Moldova - Early History

Moldova's Latin origins can be traced to the period of Roman occupation of nearby Dacia (in present-day Romania, Bulgaria, and Serbia), ca. A.D. 105-270, when a culture was formed from the intermingling of Roman colonists and the local population. After the Roman Empire and its influence waned and its troops left the region in A.D. 271, a number of groups passed through the area, often violently: Huns, Ostrogoths, and Antes (who were Slavs). The Bulgarian Empire, the Magyars, the Pechenegs, and the Golden Horde (Mongols) also held sway temporarily. In the thirteenth century, Hungary expanded into the area and established a line of fortifications in Moldova near the Siretul River (in present-day Romania) and beyond. The region came under Hungarian suzerainty until an independent Moldovan principality was established by Prince Bogdan in 1349. Originally called Bogdania, the principality stretched from the Carpathian Mountains to the Nistru River and was later renamed Moldova, after the Moldova River in present-day Romania.During the second half of the fifteenth century, all of southeastern Europe came under increasing pressure from the Ottoman Empire, and despite significant military victories by Stephen the Great (Stefan cel Mare, 1457-1504), Moldova succumbed to Ottoman power in 1512 and was a tributary state of the empire for the next 300 years. In addition to paying tribute to the Ottoman Empire and later acceding to the selection of local rulers by Ottoman authorities, Moldova suffered repeated invasions by Turks, Crimean Tatars, and Russians.In 1792 the Treaty of Iasi forced the Ottoman Empire to cede all of its holdings in what is now Transnistria to the Russian Empire. An expanded Bessarabia was annexed by, and incorporated into, the Russian Empire following the Russo-Turkish War of 1806- 12 according to the terms of the Treaty of Bucharest of 1812. Moldovan territory west of the Prut River was united with Walachia. And in the same year, Alexandru Ioan Cuza was elected prince of Walachia and the part of Moldova that lay west of the Prut River, laying the foundations of modern Romania. These two regions were united in 1861.

Moldova nowadays
Culture of the Republic of Moldova The culture of the Republic of Moldova represents a large gamut of cultural activities: literature, theatre, music, fine arts, architecture,cinematography, broadcasting and television, photographic art, design, circus, folk art, archives and libraries, books editing, scientific research, cultural tourism and so on. Interpretative Art Three concert performing institutions carry out the academic concert activity: Serghei Lunchevici National Philharmonic Society (2 concert halls, symphony orchestra, choral chapel, folk songs group); Organ Hall (chamber orchestra and chamber choir); National Palace (Moldova-concert Concert and Impresario Organization: artistic formations of music and folk dance, light music). Theatre The Republic of Moldova has a total of 22 theatrical performance institutions: 18 drama theatres, an opera and ballet theatre, an ethno-folkloric theatre and 2 puppet shows. 17 are situated in the country capital and 5 in other areas. The most important theaters successfully participate in festivals abroad, organize international festivals inside the country, tours to France, Italy, USA, Russia, Japan, China, Romania, other countries. Fine Arts The term fine arts naturalized in the Republic of Moldova includes three genres: painting (monumental and easel painting), graphics (easel, books, posters, advertisement and others) and sculpture (en ronde-bosse plastic, bas-relief, high relief, perspective relief etc.). Over the last years in Moldova there appeared video-art, kinetic sculpture, computer graphics, body-art, performance and others.The folk art is being represented by a reach variety of genres, types and species. The most of them are referred to the sphere of decorative arts: ceramics, popular carpet, traditional clothes, stonework and woodwork, leather, rod, metal working, popular toys etc.Exhibition halls: Constantin Brancusi Exhibition Center, Moldova National Museum of Arts, private exhibition galleries. Folklore

The Moldovan folklore has a strong basis of Dacian-Latin origin and embraces a system of popular confessions and customs, which are specifically defined by means of music and dance, oral poetry and prose, mythology, rites, popular theatre etc. This cultural inheritance in all its manifestations represents a large area of national art of special value, which not only preceded its cultural forms but also continued to develop in the modern era conferring to the professional culture its ethnical originality. Cultural Inheritance The Republic of Moldova has an important cultural inheritance of incontestable value: archeological sites, dwelling houses, country estates, fortresses, cloisters / monasteries and churches, monumental art works, monuments and technical equipment, building ensembles squares, streets, quarters, villages and urban centers or traditional architecture ethnographic areas.The mobile cultural inheritance is owned by 87 country museums, of them 5 museums and 7 branches are directly subordinated to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism; 66 of them to local public authorities. Their funds include about 700.000 units which are a part of national and world culture and history.The archeological inheritance of the Republic of Moldova is reach in ancient works of art. There were discovered sculptural models of as far back as the late Paleolithic age. The ceramics of CucuteniTripolie culture from the Eneolithic Age is attested in several areas of the Republic of Moldova and it has incontestable artistic valences representing a whole mythology in pictures. Culture of ethnic minorities In the Republic of Moldova there are many ethno-cultural associations. 18 minorities the Ukrainians, Russians, Bulgarians, Gagauzians, Jews, Byelorussians, Poles, Germans, Gypsies, Greeks, Lithuanians, Armenians, Azerbaijanians, Tatars, Chuvashs, Italians, Koreans, Uzbeks have associations which operate under the form of communities, societies, unions, centers, cultural foundations etc.By virtue of the principle of equality and universality of cultural legislation, the ethnic minorities have the possibility to develop their traditional culture and national art. In Chisinau there is the Russian Dramatic Theatre A.P.Cehov; in Ceadir-Lunga (ATU Gagauzia) the Gagauzian Dramatic Theatre Mihail Cekir; in Taraclia the Theater of the Bulgarians from Bessarabia Olimpii Panov.

Most famous people in Moldova

Dan was born in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova on the 6 of February 1979.There he lived with his mother, father and sister until 1995 when the family moved to Tel Aviv becouse of his fathers role as an ambassador.In 1988 Dan was on stage for the first time, on a tv show called "Semaforul" and around the same time his parents bought him his first instrument, a accordion, he then whent for accordion lessons at the musical school, he finished there in 1994.In 1992 his parents bought him his first guitar and Dan turned his attention to rock music.In 1994, in the school festival, Dan preformed for the first time one of his songs on the stage together with his friend. In the same year Dan wrote a song for his mothers TV show and it became his first national success.In 1995 Dan moved with his family to Tel Aviv. During his stay in Israel Dan was continuing to create new songs. He had the first recordings in a studio.He returned to Moldova after one year to finish Moldovan lyceum "Gh.Asachi". His parents wanted him to study law and he took exams for the specified faculty. The same year his parents bought him his first synthesizer and in autum he was invited to perform in a band called "Pantheon".Dan had his first concert with this band, he was very happy to be in a band and soon changed the old songs of "Phantheon" to his own songs, the soloist did not approve of this, so Dan sat out to make his own band that was known as "Inferialis".There was six members in the band and they were preforming gotich doom metal.In January 1997 Dan desided to become a professional musician. He left the law University to attend to the musical College "St.Neaga", he studied musical composition, contrabass and piano.In January 1998 Dan changed the music style of "Inferialis" to pop-rock but soon he realized that he needed to leave this type of music for a while, do to the fackt that rock was not a popular musick style at that time, but he always knew that he would return to the rock style at some point. His first song "De La Mine" was released the same year in October; and was soon followed by the biggest hit of 1999 in Moldova - "Dar, Unde Esti"........ but Dan wonted to get a boy band togeather, since boy bands were very popular in that time.So in September 1999 Dan formed the first boy band in Moldova "O-Zone", composed of two singers: Dan Balan and Petru Jelihovschi (who was the lead singer from the band "Inferialis". The same year in autum the two guys, Dan and Petru, went to Romania and recorded three songs "Timpul Trece Fara Noi", "In Doi" and "M-as Trezi". The first singel they released was "Timpul trece fara noi" and in a couple of months "O-Zone" became the Nr.1 band in Moldova.In June 2000 they released the first "O-Zone" album called "Dar, Unde Esti'" made up with 11 songs all composed and preformed by Dan. The album had a huge success. seven singles from the album became mega-hits including "Fiesta de la noche", "Crede-ma", "Te voi jubii", "Ciao bambina", "In doi'", "Dar, unde esti", "Tripul trece fara

noi". The same year in summer O-Zone started the first tour in Moldova. In December Dan wrote a Christmas song called "Sarbatorile de iarna" for the Christmas release of the "Tanti Ludmila Show". Since then this song has became a national song for Christmas and New Year Festival and was played everywhere during this period in Moldova. In spring 2001 Dan decided to go to another level and chose the Romanian market. However his partner Petru was not so interested about Dans big plans, he thouht of his performance in the band more as a hobby. So Dan need to finde someone ells who was as serious about this as he was, so Dan and Petru split up but remanied friends

Maria Bieu-Honoured artist (August 3, 1935 May 16, 2012) was a Moldovan opera singer. Debuting in 1961, she eventually went on to become the chief vocalist of the Chisinau Opera and Ballet Theater. Her artistic excellence brought her international recognition and invitations to sing in other countries, including Italy, where she performed at the Milan Opera from 1965 to 1967.

Eugen Doga Is a Moldovan/Romanian composer. After the fall of the Soviet Union he lives in Moscow, Russia.Doga was born on March 1, 1937 in the village of Mocra in the Ribnita district of the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. He made his debut in the composition art in 1963, with a string quartet, later becoming the author of many musical compositions, film and theater soundtracks.After graduating from the Conservatoire in Chisinau, he performed as violoncellist in the Orchestra of the State Committee of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic for television and radio (19571962), taught at the Music College "Stefan Neaga" from Chisinau (19621967), and worked from 1967 to 1972 at the repertory-editorial Board of the Ministry of Culture of Moldova.The author of a great number of works - ballets, quartets, songs, lyrical songs, music for stage plays and more than 200 films, music for opening and closing ceremony of the 1980 Olympic Games held in Moscow. The multiple award-winning academician of 8 Academies.

Eugen Doga celebrated on March 1

Composer Eugen Doga celebrates his birthday on the first spring day. He turns 76 today. The masters wife has told Info-Prim Neo that Eugen Doga is in Russia as he serves on the jury of a film festival in HantaMansiisk. Eugen Doga was born on March 1, 1937 in Mocra village of the Transnistrian region, currently Rybnitsa district. He started his career of musician as violoncellist in the Orchestra of the State Committee for Television and Radio of the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic (MSSR), when he was a student (1957-1962). He then taught at the Music School Stefan Neaga and was a member of the editorial and repertoire board of the Ministry of Culture of the MSSR. He is one of the most famous composers of film music in the post-Soviet area. He made his debut with the music for the comedy A guard is needed, at Moldova-film studio in 1967. He wrote music for over 200 movies, including Wedding at the palace, Alone in front of love, The Fiddlers, and The Gypsy camp. He also made a significant contribution to developing the animated film in Moldova, writing the music for The nanny goat and her three kids, Maria Mirabela, the series Guguta, etc. The master will return to Chisinau on March 10.

Regional HIV/SIDA center opens in Moldova

A regional HIV/AIDS center, the 4th of such kind in the Republic of Moldova, has been officially opened in Chisinau to provide profiled services to the residents of the capital city and 14 nearby raions of the republic, the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family has reported. Analogous centers already work in Balti (northern Moldova), Comrat (southern Moldova) and Tiraspol (Transnistrian region). All of them are called to improve the quality of life for HIV-infected persons, help them to get re-integrated into the society, and to render psychological assistance to them.The Center has been opened within the framework of partnership between the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family, the Chisinau municipal Department for Childrens Right Protection, the Center for

Health Policy and Researches (PAS) within the Project on reducing the HIV/AIDS impact in Moldova, financed by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM).

The Parliament could hold hearings on the Transnistrian issue

The Parliament could hold hearings on the Transnistrian issue in a closed-door sitting, if the proposal of Mihai Godea, independent MP and leader of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), is backed.At the Parliament sitting today Mihai Godea said that the Transnistrian administration intends to introduce the Russian ruble in the region. In his view, this is a quite serious issue and it should be debated by the Moldovan Parliament, TRIBUNA reports.Mihai Godea suggested that the deputy prime minister in charge of the country reintegration Eugen Carpov, the governor of the National Bank Dorin Dragutanu, the minister of finance Veaceslav Negruta and other officials should be invited to the hearing.Mihai Godeas proposal will be reviewed by the Parliaments Standing Bureau next week, along with the agenda of the Legislative sittings for the following two weeks.

Filat, Ghimpu, Lupu to hold meeting

Vlad Filat, Marian Lupu and Mihai Ghimpu are likely to come together for a meeting in the evening of March 1. The information was confirmed by the Liberal leader Mihai Ghimpu, Info-Prim Neo reports.Ghimpu said that he was invited to the meeting by the Democratic leader Marian Lupu. According to him, the current situation can no longer be perpetuated and dialogue is needed if they want Moldova to follow the path to European integration. The head of the Liberal-Democratic parliamentary group Valeriu Strelet said that Vlad Filat will possibly accept the invitation as the PLDM is ready for discussions. The hour and place of the meeting havent been specified.

Good to know
The Principality of Moldava was founded in 1359. The political center was located in the valley of Moldova River. The origin of the river's name is not clear. One theory is that Prince Dragos named the river after his dog Molda. Molda is reported to have drowned in it after an exhausted hunt. The Moldovan leu was adopted on 29 November 1993,

Moldovan wine exports cover 15 percent of country's budget Crivova.This underground wine city appeared in galleries excavated in lime mining operations during the 70-es of the last century, at the depth of 40-85 meters, and is one of the largest wine cellars in the world. The total length of the galleries consists of 200 km, from which more than 50 km are used.