see: en.wikipedia.org Today's Republic of Moldova corresponds with most of the Romanian historical province of Bessarabia. Stalin's abusive Ultimatum of 1940 forced Romania to give up Bessarabia in 1940. Most of Bessarabia was turned into the "Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova", while the 3 southern counties of Bessarabia were given to the Soviet Socialist Republic of Ukraine. In the SSR of Moldova, a massive plan of Russification began. The plan included the deportation of ethnic Romanians to Siberia and Central Russia, the colonisation of Bessarabia with Russian-speaking population, the prohibition of the Latin alphabet, the suppression of churches, and the assassination of the Romanian intellectuals who opposed the regime. After 1940, Romania entered the Second World War and tried to free Bessarabia from the Soviet occupation. Despite of all the battles fought, Bessarabia remained under Soviet occupation. The Soviet Union applied its plan of Russification, but the success was only partial. Although written in the Cyrillic alphabet, the Romanian language remained the native language of most of the population. Ethnic Romanians remained the oldest and most numerous inhabitants of Bessarabia. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Moldova became an indepedent republic and the Latin alphabet was reintroduced at the request of the Romanian majority. The anthem chosen was "Awaken thee, Romanian !". When the Communist Party re-gained influence in Moldova, they changed the ...

• published: 11 Apr 2011
• views: 1734
• author: VyckRo