. A republic known as the Moldavian Democratic Republic. In February 1918, the Democratic Republic of Moldavian declared independence and was integrated into Romania later that year following a vote by its parliament. This decision was contested by the Soviet Russia, which established the Moldavian Autonomous Republic (MASSR) in 1924 within the SSR of Ukraine, on a territory partially populated by the Moldovans east of Bessarabia.

In 1940, as a result of the Morotov Ribbentrop Agreement, Romania was forced to transfer Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union, the westernmost part of Bessarabia and the former Soviet Union (east of the Dniester River). On August 27, 1991, due to the ongoing dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Moldavian SSR declared independence and was named Moldova. The Moldova Constitution was adopted in 1994. The territorial belt of Moldova on the eastern bank of the Dniester River has been under the de facto control of the Transnistria separatist government since 1990.

Due to the decline in industrial and agricultural production after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the service sector has grown to dominate Moldova's economy, exceeding 60% of the country's GDP. It is the second poorest country in Europe in terms of GDP per capita. Moldova's Human Development Index is relatively high, but it is the lowest on the continent and ranked 90th in the world.

Moldova is a parliamentary republic, with the president being the head of state and the prime minister being the prime minister of the government. United Nations, Council of Europe, World Trade Organization (WTO), Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), GUAM Democratic Economic Development Organization, Independent State Community (CIS), and Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).