- published: 25 Jul 2012
- views: 8002
- author: Daniel Durick
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Abkhazia
Abkhazia (Abkhaz: Аҧсны́ Apsny, IPA /apʰsˈnɨ/; Georgian: აფხაზეთი Apkhazeti; Russian: Абхазия Abkhaziya) is a disputed territory on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.
Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny. This status is recognised by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru, Tuvalu and Vanuatu and also by the partially recognised states of South Ossetia, Transnistria and Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Georgian government and the majority of the world's governments consider Abkhazia a part of Georgia's territory. Under Georgia's official designation it is an autonomous republic, called the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, whose government sits in exile in Tbilisi. On 28 August 2008, the Parliament of Georgia passed a resolution declaring Abkhazia a "Russian-occupied territory".
The status of Abkhazia is a central issue of the Georgian–Abkhazian conflict. The wider region formed part of the Soviet Union until 1991. As the Soviet Union began to disintegrate towards the end of the 1980s, ethnic tensions grew between Abkhaz and Georgians over Georgia's moves towards independence. This led to the 1992–1993 War in Abkhazia that resulted in a Georgian military defeat, de facto independence of Abkhazia and the mass exodus and ethnic cleansing of the Georgian population from Abkhazia. In spite of the 1994 ceasefire agreement and years of negotiations, the status dispute has not been resolved, and despite the long-term presence of a United Nations monitoring force and a Russian-dominated Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) peacekeeping operation, the conflict has flared up on several occasions. In August 2008, the sides again fought during the South Ossetia War, which was followed by the formal recognition of Abkhazia by Russia, the annulment of the 1994 cease fire agreement and the termination of the UN and CIS missions.[citation needed]
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Albania
Albania (
i/ælˈbeɪniə/ al-BAY-nee-ə, Albanian: Shqipëri/Shqipëria; Gheg Albanian: Shqipnia), officially known as the Republic of Albania (Albanian: Republika e Shqipërisë pronounced Albanian pronunciation: [ɾɛpuˈblika ɛ ʃcipəˈɾiːs]), is a country in Southern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the west, and on the Ionian Sea to the southwest. It is less than 72 km (45 mi) from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto which links the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea.
Albania is a member of the UN, NATO, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Council of Europe, World Trade Organisation, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and one of the founding members of the Union for the Mediterranean. Albania has been a potential candidate for accession to the European Union since January 2003, and it formally applied for EU membership on 28 April 2009.
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Andorra
Andorra (i/ænˈdɔrə/; Catalan pronunciation: [ənˈdorə], locally: [anˈdɔra]), officially the Principality of Andorra (Catalan: Principat d'Andorra), also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, (Catalan: Principat de les Valls d'Andorra), is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of 468 km2 (181 sq mi) and an estimated population of 84,082 in 2009. Its capital, Andorra la Vella, is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 metres (3,356 ft) above sea level. The official language is Catalan, although Spanish, Portuguese, and French are also commonly spoken.
The Principality was formed in 1278. The role of monarch is exercised jointly by the two co-princes, the Catalan Bishop of Urgell and the President of France (the whole state is a part of Diocese of Urgell).
Andorra is a prosperous country mainly because of its tourism industry, which services an estimated 10.2 million visitors annually, and also because of its status as a tax haven. It is not a member of the European Union, but the euro is the de facto currency. The people of Andorra have the 4th highest human life expectancy in the world — 82 years at birth.
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Anenii Noi District
Anenii Noi district (Romanian: Raionul Anenii Noi) is a district (raion) in the central part of Moldova. As of January 1, 2011, its population was 83,100. Its seat is the city of Anenii Noi.
Localities with the oldest documentary attestation are Gura Bîcului, Teliţa, Mereni localities documented for the first time in 1443-1475. In the following centuries to develop the economy (trade, agriculture, customs duties), and shows a significant demographic growth. The first documentary of the city Anenii Noi is June 27, 1731 with the name Pascani pe Bîc. In 1812, after the Russo-Turkish War (1806-1812), is the occupation of Basarabia, Russian Empire during this period (1812-1917), there is an intense russification of the native population. In 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire, Bessarabia united with Romania in this period (1918-1940, 1941-1944), the district is part of the Chişinău County. In 1940 after Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, Basarabia is occupied by the USSR. In 1991 as a result of the proclamation of Independence of Moldova, part and residence of the Chişinău County (1991-2003), and in 2003 became administrative unit of Moldova.
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Anenii Noi district
Anenii Noi district (Romanian: Raionul Anenii Noi) is a district (raion) in the central part of Moldova. As of January 1, 2011, its population was 83,100. Its seat is the city of Anenii Noi.
Localities with the oldest documentary attestation are Gura Bîcului, Teliţa, Mereni localities documented for the first time in 1443-1475. In the following centuries to develop the economy (trade, agriculture, customs duties), and shows a significant demographic growth. The first documentary of the city Anenii Noi is June 27, 1731 with the name Pascani pe Bîc. In 1812, after the Russo-Turkish War (1806-1812), is the occupation of Basarabia, Russian Empire during this period (1812-1917), there is an intense russification of the native population. In 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire, Bessarabia united with Romania in this period (1918-1940, 1941-1944), the district is part of the Chişinău County. In 1940 after Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, Basarabia is occupied by the USSR. In 1991 as a result of the proclamation of Independence of Moldova, part and residence of the Chişinău County (1991-2003), and in 2003 became administrative unit of Moldova.
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Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (Portuguese: República de Angola, pronounced: [ʁɨˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈɡɔla];Kikongo, Kimbundu, Umbundu: Repubilika ya Ngola), is a country in southern Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city. The exclave province of Cabinda has borders with the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Portuguese were present in some—mostly coastal—points of the territory of what is now Angola, from the 16th to the 19th century, interacting in diverse ways with the peoples that lived there. In the 19th century they slowly and hesitantly began to establish themselves in the interior. Angola as a Portuguese colony encompassing the present territory was not established before the end of the 19th century, and "effective occupation", as required by the Berlin Conference (1884) was achieved only by the 1920s. Independence was achieved in 1975, after a protracted liberation war. After independence, Angola was the scene of an intense civil war from 1975 to 2002. The country has vast mineral and petroleum reserves, and its economy has on average grown at a two-digit pace since the 1990s, especially since the end of the civil war. In spite of this, standards of living remain low for the majority of the population, and life expectancy and infant mortality rates in Angola are among the worst-ranked in the world. At the same time, a minority has reached comfortable life standards, and the dominant stratum has succeeded in accumulating considerable wealth, so that social inequality in Angola is one of the highest in the world.
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Argentina
Argentinai/ˌɑrdʒənˈtiːnə/, officially the Argentine Republic (Spanish: República Argentina [reˈpuβlika aɾxenˈtina]), is a country in South America, the continent's second largest by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth-largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations.
Argentina's continental area is between the Andes mountain range in the west and the Atlantic Ocean in the east. It borders Paraguay and Bolivia to the north, Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast, and Chile to the west and south. Argentine claims over Antarctica, as well as overlapping claims made by Chile and the United Kingdom, are suspended by the Antarctic Treaty of 1961. Argentina also claims the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which are administered by the United Kingdom as British Overseas Territories.
A recognised middle power, Argentina is Latin America's third-largest economy, with a "very high" rating on the Human development index. Within Latin America, Argentina has the fifth highest nominal GDP per capita and the highest in purchasing power terms. Analysts have argued that the country has a "foundation for future growth due to its market size, levels of foreign direct investment, and percentage of high-tech exports as share of total manufactured goods", and it is classed by investors as middle emerging economy. Argentina is a founding member of the United Nations, Mercosur, the Union of South American Nations, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the World Bank Group and the World Trade Organization, and is one of the G-15 and G-20 major economies.
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Armenia
Armeniai/ɑrˈmiːniə/ (Armenian: Հայաստան Hayastan [hɑjɑsˈtɑn]), officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն, Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun, [hɑjɑstɑˈni hɑnɾɑpɛtuˈtʰjun]), is a landlocked, mountainous country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south.
A former republic of the Soviet Union, Armenia is a unitary, multiparty, democratic nation-state with an ancient and historic cultural heritage. The Kingdom of Armenia became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its religion, in the early years of the 4th century (the traditional date is 301 AD). The modern Republic of Armenia recognizes the Armenian Apostolic Church, the world's oldest national church, as the country's primary religious establishment. Armenians have their own unique alphabet invented by Mesrob Mashtots in 406 AD.
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Austria
Austria (i/ˈɒstriə/ or /ˈɔːstriə/; German: Österreich [ˈøːstɐˌʁaɪç] (
listen)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: 
Republik Österreich (help·info)), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.47 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,855 square kilometres (32,377 sq mi) and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speak local Austro-Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Burgenland Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.
The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria became one of the great powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon I as the Emperor of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary.
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Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (
i/ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn/ AZ-ər-by-JAHN; Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Respublikası) is the largest country in the Caucasus region located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south. The exclave of Nakhchivan is bounded by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, while having a short borderline with Turkey to the northwest.
Azerbaijan has an ancient and historic cultural heritage. Aside from having been the first Muslim-majority country to have operas, theater and plays, Azerbaijan today is among the Muslim-majority countries where support for secularism and tolerance is the highest. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the first democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world, was established in 1918, but was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1920. Azerbaijan regained independence in 1991. Shortly thereafter, during the Nagorno-Karabakh War, neighboring Armenia occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, its surrounding territories and the enclaves of Karki, Yukhary Askipara, Barkhudarly and Sofulu. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which emerged in Nagorno-Karabakh, continues to be not diplomatically recognized by any nation and the region is still considered a de jure part of Azerbaijan, despite being de facto independent since the end of the war. Azerbaijan has come under repeated international criticism for its record on human rights.
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Belarus
Belarus (i/bɛləˈruːs/ bel-ə-ROOSS; Belarusian: Беларусь, Russian pronunciation: [bʲɛlaˈrusʲ] Russian: Беларусь, Белоруссия, Belarus', Belorussiya), officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno (Hrodna), Gomel (Homiel), Mogilev (Mahilyow) and Vitebsk (Vitsebsk). Over forty percent of its 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) is forested, and its strongest economic sectors are agriculture and manufacturing.
Until the 20th century, the lands of modern-day Belarus belonged to several countries, including the Principality of Polotsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, Belarus became a founding constituent republic of the Soviet Union and was renamed as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR). The borders of Belarus took their modern shape in 1939 when some lands of the Second Polish Republic were incorporated into it after the Soviet invasion of Poland. The nation and its territory were devastated in World War II, during which Belarus lost about a third of its population and more than half of its economic resources. The republic was redeveloped in the post-war years. In 1945 the Belorussian SSR became a founding member of the United Nations, along with the Soviet Union and the Ukrainian SSR.
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Belgium
Belgium (i/ˈbɛldʒəm/ BEL-jəm), officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi), and it has a population of about 11 million people. Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups, the Dutch-speakers, mostly Flemish (about 60%), and the French-speakers, mostly Walloons (about 40%), plus a small group of German-speakers. Belgium's two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region, officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in the political history and a complex system of government.
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Benin
Benini/bɨˈniːn/ (formerly, Dahomey), officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, by Nigeria to the east and by Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. A majority of the population live on its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin. The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo, but the seat of government is in Cotonou, the country's largest city. Benin covers an area of approximately 110,000 square kilometers (42,000 sq mi), with a population of approximately 9.05 million. Benin is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with substantial employment and income arising from subsistence farming.
The official language of Benin is French, however, indigenous languages such as Fon and Yoruba are commonly spoken. The largest religious group in Benin is Roman Catholicism, followed closely by Islam, Vodun and Protestantism. Benin is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, La Francophonie, the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, the African Petroleum Producers Association and the Niger Basin Authority.
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Bessarabia
Bessarabia (Romanian: Basarabia; Russian: Бессарабия Bessarabiya, Ukrainian: Бессарабія Bessarabiya) is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west.
In the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish War, 1806-1812, and ensuing Peace of Bucharest, the eastern portion of the Principality of Moldavia, an Ottoman vassal, was ceded to Imperial Russia and designated "Bessarabia". While this eastern part became the Governorate of Bessarabia, the western part of Moldavia united, in 1859, with Wallachia in what would become the Kingdom of Romania. For a short period between 1856 and 1878, two of the nine traditional counties of Bessarabia were also part of Moldavia and then Romania.
Three months after declaring its independence from Russia, in 1918, as the Moldavian Democratic Republic (shortly before the end of World War I); it united with the Kingdom of Romania. In 1940, Bessarabia was occupied by the USSR in accordance with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany. Subsequently, Romania joined the Axis Powers and recaptured it in 1941 and lost again in 1944. In 1947, the Soviet-Romanian border set along the Prut River was internationally recognised by the Paris Treaty that ended World War II. The core part of Bessarabia was joined with parts of the Moldavian ASSR (Transnistria) to form the Moldavian SSR. At the same time, smaller parts of Bessarabia, in the south (two traditional counties; Budjak) and north (half of one county), were transferred to the Ukrainian SSR.
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Bolivia
Coordinates: 16°42′43″S 64°39′58″W / 16.712°S 64.666°W / -16.712; -64.666 Bolivia (i/bəˈlɪviə/, Spanish: [boliˈβja]) officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia (Spanish: Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia, Quechua: Bulivya Mamallaqta, Aymara: Wuliwya Suyu), is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, Chile to the southwest, and Peru to the west.
Prior to European colonization, the Andean region of Bolivia was a part of the Inca Empire – the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century. During most of the Spanish colonial period, this territory was called Upper Peru and was under the administration of the Viceroyalty of Peru, which included most of Spain's South American colonies. After declaring independence in 1809, 16 years of war followed before the establishment of the Republic, named for Simón Bolívar, on 6 August 1825. Bolivia has struggled through periods of political instability, dictatorships and economic woes.
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Brazil
Brazili/brəˈzɪl/ (Portuguese: Brasil, IPA: [bɾaˈziw]), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil, listen (help·info)), is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people. It is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas and the largest lusophone country in the world.
Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 km (4,655 mi). It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French overseas region of French Guiana; on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the southwest by Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. Numerous archipelagos form part of Brazilian territory, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz. It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile.
Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until 1815, when it was elevated to the rank of kingdom and the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was formed. The colonial bond was in fact broken in 1808, when the capital of the Portuguese colonial empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, after Napoleon invaded Portugal.Independence was achieved in 1822 with the formation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. The country became a presidential republic in 1889, when a military coup d'état proclaimed the Republic, although the bicameral legislature, now called Congress, dates back to the ratification of the first constitution in 1824. Its current Constitution, formulated in 1988, defines Brazil as a Federal Republic. The Federation is formed by the union of the Federal District, the 26 States, and the 5,564 Municipalities.
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Briceni District
Briceni is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the north-west of Moldova, with the administrative center at Briceni. The other major city is Lipcani. As of January 1, 2011, its population was 75,300.
The first documentary attestation dates back to district towns June 17, 1429. Such localities: Lipcani, Larga, Mihăileni, Şirăuţi are mentioned first in the period 1429–1433. In July 1429, reign of Moldova Alexander the Good Dan Uncleata had established him several villages in the region of the district today. In 1562 is first attested Briceni city under the name of the land Adicăuţi, Hotin, which gave him his Despot Voda to Vartic. Lipcani Tatars in 1699 are displaced living in the city which they called, being displaced to Kamianets-Podilskyi. In 1788 Austrian military administration Briceni found in 56 households. In 1812 after the Treaty of Bucharest, Moldova is occupied by Russian Empire in the period 1812-1918 as the district is under Russian administration. In 1877 the region is experiencing an epidemic of plague. In 1882 a drought strikes the district. In 1897 the city population Briceni of 7446, 96.5% were Hebrew. In 1918 with the Union of Bessarabia with Romania entering the land Hotin district region. In 1940 the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with Bessarabia Briceni is occupied by the USSR. In 2004 the population was 78.400 inhabitants of the district.
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Briceni district
Briceni is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the north-west of Moldova, with the administrative center at Briceni. The other major city is Lipcani. As of January 1, 2011, its population was 75,300.
The first documentary attestation dates back to district towns June 17, 1429. Such localities: Lipcani, Larga, Mihăileni, Şirăuţi are mentioned first in the period 1429–1433. In July 1429, reign of Moldova Alexander the Good Dan Uncleata had established him several villages in the region of the district today. In 1562 is first attested Briceni city under the name of the land Adicăuţi, Hotin, which gave him his Despot Voda to Vartic. Lipcani Tatars in 1699 are displaced living in the city which they called, being displaced to Kamianets-Podilskyi. In 1788 Austrian military administration Briceni found in 56 households. In 1812 after the Treaty of Bucharest, Moldova is occupied by Russian Empire in the period 1812-1918 as the district is under Russian administration. In 1877 the region is experiencing an epidemic of plague. In 1882 a drought strikes the district. In 1897 the city population Briceni of 7446, 96.5% were Hebrew. In 1918 with the Union of Bessarabia with Romania entering the land Hotin district region. In 1940 the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with Bessarabia Briceni is occupied by the USSR. In 2004 the population was 78.400 inhabitants of the district.
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Bukovina
Bukovina (Romanian: Bucovina; Ukrainian: Буковина/Bukovyna; German and Polish: Bukowina; see also other languages) is a historical region in Central Europe, currently divided between Romania and Ukraine, located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains.
From 1775 to 1918, Bukovina was an administrative division of the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire, and Austria–Hungary. After World War I, Bukovina became part of Romania. In 1940, as a result of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the northern half of Bukovina was annexed by the Soviet Union.
The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became Austrian Empire in 1804, and Austria-Hungary in 1867.
The official German name, die Bukowina, of the province under Austrian rule (1775–1918), was derived from the Polish form Bukowina, which in turn was derived from the Ukrainian word, Буковина (Bukovyna), and the common Slavic form of buk, meaning beech tree (бук [buk] as, for example, in Ukrainian or, even, Buche in German). Another German name for the region, das Buchenland, is mostly used in poetry, and means "beech land", or "the land of beech trees". In Romanian, in literary or poetic contexts, the name Țara Fagilor ("the land of beech trees") is sometimes used.
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Bulgaria
Coordinates: 42°45′N 25°30′E / 42.75°N 25.5°E / 42.75; 25.5
Bulgariai/bʌlˈɡɛəriə/ (Bulgarian: България, IPA: [bɤ̞ɫˈɡarijɐ]), is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and the Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south and the Black Sea to the east. With a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi), Bulgaria is Europe's 14th-largest country. Its location has made it a historical crossroad for various civilisations and as such it is the home of some of the earliest metalworking, religious and other cultural artifacts in the world.
Prehistoric cultures began developing on Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period. Its ancient history was marked by the presence of the Thracians, and later by the Greeks and Romans. The emergence of a unified Bulgarian ethnicity and state dates back to the First Bulgarian Empire, which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavic peoples during the Middle Ages. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for nearly five hundred years. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 resulted in the Third Bulgarian State, recognised in 1908. The following years saw several conflicts with its neighbours, which prompted Bulgaria to align with Germany in both World Wars. In 1946 it became a Communist republic with a single-party system until 1989, when the Communist Party allowed multi-party elections. After 1990 Bulgaria transitioned to democracy and a market-based economy.
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Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (i/bərˌkiːnə ˈfɑːsoʊ/ bər-KEE-nə FAH-soh; French: [buʁkina faso]) – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest. The country's capital is Ouagadougou.
Its size is 274,200 square kilometres (105,900 sq mi) with an estimated population of more than 15,757,000. Formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta, it was renamed on 4 August 1984, by President Thomas Sankara, to mean "the land of upright people" in Mòoré and Dioula, the major native languages of the country. Figuratively, "Burkina" may be translated, "men of integrity", from the Mòoré language, and "Faso" means "fatherland" in Dioula. The inhabitants of Burkina Faso are known as Burkinabè (
/bərˈkiːnəbeɪ/ bər-KEE-nə-bay).
Burkina Faso was populated between 14,000 and 5000 BC by hunter-gatherers in the country's northwestern region. Farm settlements appeared between 3600 and 2600 BC. What is now central Burkina Faso was principally composed of Mossi kingdoms. These Mossi Kingdoms would become a French protectorate in 1896. After gaining independence from France in 1960, the country underwent many governmental changes until arriving at its current form, a semi-presidential republic. The president is Blaise Compaoré.
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Burundi
Burundi (pronounced /bəˈɹʊndɨ/), officially the Republic of Burundi (Kirundi: Republika y'u Burundi, [buˈɾundi]; French: République du Burundi, [byˈʁyndi]), is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura. Although the country is landlocked, much of the southwestern border is adjacent to Lake Tanganyika.
The Twa, Tutsi, and Hutu peoples have occupied Burundi since the country's formation five centuries ago. Burundi was ruled as a kingdom by the Tutsi for over two hundred years. However, at the beginning of the twentieth century, Germany and Belgium occupied the region, and Burundi and Rwanda became a European colony known as Ruanda-Urundi.
Political unrest occurred throughout the region, in part, because of social differences between the Tutsi and Hutu, provoking civil war in Burundi throughout the middle twentieth century. Presently, Burundi is governed as a presidential representative democratic republic.
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Bălţi Steppe
Bălţi Steppe (Romanian: Stepa Bălţului), also Beltsy Steppe (Russian: Бельцкая степь) is a hilly area with few trees (apart from those near rivers Dniestr, Răut and numerous lakes and creeks), dominated by agriculturally cultivated land, and occasionally by grasses and shrubs, in the northern part of Moldova. It is characterised by moderate but unstable seasons, generally hot summers and cold winters.
The Bălţi Steppe has a total surface of 1,920 km², 2.7 per cent (51 km²) of it are forests.. The region, as the rest of Moldova, is traditionally an agricultural area, favored by several factors, such as the chernozem (black earth).
The untouched natural richness of the northern Moldavian region became known as Bălţi steppe only in the beginning of the last century.
As a geographic area Bălţi steppe is one of the three components of the Moldavian Plain, which in turn is one of the six compenents of the Moldavian Plateau. Despite the name, Bălţi steppe is not a flatland, but a region dotted with hills.
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Cahul
Cahul (Romanian pronunciation: [kaˈhul], Russian: Kagul/Кагул) is a city in southern Moldova. The city is the administrative center of Cahul District; it also administers one village, Cotihana. As of 1 January 2009, it has an estimated population of 39,400.
The city of Cahul is believed to have been inhabited for many centuries, although it has had a number of different names over the years – the name Scheia (Old Romanian for "Bulgarian") was recorded in 1502, and the name Frumoasa ("Beautiful" in Romanian) was recorded in 1716. The modern name was given to the settlement after the Battle of Kagul, which was fought nearby.
The city's location had made it a frequent battleground for a number of armies, with possession of frequently switching between countries such as Principality of Moldavia, Russian Empire, Ottoman Empire.
The city was a part of the Moldavia before 1812, then Russia from 1812 to 1856, then again Moldavia/Romanian Principalities (1856–1878), then Russia again (1878–1918), then Romania again (1918–1940), then the Soviet Union (1940–1941), then again Romania, the Soviet Union again (1944–1991) and finally Moldova (1991 to the present).
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Cahul County
Cahul County was a county of Bessarabia. In the Middle Ages, its territory belonged to the Fălciu County, but after the annexation of Bessarabia by the Russian Empire in 1812 it became a county by itself.
Two smaller, Codru County and Greceni County were merged into it in 1818. Cahul County was part of the Bessarabia Governorate of the Russian Empire (1812–1856), of the Principality of Moldavia (1856–1859), then or Romania (1859–1878). In 1878, it was again annexed by the Russians, who merged it with the Ismail County. After the Union of Bessarabia with Romania in 1918, the county was again formed.
The county neighboured the counties of Cetatea Albă and Tighina to the east, Lăpuşna to the north, County, Tutova and Covurlui to the west, and Ismail to the south.
The county consisted of five districts (plăṣi):
After the 1938 Administrative and Constitutional Reform, this county merged with the counties of Brăila, Covurlui, Fălciu, Ismail, Putna, Râmnicu Sărat, Tecuci, Tulcea and Tutova to form Ţinutul Dunării.
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Cahul district
Cahul is a district (Romanian: raion) in the south of Moldova, with the administrative center at Cahul. According to the GeoNames geographical database, the population of Cahul is 34,492.
The district has been inhabited since the Stone Age (50-45.000 BC). Two ancient settlements were founded around 1300 BC; archaeologists have found items belonging to the Bronze Age (XV-XIII century). According to estimates of specialists, another village was established here around 300-400 BC. That has been confirmed by the remains of houses burned and the fragments of clay pots. Archaeological monuments recorded a settlement arising from employment of Dacia in the Roman Empire and devastated by the Huns in 376. The presence of nomads in these places is attested by the four burial mounds.
Localities with the earliest documented attestation are Crihana Veche, Manta, Valeni, Slobozia Mare, and Larga Veche; they were documented for the first time in 1425-1447. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the economy developed in agriculture, winery, and trade, along with an increase in population. On August 1, 1770, near Cahul lake, the Battle of Cahul took place (Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774). It was the most important land battle of the Russo-Turkish War and one of the largest battles of the 18th century. In 1812, after the Russo-Turkish War, there was an intense russification of the native population during the occupation of Basarabia by the Russian Empire during this period (1812–1856, 1878–1917). Between 1813 and 1850, the Tsarist government colonized some of the region with Russians, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, and Gagauz. These ethnic groups now constitute 21% of the population of the district.
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Cahul District
Cahul is a district (Romanian: raion) in the south of Moldova, with the administrative center at Cahul. According to the GeoNames geographical database, the population of Cahul is 34,492.
The district has been inhabited since the Stone Age (50-45.000 BC). Two ancient settlements were founded around 1300 BC; archaeologists have found items belonging to the Bronze Age (XV-XIII century). According to estimates of specialists, another village was established here around 300-400 BC. That has been confirmed by the remains of houses burned and the fragments of clay pots. Archaeological monuments recorded a settlement arising from employment of Dacia in the Roman Empire and devastated by the Huns in 376. The presence of nomads in these places is attested by the four burial mounds.
Localities with the earliest documented attestation are Crihana Veche, Manta, Valeni, Slobozia Mare, and Larga Veche; they were documented for the first time in 1425-1447. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the economy developed in agriculture, winery, and trade, along with an increase in population. On August 1, 1770, near Cahul lake, the Battle of Cahul took place (Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774). It was the most important land battle of the Russo-Turkish War and one of the largest battles of the 18th century. In 1812, after the Russo-Turkish War, there was an intense russification of the native population during the occupation of Basarabia by the Russian Empire during this period (1812–1856, 1878–1917). Between 1813 and 1850, the Tsarist government colonized some of the region with Russians, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, and Gagauz. These ethnic groups now constitute 21% of the population of the district.
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Cambodia
Cambodia (i/kæmˈboʊdiə/;Khmer: ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា, Kampuchea, IPA: [kɑmˈpuˈciə]), officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With a total landmass of 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 sq mi), it is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.
With a population of over 14.8 million, Cambodia is the 68th most populous country in the world. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, which is practiced by around 95% of the Cambodian population. The country minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams and 30 various hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh; the political, economic, and cultural center of Cambodia. The kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently the longest serving leader in South East Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 25 years.
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Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon (French: République du Cameroun), is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of Bonny, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. The country is called "Africa in miniature" for its geological and cultural diversity. Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. The highest point is Mount Cameroon in the southwest, and the largest cities are Douala, Yaoundé, and Garoua. Cameroon is home to over 200 different linguistic groups. The country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly makossa and bikutsi, and for its successful national football team. French and English are the official languages.
Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad and the Baka hunter-gatherers in the southeastern rainforest. Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camarões ("River of Prawns"), the name from which Cameroon derives. Fulani soldiers founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the 19th century, and various ethnic groups of the west and northwest established powerful chiefdoms and fondoms. Cameroon became a German colony in 1884.
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Canada
Canada ( /ˈkænədə/) is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean. Spanning over 9,900,000 km2 (3,800,000 sq mi), Canada is the world's second-largest country by total area, and its common border with the United States is the longest land border in the world.
The land that is now Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French colonial expeditions explored, and later settled, along the region's Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy; the Canada Act 1982 severed the vestiges of legal dependence on Britain.
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Cantemir district
Cantemir is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the south of Moldova, with the administrative center at Cantemir. As of January 1, 2011, its population was 62,800.
Localities with the earliest documentary attestation of the district are: Haragîș, Stoianeuca, Lărguța, Cîrpești localities approved for the first time in the period 1443-1489. In the 16th and 17th centuries, most of all to develop trade, agriculture and there is a significant population increase. In 1812, after the Russo-Turkish War (1806-1812), is the occupation of Basarabia, Russian Empire during this period (1812–1856, 1878–1917), there is an intense russification of the native population. In 1856-1878, after the Crimean War district is part of the Romania. In 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire, Bessarabia united with Romania in this period (1918–1940, 1941–1944), the district is part of the Ismail County. In 1940 after Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, Basarabia is occupied by the USSR. In 1991 as a result of the proclamation of Independence of Moldova, part and residence of the Cahul County (1991–2003), and in 2003 became administrative unit of Moldova.
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Cantemir District
Cantemir is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the south of Moldova, with the administrative center at Cantemir. As of January 1, 2011, its population was 62,800.
Localities with the earliest documentary attestation of the district are: Haragîș, Stoianeuca, Lărguța, Cîrpești localities approved for the first time in the period 1443-1489. In the 16th and 17th centuries, most of all to develop trade, agriculture and there is a significant population increase. In 1812, after the Russo-Turkish War (1806-1812), is the occupation of Basarabia, Russian Empire during this period (1812–1856, 1878–1917), there is an intense russification of the native population. In 1856-1878, after the Crimean War district is part of the Romania. In 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire, Bessarabia united with Romania in this period (1918–1940, 1941–1944), the district is part of the Ismail County. In 1940 after Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, Basarabia is occupied by the USSR. In 1991 as a result of the proclamation of Independence of Moldova, part and residence of the Cahul County (1991–2003), and in 2003 became administrative unit of Moldova.
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Cape Verde
Cape Verdei/ˌkeɪp ˈvɜrd/ (Portuguese: Cabo Verde, pronounced: [ˈkabu ˈveɾdɨ]), officially the Republic of Cape Verde, is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa. The islands, covering a combined area of slightly over 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), are of volcanic origin and while three of them (Sal, Boa Vista and Maio) are fairly flat, sandy and dry, the remaining ones are generally rockier and have more vegetation. However, because of the infrequent occurrence of rainfall the overall landscape is not particularly green.
The name of the country stems from the nearby Cap Vert, on the Senegalese coast, which in its turn was originally named "Cabo Verde" when it was sighted by Portuguese explorers in 1444, a few years before the islands were discovered (verde is Portuguese for "green").
The previously uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th Century, and became important in the Atlantic slave trade for their location. The islands' prosperity often attracted privateers and pirates, including Sir Francis Drake, a corsair (privateer) under the authority of the British crown, who twice sacked the (then) capital Ribeira Grande, in the 1580s. The islands were also visited by Charles Darwin's expedition in 1832. The decline in the slave trade in the 19th century resulted in an economic crisis for the islands. With few natural resources, and without strong sustainable investment from the Portuguese, the citizens grew increasingly discontent with the colonial masters, who nevertheless refused to provide the local authorities with more autonomy. This discontent festered and culminated in 1975, when a movement originally led by Amílcar Cabral who was assassinated on 20 January 1973 then passed onto his half-brother Luís Cabral, achieved independence for the archipelago.
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Chad
Chadi/ˈtʃæd/ (French: Tchad, Arabic: تشاد Tšād), officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. Due to its distance from the sea and its largely desert climate, the country is sometimes referred to as the "Dead Heart of Africa".
Chad is divided into multiple regions: a desert zone in the north, an arid Sahelian belt in the centre and a more fertile Sudanese savanna zone in the south. Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the largest wetland in Chad and the second largest in Africa. Chad's highest peak is the Emi Koussi in the Sahara, and N'Djamena, (formerly Fort-Lamy), the capital, is the largest city. Chad is home to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups. Arabic and French are the official languages. Islam and Christianity are the most widely practiced religions.
Beginning in the 7th millennium BC, human populations moved into the Chadian basin in great numbers. By the end of the 1st millennium BC, a series of states and empires rose and fell in Chad's Sahelian strip, each focused on controlling the trans-Saharan trade routes that passed through the region. France conquered the territory by 1920 and incorporated it as part of French Equatorial Africa.
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Chernivtsi oblast
Chernivtsi Oblast (Ukrainian: Чернівецька область, Chernivets’ka oblast’, Romanian: Regiunea Cernăuţi) is an oblast (province) in western Ukraine, bordering on Romania and Moldova. It has a large variety of landforms: the Carpathian Mountains and picturesque hills at the foot of the mountains gradually change to a broad partly forested plain situated between the Dniester and Prut rivers. Its capital is the city Chernivtsi. The region has a population (as of 1 May 2004 (2004 -05-01)[update]) of 913,275 and spans 8,100 km².
As of 2011, one of the poorest regions of Ukraine.
Chernivtsi Oblast covers an area of 8,097 km². It is the smallest oblast in Ukraine, representing 1.3% of Ukrainian territory.
In the oblast there are 75 rivers longer than 10 kilometers. The largest rivers are the Dnister (290 km), Prut (128 km) and Siret (113 km).
The oblast covers three geographic zones: a forest steppe region between Prut and Dnister rivers, a foothill region between the Carpathian Mountains and Prut river, and a mountain region known as the Bukovinian part of the Carpathian Mountains.
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Chile
Chile (i/ˈtʃɪliː/ or /ˈtʃɪleɪ/), officially the Republic of Chile (Spanish: República de Chile [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈtʃile] ( listen)), is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Along with Ecuador, it is one of two countries in South America that do not border Brazil. Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas and Easter Island. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica, although all claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty.
Chile's distinctive shape—4,300 kilometres (2,700 mi) long and on average 175 kilometres (109 mi) wide—makes it the longest country in the world, north to south, with the fifth lengthiest coastline at over 78 thousand kilometers. The diverse climate of Chile ranges from the world's driest desert in the north—the Atacama—through a Mediterranean climate in the centre, humid subtropical in Easter Island, to an Oceanic climate, including alpine tundra and glaciers in the east and south. The northern desert contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. The relatively small central area dominates in terms of population and agricultural resources, and is the cultural and political center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century when it incorporated its northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands.
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Cojuşna
Cojuşna is a commune in Străşeni district, Moldova. It is composed of a single village, Cojuşna.
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Colombia
Colombia ( /kəˈlʌmbiə/ kə-LUM-biə, or /kəˈlɒmbiə/ kə-LOM-biə), officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: República de Colombia [reˈpuβlika ðe koˈlombja]), is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the northwest by Panama; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia has maritime borders with Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Colombia is the 26th largest country by area and the fourth largest in South America after Brazil, Argentina and Peru. With over 46 million people, Colombia is the 27th largest country in the world by population and has the second largest population of any Spanish-speaking country in the world, after Mexico. Colombia is a middle power, with the fourth largest economy in Latin America, and the third largest in South America. Colombia is famous for the production of coffee, flowers, emeralds, coal, and oil. All of these products make up the primary sector of economy.
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Comoros
The Comorosi/ˈkɒməroʊz/ (Arabic: جزر القمر, Ǧuzur al-Qumur/Qamar), officially the Union of the Comoros (Comorian: Udzima wa Komori, French: Union des Comores, Arabic: الاتحاد القمري al-Ittiḥād al-Qumurī/Qamarī) is a sovereign, archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar. Other countries near to the Comoros are Tanzania to the northwest and the Seychelles to the northeast. The capital is Moroni on Grande Comore.
At 1,862 km2 (719 sq mi) (excluding Mayotte), the Comoros is the third-smallest African nation by area. The population (excluding Mayotte) is estimated at 798,000. Its name derives from the Arabic word قمر qamar ("moon"). The archipelago is notable for its diverse culture and history, as a nation formed at the crossroads of many civilizations. It is the southernmost member state of the Arab League. Though in the contested island of Mayotte the sole official language is French, the "Union of the Comoros" has three official languages: Comorian, Arabic, and French.
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Comrat
Comrat (Romanian pronunciation: [komˈrat]; Gagauz: Komrat; Russian: Комрат / Komrat) is a city in Moldova and the capital of the autonomous region of Gagauzia. It is located at 46°19′N 28°40′E / 46.317°N 28.667°E / 46.317; 28.667, in the south of the country, on the Ialpug River. In 2004, Comrat's population was 23,429, of which the vast majority are Gagauzians.
The name is of Turkic and Nogai origin.
Comrat began to be settled in 1789, and received town privileges in 1957.[citation needed] During the time when the town was part of Moldavian SSR, Comrat's industry was geared toward the production of butter, wine, and rugs, the latter ornated with Moldavian motifs. The Comrat State University was established in 2002.
A city with exreme property, Comrat is situated in the southern wine zone of Moldova. It is known for production of red wines and muscats. In Comrat and its suburbs there are about 10 wine factories.
Food production is very developed in the city. Comrat is a home for food processing factories, alcohol production, and an oil processing plant (the first and only one in Moldova).
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Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east.
Costa Rica, which means "Rich Coast", constitutionally abolished its army permanently in 1949. It is the only Latin American country included in the list of the world's 22 older democracies. Costa Rica has consistently been among the top Latin American countries in the Human Development Index (HDI), ranked 69th in the world in 2011. Also was cited by the UNDP in 2010 as one of the countries that have attained much higher human development than other countries at the same income levels, and in 2011 was highlighted by UNDP for being a good performer on environmental sustainability, and better record on human development and inequality than the median of their region. It was also the only country to meet all five criteria established to measure environmental sustainability. The country is ranked fifth in the world, and first among the Americas, in terms of the 2012 Environmental Performance Index.
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Council of Europe
The Council of Europe (French: Conseil de l'Europe) is an international organization promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation. It was founded in 1949, has 47 member states with some 800 million citizens, and is an entirely separate body from the European Union (EU), which has only 27 member states. Unlike the EU, the Council of Europe cannot make binding laws. The two do however share certain symbols such as the flag of Europe. The Council of Europe has nothing to do with either the Council of the European Union or the European Council, which are both EU bodies.
The best known bodies of the Council of Europe are the European Court of Human Rights, which enforces the European Convention on Human Rights, and the European Pharmacopoeia Commission, which sets the quality standards for pharmaceutical products in Europe. The Council of Europe's work has resulted in standards, charters and conventions to facilitate cooperation between European countries.
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Criuleni District
Criuleni is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the central part of Moldova, with the administrative center at Criuleni. As of January 1, 2011, its population was 73,100.
The history of love of two young Criu and Lenuţa - from neighboring towns, and whose parents forbade them to marry, had a tragic end. Finding no other solution, they were thrown into the river Nistru. In there came two young parents and relatives, and he wept, understanding the tragedy they have committed. Some time passed parents and relatives living on the Nistru river, wanting to be closer to loved ones and the city have called Crio-Lean. Over several years the name was changed in Criuleni.
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Criuleni district
Criuleni is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the central part of Moldova, with the administrative center at Criuleni. As of January 1, 2011, its population was 73,100.
The history of love of two young Criu and Lenuţa - from neighboring towns, and whose parents forbade them to marry, had a tragic end. Finding no other solution, they were thrown into the river Nistru. In there came two young parents and relatives, and he wept, understanding the tragedy they have committed. Some time passed parents and relatives living on the Nistru river, wanting to be closer to loved ones and the city have called Crio-Lean. Over several years the name was changed in Criuleni.
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Croatia
Croatia (i/kroʊˈeɪʃə/ kroh-AY-shə; Croatian: Hrvatska pronounced [xř̩ʋaːtskaː]), officially the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Republika Hrvatska listen (help·info)), is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of Central Europe, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers 56,594 square kilometres (21,851 square miles) and has diverse, mostly continental and Mediterranean climates. Croatia's Adriatic Sea coast contains more than a thousand islands. The country's population is 4.29 million, most of whom are Croats, with the most common religious denomination being Roman Catholicism.
In the early 7th century the Croats arrived in area of present-day Croatia. They organised the state into two dukedoms by the 9th century. Tomislav became the first king by 925 AD, elevating Croatia to the status of a kingdom. The Kingdom of Croatia retained its sovereignty for nearly two centuries, reaching its peak during the rule of Kings Peter Krešimir IV and Dmitar Zvonimir. Croatia entered a personal union with Hungary in 1102. In 1527, faced with Ottoman conquest the Croatian Parliament elected Ferdinand I of the House of Habsburg to the Croatian throne. In 1918, after World War I, Croatia was included in the short-lived State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs that declared independence from Austria–Hungary and co-founded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. A Croatian state briefly existed during World War II as a fascist puppet state. After the war, Croatia became a founding member and a federal constituent of the Second Yugoslavia, a socialist state. In June 1991, Croatia declared independence, which came into effect on 8 October of the same year. The Croatian War of Independence was fought successfully during the four years following the declaration.
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Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, (i/ˈkjuːbə/; Spanish: República de Cuba, pronounced: [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkuβa] ( listen)) is an island country in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. To the north of Cuba lies the United States (140 km or 90 mi away) and the Bahamas, Mexico is to the west, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica are to the south, and Haiti and the Dominican Republic are to the southeast.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on and claimed the island now occupied by Cuba, for the Kingdom of Spain. Cuba remained a territory of Spain until the Spanish–American War ended in 1898, and gained formal independence from the U.S. in 1902. A fragile democracy, increasingly dominated by radical politics eventually evolved, solidified by the Cuban Constitution of 1940, but was definitely quashed in 1952 by former president Fulgencio Batista, and an authoritarian regime was set up, intensifying and catalyzing already rampant corruption, political repression and crippling economic regulations.Batista was ousted in January 1959 by the July 26 movement, and a new administration under Fidel Castro established, which had by 1965 evolved into a single-party state under the revived Communist Party of Cuba, which holds power to date.
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Cyprus
Cyprusi/ˈsaɪprəs/ (Greek: Κύπρος, Kýpros, IPA: [ˈcipɾos]; Turkish: Kıbrıs, IPA: [ˈkɯbɾɯs]), officially the Republic of Cyprus (Greek: Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία, Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía, IPA: [cipɾiaˈci ðimokɾaˈtia]; Turkish: Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti, IPA: [ˈkɯbɾɯs dʒumhuɾijeˈti]), is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria, Lebanon, northwest of Israel and north of Egypt. Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and the Republic of Cyprus is a member state of the European Union.
The earliest known human activity on the island dates back to around the 10th millennium BC. Archaeological remains from this period include the well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia, which has been declared a World Heritage Site with an "enhanced protection" status in the event of armed conflict by UNESCO, along with the archaeological sites of Paphos and the Painted Churches of the Troodos Region. Cyprus is home to some of the oldest water wells in the world.
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Czech Republic
The Czech Republic (i/ˈtʃɛk/ CHEK;Czech: Česká republika, pronounced [ˈtʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka] ( listen), short form Česko Czech pronunciation: [ˈtʃɛskɔ]) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the north, Germany to the west, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. Its capital and largest city, with 1.3 million inhabitants, is Prague.
It is a pluralist multi-party parliamentary representative democracy, a member of the European Union, NATO, the OECD, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Visegrád Group.
The Czech state, formerly known as Bohemia, was formed in the late 9th century as a small duchy around Prague, at that time under dominance of the powerful Great Moravian Empire (which reached its greatest territorial extent during the reign of Svatopluk I from the House of Mojmír). After the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power was transferred from Moravia to Bohemia, under the Přemyslids. During the rule of Přemyslid dukes/kings and their successors, the Luxembourgs, the country reached its greatest territorial extent (13th–14th century). Life in the country was significantly affected by the Hussite wars, during which it faced economic embargo and crusades from all over Europe. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg monarchy as one of its three principal parts alongside the Archduchy of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary. The Bohemian Revolt (1618–20) led to the further centralization of the monarchy including forced recatholization and Germanization. During radical reforms in the 18th century the Bohemian Crown was even de facto abolished (1749). In the 19th century the Czech lands became the industrial powerhouse of the monarchy and the core of the Republic of Czechoslovakia which was formed in 1918, following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire after World War I.
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Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia (Czech and Slovak: Československo, Česko-Slovensko) was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992. From 1939 to 1945, the state did not de facto exist because of its forced division and partial incorporation into Nazi Germany, but the Czechoslovak government-in-exile nevertheless continued to exist during this period. In 1945, the eastern part of Carpathian Ruthenia was taken over by the Soviet Union. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Form of state:
Neighbours:
Topography:
The country was of generally irregular terrain. The western area was part of north-central European uplands. The eastern region was composed of northern reaches of Carpathian Mountains and Danube River basin lands.
Climate:
The weather was predominantly continental, but varied from the moderate temperature of Western Europe in the west, to more severe weather of Eastern Europe and the western Soviet Union in the east.
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Căpriana monastery
Căpriana monastery (Romanian: Mănăstirea Căpriana) is a monastery in Căpriana, Moldova, located 40 km north-west of Chişinău, in a hilly land once called Codrii Lăpuşnei.
The first reference to the monastery dates from a document issued by Alexander the Good in 1429. After a period of decay, the monastery was rebuilt at the behest of Petru Rareş, from 1542 to 1545.
The stone church (1491–1496), built by Moldavian Prince Stephen the Great
Inside the monastery
The "winter church" was raised in 1903, in a different architectural style (during the Bessarabia Governorate)
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Căuşeni
Căuşeni (Romanian pronunciation: [kə.uˈʃenʲ]) is a city and the administrative center of Căuşeni District, Moldova.
Its population at the 2004 census was 17,757, of which 14,807 Moldovans/Romanians, 960 Ukrainians, 1,521 Russians, 82 Gagauzians, 273 Bulgarians, 6 Jews, 3 Poles, 8 Gypsies, and 97 other/undeclared.
The 17th century Assumption of Our Lady Church is the oldest surviving building in the town. It is set more than 3 feet (0.91 m) below ground level and preserves the only medieval fresco in the Republic of Moldova. Executed by Walachian painters in a late Byzantine-Romanian style, the interiors feature religious scenes and iconography in vibrant reds, gold, and blues.
Assumption of Our Lady Church
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Denmark
The Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Kongeriget Danmark, pronounced [ˈkɔŋəʁiːəð ˈdanmɑɡ̊] ( listen)) is a constitutional monarchy and sovereign state consisting the country of Denmark in northern Europe and two autonomous constituent countries, the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and Greenland in North America. The kingdom is a unitary state with some power being devolved from Denmark proper to Greenland and the Faroe Islands; this polity is referred to as the Danish Realm. Denmark proper is the hegemonial area, where judicial, executive, and legislative power resides. The Faroe Islands are defined to be a community of people within the kingdom, and the Greenlandic people are defined as a separate people with the right to self-determination.
Denmark is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, located southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. The country consists of a large peninsula, Jutland and many islands, most notably Zealand, Funen, Lolland, Falster and Bornholm, as well as hundreds of minor islands often referred to as the Danish Archipelago.
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Djibouti
Djibouti (Arabic: جيبوتي Jībūtī, French: Djibouti, Somali: Jabuuti, Afar: Gabuuti), officially the Republic of Djibouti (Arabic: جمهورية جيبوتي Jumhūriyyat Jībūtī, French: République de Djibouti, Afar: Gabuutih Ummuuno, Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Jabuuti), is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east. Djibouti, which had a population of 818,159 at the 2009 census, is one of the least populous countries in Africa.Islam is the largest religion in the country, practiced by 94% of the population. The land was known as Obock and French Somaliland (Côte française des Somalis) in the 19th century; in 1967, it changed its name to Afars and Issas after new treaties with France. The territory was declared an independent nation in 1977 and changed its name to the "Republic of Djibouti" after its principal city. Djibouti joined the United Nations on September 20, 1977. While Djibouti is an independent sovereign state, it maintains deep French relations, and through various military and economic agreements with France, it receives continued security and economic assistance.
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Dniester
The Dniester ( /ˈniːstər/ NEES-tər;Romanian: Nistru, Ukrainian: Дністе́р translit. Dnister; Russian: Днестр) is a river in Eastern Europe. It runs through Ukraine and Moldova and separates most of Moldova's territory from the breakaway territory of Transnistria.
The name Dniester derives from Iranic Sarmatian Dānu nazdya "the close river." The Dnieper River also derives from the same Sarmatian Iranic meaning, "the river on the far side.") The older name, Tyras, is from Scythian tūra, meaning "rapid." The names of the Don and Danube are also from the same Proto Indo-European word *dānu - river.
In Russian, it is known as Днестр, translit. Dnestr, in Yiddish: Nester נעסטער; in Turkish, Turla and during antiquity, it was called Tyras in Latin and Danastris in Greek. Classical authors have also referred to it as Danaster.
The Dniester rises in Ukraine, near the city of Drohobych, close to the border with Poland, and flows toward the Black Sea. Its course marks part of the border of Ukraine and Moldova, after which it flows through Moldova for 398 kilometres (247 mi), separating the bulk of Moldova's territory from Transnistria. It later forms an additional part of the Moldova-Ukraine border, then flows through Ukraine to the Black Sea, where its estuary forms the Dniester Liman.
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Dominica
Dominica ( /ˌdɒmɪˈniːkə/ DOM-i-NEE-kə;French: Dominique; Kali‘na (Carib): Wai‘tu kubuli), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi) and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of 1,447 metres (4,747 ft). The Commonwealth of Dominica had a population of 71,293 at the 2011 Census. The capital is Roseau.
Dominica has been nicknamed the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean" for its unspoiled natural beauty. It is the youngest island in the Lesser Antilles, still being formed by geothermal-volcanic activity, as evidenced by the world's second-largest hot spring, Boiling Lake. The island features lush mountainous rainforests, home of many rare plant, animal, and bird species. There are xeric areas in some of the western coastal regions, but heavy rainfall can be expected inland. The Sisserou Parrot (also known as the Imperial Amazon), the island's national bird, is featured on the national flag. Dominica's economy is heavily dependent on tourism, agriculture and heavy taxation.
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Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic (i/dəˌmɪnɨkən rɨˈpʌblɪk/; Spanish: República Dominicana [reˈpuβlika ðominiˈkana]) is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries. Both by area and population, the Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation (after Cuba), with 48,442 square kilometres (18,704 sq mi) and an estimated 10 million people.
Taínos inhabited what is now the Dominican Republic since the 7th century. Christopher Columbus landed on it in 1492, and it became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas, namely Santo Domingo, the country's capital and Spain's first capital in the New World. Santo Domingo can boast of many firsts in the Americas, including the first cathedral, and castle, both in the Ciudad Colonial area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Drochia
Drochia is a city in the northern part of Moldova. It is the administrative center of the eponymous district. The city is located 174.4 km north of the national capital, Chişinău, and 67 km north-east of the Romanian city of Iaşi. The average elevation of Drochia is 226 meters. The population at the 2004 census was 16,606.
The name of the city comes from a local type of bird, called dropie (English: Great Bustard).
Drochia is first mentioned by chroniclers in 1777. By 1830 it was a small settlement encompassing 25 families. A document dating from 1847 notes that a small grape-processing plant, the town's first industrial enterprise, had been built. Two mills situated on a local stream were built in 1875.
More intensive industrial development emerged after the railway first came through at the end of the 19th century. At the 1930 census, the locality (then a village) was known as Drochia-Gară (literally Drochia Station), and had a population of only 595. It was part of Plasa Bădiceni of the Soroca County.
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Drochia district
Drochia district is a district in the north of Moldova. Its administrative center is the city of Drochia. As of 2011, its population was 90,100.
The oldest historical attestations about the settlements in the district from the period 1443-1470 when the mentioned villages Cotova, Hasnasenii Mari, Mindic. In the next century of growth followed both economic, cultural and demographic explosion, shown by the fact that 11 villages in the district had 3,000 inhabitants. After the Treaty of Bucharest in 1812, Bessarabia as Drochia district are occupied by the Russian Empire at this time there is a massive colonization by Ukrainians and Russians. In 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire, Bessarabia united with the motherland Romania. And in 1940, Bessarabia is again occupied by the USSR on the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty. After the 2004 census the population was 94.500 inhabitants of the district.
Drochia district is located in the north of Moldova, has Donduseni District neighborhood in north, east Floresti and Soroca district, south Singerei District and Riscani District in the southwest. In the northern district they learn remains of Plateau Moldova, while most of the district is located in Balti Steppe. The relief is poorly fractured, weak erogenous processes. Chernozems occupy about 80% of the district.
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Drochia District
Drochia district is a district in the north of Moldova. Its administrative center is the city of Drochia. As of 2011, its population was 90,100.
The oldest historical attestations about the settlements in the district from the period 1443-1470 when the mentioned villages Cotova, Hasnasenii Mari, Mindic. In the next century of growth followed both economic, cultural and demographic explosion, shown by the fact that 11 villages in the district had 3,000 inhabitants. After the Treaty of Bucharest in 1812, Bessarabia as Drochia district are occupied by the Russian Empire at this time there is a massive colonization by Ukrainians and Russians. In 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire, Bessarabia united with the motherland Romania. And in 1940, Bessarabia is again occupied by the USSR on the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty. After the 2004 census the population was 94.500 inhabitants of the district.
Drochia district is located in the north of Moldova, has Donduseni District neighborhood in north, east Floresti and Soroca district, south Singerei District and Riscani District in the southwest. In the northern district they learn remains of Plateau Moldova, while most of the district is located in Balti Steppe. The relief is poorly fractured, weak erogenous processes. Chernozems occupy about 80% of the district.
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Dubăsari
Dubăsari (Romanian pronunciation: [dubəˈsarʲ]; Russian: Дубоссары, Ukrainian: Дубоссари, sometimes Dubossary in English) is a city in Transnistria, with a population of 23,650. The city is under the administration of the breakaway government of the "Transnistrian Moldovan Republic", and functions as the seat of the Dubăsari sub-district, Transnistria, Moldova.
The origin of the town name is the plural form of the Romanian archaic word dubăsar ("boatman"), a derivative of dubă ("a small wooden boat"), so "Dubăsari" means "boatmen".
Dubăsari is the site of one of the oldest settlements in Moldova, and the Transnistrian region. Stone age artifacts have been found in the area, and there are several kurgans (presumed Scythian) around the city. First mentions of modern Dubăsari date to the beginning of the 16th century, as a fair populated by Moldavian peasants. The settlement became part of the Russian Empire in 1792, and was granted city status in 1795.
In 1924-1940, Dubăsari was part of the Soviet-created Moldavian ASSR. The town was heavily industrialized during the pre-WWII period. In the course of World War II, in 1940, when Bessarabia was occupied by the Soviet Union, it became part of the newly created Moldavian SSR. On 27 June 1941, the town was occupied by German and Romanian troops. It was re-captured by Soviet forces in the summer of 1944.
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Dubăsari district
Dubăsari district is a district in the east of Moldova, with the administrative center at Cocieri. As of January 1, 2011, its population was 35,200. This does not include the 715 people that live in the village of Roghi, which is controlled by the breakaway Tiraspol authorities. Dubăsari means ferry-arks (see coat of arms).
The territory which today is part of Dubăsari district is inhabited since the Stone Age (50–30000 years BC). Location of the earliest documentary attestation of the district is Corjova, first attested in 1362. Other town with old certificate is Holercani village certified in 1464. This region is part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during 1386-1434. In 1393-1812 the part of district, situated on the right, of the Nistru is part of the Principality of Moldova. In this period to develop the economy (trade, agriculture), as population increases. In 1790, the part of district, situated on the left of Nistru is occupied by the Russian Empire had the same fate of Basarabia in 1812. In 1918, after the collapse of the Russian Empire, Basarabia united with Romania, but the part of district on the left of Nistru, is part of the Moldavian ASSR, part of Ukrainian SSR. In 1940 after the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, Basarabia is occupied by the USSR. In 1991 as a result of the proclamation of Independence of Moldova, district is part of Moldova. In 1992, the district is the focus, the Moldovan-Russian War of Transnistria. Following the war, the district is divided into two: one controlled by the Republic of Moldova and the separatist-controlled part of the authorities in Tiraspol, which includes Dubăsari. District is part of the Chişinău County (1991-2003), and in 2003 became administrative unit of Moldova.
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Dubăsari District
Dubăsari district is a district in the east of Moldova, with the administrative center at Cocieri. As of January 1, 2011, its population was 35,200. This does not include the 715 people that live in the village of Roghi, which is controlled by the breakaway Tiraspol authorities. Dubăsari means ferry-arks (see coat of arms).
The territory which today is part of Dubăsari district is inhabited since the Stone Age (50–30000 years BC). Location of the earliest documentary attestation of the district is Corjova, first attested in 1362. Other town with old certificate is Holercani village certified in 1464. This region is part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during 1386-1434. In 1393-1812 the part of district, situated on the right, of the Nistru is part of the Principality of Moldova. In this period to develop the economy (trade, agriculture), as population increases. In 1790, the part of district, situated on the left of Nistru is occupied by the Russian Empire had the same fate of Basarabia in 1812. In 1918, after the collapse of the Russian Empire, Basarabia united with Romania, but the part of district on the left of Nistru, is part of the Moldavian ASSR, part of Ukrainian SSR. In 1940 after the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, Basarabia is occupied by the USSR. In 1991 as a result of the proclamation of Independence of Moldova, district is part of Moldova. In 1992, the district is the focus, the Moldovan-Russian War of Transnistria. Following the war, the district is divided into two: one controlled by the Republic of Moldova and the separatist-controlled part of the authorities in Tiraspol, which includes Dubăsari. District is part of the Chişinău County (1991-2003), and in 2003 became administrative unit of Moldova.
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Durleşti
Durleşti (Romanian pronunciation: [durˈleʃtʲ]) is a town in Chişinău municipality, Moldova.
Durleşti is twinned with:
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East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (tiˈmɔr ˈlɛʃteɪ), commonly known as East Timori/ˌiːst ˈtiːmɔr/ (Tetum: Timór Lorosa'e, Portuguese: Timor-Leste), is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor. The small country of 15,410 km² (5,400 sq mi) is located about 640 km (400 mi) northwest of Darwin, Australia.
East Timor was colonized by Portugal in the 16th century, and was known as Portuguese Timor until Portugal's decolonization of the country. In late 1975, East Timor declared its independence, but later that year was invaded and occupied by Indonesia and was declared Indonesia's 27th province the following year. In 1999, following the United Nations-sponsored act of self-determination, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory and East Timor became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on May 20, 2002. East Timor is one of only two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia, the other being the Philippines.
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Ecuador
Ecuador (i/ˈɛkwədɔr/ E-kwə-dawr), officially the Republic of Ecuador (Spanish: República del Ecuador [reˈpuβlika ðel ekwaˈðor], which literally translates to the "Republic of the Equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, (along with Chile), that do not have a border with Brazil. The country also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) west of the mainland.
The main spoken language in Ecuador is Spanish. Ecuador straddles the equator, from which it takes its name, and has an area of 275,830 km2 (106,500 sq mi). Its capital city is Quito, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the 1970s for having the best preserved and least altered historic center in Latin America. The country's largest city is Guayaquil. The historic center of Cuenca, the third largest city in the country, was also declared a World Heritage Site in 1999, for being an outstanding example of a planned inland Spanish style colonial city in the Americas. Ecuador is also home—despite its size—to a great variety of species, many of them endemic, like those of the Galápagos islands. This species diversity makes Ecuador one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world. The new constitution of 2008 is the first in the world to recognize legally enforceable Rights of Nature, or ecosystem rights.
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Egypt
Egypti/ˈiːdʒɪpt/ (Arabic: مصر, Miṣr, Egyptian Arabic: [mɑsˤɾ] ; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, Kīmi ; Sahidic Coptic: ⲕⲏⲙⲉ, Kēme), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: جمهوريّة مصر العربيّة (help·info), is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Covering an area of about 1,010,000 square kilometers (390,000 sq mi), Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. The great majority of its over 81 million people live near the banks of the Nile River, in an area of about 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 sq mi), where the only arable land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.
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El Salvador
El Salvadori/ɛl ˈsælvədɔr/ (Spanish: República de El Salvador, literally 'Republic of The Savior') is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country as well as Central America. El Salvador borders the Pacific Ocean on the west, and the countries of Guatemala to the north and Honduras to the east. Its easternmost region lies on the coast of the Gulf of Fonseca, opposite Nicaragua. As of 2009, El Salvador had a population of approximately 5,744,113 people, composed predominantly of Mestizos.
The colón was the official currency of El Salvador from 1892 to 2001, when it adopted the U.S. Dollar.
In 2010 El Salvador ranked in the top 10 among Latin American countries in terms of the Human Development Index and in the top 3 in Central America (behind Costa Rica and Panama), due in part to ongoing rapid industrialization. In addition, tropical forests and overall forest cover has expanded by nearly 20 percent from the year 1992 to 2010. Making it one of the few countries experiencing reforestation.
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Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country located in Middle Africa. It has two parts: a Continental Region (Río Muni), including several small offshore islands including Corisco, Elobey Grande and Elobey Chico; and an insular region containing Annobón island and Bioko island (formerly Fernando Po) where the capital Malabo is situated.
Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the east is the mainland region. Equatorial Guinea is bordered by Cameroon on the north, Gabon on the south and east, and the Gulf of Guinea on the west, where the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe is located between Bioko and Annobón. Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name is suggestive of its location near both the equator and the Gulf of Guinea. Besides the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla on the Mediterranean coast next to Morocco, it is the only territory in mainland Africa with Spanish as the official language.
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Estonia
Estoniai/ɨsˈtoʊniə/ (Estonian: Eesti), officially the Republic of Estonia (Estonian: Eesti Vabariik), is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia (343 km), and to the east by Lake Peipus and the Russian Federation (338.6 km). Across the Baltic Sea lies Sweden in the west and Finland in the north. The territory of Estonia covers 45,227 km2 (17,462 sq mi), and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. The Estonians are a Finnic people, and the official language, Estonian, is closely related to Finnish.
Estonia is a democratic parliamentary republic divided into 15 counties. The capital and largest city is Tallinn. With a population of 1.29 million, it is one of the least-populous members of the European Union, Eurozone and NATO. Estonia has the highest GDP per person among former Soviet republics. Estonia is listed as a "High-Income Economy" by the World Bank and as an "advanced economy" by the International Monetary Fund; the country is an OECD member. The United Nations lists Estonia as a developed country with a Human Development Index of "Very High". The country is also ranked highly for press freedom, economic freedom, democracy and political freedom and education.
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European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union.
The Commission operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "commissioners" ). There is one member per member state, though members are bound to represent the interests of the EU as a whole rather than their home state. One of the 27 is the Commission President (currently José Manuel Durão Barroso) proposed by the European Council and elected by the European Parliament. The Council then appoints the other 26 members of the Commission in agreement with the nominated President, and then the 27 members as a single body are subject to a vote of approval by the European Parliament. The first Barroso Commission took office in late 2004 and its successor, under the same President, took office in 2010.
The term "Commission" is used either in the narrow sense of the 27-member College of Commissioners (or College) or to also include the administrative body of about 23,000 European civil servants who are split into departments called Directorates-General and Services. The internal working languages of the Commission are English, French and German. The Members of the Commission and their "cabinets" (immediate teams) are based in the Berlaymont building of Brussels.
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European Parliament
The European Parliament (abbreviated as Europarl or the EP) is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU). Together with the Council of the European Union (the Council) and the European Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world. The Parliament is currently composed of 754 Members of the European Parliament, who represent the second largest democratic electorate in the world (after the Parliament of India) and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world (375 million eligible voters in 2009).
It has been directly elected every five years by universal suffrage since 1979. However, turnout at European Parliament elections has fallen consecutively at each election since that date, and has been under 50% since 1999. Turnout in 2009 stood at 43% of all European voters, ranging from 90% in Luxembourg and Belgium (where compulsory voting is used) to 20% in Slovakia. Turnout was under 50% in 18 out of 27 member states.
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Faroe Islands
Coordinates: 62°00′N 06°47′W / 62°N 6.783°W / 62; -6.783
The Faroe Islands (Faroese: Føroyar pronounced [ˈfœɹjaɹ], Danish: Færøerne Danish pronunciation: [ˈfæɐ̯øːˀɐnə]) are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Norway and Iceland. The islands form a self-governing country under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark. The total area is approximately 1,400 km² (540 sq mi) with a 2010 population of almost 50,000 people.
The Faroe Islands has been a self-governing dependency of Denmark since 1948. Over the years, the Faroese have taken control of most domestic matters. Areas that remain the responsibility of Denmark include military defence, police, justice, currency and foreign affairs. The Faroe Islands also has representatives in the Nordic Council as members of the Danish delegation.
The Faroe Islands were associated with and taxed by Denmark and Norway up to 1814, when Norway fell under the rule of Sweden. Scandinavia was in political turmoil following the Sixth Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars, when the Treaty of Kiel granted Denmark control over the Faroes, Iceland and Greenland in 1814. The Danish trade monopoly ended in 1856.
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Finland
Coordinates: 65°N 27°E / 65°N 027°E / 65; 027
Finlandi/ˈfɪnlənd/ ( Finnish: Suomi; Swedish: Finland (help·info)), officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.
Around 5.4 million people reside in Finland, with the majority concentrated in the southern region. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in Helsinki and local governments in 336 municipalities, and an autonomous region of the Åland Islands. About one million residents live in the Greater Helsinki area, which consists of Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa, and a third of the country's GDP is produced there. Other larger cities include Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Lahti and Kuopio.
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France
France (Englishi/ˈfræns/ FRANSS or /ˈfrɑːns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fʁɑ̃s] ( listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km2 / 4,383,000 sq mi).
Over the past 500 years, France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America and Southeast Asia; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest colonial empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
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French Guiana
French Guiana (French: Guyane française; French pronunciation: [ɡɥijan fʁɑ̃sɛz]; officially just Guyane) is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations: Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west. Its 83,534 km2 (32,253 sq mi) have a very low population density of less than 3 /km2 (7.8 /sq mi), with almost half of its 229,000 people in 2009 living in the urban area of Cayenne, its capital.
The addition of the adjective "French" in English comes from colonial times when five such colonies existed (The Guianas), namely from west to east: Spanish Guiana (now Guayana Region in Venezuela), British Guiana (now Guyana), Dutch Guiana (now Suriname), French Guiana, and Portuguese Guiana (now Amapá, a state in far northern Brazil). French Guiana and the two larger countries to the north and west, Guyana and Suriname, are still often collectively referred to as the Guianas and comprise one large shield landmass.
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Făleşti
Făleşti (Romanian pronunciation: [fəˈleʃtʲ]) is a city and the administrative center of Făleşti District, Moldova. The geographical coordinates are 47° 34' 25" North, 27° 42' 33" East
The population of Făleşti, Moldova is 17,800 according January 2011 est.
Kickboxing Făleşti
Coordinates: 47°30′N 27°43′E / 47.5°N 27.72°E / 47.5; 27.72
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Gabon
Gabon ( /ɡəˈbɒn/; French pronunciation: [ɡabɔ̃]), officially the Gabonese Republic (French: République Gabonaise) is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west. It covers a land area of nearly 270,000 km² and has an estimated population of 1,500,000. Its capital and largest city is Libreville.
Since its independence from France on August 17, 1960, Gabon has been ruled by three presidents. In the early 1990s, Gabon introduced a multi-party system and a new democratic constitution that allowed for a more transparent electoral process and reformed many governmental institutions. Gabon is also a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2010-2011 term.
Low population density together with abundant natural resources and foreign private investment have helped make Gabon one of the most prosperous countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the highest HDI and the third highest GDP per capita (PPP) (after Equatorial Guinea and Botswana) in the region.
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Gagauzia
Gagauzia (Gagauz: Gagauziya or Gagauz Yeri; Romanian: Găgăuzia; Russian: Гагаузия ), formally known as the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Găgăuzia (Gagauz Yeri) (Gagauz: Avtonom Territorial Bölümlüü Gagauz Yeri, Romanian: Unitatea Teritorială Autonomă Găgăuzia, Russian: Автономное территориальное образование Гагаузия / Avtonomnoe territorial'noe obrazovanie Gagauziya), is an autonomous region of Moldova. Its name comes from the word, "Gagauz", which in turn most likely comes from the name, Gok-oguz, which refers to descendants of the Oghuz tribe of Turkey.
According to some theories the Gagauz people descend from the Seljuq Turks that settled in Dobruja, or from Pechenegs, Uz (Oghuz) and Cuman (Kipchak) people that followed the Anatolian Seljuq Sultan Izzeddin Keykavus II (1236–1276). More specifically, one clan of Oghuz Turks migrated to the Balkans during the inter-tribal conflicts with other Turks. This Oghuz Turk clan converted from Islam to Orthodox Christianity after settling in the Eastern Balkans (in Bulgaria) and were called Gagauz Turks.[citation needed] A large group of the Gagauz later left Bulgaria and settled in southern Bessarabia, along with a group of ethnic Bulgarians.
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Geography of Moldova
Located in southeastern Europe, Moldova is bordered on the west by Romania and on the north, south, and east by Ukraine. Most of its territory lies between the area's two main rivers, the Dniester and the Prut. The Dniester forms a small part of Moldova's border with Ukraine in the northeast and southeast, but it mainly flows through the eastern part of the country, separating Bessarabia and Transnistria. The Prut River forms Moldova's entire western boundary with Romania. The Danube touches the Moldovan border at its southernmost tip, and forms the border for 200 m (656 ft).
Phytogeographically, Moldova is shared between the Central European and Eastern European provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the WWF, the territory of Moldova can be subdivided into three ecoregions: the Central European mixed forests, the East European forest steppe (the most territory of the country), and Pontic steppe (in the south and southeast).
Location: Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania
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Germany
Germany (i/ˈdʒɜrməni/), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant] ( listen)), is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With 81.8 million inhabitants, it is the most populous member state and the largest economy in the European Union. It is one of the major political powers of the European continent and a technological leader in many fields.
A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, was documented before AD 100. During the Migration Period, the Germanic tribes expanded southward, and established successor kingdoms throughout much of Europe. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation while southern and western parts remained dominated by Roman Catholic denominations, with the two factions clashing in the Thirty Years' War, marking the beginning of the Catholic–Protestant divide that has characterized German society ever since. Occupied during the Napoleonic Wars, the rise of Pan-Germanism inside the German Confederation resulted in the unification of most of the German states into the German Empire in 1871 which was Prussian dominated. After the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the subsequent military surrender in World War I, the Empire was replaced by the Weimar Republic in 1918, and partitioned in the Treaty of Versailles. Amidst the Great Depression, the Third Reich was proclaimed in 1933. The latter period was marked by Fascism and World War II. After 1945, Germany was divided by allied occupation, and evolved into two states, East Germany and West Germany. In 1990 Germany was reunified.
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Ghana
Ghanai/ˈɡɑːnə/ is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south. The word Ghana means "Warrior King" and is derived from the ancient Ghana Empire.
Ghana was inhabited in pre-colonial times by a number of ancient predominantly Akan kingdoms, including the inland Ashanti Empire, the Akwamu, the Akyem, the Bonoman, the Denkyira, and the Fante among others. Non-Akan states created by the Ga also existed as did states by the Dagomba. Prior to contact with Europeans trade between the Akan and various African states flourished due to Akan's gold wealth. Trade with European states began after contact with the Portuguese in the 15th century, and the British established the Gold Coast Crown colony in 1874 over parts but not all of the country.
The Gold Coast achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1957, becoming the First sub-Saharan African nation to do so from European Colonialism. The name Ghana was chosen for the new nation to reflect the ancient Empire of Ghana, which once extended throughout much of west Africa.
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Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( /dʒɨˈbrɒltər/) is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. It has an area of 6.8 square kilometres (2.6 sq mi) and a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region. At its foot is the densely populated city area, home to almost 30,000 Gibraltarians and other nationalities.
An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The territory was subsequently ceded to Britain "in perpetuity" under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. It was an important base for the Royal Navy; today its economy is based largely on tourism, financial services, and shipping.
The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations as Spain asserts a claim to the territory. Gibraltarians rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum and again in 2002. Under the Gibraltar constitution of 2006, Gibraltar governs its own affairs, though some powers, such as defence and foreign relations, remain the responsibility of the UK Government.
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Giurgiuleşti
Giurgiuleşti is a commune in the Cahul district of Moldova. It is also a border crossing point to Romania, located 10 km (6.2 mi) from Galaţi.
The locality is in the southernmost point of Moldova, at the confluence of the river Prut with the Danube, on the border with Romania and Ukraine. The commune consists of one village, Giurgiuleşti.
Moldova has access to the Danube for only about 480 metres (1,570 ft), and Giurgiuleşti is the only Moldovan port on the Danube. The building of an oil terminal started there in 1996, and was finished in 2006.
The future international airport of the Lower Danube metropolitan area is located just 25 km (16 mi) from Giurgiuleşti.
The commune has a population of 3,074. At the 2004 census, Giugiuleşti had a population of 2,995, of which 2,936 (98%) are Moldovans/Romanians and 59 (2%) others (15 Ukrainians, 15 Gagauz, 10 Russians, etc.).
At the 1930 census, the village had a population of 1,944, of which 1,914 (98.5%) were Romanians and 30 (1.5%) others (4 Russians, 6 Gagauzians, 8 Bulgarians, 9 Gypsies, 1 Hungarian, and 2 Greeks). At the time, it was part of Plasa Reni of Ismail County.
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Glodeni district
Glodeni is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the north of Moldova, with the administrative center at Glodeni. As of 1 January 2011 (2011 -01-01)[update], its population was 61,900. The administrative-territorial division - 35 localities grouped in 18 comune and 1 town.
One of most beautiful localities is Bisericani, a small village situated on the river of Prut, in Pădurea Domnească natural reservation.
Place the oldest attestation of the district is the Cobani remembered for the first time June 3, 1374. Other old localities but with a late certification in May are: Balatina, Camenca, Cuhnesti, Iabloana mentioned historical period from 1429-1442. In 15th-17th centuries continue to develop trade and economic region, and there has been a significant increase of population. In 1616 is documented Glodeni district center. Since the 17th-18th centuries, the region fueled by the constant wars waged hinder Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Ottoman Empire, Russian Empire. In 1812 the region has been occupied by Russian Empire, and besides the local Population of Moldovans, many have settled here Ukrainian and Russian, which currently constitutes 22% of the population district. After the collapse of Russian Empire in 1917, Basarabia decide union with the motherland Romania. In 1940 Bessarabia it is again occupied by the USSR after the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. In 1944-1991 Glodeni district in the center became the composition of the MSSR. In 1991 as a result of the proclamation of independence of Moldova, part of the Balti County (1991–2003), and in 2003 became administrative unit of Moldova.
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Glodeni District
Glodeni is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the north of Moldova, with the administrative center at Glodeni. As of 1 January 2011 (2011 -01-01)[update], its population was 61,900. The administrative-territorial division - 35 localities grouped in 18 comune and 1 town.
One of most beautiful localities is Bisericani, a small village situated on the river of Prut, in Pădurea Domnească natural reservation.
Place the oldest attestation of the district is the Cobani remembered for the first time June 3, 1374. Other old localities but with a late certification in May are: Balatina, Camenca, Cuhnesti, Iabloana mentioned historical period from 1429-1442. In 15th-17th centuries continue to develop trade and economic region, and there has been a significant increase of population. In 1616 is documented Glodeni district center. Since the 17th-18th centuries, the region fueled by the constant wars waged hinder Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Ottoman Empire, Russian Empire. In 1812 the region has been occupied by Russian Empire, and besides the local Population of Moldovans, many have settled here Ukrainian and Russian, which currently constitutes 22% of the population district. After the collapse of Russian Empire in 1917, Basarabia decide union with the motherland Romania. In 1940 Bessarabia it is again occupied by the USSR after the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. In 1944-1991 Glodeni district in the center became the composition of the MSSR. In 1991 as a result of the proclamation of independence of Moldova, part of the Balti County (1991–2003), and in 2003 became administrative unit of Moldova.
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Greece
Greecei/ˈɡriːs/ (Greek: Ελλάδα, Ellada, IPA: [eˈlaða] ( listen) historically in Katharevousa and Ancient Greek: Ἑλλάς, Hellas, IPA: [eˈlas] and [helːás] respectively), officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, Elliniki Dimokratia, IPA: [eliniˈci ðimokraˈtia]), is a country in Southern Europe, politically considered part of Western Europe.Athens is the capital and the largest city in the country (its urban area also including Piraeus). The population of the country is around 11 million.
Greece has land borders with Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of mainland Greece, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km (8,498 mi) in length, featuring a vast number of islands (approximately 1,400, of which 227 are inhabited), including Crete, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, and the Ionian Islands among others. Eighty percent of Greece consists of mountains, of which Mount Olympus is the highest at 2,917 m (9,570 ft).
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Guadeloupe
Coordinates: 16°15′N 61°35′W / 16.25°N 61.583°W / 16.25; -61.583
Guadeloupe ( /ɡwɑːdəˈluːp/; French pronunciation: [ɡwadəlup]; Antillean Creole: Gwadloup) is a Caribbean island located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres (629 sq. mi) and a population of 400,000. It is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. Its departmental code is "971". As the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe is also an integral part of the Republic. Besides Guadeloupe island, the smaller islands of Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the Îles des Saintes are included in Guadeloupe.
As part of France, Guadeloupe is part of the European Union and the Eurozone; hence, as for all Eurozone countries, its currency is the euro. However, Guadeloupe is not part of the Schengen Area. The prefecture and the capital of Guadeloupe is Basse-Terre. Christopher Columbus named the island Santa María de Guadalupe in 1493 after the Virgin Mary, venerated in the Spanish town of Guadalupe, in Extremadura.
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GUAM
The GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (Moldovan: GUAM; Azerbaijani: GUAM; Ukrainian: ГУАМ; Georgian: სუამი) is a regional organization of four post-Soviet states: Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova.
GUAM's charter was signed during a summit in Yalta on June 6 to June 7, 2001 by the four current members and Uzbekistan, which later withdrew. According to the former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko the charter set objectives for cooperation, such as promoting democratic values, ensuring stable development, enhancing international and regional security and stepping up European integration. Moldova's 2000 elections were won by the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova who have realigned their foreign policy towards Europe shortly before the parliamentary election held in March 2005.
Given the existence of the Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), in Russia GUAM is sometimes seen as a way of countering the Russian influence in the area, and as part of a strategy backed by the United States. However, GUAM leaders repeatedly and officially dismiss such claims and declare their strong willingness to develop close friendly relations with Russia. Moreover, Azerbaijan, the group's main energy power, has managed to avoid any conflicts with Russia in recent years.
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Guatemala
Guatemala (i/ˌɡwɑːtəˈmɑːlə/ GWAH-tə-MAH-lə), officially the Republic of Guatemala (Spanish: República de Guatemala [reˈpuβlika ðe ɣwateˈmala]), is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. Its area is 108,890 km2 (42,043 mi2) with an estimated population of 13,276,517.
A representative democracy, its capital is Guatemala de la Asunción, also known as Guatemala City. Guatemala's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contributes to Mesoamerica's designation as a biodiversity hotspot. The former Mayan civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization, which continued throughout the Post-Classic period until the arrival of the Spanish. The Mayas live in Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, the southern part of Mexico and northern parts of El Salvador.
Guatemala became independent from Spain in 1821, joining the Mexican Empire. After it became an independent country in its own right, it was ruled by a series of dictators, assisted by the United Fruit Company. The late 20th century saw Guatemala embroiled in a 36-year-long civil war. Following the war, Guatemala has witnessed both economic growth and successful democratic elections. In the most recent election, held in 2011, Otto Pérez Molina of the Patriotic Party, won the presidency.
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Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey ( /ˈɡɜrnzi/ GURN-zee; French: Bailliage de Guernesey, IPA: [bajaʒ də ɡɛʁnəzɛ]), is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, and Lihou. Furthermore, the Bailiwick includes Alderney and Sark, which each has its own parliament.
Although its defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom, the Bailiwick of Guernsey is not part of the UK; and while it participates in the Common Travel Area, it is not part of the European Union.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey is included (along with the Bailiwick of Jersey) in the grouping known as the Channel Islands.
The name of Guernsey, as well as that of neighbouring Jersey, is of Old Norse origin. The second element of Guernsey (-ey) is the Old Norse for "island". Guern similar to Spanish "Cuerno", French "Coi(r)n", Dutch "Hoorn", Frisian "Hoarn", Swedish "Hörn", Swiss "Gorn" means "Corner". - Corner Island.
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Guinea
Guineai/ˈɡɪni/, officially the Republic of Guinea (French: République de Guinée), is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea (Guinée française), it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. Guinea has almost 246,000 square kilometres (94,981 sq mi) and a population of 10,057,975. It forms a crescent by curving from its western border on the Atlantic Ocean toward the east and the south. Its northern border is shared with Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Mali, the southern one with Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire. The Niger River's source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea.
Guinea is geographically divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures. Conakry is the capital, largest city and economic centre. The other major cities in the country include Kankan, Nzérékoré, Kindia, Labe, Guéckédou, Mamou and Boke.
Guinea's 10 million people belong to twenty-four ethnic groups. The largest and most prominent groups are the Fula 40%, Mandingo 30%, and Susu 20%.
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Haiti
Haitii/ˈheɪti/ (French: Haïti [aiti]; Haitian Creole Ayiti [ajiti]), officially the Republic of Haiti (République d'Haïti; Repiblik Ayiti), is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti (land of high mountains) was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island. The country's highest point is Pic la Selle, at 2,680 metres (8,793 ft). The total area of Haiti is 27,750 square kilometres (10,714 sq mi) and its capital is Port-au-Prince. Haitian Creole and French are the official languages.
Haiti's regional, historical, and ethno-linguistic position is unique for several reasons. It was the first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean, the first black-led republic in the world, and the second republic in the Americas when it gained independence in 1804 as part of a successful slave revolution lasting nearly a decade. In 2012, Haiti announced its intention to seek associate membership status in the African Union. Haiti is the only predominantly Francophone independent nation in the Americas. It is one of only two independent nations in the Americas (along with Canada) to designate French as an official language; the other French-speaking areas are all overseas départements, or collectivités, of France.
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Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was at times referred to as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize. The country is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea.
Honduras was home to several important indigenous cultures, most notably the Maya. Much of the country was conquered by Spain who introduced its predominant language and many of its customs in the sixteenth century. It became independent in 1821 and has been a republic since the end of Spanish rule.
Its size is just over 112,492 km² with an estimated population of almost eight million. Its capital is Tegucigalpa. Its northern portions are part of the Western Caribbean Zone.
It is notable for its production of minerals, tropical fruit, and recently for exportation of clothing for the international market.
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Hungary
Hungaryi/ˈhʌŋɡəri/ (Hungarian: Magyarország [ˈmɒɟɒrorsaːɡ] ( listen)) is a country, which is located in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The country's capital, and largest city, is Budapest. Hungary is a member of the European Union, NATO, the OECD, the Visegrád Group, and is a Schengen state. The official language is Hungarian, also known as Magyar, which is part of the Finno-Ugric group and is the most widely spoken non-Indo-European language in Europe.
Following a Celt (after c. 450 BC) and a Roman (AD 9 - c. 430) period, the foundation of Hungary was laid in the late 9th century by the Hungarian prince Árpád, whose great-grandson Saint Stephen I was crowned with a crown sent by the pope from Rome in 1000 AD. The Kingdom of Hungary lasted for 946 years, and at various points was regarded as one of the cultural centres of the Western world. After about 150 years of partial Ottoman occupation (1541–1699), Hungary was integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy, and later constituted half of the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy (1867–1918).
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Ialoveni district
Ialoveni is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the central part of Moldova, with the administrative center at Ialoveni. As of 1 January 2011, its population was 99,100.
Localities with the oldest documentary attestation of the district are: Bardar, Puhoi, Molesti, Razeni, localities approved for the first time in the period 1443-1485. 16th-18th centuries, grow the economy (agriculture and winery), cultural (the built monasteries), as the region's population grows. In 1812, after the Russo-Turkish War (1806-1812), is the occupation of Basarabia, Russian Empire during this period (1812–1917), there is an intense russification of the native population. In 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire, Bessarabia united with Romania in this period (1918–1940, 1941–1944), the district is part of the Chisinau County. In 1940 after Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, Basarabia is occupied by the USSR. In 1991 as a result of the proclamation of Independence of Moldova, part and residence of the Chisinau County (1991–2003), and in 2003 became administrative unit of Moldova.
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Ialoveni District
Ialoveni is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the central part of Moldova, with the administrative center at Ialoveni. As of 1 January 2011, its population was 99,100.
Localities with the oldest documentary attestation of the district are: Bardar, Puhoi, Molesti, Razeni, localities approved for the first time in the period 1443-1485. 16th-18th centuries, grow the economy (agriculture and winery), cultural (the built monasteries), as the region's population grows. In 1812, after the Russo-Turkish War (1806-1812), is the occupation of Basarabia, Russian Empire during this period (1812–1917), there is an intense russification of the native population. In 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire, Bessarabia united with Romania in this period (1918–1940, 1941–1944), the district is part of the Chisinau County. In 1940 after Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, Basarabia is occupied by the USSR. In 1991 as a result of the proclamation of Independence of Moldova, part and residence of the Chisinau County (1991–2003), and in 2003 became administrative unit of Moldova.
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Iceland
Icelandi/ˈaɪslənd/ (Icelandic: Ísland, IPA: [ˈislant]) is a Nordic European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The country has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km2 (40,000 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Reykjavík, with the surrounding areas in the southwestern region of the country being home to two-thirds of the country's population. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active. The interior mainly consists of a plateau characterised by sand fields, mountains and glaciers, while many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle.
According to Landnámabók, the settlement of Iceland began in AD 874 when the chieftain Ingólfur Arnarson became the first permanent Norse settler on the island. Others had visited the island earlier and stayed over winter. Over the following centuries, Norsemen settled Iceland, bringing with them thralls (slaves) of Gaelic origin. From 1262 to 1918 Iceland was part of the Norwegian and later the Danish monarchies. Until the 20th century, the Icelandic population relied largely on fisheries and agriculture, and the country was one of the poorest and least developed in the world. Industrialisation of the fisheries and aid from the Marshall Plan brought prosperity in the years after World War II, and by the 1990s it was one of the world's wealthiest countries. In 1994, Iceland became party to the European Economic Area, which made it possible for the economy to diversify into economic and financial services.
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Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( /ˈmæn/; Manx: Ellan Vannin, pronounced [ˈɛlʲən ˈvanɪn]), otherwise known simply as Mann (Manx: Mannin, IPA: [ˈmanɪn]), is a self-governing Crown Dependency of the United Kingdom, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is represented by a Lieutenant Governor. The island is not part of the United Kingdom, but its foreign relations and defence are the responsibility of the UK Government. Although the United Kingdom does not usually interfere in the island's domestic matters, its "good government" is ultimately the responsibility of the Crown (that is, in practice, the Government of the United Kingdom).
The island has been inhabited since before 6500 BC. Gaelic cultural influence began in the 5th century AD, and the Manx language, a branch of the Gaelic languages, gradually emerged. In the 9th century, the Norse began to settle there. A Norse-Gaelic culture arose and the island came under Norse control. In 1266, the island became part of Scotland as formalised by the Treaty of Perth. After a period of alternating rule by the kings of Scotland and England, the island came under the feudal overlordship of the English Crown in 1399. The lordship revested into the British Crown in 1764 but the island never became part of Great Britain or its successor the United Kingdom and retained its status as an internally self-governing Crown dependency.
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Israel
Coordinates: 31°N 35°E / 31°N 35°E / 31; 35
Israel, officially the State of Israel ( /ˈɪzriːəl/ or /ˈɪzreɪəl/; Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Medīnat Yisrā'el, IPA: [me̞diˈnät jisʁäˈʔe̞l] ( listen); Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل, Dawlat Isrāʼīl, IPA: [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a parliamentary republic in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, Egypt and the Gaza Strip on the southwest, and the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea to the south, and it contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel is defined as a Jewish and Democratic State in its Basic Laws and is the world's only Jewish-majority state.
Following the adoption of a resolution by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 29 November 1947 recommending the adoption and implementation of the United Nations plan to partition Palestine, on 14 May 1948 David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel, a state independent from the British Mandate for Palestine. Neighboring Arab states invaded the next day in support of the Palestinian Arabs. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Portions of these territories, including east Jerusalem, have been annexed by Israel, but the border with the neighboring West Bank has not yet been permanently defined.[neutrality is disputed] Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have so far not resulted in peace.
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Italy
Italyi/ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea–and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.
Rome, the capital of Italy, was for centuries a political and religious centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire and site of the Holy See. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Byzantines and later, the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of Maritime republics and the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.
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Japan
Japani/dʒəˈpæn/ (Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon; formally 日本国 Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, literally the State of Japan) is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.
Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.
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Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, French: Bailliage de Jersey ( /ˈdʒɜrzi/, French: [ʒɛʁzɛ]; Jèrriais: Jèrri), is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and other rocks and reefs.
Jersey is a self-governing parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy, with its own financial, legal and judicial systems.
The island of Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands. Although the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey are often referred to collectively as 'the Channel Islands', they are not a constitutional or political unit. Jersey has a separate relationship to the British Crown from the other Crown Dependencies of Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It is not part of the United Kingdom, and has an international identity separate from that of the UK but the United Kingdom is constitutionally responsible for the defence of Jersey. Jersey is not a part of the European Union but has a special relationship with it, being treated as part of the European Community for the purposes of free trade in goods.
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Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan (i/ˌkɑːzəkˈstɑːn/ or /ˌkæzəkˈstæn/) (Kazakh: Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, pronounced [qɑzɑqstɑ́n]; Russian: Казахстан [kəzɐxˈstan]), officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Europe. The ninth largest country in the world by land area, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of 2,727,300 square kilometres (1,053,000 sq mi) is larger than Western Europe. It is neighbored clockwise from the north by Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and also borders on a significant part of the Caspian Sea. Although Kazakhstan does not share a border with Mongolia, its most easterly point is only 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Mongolia's western tip. The terrain of Kazakhstan ranges from flatlands, steppes, taigas, rock-canyons, hills, deltas, and snow-capped mountains to deserts. With 16.6 million people (2011 estimate) Kazakhstan has the 62nd largest population in the world, though its population density is less than 6 people per square kilometre (15 per sq. mi.). The capital was moved in 1998 from Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, to Astana.
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Khotyn
Khotyn (Ukrainian: Хотин; see other names) is a city in Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine, and is the administrative center of Khotyn Raion within the oblast, and is located south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi. According to the 2001 Ukrainian census, it has a population of 11,124. In earlier times, the town was part of the Principality of Moldavia (1359–1812), although because of its fortress, at times it was in Polish, Turkish and Austrian hands, then it was part of the Bessarabia Governorate of the Russian Empire (1812–1917), Moldavian Democratic Republic (1917–1918), Romania (1918–1940, 1941–1944), and the USSR (1940–1941, 1944–1991).
Khotyn, first chronicled in 1001, is located on the right (southwestern) bank of the Dniester River, and is part of the historical region Bessarabia. Important architectural landmarks within the city include the Khotyn Fortress, constructed in the 13-15th centuries (new fortress started in 1325, major improvements in 1380s and 1460s), and two 15th century constructions by Moldavia's ruler Stephen the Great: the Prince's Palace (Palatul Domnesc) and the city's clock tower.
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Kingdom of Romania
The Kingdom of Romania was the Romanian state based on a form of parliamentary monarchy between 13 March 1881 and 30 December 1947, specified by the first three Constitutions of Romania (1866, 1923, 1938). Thus, the Kingdom of Romania began with the reign of King Carol I of Romania who gained Romanian's independence in the Romanian War of Independence, and ended with the abdication of King Michael I of Romania in 30 December 1947, imposed by the Soviet Union with the tacit and secret, implicit consent of its allies (as a result of the Yalta Conference and secret agreements). As such, it is quite distinct from the Romanian Old Kingdom, which refers strictly to the reign of King Carol I of Romania, between 14 March (O.S.) (26 May (N.S.)) 1881 and 27 September (O.S.) (10 October (N.S.)) 1914.
From 1859 to 1877, Romania evolved from a personal union of two vassal principalities (Moldavia and Wallachia) under a single prince to a full-fledged independent kingdom with a Hohenzollern monarchy. In 1918, at the end of World War I, Transylvania, Eastern Moldavia (Bessarabia), and Bukovina united with the Kingdom of Romania, resulting in a "Greater Romania". In 1940, Bessarabia, Northern Bukowina, Northern Transylvania and Southern Dobruja were ceded to the Soviet Union, Hungary and Bulgaria respectively, only Northern Transylvania being recovered after World War II ended. In 1947 the last king was compelled to abdicate and a republic ruled by the Romanian Communist Party replaced the monarchy.
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Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan ( /ˈkɜrɡɨstæn/ KUR-gi-stan;Kyrgyz & Russian: Кыргызстан, Kyrgyzstan, or Киргизия, Kirgiziya), officially the Kyrgyz Republic is a nation located in Central Asia. Landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east. Its capital and largest city is Bishkek.
Kyrgyzstan is officially a democratic parliamentary republic. A revolution in April 2010 overthrew the former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev and resulted in the adoption of a new constitution and the appointment of an interim government. Presidential elections were held in November 2011.
Kyrgyzstan is one of the active members of the Turkic Council and the TÜRKSOY community. The national language, Kyrgyz, is also closely related to the other Turkic languages, with which it shares strong cultural and historical ties.
Additionally, Kyrgyzstan is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Eurasian Economic Community, the Non-aligned movement and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
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Laos
Laos ((i/ˈlaʊs/, /ˈlɑː.ɒs/, /ˈlɑː.oʊs/, or /ˈleɪ.ɒs/) Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, pronounced [sǎː.tʰáː.laʔ.naʔ.lat páʔ.sáː.tʰiʔ.páʔ.tàj páʔ.sáː.són.láːw] Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west. Its population was estimated to be 6.5 million in 2012.
Laos traces its history to the Kingdom which existed from the 14th to the 18th century when it split into three separate kingdoms. In 1893, it became a French protectorate, with the three kingdoms, Luang Phrabang, Vientiane and Champasak, uniting to form what is now known as Laos. It briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation, but returned to French rule until it was granted autonomy in 1949. Laos became independent in 1953, with a constitutional monarchy under Sisavang Vong. Shortly after independence, a long civil war ended the monarchy, when the Communist Pathet Lao movement came to power in 1975.
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Latin Union
The Latin Union is an international organization of nations that use Romance languages, with the aim of protecting, projecting, and promoting the common cultural heritage and unifying identities of the Latin, and Latin-influenced, world. It was created in 1954 in Madrid, Spain, and has existed as a functional institution since 1983. Its membership has risen from 12 to 36 states, including countries in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.
The official names of the Latin Union are: Unió Llatina in Catalan, Union latine in French, Unione Latina in Italian, União Latina in Portuguese, Uniunea Latină in Romanian, and Unión Latina in Spanish.
According to the Latin Union's website, membership is open to any nation that meets the following criteria:
The official languages of the Latin Union are Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian, and Catalan. Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian are used as working languages. All the texts of general diffusion are translated into these four languages, with some also going into Romanian and Catalan.
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Latvia
Latviai/ˈlætviə/ (Latvian: Latvija), officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republika), is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia (border length 343 km), to the south by Lithuania (588 km), to the east by the Russian Federation (276 km), to the southeast by Belarus (141 km), and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden. With 2,067,887 inhabitants and a territory of 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi) it is one of the least populous and least densely populated countries of the European Union. The capital of Latvia is Riga. The official language is Latvian and the currency is called Lats (Ls). The country has a temperate seasonal climate.
The Latvians are a Baltic people, culturally related to the Lithuanians. Together with the Finno-Ugric Livs (or Livonians), the Latvians are the indigenous people of Latvia.Latvian is an Indo-European language and along with Lithuanian the only two surviving members of the Baltic branch. Indigenous minority languages are Latgalian and the nearly extinct Finno-Ugric Livonian language. In terms of geography, territory and population Latvia is the middle of three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Latvia and Estonia share a long common history: historical Livonia, times of German (Teutonic Order), Polish-Lithuanian, Swedish, Russian, Nazi German and Soviet rule, 13th century Christianization and 16th century Protestant Reformation. Both countries are home to a large number of ethnic Russians (26.9% in Latvia and 25.5% in Estonia) of whom some are non-citizens. Latvia is historically predominantly Protestant, except for the region of Latgalia in the southeast which is historically predominantly Roman Catholic.
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Lebanon
Lebanon (i/ˈlɛbənɒn/ or /ˈlɛbənən/; Arabic: لبنان Libnān or Lubnān, Lebanese Arabic: [lɪbˈneːn]), officially the Lebanese Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية اللبنانية al-Jumhūrīyah al-Libnānīyah, Lebanese Arabic: [elˈʒʊmhuːɾɪjje l.ˈlɪbneːnɪjje]), is a country in the East Mediterranean. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south. Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland has dictated its rich history, and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity.
The earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than 7,000 years—predating recorded history. Lebanon was the home of the Phoenicians, a maritime culture that flourished for nearly 2,500 years (3000–539 BC). Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, the five provinces that comprise modern Lebanon were mandated to France. The French expanded the borders of Mount Lebanon, which was mostly populated by Maronite Catholics and Druze, to include more Muslims. Lebanon gained independence in 1943, and established a unique political system, known as confessionalism, a power-sharing mechanism based on religious communities – Bechara El Khoury who became independent Lebanon's first President and Riad El-Solh, who became Lebanon's first prime minister, are considered the founders of the modern Republic of Lebanon and are national heroes for having led the country's independence. French troops withdrew from Lebanon in 1946.
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Leova district
Leova is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the central part of Moldova, bordering Romania, with the administrative center at Leova. The other major city is Leova. As of 1 January 2011, its population was 53,800.
Localities with the oldest documentary attestation of the district are: Tigheci, Tochile Raducani, Leova, they are first attested in the years 1436-1489 period. In the 16th and 17th centuries, most of all to develop trade, agriculture and there is a significant population increase. During this period the Tirgul Sarata (Leova today), is developing intensively. In 1812, after the Russo-Turkish War (1806-1812), is the occupation of Basarabia, Russian Empire during this period (1812–1917), there is an intense russification of the native population. In 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire, Bessarabia united with Romania in this period (1918–1940, 1941–1944), the district is part of the Lapusna County. In 1940 after Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, Basarabia is occupied by the USSR. In 1991 as a result of the proclamation of Independence of Moldova, part and residence of the Lapusna County (1991–2003), and in 2003 became administrative unit of Moldova.
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Leova District
Leova is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the central part of Moldova, bordering Romania, with the administrative center at Leova. The other major city is Leova. As of 1 January 2011, its population was 53,800.
Localities with the oldest documentary attestation of the district are: Tigheci, Tochile Raducani, Leova, they are first attested in the years 1436-1489 period. In the 16th and 17th centuries, most of all to develop trade, agriculture and there is a significant population increase. During this period the Tirgul Sarata (Leova today), is developing intensively. In 1812, after the Russo-Turkish War (1806-1812), is the occupation of Basarabia, Russian Empire during this period (1812–1917), there is an intense russification of the native population. In 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire, Bessarabia united with Romania in this period (1918–1940, 1941–1944), the district is part of the Lapusna County. In 1940 after Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, Basarabia is occupied by the USSR. In 1991 as a result of the proclamation of Independence of Moldova, part and residence of the Lapusna County (1991–2003), and in 2003 became administrative unit of Moldova.
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Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein, officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (i/ˈlɪktənstaɪn/ LIK-tən-styn; German: Fürstentum Liechtenstein, German pronunciation: [ˈfʏʁstn̩tuːm ˈlɪçtn̩ʃtaɪn]) is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over 160 square kilometres (62 sq mi), and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan. Liechtenstein has the highest gross domestic product per person in the world when adjusted by purchasing power parity, and has the world's lowest external debt. Liechtenstein also has the second lowest unemployment rate in the world at 1.5% (Monaco is first).
Liechtenstein is the smallest yet the richest (by measure of GDP per capita) German-speaking country in the world and the only country to lie entirely within the Alps. It is known as a principality as it is a constitutional monarchy headed by a prince. Liechtenstein is divided into 11 municipalities. Much of its terrain is mountainous, making it a winter sports destination. Many cultivated fields and small farms characterize its landscape both in the south (Oberland, upper land) and in the north (Unterland, lower land). The country has a strong financial sector located in the capital, Vaduz, and has been identified as a tax haven. It is a member of the European Free Trade Association and part of the European Economic Area, the Schengen Area but not of the European Union.
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Lithuania
Lithuania (i/ˌlɪθuːˈeɪniə/ or /ˌlɪθjuːˈeɪniə/; Lithuanian: Lietuva), officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublika) is a country in Northern Europe, the largest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark. It borders Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and a Russian exclave (Kaliningrad Oblast) to the southwest. Lithuania has an estimated population of 3.2 million as of 2011, and its capital and largest city is Vilnius. The Lithuanians are a Baltic people, and the official language, Lithuanian, is one of only two living languages (together with Latvian) in the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family.
For centuries, the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea was inhabited by various Baltic tribes. In the 1230s the Lithuanian lands were united by Mindaugas, who was crowned as King of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the first Lithuanian state, on 6 July 1253. During the 14th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the largest country in Europe: present-day Belarus, Ukraine, and parts of Poland and Russia were territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. With the Lublin Union of 1569, Lithuania and Poland formed a voluntary two-state union, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth lasted more than two centuries, until neighboring countries systematically dismantled it from 1772 to 1795, with the Russian Empire annexing most of Lithuania's territory.
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Luxembourg
Luxembourg (i/ˈlʌksəmbɜrɡ/ LUKS-əm-burg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg, French: Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, German: Großherzogtum Luxemburg, Dutch: Groothertogdom Luxemburg), is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland ("good country") in the south. Luxembourg has a population of over half a million people in an area of approximately 2,586 square kilometres (998 sq mi). A representative democracy with a constitutional monarch, it is ruled by a grand duke. It is now the world's only remaining sovereign grand duchy. The country has a highly developed economy, with the world's highest GDP (nominal) per capita according to the IMF. Its historic and strategic importance dates back to its founding as a Roman era fortress site and Frankish count's castle site in the Early Middle Ages. It was an important bastion along the Spanish Road when Spain was the principal European power influencing the whole western hemisphere and beyond in the 16th–17th centuries.
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Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic, Malagasy: Repoblikan'i Madagasikara [republiˈkʲan madaɡasˈkʲarə̥], French: République de Madagascar) is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The nation comprises the island of Madagascar (the fourth-largest island in the world), as well as numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from India around 88 million years ago, allowing plants and animals on the island to evolve in complete isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot in which over 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The island's diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by human settlement.
Initial human settlement of Madagascar occurred from 350 BCE and 550 CE by Austronesian peoples arriving on outrigger canoes from Borneo who were later joined around 1000 CE by Bantu migrants crossing the Mozambique Channel. Other groups continued to settle on Madagascar over time, each one making lasting contributions to Malagasy cultural life. The Malagasy ethnic group is often divided into eighteen or more sub-groups of which the largest are the Merina of the central highlands.
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Mali
Malii/ˈmɑːli/, officially the Republic of Mali (French: République du Mali, French pronunciation: [maˈli]), is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with a population of 14.5 million. Its capital is Bamako. Mali consists of eight regions and its borders on the north reach deep into the middle of the Sahara, while the country's southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, features the Niger and Sénégal rivers. The country's economic structure centers around agriculture and fishing. Some of Mali's natural resources are gold, uranium, livestock, and salt. About half the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day.
Present-day Mali was once part of three West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade: the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire (from which Mali is named), and the Songhai Empire. In the late 19th century, during the Scramble for Africa, France seized control of Mali making it a part of French Sudan. French Sudan (then known as the Sudanese Republic) joined with Senegal in 1959, achieving independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. Shortly thereafter, following Senegal's withdrawal from the federation, the Sudanese Republic declared itself the independent Republic of Mali. After a long period of one-party rule, a 1991 coup led to the writing of a new constitution and the establishment of Mali as a democratic, multi-party state. On 22 March, 2012, a group of junior soldiers seized control of the country's presidential palace and declared the government dissolved and its constitution suspended. On 6 April, 2012, rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) declared the secession of a new state, Azawad, from Mali.
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Malta
Maltai/ˈmɒltə/, officially known as the Republic of Malta (Maltese: Repubblika ta' Malta), is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, 80 km (50 mi) south of Sicily, 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia and 333 km (207 mi) north of Libya, with Gibraltar 1,755 km (1,091 mi) to the west and Alexandria 1,508 km (937 mi) to the east. Malta covers just over 316 km2 (122 sq mi) in land area, making it one of the world's smallest states. It is also one of the most densely populated countries worldwide. The de facto capital city of Malta is Valletta; the largest town, Birkirkara. The main island comprises many towns, which together form one Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) with a population of 368,250 according to Eurostat. The country has two official languages, Maltese (constitutionally the national language) and English.
Throughout history, Malta's location has given it great strategic importance, and a succession of powers including the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, Habsburg Spain, Knights of St John, French and the British ruled the islands. Malta gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1964 and became a republic in 1974, whilst retaining membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. Malta was admitted to the United Nations in 1964 and to the European Union in 2004. Malta is also party to the Schengen Agreement and in 2008 it became part of the eurozone.
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Martinique
Martinique (French pronunciation: [maʁtinik]) is an island in the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of 1,128 km2 (436 sq mi). Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados. As with the other overseas departments, Martinique is one of the twenty-seven regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic. The first European to encounter the island was Christopher Columbus in 1502.
As part of France, Martinique is part of the European Union, and its currency is the Euro. Its official language is French, although many of its inhabitants also speak Antillean Creole (Créole Martiniquais).
The island was occupied first by Arawaks, then by Caribs. It was charted by Columbus in 1493, but Spain had little interest in the territory. It was claimed by France in 1635 and, despite several interludes of British occupation, once during the Seven Years' War and twice during the Napoleonic Wars, has remained a French possession. In 1946, the French National Assembly voted unanimously to transform the colony into an overseas department.
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Mauritania
Mauritaniai/mɔrɪˈteɪniə/ (Arabic: موريتانيا Mūrītānyā; Berber: Muritanya / Agawej; Wolof: Gànnaar; Soninke: Murutaane; Pulaar: Moritani; French: Mauritanie), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in West Africa and in the Maghreb. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara (controlled by Morocco) in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest. It is named after the ancient Berber Kingdom of Mauretania, which later became a province of the Roman Empire, even though the modern Mauritania covers a territory far to the south of the old Berber kingdom that had no relation with it. The capital and largest city is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast.
The government of Mauritania was overthrown on 6 August 2008, in a military coup d'état led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. On 16 April 2009, General Aziz resigned from the military to run for president in the 19 July elections, which he won. In Mauritania about 20% of the population live on less than US$1.25 per day.
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Mauritius
Coordinates: 20°12′S 57°30′E / 20.2°S 57.5°E / -20.2; 57.5
Mauritiusi/məˈrɪʃəs/ (Mauritian Creole: Moris; French: Maurice, pronounced: [mɔˈʁis]), officially the Republic of Mauritius (Mauritian Creole: Republik Moris; French: République de Maurice) is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 870 kilometres (540 mi) east of Madagascar. In addition to the island of Mauritius, the Republic includes the islands of Cargados Carajos, Rodrigues, Tromelin and the Agalega Islands. Mauritius Island is part of the Mascarene Islands, with the French island of Réunion 170 km (110 mi) to the southwest and the island of Rodrigues 570 km (350 mi) to the east. The area of Mauritius is 2040 km2; its capital city is Port Louis.
The United Kingdom took control of the islands in 1810, from France during the Napoleonic Wars, and Mauritius became independent from the UK in 1968. It is a parliamentary republic and is a member of the Southern African Development Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the African Union, La Francophonie and the Commonwealth of Nations.
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Mexico
Mexico (i/ˈmɛksɨkoʊ/; Spanish: México, IPA: [ˈmexiko] ( listen)), officially the United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos (help·info)), is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States of America; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometres (over 760,000 sq mi), Mexico is the fifth largest country in the Americas by total area and the thirteenth largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of over 113 million, it is the eleventh most populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, the capital city.
In Pre-Columbian Mexico many cultures matured into advanced civilizations such as the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, the Maya and the Aztec before the first contact with Europeans. In 1521, Spain conquered and colonized the territory from its base in México-Tenochtitlan, which was administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain. This territory would eventually become Mexico as the colony's independence was recognized in 1821. The post-independence period was characterized by economic instability, the Mexican-American War and territorial cession to the United States, a civil war, two empires and a domestic dictatorship. The latter led to the Mexican Revolution in 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the country's current political system. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time that an opposition party won the presidency from the Institutional Revolutionary Party.
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Moldova
Moldovai/mɒlˈdoʊvə/, officially the Republic of Moldova (Moldovan/Romanian: Republica Moldova pronounced [reˈpublika molˈdova]) is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991 as part of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On 29 July 1994, the new constitution of Moldova was adopted. A strip of Moldova's internationally recognized territory on the east bank of the river Dniester has been under the de facto control of the breakaway government of Transnistria since 1990.
The nation is a parliamentary republic with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. Moldova is a member state of the United Nations, Council of Europe, WTO, OSCE, GUAM, CIS, BSEC and other international organizations. Moldova currently aspires to join the European Union, and has implemented the first three-year Action Plan within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).
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Monaco
Monacoi/ˈmɒnəkoʊ/, officially the Principality of Monaco (French: Principauté de Monaco; Monégasque: Principatu de Múnegu; Italian: Principato di Monaco; Occitan: Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city state, located on the French Riviera in Western Europe. Bordered by France on three sides, with one side bordering the Mediterranean Sea, its center is about 16 km (9.9 mi) from Italy, and is only 15 km (9.3 mi) north east of Nice, France. It has an area of 1.98 km2 (0.76 sq mi), and a population of 35,986, making Monaco the second smallest and the most densely populated country in the world. Monaco has a land border of only 4.4 km (2.7 mi), a coastline of 4.1 km (2.5 mi), and a width that varies between 1.7 km (1.1 mi) and 349 metres (382 yards). The highest point in the country is a narrow pathway named Chemin des Révoires on the slopes of Mont Agel, in the Les Révoires district, which is 161 metres (528 feet) above sea level. Monaco's most populated Quartier is Monte Carlo, and the most populated Ward is Larvotto/Bas Moulins. After a recent expansion of Port Hercules, Monaco's total area is 2.05 km2 (0.79 sq mi), with new plans to extend the district of Fontvieille, with land reclaimed from the Mediterranean Sea.
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Montenegro
Montenegro (i/ˌmɒntɨˈneɪɡroʊ/ or /ˌmɒntɨˈniːɡroʊ/; or /ˌmɒntɨˈnɛɡroʊ/; Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора [tsr̩̂ːnaː ɡɔ̌ra] ( listen), meaning "Black Mountain") is a country in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the southeast. Its capital and largest city is Podgorica, while Cetinje is designated as the Prijestonica (Пријестоница), meaning the former Royal Capital City.
In the 10th century, there existed three Slavic principalities on the territory of Montenegro: Duklja, roughly corresponding to the southern half, Travunia, the west, and Rascia, the north. In 1042, archon Stefan Vojislav led a revolt that resulted in independence of Duklja and the establishment of the Vojislavljević dynasty. Duklja reached its zenith under Vojislav's son, Mihailo (1046–81), and his son Bodin (1081–1101). By the 13th century, Zeta had replaced Duklja when referring to the realm, which at the time was part of the Serbian Grand Principality of the Nemanjić dynasty.
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Morocco
Morocco (Arabic: المغرب al-Maghrib ; Berber: ⵍⵎⴻⵖⵔⵉⴱ / ⴰⵎⴻⵔⵔⵓⴽElmeɣrib / Amerruk), officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of about 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², including the disputed region of the Western Sahara, seen by and mostly administered by Morocco as the Southern Provinces. Morocco is part of the Maghreb region, in addition to Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, and Libya, with which it shares cultural, historical and linguistic ties.
Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco holds vast executive powers, including the power to dissolve the parliament. Executive power is exercised by the government but more importantly by the king himself. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Assembly of Representatives and the Assembly of Councillors. The king can also issue decrees called dahirs which have the force of law. The latest Parliamentary elections were held in November 25, 2011, and were considered by some neutral observers to be mostly free and fair. Voter turnout in these elections was estimated to be 43% of registered voters, but only about 25% of Moroccan adult citizens actually voted. The rest either chose not to vote or they were not registered as voters. The political capital is Rabat, but the largest city is Casablanca; other main cities include Marrakesh, Tetouan, Tangier, Salé, Fes, Agadir, Meknes, Oujda, Kenitra, and Nador.
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Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Portuguese: Moçambique or República de Moçambique, pronounced: [ʁɛˈpublikɐ di musɐ̃ˈbiki]), is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest. The capital city is Maputo, formerly known as Lourenço Marques.
Between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, Bantu-speaking peoples migrated from farther north and west. Swahili, and later also Arab, commercial ports existed along the coasts until the arrival of Europeans. The area was explored by Vasco da Gama in 1498 and colonized by Portugal in 1505. Mozambique became independent in 1975, and became the People's Republic of Mozambique shortly thereafter. It was the scene of an intense civil war lasting from 1977 to 1992.
Mozambique is endowed with rich and extensive natural resources. The country's economy is based largely on agriculture, but with industry, mainly food and beverages, chemical manufacturing, aluminium and petroleum production, is growing fast. The country's tourism sector is also growing. South Africa is Mozambique's main trading partner and source of foreign direct investment. Portugal, Spain, and Belgium are also among the country's most important partners. Since 2001 Mozambique is one of the world's top ten for annual average GDP growth. However, Mozambique still has one of the lowest GDP per capita, one of the worst human development index and one of the highest inequality in the world, as well as having the world's lowest life expectancy.
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NATO
Coordinates: 50°52′34.16″N 4°25′19.24″E / 50.8761556°N 4.4220111°E / 50.8761556; 4.4220111
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO ( /ˈneɪtoʊ/ NAY-toh; French: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique Nord (OTAN)), also called the (North) Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. NATO's headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, one of the 28 member states across North America and Europe, the newest of which, Albania and Croatia, joined in April 2009. An additional 22 countries participate in NATO's Partnership for Peace, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programs. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the world's defence spending.
For its first few years, NATO was not much more than a political association. However, the Korean War galvanized the member states, and an integrated military structure was built up under the direction of two U.S. supreme commanders. The course of the Cold War led to a rivalry with nations of the Warsaw Pact, which formed in 1955. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the organization's goal was "to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down." Doubts over the strength of the relationship between the European states and the United States ebbed and flowed, along with doubts over the credibility of the NATO defence against a prospective Soviet invasion—doubts that led to the development of the independent French nuclear deterrent and the withdrawal of the French from NATO's military structure in 1966.
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Nazi Germany
The Third Reich, also Nazi Germany, is the common name for Germany when it was a totalitarian state ruled by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP). On 30 January 1933 Hitler became chancellor of Germany, quickly eliminating all opposition to rule as sole leader. The state idolized Hitler as its Führer ("leader"), centralizing all power in his hands. Historians have emphasized the hypnotic effect of his rhetoric on large audiences, and of his eyes in small groups. Kessel writes, "Overwhelmingly...Germans speak with mystification of Hitler's 'hypnotic' appeal..." Under the "leader principle", the Führer's word was above all other laws. Top officials reported to Hitler and followed his policies, but they had considerable autonomy. The government was not a coordinated, cooperating body, but rather a collection of factions struggling to amass power and curry favor with the Führer. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Nazi government restored prosperity and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending and a mixed economy of free-market and central-planning practices. Extensive public works were undertaken, including the construction of the Autobahns. The return to prosperity gave the regime enormous popularity; the suppression of all opposition made Hitler's rule mostly unchallenged.
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New Brunswick
New Brunswick (French: Nouveau-Brunswick; pronounced: [nuˈvo bʁɔnˈzwik]) is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual (English–French).Fredericton is the capital and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the province's largest Census Metropolitan Area. Through the 2011 nation wide census, Statistics Canada estimates the provincial population in 2011 to have been 751,171; a majority of the population is English-speaking, but there is also a large Francophone minority (33%), chiefly of Acadian origin.
The province's name comes from the English and French partial transcription of the city of Brunswick (Braunschweig in German) located in modern day Lower Saxony, northern Germany (and former duchy of the same name), the ancestral home of the Hanoverian George III of the United Kingdom.
New Brunswick is bounded by: on the north by Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula and Chaleur Bay; along the east coast by the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and Northumberland Strait; in the southeast corner the narrow Isthmus of Chignecto connects New Brunswick to the Nova Scotia peninsula; in the south by the Bay of Fundy coast, (which with a rise of 16 m (52 ft), has amongst the highest tides in the world); and in the west by the US state of Maine.
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Nicaragua
Nicaragua (i/ˌnɪkəˈrɑːɡwə/ nik-ə-RAH-gwə), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (Spanish: República de Nicaragua [reˈpuβlika ðe nikaˈɾaɣwa] ( listen)), is the largest country in the Central American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The country's physical geography divides it into three major zones: Pacific lowlands; wet, cooler central highlands; and the Caribbean lowlands. On the Pacific side of the country are the two largest fresh water lakes in Central America—Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua. Surrounding these lakes and extending to their northwest along the rift valley of the Gulf of Fonseca are fertile lowland plains, with soil highly enriched by ash from nearby volcanoes of the central highlands. Nicaragua's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contribute to Mesoamerica's designation as a biodiversity hotspot.
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Niger
Niger (French pronunciation: [niʒɛʁ], but occasionally pronounced as /niːˈʒɛər/ ori/ˈnaɪdʒər/), officially the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east. Niger covers a land area of almost 1,270,000 km2, making it the largest nation in West Africa, with over 80 percent of its land area covered by the Sahara desert. The country's predominantly Islamic population of just above 15,000,000 is mostly clustered in the far south and west of the nation. The capital city is Niamey, located in the far southwest corner of Niger.
Niger is a developing country, and consistently ranks as one of the lowest ranks of the United Nations' Human Development Index (HDI), 186th of 187 countries in 2011. Much of the non-desert portions of the country are threatened by periodic drought and desertification. The economy is concentrated around subsistence and some export agriculture clustered in the more fertile south, and the export of raw materials, especially uranium ore. Niger remains handicapped by its landlocked position, desert terrain, poor education and poverty of its people, lack of infrastructure, poor health care, and environmental degradation.
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Nisporeni district
Nisporeni is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the west-central part of Moldova, with the administrative center at Nisporeni.
As of 1 January 2011 (2011 -01-01)[update], its population was 66,800. Most of the people (97.2%) are Moldovans (Romanians).
On 25 April 1420 is first attested Vărzărești monastery. Localities with the oldest historical attestation of the district are: Bălăurești, Ciutești, Seliște, Nisporeni and Vărzărești they are approved for the first time in 1420-1425. 15th-18th centuries, continued economic development (trade and agriculture), cultural (monasteries and churches are built), just showed an important increase in population. Nisporeni city was first documented by Gaspar Graziani in his book, at 4 January 1618. According to him, the city was at that time ruled by Farima Nicolae II, descendant of the great Farima dynasty and cousin to Michael the Brave. He is regarded as one of Moldova's greatest national heroes. Locals where mainly involved in farming, hunting and cultivation of wines and fruit. In 1812, after the Russo-Turkish War (1806-1812), is the occupation of Basarabia, Russian Empire during this period (1812–1917), there is an intense russification of the native population. In 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire, Bessarabia united with Romania in this period (1918–1940, 1941–1944), the district is part of the Chisinau County. In 1940 after Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, Basarabia is occupied by the USSR. In 1991, as a result of the proclamation of Independence of Moldova, part and residence of the Ungheni County (1991–2003), and in 2003 became administrative unit of Moldova.
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Nisporeni District
Nisporeni is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the west-central part of Moldova, with the administrative center at Nisporeni.
As of 1 January 2011 (2011 -01-01)[update], its population was 66,800. Most of the people (97.2%) are Moldovans (Romanians).
On 25 April 1420 is first attested Vărzărești monastery. Localities with the oldest historical attestation of the district are: Bălăurești, Ciutești, Seliște, Nisporeni and Vărzărești they are approved for the first time in 1420-1425. 15th-18th centuries, continued economic development (trade and agriculture), cultural (monasteries and churches are built), just showed an important increase in population. Nisporeni city was first documented by Gaspar Graziani in his book, at 4 January 1618. According to him, the city was at that time ruled by Farima Nicolae II, descendant of the great Farima dynasty and cousin to Michael the Brave. He is regarded as one of Moldova's greatest national heroes. Locals where mainly involved in farming, hunting and cultivation of wines and fruit. In 1812, after the Russo-Turkish War (1806-1812), is the occupation of Basarabia, Russian Empire during this period (1812–1917), there is an intense russification of the native population. In 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire, Bessarabia united with Romania in this period (1918–1940, 1941–1944), the district is part of the Chisinau County. In 1940 after Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, Basarabia is occupied by the USSR. In 1991, as a result of the proclamation of Independence of Moldova, part and residence of the Ungheni County (1991–2003), and in 2003 became administrative unit of Moldova.
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NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (Народный комиссариат внутренних дел, Narodnyy Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del), abbreviated NKVD (НКВД listen (help·info)) was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin.
The NKVD contained the regular, public police force of the USSR (including traffic police, firefighting, border guards and archives) but is better known for the activities of the Gulag and the Main Directorate for State Security (GUGB), which eventually became the Committee for State Security (KGB). It conducted mass extrajudicial executions, ran the Gulag system of forced labor camps, suppressed underground resistance, conducted mass deportations of entire nationalities and Kulaks to unpopulated regions of the country, guarded state borders, conducted espionage and political assassinations abroad, was responsible for influencing foreign governments, and enforced Stalinist policy within communist movements in other countries.
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Northern Cyprus
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) (Turkish: Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti), commonly called Northern Cyprus, is a self-declared state that comprises the northeastern part of the island of Cyprus. Recognised only by Turkey, Northern Cyprus is considered by the international community to be occupied territory of the Republic of Cyprus.
Northern Cyprus extends from the tip of the Karpass Peninsula in the north east, westward to Morphou Bay and Cape Kormakitis (the Kokkina/Erenköy exclave marks the westernmost extent of the area), and southward to the village of Louroujina/Akıncılar. A buffer zone under the control of the United Nations stretches between Northern Cyprus and the rest of the island and divides Nicosia, the island's largest city and capital of both states.
Tensions between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot populations in Cyprus culminated in 1974 with a coup d'état, an attempt to annex the island to Greece, and an invasion by Turkey in response. This resulted in the partitioning of the island, the resettlement of many of its inhabitants, and a unilateral declaration of independence by the north in 1983. Due to its lack of recognition, Northern Cyprus is heavily dependent on Turkey for economic, political and military support.
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Norway
Norwayi/ˈnɔrweɪ/ (Norwegian: Norge (Bokmål) or Noreg (Nynorsk)), officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and the subantarctic Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres (148,747 sq mi) and a population of about 5 million. It is the second least densely populated country in Europe. The majority of the country shares a border to the east with Sweden; its northernmost region is bordered by Finland to the south and Russia to the east; in its south Norway borders the Skagerrak Strait across from Denmark. The capital city of Norway is Oslo. Norway's extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea, is home to its famous fjords.
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Ocniţa District
Ocniţa is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the north of Moldova, with the administrative center at Ocniţa. The other major cities are Otaci and Frunză. As of 1 January 2011, its population was 56,100.
The first evidence of a locality in the district comes from 1419, when is attested the city Otaci, called Stânca Vămii. Other historical attestations of district towns down to the period 1422-1431 when the localities are listed first: Hădărăuţi, Mihălăşeni, Ocniţa, Lipnic, Naslavcea and others. August 20, 1470, at Lipnic (Lipinţi) was famous Battle of Lipnic, the river, where the Moldavian military, led by Stephen the Great, defeated the armies of the Crimean Khanate led by Murtada. After the fight Khan son and his brother Eminec are captured and taken as prisoners. In the following centuries the territory adjacent to the boundary of the district today is the Principality of Moldavia: Grand Duchy of Lithuania later the Polish-Lithuanian Union and Russian Empire. In 1812 the district as a whole is occupied Bessarabia by the Russian Empire after the Treaty of Bucharest. In 1918 with the Union of Bessarabia with Romania entering the land Hotin district region. In 1940, following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact Bessarabia again this time is occupied by the USSR. In 2004 the population was 56.500 inhabitants of the district.
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Ocniţa district
Ocniţa is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the north of Moldova, with the administrative center at Ocniţa. The other major cities are Otaci and Frunză. As of 1 January 2011, its population was 56,100.
The first evidence of a locality in the district comes from 1419, when is attested the city Otaci, called Stânca Vămii. Other historical attestations of district towns down to the period 1422-1431 when the localities are listed first: Hădărăuţi, Mihălăşeni, Ocniţa, Lipnic, Naslavcea and others. August 20, 1470, at Lipnic (Lipinţi) was famous Battle of Lipnic, the river, where the Moldavian military, led by Stephen the Great, defeated the armies of the Crimean Khanate led by Murtada. After the fight Khan son and his brother Eminec are captured and taken as prisoners. In the following centuries the territory adjacent to the boundary of the district today is the Principality of Moldavia: Grand Duchy of Lithuania later the Polish-Lithuanian Union and Russian Empire. In 1812 the district as a whole is occupied Bessarabia by the Russian Empire after the Treaty of Bucharest. In 1918 with the Union of Bessarabia with Romania entering the land Hotin district region. In 1940, following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact Bessarabia again this time is occupied by the USSR. In 2004 the population was 56.500 inhabitants of the district.
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Old Orhei
Old Orhei (Romanian: Orheiul Vechi) is a historical and archaeological complex, located in Trebujeni, at 60 kilometres (37 mi) north-east of Chişinău, on the Răut River.
Old Orhei contains traces of different civilizations, including a Geto-Dacian fortress (6th-1st centuries. BC. Oe.) Fort Golden Horde Shehri al-Jedid or Yangi-Shehri (second half of AD 14th century.) Orthodox monasteries (c 14th century.) And the Moldavian town Vechi (15th-17th centuries)
The ancient city Old Orhei - a unique natural and historical complex in the open air. It organically combines the natural landscape and vestiges of ancient civilizations. As a result of enormous archeological excavations here there were discovered the cultural layers of different epochs such as - the Paleolithic, Eneolithic, and Iron Age. The culture of Geto-Dacians of Early and Late Middle Ages is represented by the rests of earthen and wooden fortresses of Geto-Dacian period and the traces of two medieval towns - Shehr al-Djedid town of the Golden Horde period and the Moldovan town Orhei.
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Orhei
Orhei (Romanian pronunciation: [orˈhej]; Russian Orgeyev – Оргеев, Yiddish: Uriv – אוריװ) is a city and the administrative centre of Orhei District in Moldova with a population of 25,680. Orhei is approximately 50 kilometers north of the capital, Chişinău.
Most people speak Romanian and Russian. There is one school that is taught in Russian.
Prior to 2003, Orhei was the capital of Orhei County, a large administrative region, but the country was divided further in Raion, or districts.
The St. Dumitru Church built by Vasile Lupu is located in this town. Orhei gets its name from Orheiul Vechi, an active monastery near the village of Ivancea.
The name "Orhei" is, according to one theory, derived from the Hungarian word Őrhely, meaning "lookout post", dating from the 13th century, when Hungarian forces built a series of defences in the area.
Orhei was home to many Jews prior to World War II, and has a large Jewish cemetery [1]. There is only one active synagogue left in the community. The main churches are Russian Orthodox. Also in the area are Baptist, Roman Catholic, a Seventh-day Adventist Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Salvation Army and Jehovah's Witnesses.
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Orhei district
Orhei is a district (Romanian: raion) in the central part of Moldova, with the administrative center at Orhei. As of 1 January 2011, its population was 125,900.
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Orhei District
Orhei is a district (Romanian: raion) in the central part of Moldova, with the administrative center at Orhei. As of 1 January 2011, its population was 125,900.
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Panama
Panama (i/ˈpænəmɑː/ PAN-ə-mah; Spanish: Panamá), officially the Republic of Panama (Spanish: República de Panamá [reˈpuβlika ðe panaˈma]), is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital is Panama City. Explored and settled by the Spanish in the 16th century, Panama broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela, named the Republic of Gran Colombia.When Gran Colombia the dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada remained joined. Nueva Granada later became the Republic of Colombia.
With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the Panama Canal to be built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. In 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the United States to Panama by the end of the century.
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Paraguay
Paraguay (i/ˈpɛərəɡwaɪ/, PAIR-ə-gwy), officially the Republic of Paraguay (Spanish: República del Paraguay [reˈpuβlika ðel paɾaˈɣwai], Guaraní: Tetã Paraguái [teˈtã paɾaˈɣwaj]), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the country from north to south. Due to its central location in South America, it is sometimes referred to as Corazón de América, or the Heart of America.
The Guaraní have been living in Paraguay since before the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century, when Paraguay became part of the Spanish colonial empire. Following independence from Spain in 1811, Paraguay was ruled by a series of dictators who followed isolationist and protectionist policies. This development was truncated by the disastrous Paraguayan War (1864–1870) in which the country lost 60% to 70% of its population and large amounts of territory. During a large part of the 20th century, Paraguay was ruled by Alfredo Stroessner, who led one of South America's longest lived military dictatorships. In 1989 Stroessner was toppled and free elections were celebrated in 1993. In 1994 Paraguay joined Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay to found Mercosur.
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Peru
Perui/pəˈruː/ (Spanish: Perú; Quechua: Perú;Aymara: Piruw), officially the Republic of Peru (Spanish: República del Perú, pronounced: [reˈpuβlika ðel peˈɾu] ( listen)), is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.
Peruvian territory was home to ancient cultures, spanning from the Norte Chico civilization, one of the oldest in the world, to the Inca Empire, the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century and established a Viceroyalty, which included most of its South American colonies. After achieving independence in 1821, Peru has undergone periods of political unrest and fiscal crisis as well as periods of stability and economic upswing.
Peru is a representative democratic republic divided into 25 regions. Its geography varies from the arid plains of the Pacific coast to the peaks of the Andes Mountains and the tropical forests of the Amazon Basin. It is a developing country with a high Human Development Index score and a poverty level around 31%. Its main economic activities include agriculture, fishing, mining, and manufacturing of products such as textiles.
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Philippines
The Philippinesi/ˈfɪlɨpiːnz/ FI-lə-peenz (Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas) is a sovereign country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia. It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and its tropical climate make the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons but have also endowed the country with natural resources and made it one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world. An archipelago comprising 7,107 islands, the Philippines is categorized broadly into three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its capital city is Manila.
With an estimated population of about 98 million people, the Philippines is the 7th most populated Asian country and the 12th most populated country in the world. An additional 12.5 million Filipinos live overseas. Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants. They were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples who brought with them influences from Malay, Hindu, and Islamic societies. Trade introduced Chinese cultural influences which remain to this day.
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Poland
Polandi/ˈpoʊlənd/ (Polish: Polska), officially the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska; Kashubian: Pòlskô Repùblika; Silesian: Polsko Republika), is a country in Central Europe, bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres (120,726 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. Poland has a population of over 38 million people, which makes it the 34th most populous country in the world and the sixth most populous member of the European Union, being its most populous post-communist member. Poland is a unitary state made up of 16 voivodeships. Poland is a member of the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Economic Area, International Energy Agency, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, International Atomic Energy Agency, G6, Council of the Baltic Sea States, Visegrád Group, Weimar Triangle and Schengen Agreement.
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Portugal
Portugali/ˈpɔrtʃʉɡəl/ (Portuguese: Portugal, IPA: [puɾtuˈɣaɫ]), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula . Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are part of Portugal. The country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose Latin name was Portus Cale.
The land within the borders of the current Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times: occupied by Celts like the Gallaeci and the Lusitanians, integrated into the Roman Republic and later settled by Germanic peoples such as the Suebi, Swabians, Vandals and the Visigoths. In the 8th century most of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Moorish invaders professing Islam, which were later expelled by the Knights Templar under the Order of Christ. During the Christian Reconquista, Portugal established itself as an independent kingdom from León in 1139, claiming to be the oldest European nation state.
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Quebec
Coordinates: 53°45′N 071°59′W / 53.75°N 71.983°W / 53.75; -71.983 (Quebec)
Quebec /kwəˈbɛk/ or /kəˈbɛk/ (French: Québec [kebɛk] ( listen)) is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level.
Quebec is Canada's largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division; only the territory of Nunavut is larger. It is bordered to the west by the province of Ontario, James Bay and Hudson Bay, to the north by Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay, to the east by the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick. It is bordered on the south by the US states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. It also shares maritime borders with Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia.
Quebec is Canada's second most populous province, after Ontario. Most inhabitants live in urban areas near the Saint Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City, the capital. English-speaking communities and English-language institutions are concentrated in the west of the island of Montreal but are also significantly present in the Outaouais, Eastern Townships, and Gaspé regions. The Nord-du-Québec region, occupying the northern half of the province, is sparsely populated and inhabited primarily by Aboriginal peoples.
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Republic of Ireland
Ireland (/ˈaɪərlənd/ or /ˈɑrlənd/; Irish: Éire, pronounced [ˈeːɾʲə] ( listen)) is a sovereign state in Europe occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. Its capital is Dublin. The population of the state was 4.59 million in 2011. It is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy, with an elected president serving as head of state. In the 1937 constitution, the name of the state is given as simply "Ireland". The Constitution of Ireland (Article 4) and the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 provides that the "Republic of Ireland" (Irish: Poblacht na hÉireann) is "the description of the state".
Ireland is a member of the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations. A developed country with the seventh highest Human Development Index, Ireland is also highly ranked for press freedom, economic freedom and democracy and political freedom.
The modern Irish state was established in 1922 as the Irish Free State, a dominion within the British Empire, following the Anglo-Irish Treaty which brought an end to the Irish War of Independence. The partition of Ireland had already been provided for in previous British legislation in 1921 in response to opposition to Irish Home Rule or independence by Unionists, who formed a majority in the north-eastern part of the country. Six of the nine counties in the northern province of Ulster were established under that legislation as Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, with which the Irish state shares its only land border. The state is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, St George's Channel to the south east, and the Irish Sea to the east.
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Rezina district
Rezina is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the east of Moldova, with the administrative center at Rezina. Rezina is situated on the western bank of the Nistru river. As of 1 January 2011, its population was 52,600.
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Rezina District
Rezina is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the east of Moldova, with the administrative center at Rezina. Rezina is situated on the western bank of the Nistru river. As of 1 January 2011, its population was 52,600.
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Romania
Romania (i/roʊˈmeɪniə/ roh-MAY-nee-ə; dated: Roumania; or Rumania;Romanian: România [romɨˈni.a] ( listen)) is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Romania shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and Moldova to the northeast and east, and Bulgaria to the south.
At 238,400 square kilometers (92,000 sq mi), Romania is the ninth largest country of the European Union by area, and has the seventh largest population of the European Union with over 19 million people. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest, the tenth largest city in the EU with about two million people.
The Kingdom of Romania emerged when the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia were united under Prince Alexander Ioan Cuza in 1859. Independence from the Ottoman Empire was declared on 9 May 1877, and was internationally recognized the following year. At the end of World War I, Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia united with the Kingdom of Romania. Greater Romania emerged into an era of progression and prosperity that would continue until World War II. By the end of the War, many north-eastern areas of Romania's territories were occupied by the Soviet Union, and Romania forcibly became a socialist republic and a member of the Warsaw Pact.
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Russia
Russiai/ˈrʌʃə/ or /ˈrʊʃə/ (Russian: Россия, tr. Rossiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə] ( listen)), also officially known as the Russian Federation (Russian: Российская Федерация, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə] ( listen)), is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the US state of Alaska by the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the eighth most populous nation with 143 million people. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning nine time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources and is the largest producer of oil and natural gas globally. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.
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Russian Empire
The Russian Empire (Pre-reform Russian orthography: Россійская Имперія, Modern Russian: Российская Империя, translit: Rossiyskaya Imperiya) was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the short-lived Russian Republic, which was succeeded by the Soviet Union. It was one of the largest empires in world history, surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongol empires: at one point in 1866, it stretched from eastern Europe across Asia and into North America.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire extended from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea on the south, from the Baltic Sea on the west to the Pacific Ocean and into North America on the east. With 125.6 million subjects registered by the 1897 census, it had the third largest population of the world at the time, after Qing China and the British Empire. Like all empires, it represented a large disparity in economic, ethnic and religious positions. Its government, ruled by the Emperor, was the last absolute monarchy in Europe at the time of its demise.
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Rwanda
Rwanda /ruːˈɑːndə/ or /ruːˈændə/, officially the Republic of Rwanda (Kinyarwanda: Repubulika y'u Rwanda; French: République du Rwanda), is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.7 million (2012). Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. All of Rwanda is at high elevation, with a geography dominated by mountains in the west, savanna in the east, and numerous lakes throughout the country. The climate is temperate, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons every year.
The population is young and predominantly rural, with a density among the highest in Africa. Rwandans form three groups: the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. The Twa are a pygmy people who descend from Rwanda's earliest inhabitants, but scholars disagree on the origins of and differences between the Hutu and Tutsi; some believe that they are derived from former social castes, while others view them as being races or tribes. Christianity is the largest religion in the country, and the principal language is Kinyarwanda, which is spoken by most Rwandans. Rwanda has a presidential system of government. The President is Paul Kagame of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Rwanda has low corruption compared with neighbouring countries, but human rights organisations allege suppression of opposition groups, intimidation, and restrictions on freedom of speech. The country has been governed by a strict administrative hierarchy since precolonial times; there are currently five provinces, which are delineated by borders drawn in 2006.
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Saint Lucia
Saint Luciai/seɪnt ˈluːʃə/ (French: Sainte-Lucie) is a sovereign island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 617 km2 (238.23 sq mi) and has a population of 174,000 (2010). Its capital is Castries. Two Nobel laureates, Arthur Lewis, an economist, and Derek Walcott, a poet and playwright, have come from the island. It is the nation with the second most such honorees per capita after the Faroe Islands.
One of the Windward Islands, it was named after Saint Lucy of Syracuse by the French, the first European colonizers. They signed a treaty with the native Carib people in 1660. England took control of the island from 1663 to 1667; in ensuing years, it was at war with France 14 times and rule of the island changed frequently (it was seven times each ruled by the French and British). In 1814, the British took definitive control of the island. Because it switched so often between British and French control, Saint Lucia was also known as the "Helen of the West Indies".
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San Marino
San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino (i/sæn məˈriːnoʊ/ san-mə-REE-noh; Italian: Repubblica di San Marino) and also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino (Italian: Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino), is a state situated on the Italian Peninsula on the eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. It is an enclave surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over 61 km2 (24 sq mi) with an estimated population of over 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino. San Marino has the smallest population of all the members of the Council of Europe.
San Marino is the oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world, as the continuation of the monastic community founded on 3 September 301, by stonecutter Marinus of Rab. Legend has it that Marinus left Rab, then the Roman colony of Arba, in 257 when the future emperor, Diocletian, issued a decree calling for the reconstruction of the city walls of Rimini, which had been destroyed by Liburnian pirates.
The constitution of San Marino, enacted in 1600, is the world's oldest constitution still in effect. The country's economy mainly relies on finance, industry, services and tourism. It is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP (per capita), with a figure comparable to some of the more developed Italian regions, such as Lombardy and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. San Marino is considered to have a highly stable economy, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, no national debt and a budget surplus.
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Senegal
Senegali/ˌsɛnɨˈɡɔːl/ (French: le Sénégal), officially the Republic of Senegal (République du Sénégal, IPA: [ʁepyblik dy seneɡal]), is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north. Senegal is externally bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south; internally it almost completely surrounds The Gambia, namely on the north, east and south, exempting Gambia's short Atlantic Ocean coastline. Senegal covers a land area of almost 197,000 square kilometres (76,000 sq mi), and has an estimated population of about 13 million. The climate is tropical with two seasons: the dry season and the rainy season.
Dakar, the capital city of Senegal, is located at the westernmost tip of the country on the Cap-Vert peninsula. About 500 kilometres (300 mi) off the coast, in the Atlantic Ocean, lie the Cape Verde Islands. During the 17th and 18th centuries, numerous trading posts, belonging to various colonial empires, were established along the coast. The town of St. Louis became the capital of French West Africa (Afrique occidentale française, or AOF) before it was moved to Dakar in 1902. Dakar later became its capital in 1960 at the time of independence from France.
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Serbia
Serbiai/ˈsɜrbiə/, officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: Република Србија / Republika Srbija, pronounced [rɛpǔblika sř̩bija]), is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans. Serbia borders Hungary to the north; Romania and Bulgaria to the east; the Republic of Macedonia to the south; and Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro to the west; additionally, it borders Albania through Kosovo, whose status as part of Serbia is disputed. Serbia covers an area of 88,361 km2 and has a population of just over 7.1 million, while the capital and largest city is Belgrade.
The arrival of the Serbs to the Balkans in the 7th century, established several states, eventually forming the Serbian Empire in the 14th century. By the 16th century, Serbia was conquered and occupied by the Ottoman Empire, at times interrupted by the Habsburgs. In the early 19th century the Serbian revolution re-established the country as the region's first constitutional monarchy, which subsequently expanded its territory and pioneered the abolition of feudalism in the Balkans. The former Habsburg crownland of Vojvodina united with Serbia in 1918. Following World War I, Serbia formed Yugoslavia with other South Slavic peoples which existed in several forms up until 2006, when the National Assembly of Serbia declared independence and the legal succession to the former State Union. In February 2008 the parliament of UNMIK-governed Kosovo, Serbia's southern province, declared independence, with mixed responses from international governments.
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Seychelles
Seychelles (i/seɪˈʃɛlz/ say-SHELZ; French: [sɛʃɛl]), officially the Republic of Seychelles (French: République des Seychelles; Creole: Repiblik Sesel), is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some 1,500 kilometres (932 mi) east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar.
Other nearby island countries and territories include Zanzibar to the west, Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agalega and Réunion to the south, Comoros and Mayotte to the southwest. Seychelles, with an estimated population of 86,525, has the smallest population of any African state. It also has the highest Human Development Index in Africa.
Scholars assume that Austronesian seafarers, and later Maldivian and Arab traders were the first to visit the uninhabited Seychelles. Remains of Maldivian mariner presence from the 12th century were found in Silhouette Island. The earliest recorded sighting by Europeans took place in 1502 by the Portuguese Admiral Vasco da Gama, who passed through the Amirantes and named them after himself (islands of the Admiral).
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Siberia
Coordinates: 60°0′N 105°0′E / 60°N 105°E / 60; 105
Siberia (/saɪˈbɪəriə/; Russian: Сиби́рь, tr. Sibir'; IPA: [sʲɪˈbʲirʲ] ( listen)) is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union (USSR) from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th to 19th centuries.
Encompassing much of the Eurasian Steppe, the territory of Siberia extends eastward from the Ural Mountains to the watershed between the Pacific and Arctic drainage basins, and southward from the Arctic Ocean to the hills of north-central Kazakhstan and the national borders of Mongolia and China. Siberia makes up about 77% of Russia's territory (13.1 million square kilometres), but has only 28% (40 million people) of Russia's population.
Some sources say that the word Siberia originates from the Turkic for "sleeping land". Another version is that this name was the ancient tribal name of the Sabirs, Turkic nomads later assimilated to Siberian Tatars. The modern usage of the name appeared in the Russian language after the conquest of the Siberian Khanate.
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Slovakia
The Slovak Republic (short form: Slovakiai/sloʊˈvɑːkiə/ or /sləˈvækiə/; Slovak: Slovensko (help·info), long form Slovenská republika (help·info)) is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about 49,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi). Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is the capital, Bratislava, and the second largest is Košice. Slovakia is a member state of the European Union, NATO, United Nations, OECD and WTO among others. The official language is Slovak, a member of the Slavic language family.
The Slavs arrived in the territory of present day Slovakia in the 5th and 6th centuries during the migration period. In the course of history, various parts of today's Slovakia belonged to Samo's Empire (the first known political unit of Slavs), Principality of Nitra (as independent polity, as part of Great Moravia and as part of Hungarian Kingdom), Great Moravia, Kingdom of Hungary, the Austro-Hungarian Empire or Habsburg Empire, and Czechoslovakia. A separate Slovak state briefly existed during World War II, during which Slovakia was a dependency of Nazi Germany between 1939 and 1944. From 1945 Slovakia once again became a part of Czechoslovakia. The present-day Slovakia became an independent state on 1 January 1993 after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia.
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Slovenia
Slovenia (i/sloʊˈviːniə/ sloh-VEE-nee-ə, Slovene: Slovenija), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija, [reˈpublika sloˈveːnija]) is a Slavic nation state, situated in South-Central Europe, at the crossroad of main European cultural and trade routes. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Croatia to the south and southeast, and Hungary to the northeast. It covers 20,273 square kilometres (7,827 sq mi) and has a population of 2.05 million. It is a parliamentary republic, member of the European Union and NATO. Relative to its geography, history, economy, culture, and language, it is a very diverse country distinguished by a transitional character. It is characterised by a high economic and social level. Its capital and largest city is Ljubljana.
The territory of Slovenia is mainly hilly or mountainous and has an exceptionally high landscape and biological diversity and a mosaic structure, which are a result of natural attributes and the long-lasting presence of humans. Four major European geographic units interweave here: the Alps, the Dinaric Alps, the Mediterranean, with a small portion of coastline along the Adriatic Sea, and the Pannonian Plain. The climate is temperate and significantly influenced by the variety of territory, with a strong interaction of the continental climate, the sub-Mediterranean climate and Alpine climate across most of the country. The country is one of the water-richest in Europe, with a dense river network, a rich aquifer system, and significant karstic underground watercourses. Over half of the territory is covered by forest.
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Soroca
Soroca (Russian: Сороки Soroki, Ukrainian: Сороки Soroky, Polish: Soroki, Yiddish: סאָראָקע Soroke) is a Moldovan city situated on the Nistru (Dniester) river about 160 km north of Chişinău. It is the administrative center of Soroca District.
The city has its origin in the medieval Genoese trade post of Olchionia, or Alchona.[citation needed] It is known for its well-preserved stronghold, established by the Moldavian Prince Stephen the Great (Ştefan cel Mare in Romanian) in 1499. Its name is derived from the Slavic word for magpie.
The original wooden fort, which defended a ford over the Dniester/Nistru, was an important link in the chain of fortifications which comprised four forts (e.g. Akkerman and Khotin) on the Dniester, two forts on the Danube and three forts on the north border of medieval Moldova. Between 1543 and 1546 under the rule of Petru Rareş, the fortress was rebuilt in stone as a perfect circle with five bastions situated at equal distances.
During the Great Turkish War, John Sobieski's forces successfully defended the fortress against the Ottomans. It was of vital military importance during the Pruth Campaign of Peter the Great in 1711. The stronghold was sacked by the Russians in the Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739). The Soroca fortress is an important attraction in Soroca, having preserved cultures and kept the old Soroca in the present day.
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Soroca District
Soroca is a district in north-east Moldova. Its administrative center is the town of Soroca. At 1 January 2011, the population of the region was 100400.
Archeological evidence of prehistoric occupation dating to 35000 to 50000 years ago has been found in the Soroco region near the village of Rudi. In about 400 to 300 BCE, ancient defensive walls were constructed. From the 800s to the 1100s AD, two cities developed. They were called "Farfuria Turceasca" and "Germanariul". In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries a genoese fortress appeared at Alchiona. In the period 1439-1457 villages are mentioned: Visoca, Vasilcău, Rudi and Pirlita.
In the second half of the 16th century Stephan the Great built a wooden fortress on the former Alchiona mount. The fortress was transformed into its present form between 1543-1546 during the reign of Peter IV Rareş. The creation of the town allowed for trade along the Nistru while providing protection from foreign invasion. For many years Soroca was a centre for arts and agricultural markets for the Principality of Moldova. At various points in time, Soroca was affected by wars with Tartars, Cossacks, Poles and Russians. Between 1684-1699, under control of the Poles, changes in Soroca were made. A deep moat was dug; a well was dug in the courtyard. 14 stone casemates inside[clarification needed]. Gradually over time, with more stable rule, the town and its region lost military importance.
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Soroca district
Soroca is a district in north-east Moldova. Its administrative center is the town of Soroca. At 1 January 2011, the population of the region was 100400.
Archeological evidence of prehistoric occupation dating to 35000 to 50000 years ago has been found in the Soroco region near the village of Rudi. In about 400 to 300 BCE, ancient defensive walls were constructed. From the 800s to the 1100s AD, two cities developed. They were called "Farfuria Turceasca" and "Germanariul". In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries a genoese fortress appeared at Alchiona. In the period 1439-1457 villages are mentioned: Visoca, Vasilcău, Rudi and Pirlita.
In the second half of the 16th century Stephan the Great built a wooden fortress on the former Alchiona mount. The fortress was transformed into its present form between 1543-1546 during the reign of Peter IV Rareş. The creation of the town allowed for trade along the Nistru while providing protection from foreign invasion. For many years Soroca was a centre for arts and agricultural markets for the Principality of Moldova. At various points in time, Soroca was affected by wars with Tartars, Cossacks, Poles and Russians. Between 1684-1699, under control of the Poles, changes in Soroca were made. A deep moat was dug; a well was dug in the courtyard. 14 stone casemates inside[clarification needed]. Gradually over time, with more stable rule, the town and its region lost military importance.
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Soroca Fort
Soroca Fortress (Romanian: Cetatea Soroca) is a historic fort in the Republic of Moldova, in the modern-day city of Soroca.
The city has its origin in the medieval Genoese trade post of Olchionia, or Alchona.[citation needed] It is known for its well-preserved stronghold, established by the Moldavian Prince Stephen the Great (Romanian: Ştefan cel Mare) in 1499.
The original wooden fort, which defended a ford over the Dniester (Moldovan/Romanian: Nistru), was an important link in the chain of fortifications which comprised four forts (e.g. Akkerman and Khotin) on the Dniester, two forts on the Danube and three forts on the north border of medieval Moldova. Between 1543 and 1546 under the rule of Petru Rareş, the fortress was rebuilt in stone as a perfect circle with five bastions situated at equal distances.
During the Great Turkish War, John Sobieski's forces successfully defended the fortress against the Ottomans. It was of vital military importance during the Pruth Campaign of Peter the Great in 1711. The stronghold was sacked by the Russians in the Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739). The Soroca fortress is an important araction in Soroca, having preserved cultures and kept the old Soroca in the present day.
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South Ossetia
South Ossetia ( /əˈsɛtiə/ə-SET-ee-ə or /ɒˈsiːʃə/o-SEE-shə; Ossetic: Хуссар Ирыстон, Xussar Iryston; Georgian: სამხრეთ ოსეთი, Samxret Oseti; Russian: Южная Осетия, Yuzhnaya Osetiya) or Tskhinvali Region (Georgian: ცხინვალის რეგიონი, Tsxinvalis regioni; Russian: Цхинвальский регион, Tskhinvalskiy region) is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.
South Ossetians declared independence from Georgia in 1990, calling themselves the Republic of South Ossetia. The Georgian government responded by abolishing South Ossetia's autonomy and trying to retake the region by force. This led to the 1991–1992 South Ossetia War. Georgian fighting against those controlling South Ossetia occurred on two other occasions, in 2004 and 2008. The last conflict led to the 2008 South Ossetia war, during which Ossetian and Russian forces gained full, de facto control of the territory of the former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast.
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Soviet Union
The Soviet Union (Russian: Советский Союз, tr. Sovetsky Soyuz), officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR; Russian: Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик, tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik; IPA: [sɐˈjus sɐˈvʲetskʲɪx sətsɨəlʲɪˈstʲitɕɪskʲɪx rʲɪsˈpublʲɪk] ( listen); abbreviated СССР, SSSR), was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.
The Soviet Union was a single-party state ruled by the Communist Party from its foundation until 1990. A union of 15 subnational Soviet republics, the Soviet state was structured under a highly centralized government and economy.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 caused the downfall of the Russian Empire. Following the Russian Revolution, there was a struggle for power between the Bolshevik party, led by Vladimir Lenin, and the anti-communist White movement. In December 1922, the Bolsheviks won the civil war, and the Soviet Union was formed with the merger of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.
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Spain
Spain (i/ˈspeɪn/ SPAYN; Spanish: España, pronounced: [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a sovereign state and a member of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; to the north and north east by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal.
Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. Furthermore, the town of Llívia is a Spanish exclave situated inside French territory. With an area of 504,030 square kilometres (194,610 sq mi), it is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after France, and the fourth largest country in Europe after Russia, Ukraine and France.
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Străşeni
Străşeni (Romanian pronunciation: [strəˈʃenʲ]) is a city of about 20,000 inhabitants in central Moldova, the administrative center of Străşeni District. The city administers one village, Făgureni. There are several legends about its name. One tells that the name of the region is derived from straşnic, a Romanian adjective that can mean "terrible", "frightening", and the story goes that in former times this region was covered by a fearsome forest.
Nowadays, Străşeni is famous for its wine. The Străşeni vineyard, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) west of Chişinău, is renowned for its sparkling white wines. A little farther north is the Romanesti winery, one of the largest locally and the one-time leading producer of wines in the USSR. One of its more famous products is a Bordeaux-type red.
Coordinates: 47°08′N 28°37′E / 47.133°N 28.617°E / 47.133; 28.617
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Sweden
Sweden (i/ˈswiːdən/ SWEE-dən; Swedish: Sverige [ˈsværjɛ] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sverige (help·info)), is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland, and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Øresund.
At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the third largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of about 9.4 million. Sweden has a low population density of 21 inhabitants per square kilometre (54 /sq mi) with the population mostly concentrated to the southern half of the country. About 85% of the population live in urban areas. Sweden's capital city is Stockholm, which is also the largest city.
Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages. In the 17th century, the country expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire. The empire grew to be one of the great powers of Europe in the 17th and early 18th century. Most of the conquered territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were lost during the 18th and 19th centuries. The eastern half of Sweden, present-day Finland, was lost to Russia in 1809. The last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Sweden by military means forced Norway into a personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, practicing "non-participation in military alliances during peacetime and neutrality during wartime". However, Sweden has been a member of the European Union since 1 January 1995 and is a member of the OECD.
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Switzerland
Switzerland (German: die Schweiz[ˈʃvaɪts]; French: Suisse [sɥis(ə)]; Italian: Svizzera [ˈzvit͡sːɛra]; Romansh: Svizra [ˈʒviːtsrɐ] or [ˈʒviːtsʁːɐ]), in its full name the Swiss Confederation (Latin: Confoederatio Helvetica, hence its abbreviation CH), is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western Europe, where it is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east.
Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2 (15,940 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 8 million people is concentrated mostly on the Plateau, where the largest cities are to be found. Among them are the two global cities and economic centres of Zurich and Geneva.
The Swiss Confederation has a long history of armed neutrality—it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815—and did not join the United Nations until 2002. It pursues, however, an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. Switzerland is also the birthplace of the Red Cross and home to a large number of international organizations, including the second largest UN office. On the European level, it is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association and is part of the Schengen Area – although it is notably not a member of the European Union, nor the European Economic Area.
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Sîngerei District
Sîngerei is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the north of Moldova, with the administrative center at Sîngerei. The other major city is Biruinţa. As of 1 January 2011, its population was 93,400.
Between 1944 and 1991, Sîngerei district was called Lazovsky District.
Localities with the earliest documentary attestation are Coşcodeni, Drăgăneşti, Tăura Veche, these being attested for the first time during 1508-1536. District administrative center Sîngerei is first documented on 17 May 1586. In the following centuries there is a development of trade, culture and an important increase in population. In 1812 the Treaty of Bucharest, Basarabia is occupied by the Russian Empire for a period of a century (1812-1917). After the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, in 1918 Basarabia decide union with the motherland Romania, so the region today forming part of the Bălţi County (1918-1944). Is again occupied Basarabia in 1940 after the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, this time the USSR. The territorial-administrative, certified as the district Lazovsky District (Sîngerei), was established on 11 November 1940 following a decision by the Supreme Soviet of the Moldavian SSR, a few months after Russian troops entered the area between the Prut and Nistru. Initially, the entering only a part of current locations, the other belonging Chişcăreni district, which later merged Singerei district. In 1991 as a result of the proclamation of Independence of Moldova, part of the Balti County (1991-2003), and in 2003 became administrative unit of Moldova.
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Sîngerei district
Sîngerei is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the north of Moldova, with the administrative center at Sîngerei. The other major city is Biruinţa. As of 1 January 2011, its population was 93,400.
Between 1944 and 1991, Sîngerei district was called Lazovsky District.
Localities with the earliest documentary attestation are Coşcodeni, Drăgăneşti, Tăura Veche, these being attested for the first time during 1508-1536. District administrative center Sîngerei is first documented on 17 May 1586. In the following centuries there is a development of trade, culture and an important increase in population. In 1812 the Treaty of Bucharest, Basarabia is occupied by the Russian Empire for a period of a century (1812-1917). After the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, in 1918 Basarabia decide union with the motherland Romania, so the region today forming part of the Bălţi County (1918-1944). Is again occupied Basarabia in 1940 after the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, this time the USSR. The territorial-administrative, certified as the district Lazovsky District (Sîngerei), was established on 11 November 1940 following a decision by the Supreme Soviet of the Moldavian SSR, a few months after Russian troops entered the area between the Prut and Nistru. Initially, the entering only a part of current locations, the other belonging Chişcăreni district, which later merged Singerei district. In 1991 as a result of the proclamation of Independence of Moldova, part of the Balti County (1991-2003), and in 2003 became administrative unit of Moldova.
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Tajikistan
Tajikistan (i/tɑːˈdʒiːkɨstɑːn/, /təˈdʒiːkɨstæn/, or /tæˈdʒiːkiːstæn/; Тоҷикистон [ˈtɔjikɪsˈtɔn]), officially the Republic of Tajikistan (Tajik: Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Cumhuriyi Tocikiston; Persian: جمهوری تاجیکستان Jomhuri-ye Tajikestan; Russian: Республика Таджикистан, Respublika Tadzhikistan), is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. It borders Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east. Gilgit Baltistan as well as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan are separated from Tajikistan by the narrow Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan in the south.
Most of Tajikistan's population belongs to the Persian-speaking Tajik ethnic group, who share language, culture and history with Afghanistan and Iran. Once part of the Samanid Empire, Tajikistan became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union in the 20th century, known as the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (Tajik SSR). Mountains cover over 90% of this Central Asian republic.
After independence, Tajikistan suffered from a devastating civil war which lasted from 1992 to 1997. Since the end of the war, newly established political stability and foreign aid have allowed the country's economy to grow. Trade in commodities such as cotton, aluminium and uranium has contributed greatly to this steady improvement.
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Taraclia district
Taraclia (Bulgarian: Тараклия) is a district (Romanian: raion) in the south of Moldova, with the administrative center at Taraclia.
As of 1 January 2012, its population was 44,100, 65.6% of whom were ethnic Bulgarians. The county covers an area of 1,022 km² and has the lowest population density of all districts of Moldova.
Traditional Taraclia district, political and electoral support PCRM unlike the south part of Moldova. Communists have the largest percentage of the Moldova in this district. But the last three elections communists is a continuous fall in percentage.
During the last three elections AEI had an increase of 147.1%
Coordinates: 45°55′N 28°35′E / 45.917°N 28.583°E / 45.917; 28.583
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Taraclia District
Taraclia (Bulgarian: Тараклия) is a district (Romanian: raion) in the south of Moldova, with the administrative center at Taraclia.
As of 1 January 2012, its population was 44,100, 65.6% of whom were ethnic Bulgarians. The county covers an area of 1,022 km² and has the lowest population density of all districts of Moldova.
Traditional Taraclia district, political and electoral support PCRM unlike the south part of Moldova. Communists have the largest percentage of the Moldova in this district. But the last three elections communists is a continuous fall in percentage.
During the last three elections AEI had an increase of 147.1%
Coordinates: 45°55′N 28°35′E / 45.917°N 28.583°E / 45.917; 28.583
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Thailand
Thailand ( /ˈtaɪlænd/ TY-land or /ˈtaɪlənd/;Thai: ประเทศไทย, RTGS: Prathet Thai), officially the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย, RTGS: Ratcha Anachak Thai; IPA: [râːt.tɕʰā ʔāːnāːtɕàk tʰāj] (
listen)), formerly known as Siam (Thai: สยาม; RTGS: Sayam), is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest.
The country is a constitutional monarchy, headed by King Rama IX, the ninth king of the House of Chakri, who, having reigned since 1946, is the world's longest-serving head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history. The king of Thailand is titled Head of State, Head of the Armed Forces, the Upholder of the Buddhist religion, and the Defender of all Faiths.
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Tiraspol
Tiraspol ( /tɪˈræspəl/, Romanian pronunciation: [tiˈraspol]; Russian and Ukrainian: Тирасполь) is the second largest city in Moldova and is the capital and administrative centre of the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (Transnistria). The city is located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River. Tiraspol is a regional hub of light industry, such as furniture and electrical goods production.
The modern city of Tiraspol was founded by the Russian generalissimo Alexander Suvorov in 1792, although the area had been inhabited for thousands of years by varying ethnic groups. The city celebrates its anniversary every year on October 14.
The toponym consists of two words: Τύρας, Tyras — the ancient Greek name for the Dniester River, and polis, i.e., a city.[citation needed]
Tyras, also spelled Tiras, was a colony of the Greek city Miletus, probably founded about 600 BCE, situated some 10 km. from the mouth of the Tiras River (Dniester). Of no great importance in early times in the 2nd century BCE, it fell under the dominion of indigenous kings whose names appear on its coins. It was destroyed by the Getae about 50 BCE.
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Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republici/ˈtoʊɡoʊ/, is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east, and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately 57,000 square kilometres (22,000 sq mi) with a population of approximately 6.7 million.
Togo is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with a climate that provides good growing seasons. The official language is French, with many other languages spoken in Togo, particularly those of the Gbe family. The largest religious group in Togo are those with indigenous beliefs, and there are significant Christian and Muslim minorities. Togo is a member of the United Nations, African Union, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, La Francophonie and Economic Community of West African States.
From the 11th to the 16th century, various tribes entered the region from all directions. From the 16th century to the 18th century, the coastal region was a major trading centre for Europeans in search of slaves, earning Togo and the surrounding region the name "The Slave Coast". In 1884, Germany declared Togoland a protectorate. After World War I, rule over Togo was transferred to France. Togo gained its independence from France in 1960.
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Transnistria
Transnistria (also called "Trans-Dniestr" or "Transdniestria") is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine. Since its declaration of independence in 1990, and especially after the War of Transnistria in 1992, it is governed as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR, also known as "Pridnestrovie"), a state with limited recognition which claims the territory to the east of the river Dniester, the city of Bender and its surrounding localities located on the west bank. The Republic of Moldova does not recognize the secession and considers the territories controlled by the PMR to be part of Moldova's autonomous region of Stînga Nistrului ("Left Bank of the Dniester").
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Tunisia
Tunisia (USi/tuːˈniːʒə/ two-NEE-zhə or UK /tjuːˈnɪziə/ tew-NIZ-iə; Arabic: تونس Tūnis pronounced [ˈtuːnɪs]), officially the Republic of Tunisia (Arabic: الجمهورية التونسية al-Jumhūriyyah at-Tūnisiyyah), is the northernmost country in Africa. It is an Arab Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area is almost 165,000 square kilometres (64,000 sq mi), with an estimated population of just under 10.7 million. Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the northeast.
Tunisia is the smallest country in North Africa. The south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert, with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline.
Tunisia has relations with both the European Union—with whom it has an association agreement—and the Arab world. Tunisia is also a member of the Arab Maghreb Union, the Arab League, and the African Union. Tunisia has established close relations with France in particular, through economic cooperation, industrial modernization, and privatisation programs.
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Turkey
Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia (mostly in the Anatolian peninsula) and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between East Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.
Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The vast majority of the population are Muslims. The country's official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who constitute 18% of the population.
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Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan (i/tɜrkˈmɛnɨstæn/ or i/tɜrkmɛnɨˈstɑːn/; Turkmen: Türkmenistan), formerly also known as Turkmenia (Russian: Туркмения), is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (Turkmen SSR). Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states. It is bordered by Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest, Uzbekistan to the east and northeast, Kazakhstan to the north and northwest and the Caspian Sea to the west.
Turkmenistan's GDP growth rate of 11% in 2010[update] ranks 4th in the world, but these figures are subject to wide margins of error. It possesses the world's fourth largest reserves of natural gas resources. Although it is wealthy in natural resources in certain areas, most of the country is covered by the Karakum (Black Sand) Desert.
The Turkmen government operates as a single-party system. Turkmenistan was ruled by President for Life Saparmurat Niyazov (called "Türkmenbaşy" — "leader of the Turkmens") until his sudden death on 21 December 2006. Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov was elected the new president on 11 February 2007.
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Ukraine
Ukraine (i/juːˈkreɪn/ yew-KRAYN; Ukrainian: Україна, transliterated: Ukrayina, [ukrɑˈjinɑ]; Russian: Украина; Crimean Tatar: Ukraina) is a country in Central and Eastern Europe. Ukraine borders the Russian Federation to the east and northeast, Belarus to the northwest, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south and southeast, respectively. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after the Russian Federation.
According to a popular and well established theory, the medieval state of Kievan Rus was established by the Varangians in the 9th century as the first historically recorded East Slavic state which emerged as a powerful nation in the Middle Ages until it disintegrated in the 12th century. By the middle of the 14th century, Ukrainian territories were under the rule of three external powers—the Golden Horde, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Kingdom of Poland. After the Great Northern War (1700–1721) Ukraine was divided between a number of regional powers and, by the 19th century, the largest part of Ukraine was integrated into the Russian Empire with the rest under Austro-Hungarian control. A chaotic period of incessant warfare ensued, with several internationally recognized attempts at independence from 1917 to 1921, following World War I and the Russian Civil War. Ukraine emerged from its own civil war, and on December 30, 1922 Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic became one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union. The Ukrainian SSR's territory was enlarged westward during the civil war shortly before, and after World War II, and further south in 1954 with the Crimea transfer. In 1945, the Ukrainian SSR became one of the founding members of the United Nations.
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Ungheni
Ungheni (Romanian pronunciation: [uŋˈɡenʲ]), with a population of 35,157, is the seventh largest city in Moldova and the seat of Ungheni District since 2003.
There is a bridge across the Prut and a border checkpoint to Romania. There is another border town with the same name in Romania (Ungheni, Iaşi), on the other side of the Prut River.
The first historical mention of Ungheni dates to 20 August 1462. A railway between Ungheni and Chişinău was built in 1875 by Russia in preparation for the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). After WWII, the rail route through Ungheni became the main connection between Russia and Romania.
In 1876 after the spring flooding of the river Prut the railway bridge that linked Moldova and Romania was almost destroyed. Railway Department invited Gustave Eiffel in Basarabia(Moldova) to redesign and rebuild the bridge. Nowadays it is still a strategically construction under the supervision of frontier guard.
Ungheni is twinned with:
The first historical mention of Ungheni dates to 20 August 1462
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Ungheni district
Ungheni is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the central part of Moldova, bordering Romania, with the administrative center at Ungheni. The other major city is Corneşti. As of 1 January 2011, its population was 117,400.
Villages with ancient historical credentials are Buciumeni, Busila and Ungheni, they are documented in the period 1428-1430. About noble families who ruled the territory known as follows: the 1462 Pan Bratul, Procelnic's son, reigned here. This Procelnic was Stoian, advice nobleman in the reign of Alexander the Good, and participant in the Battle of Grunwald in 1422. Other relatives of the warrior, master settlement in 1490, until the 17th century. Beginning with the reign of Vasile Lupu, his cousin, marshal Iorga, buy here parts of estates. After his death he bequeathed to the village of his sisters Alexandra and Creata. Their life in Ungheni died in the late 18th century. In 1812 the Treaty of Bucharest, Basarabia is occupied by the Russian Empire at this time (1812–1917), has an intense russification of the native population. In 1876-1877 is built spotted Prut between Ungheni (Moldova) and common Ungheni (Romania) Eiffel Bridge, designed by Gustave Eiffel, the creator of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Gustave Eiffel in this period, visit Ungheni. In 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire, Basarabia joins the motherland Romania, in this period (1918–1940, 1941–1944) is part of the Iasi County. In 1940 after Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, Bessarabia is occupied by the USSR. In 1991 as a result of the proclamation of Independence of Moldova, part and residence of the Ungheni County (1991–2003), and in 2003 became administrative unit of Moldova.
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Ungheni District
Ungheni is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the central part of Moldova, bordering Romania, with the administrative center at Ungheni. The other major city is Corneşti. As of 1 January 2011, its population was 117,400.
Villages with ancient historical credentials are Buciumeni, Busila and Ungheni, they are documented in the period 1428-1430. About noble families who ruled the territory known as follows: the 1462 Pan Bratul, Procelnic's son, reigned here. This Procelnic was Stoian, advice nobleman in the reign of Alexander the Good, and participant in the Battle of Grunwald in 1422. Other relatives of the warrior, master settlement in 1490, until the 17th century. Beginning with the reign of Vasile Lupu, his cousin, marshal Iorga, buy here parts of estates. After his death he bequeathed to the village of his sisters Alexandra and Creata. Their life in Ungheni died in the late 18th century. In 1812 the Treaty of Bucharest, Basarabia is occupied by the Russian Empire at this time (1812–1917), has an intense russification of the native population. In 1876-1877 is built spotted Prut between Ungheni (Moldova) and common Ungheni (Romania) Eiffel Bridge, designed by Gustave Eiffel, the creator of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Gustave Eiffel in this period, visit Ungheni. In 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire, Basarabia joins the motherland Romania, in this period (1918–1940, 1941–1944) is part of the Iasi County. In 1940 after Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, Bessarabia is occupied by the USSR. In 1991 as a result of the proclamation of Independence of Moldova, part and residence of the Ungheni County (1991–2003), and in 2003 became administrative unit of Moldova.
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.
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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
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Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains (Bashkir: Урал тауҙары, Russian: Ура́льские го́ры, Uralskiye gory, or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia. Vaygach Island and the islands of Novaya Zemlya form a further continuation of the chain to the north into the Arctic.
The mountains lie within the Ural geographical region and significantly overlap with the Ural Federal District and Ural economic region. They are rich in various deposits, including metal ores, coal, precious and semi-precious stones, and since the 18th century have been the major mineral base of Russia.
As attested by Sigismund von Herberstein, in the 16th century Russians called the range by a variety of names derived from the Russian words for rock (stone) and belt. The modern Russian name for the Urals (Урал, Ural), first appearing in the 16th-17th century when the Russian expansion into Siberia was in its heroic phase, was initially applied to its southern parts and gained currency as the name of the entire range during the 18th century. It might be a borrowing from either Turkic (Bashkir, where the same name is used for the range), or Ob-Ugric. From the 13th century, in Bashkortostan there has been a legend about a hero named Ural. He sacrificed his life for the sake of his people and they poured a stone pile over his grave which later turned into the Ural Mountains.
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Uruguay
Uruguayi/ˈjʊərəɡwaɪ/, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; (Spanish: República Oriental del Uruguay pronounced: [re̞ˈpuβ̞lika o̞ɾje̞n̪ˈt̪al̪ d̪e̞l uɾuˈɰwai̯]) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to 3.3 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area. An estimated 88% of the population are of European ancestry.
Except for the recent union of Timoteo Domínguez Island and Argentina's Martín García Island, Uruguay's only land border is with Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, to the north. To the west lies the Uruguay River and the estuary of the Río de la Plata to the southwest. To the southeast lies the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean. With an area of approximately 176,000 square kilometres (68,000 sq mi), Uruguay is the second-smallest nation in South America by area, after Suriname.
Colonia del Sacramento, one of the oldest European settlements in the country, was founded by the Portuguese in 1680. Montevideo was founded by the Spanish in the early 18th century as a military stronghold. Uruguay won its independence in 1811–28 following a three-way struggle between the claims of Spain, Argentina and Brazil. It is a constitutional democracy, with a president who is both the head of state and the head of government.
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Uzbekistan
Uzbekistani/ʊzˌbɛkɨˈstɑːn/, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan (Uzbek: O‘zbekiston Respublikasi, Ўзбекистон Республикаси) is the only doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of only two such countries worldwide. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south. Before 1991, it was part of the Soviet Union.
Uzbekistan is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia.
Once part of the Persian Samanid and later Timurid empires, the region was conquered in the early 16th century by Uzbek nomads, who spoke an Eastern Turkic language. Most of Uzbekistan’s population today belong to the Uzbek ethnic group and speak the Uzbek language, one of the family of Turkic languages.
Uzbekistan was incorporated into the Russian Empire in the 19th century, and in 1924 became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, known as the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR). It became independent on 31 August 1991 (officially, from the following day).
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Vanuatu
Vanuatu (Englishi/ˌvɑːnuːˈɑːtuː/ vah-noo-AH-too or /vænˈwɑːtuː/ van-WAH-too; Bislama IPA: [vanuaˈtu]), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (French: République de Vanuatu, Bislama: Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some 1,750 kilometres (1,090 mi) east of northern Australia, 500 kilometres (310 mi) northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.
Vanuatu was first inhabited by Melanesian people. The first Europeans to visit the islands were the members of a Spanish expedition led by Portuguese navigator Fernandes de Queirós who arrived in Espiritu Santo in 1605. In the 1880s France and the United Kingdom claimed parts of the country, and in 1906 they agreed on a framework for jointly managing the archipelago as the New Hebrides through a British–French Condominium. An independence movement arose in the 1970s, and the Republic of Vanuatu was created in 1980.
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Vatican City
Vatican Cityi/ˈvætɨkən ˈsɪti/, or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano (pronounced [ˈstaːto della t͡ʃitˈta del vatiˈkaːno]), is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and a population of just over 800. This makes Vatican City the smallest independent state in the world by both area and population.
Vatican City State was established in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri, on behalf of Pope Pius XI and by Prime Minister and Head of Government Benito Mussolini on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. Vatican City State is distinct from the Holy See, which dates back to early Christianity and is the main episcopal see of 1.2 billion Latin and Eastern Catholic adherents around the globe. Ordinances of Vatican City are published in Italian; official documents of the Holy See are issued mainly in Latin. The two entities have distinct passports: the Holy See, not being a country, issues only diplomatic and service passports, whereas Vatican City State issues normal passports. In each case very few passports are issued.
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Venezuela
Venezuela (i/ˌvɛnɨˈzweɪlə/ VEN-ə-ZWAY-lə), officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish: República Bolivariana de Venezuela [repuˈβlika βoliβaˈɾjana ðe βeneˈswela]), is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south. Its northern coastline of roughly 2,800 kilometres (1,700 mi) includes numerous islands in the Caribbean Sea, and in the north east borders the northern Atlantic Ocean. Caribbean islands such as Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba and the Leeward Antilles lie near the Venezuelan coast. Venezuela's territory covers around 916,445 square kilometres (353,841 sq mi) with an estimated population of 29,105,632. Venezuela is considered a state with extremely high biodiversity, with habitats ranging from the Andes mountains in the west to the Amazon Basin rainforest in the south, via extensive llanos plains and Caribbean coast in the center and the Orinoco River Delta in the east.
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Vietnam
Vietnam ( listen), formally the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam; listen), is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 91.5 million inhabitants as of 2012, it is the world's 13th-most-populous country, and the eighth-most-populous Asian country. The name Vietnam translates as "South Viet", and was officially adopted in 1945. The country is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east.
The Vietnamese became independent from Imperial China in 938 AD, following the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. Successive Vietnamese royal dynasties flourished as the nation expanded geographically and politically into Southeast Asia, until the Indochina Peninsula was colonized by the French in the mid-19th century. The First Indochina War eventually led to the expulsion of the French in 1954, leaving Vietnam divided politically into two states, North and South Vietnam. Conflict between the two sides intensified, with heavy foreign intervention, during the Vietnam War, which ended with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975.
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Viticulture
Viticulture (from the Latin word for vine) is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture. It is a branch of the science of horticulture.
While the native territory of Vitis vinifera, the common grape vine, is a band of area from Western Europe to the Persian shores of the Caspian Sea, the vine has demonstrated high levels of adaptability and will sometimes mutate to accommodate a new environment after its introduction. Because of this, viticulture can be found on every continent except Antarctica.
Duties of the viticulturist include: monitoring and controlling pests and diseases, fertilizing, irrigation, canopy management, monitoring fruit development and characteristics, deciding when to harvest and vine pruning during the winter months. Viticulturists are often intimately involved with winemakers, because vineyard management and the resulting grape characteristics provide the basis from which winemaking can begin.
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Vulcăneşti
Vulcăneşti (Romanian pronunciation: [vulkəˈneʃtʲ]) is a town in Gagauzia, Moldova. Vulcanesti is the southern enclave of Gagauzia surrounded by the Cahul District (Moldova) and Odessa Region (Ukraine).
One village is administered by the city of Vulcăneşti station.
It was the site of an archaeological investigation, which found a Neolithic sculpture that echoes Rodin's The Thinker.
Coordinates: 46°18′00″N 28°39′26″E / 46.3°N 28.6572°E / 46.3; 28.6572
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Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (Romanian: Țara Românească pronounced [ˈt͡sara romɨˈne̯askə] or Valahia pronounced [vaˈlahi.a]; archaic: Țeara Rumânească, Cyrillic: Цѣра Румѫнѣскъ / Цѣра Рȣмѫнѣскъ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia is sometimes referred to as Muntenia (Greater Wallachia), through identification with the larger of its two traditional sections; the smaller being Oltenia (Lesser Wallachia).
Wallachia was founded as a principality in the early 14th century by Basarab I, after a rebellion against Charles I of Hungary, although the first mention of the territory of Wallachia west of the river Olt dates to a charter given to the voievod Seneslau in 1246 by Béla IV of Hungary. In 1415, Wallachia accepted the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire; this lasted until the 19th century, albeit with brief periods of Russian occupation between 1768 and 1854. In 1859, Wallachia united with Moldavia (as United Principalities), to form the basis of the modern state of Romania, with Transylvania joining 59 years later (1918) to form the new Kingdom of Romania which was first established 1881.
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Åland Islands
The Åland Islands (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈoːland], Finnish: Ahvenanmaa) form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. They are situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and form an autonomous, demilitarised, monolingually Swedish-speaking region of Finland. The islands collectively constitute the smallest region of Finland, with only 0.49% of its land area, and 0.50% of its population.
Åland comprises Fasta Åland (the "Main Island," with 90% of the population), together with an archipelago to the east that comprises over 6,500 skerries and islands. Fasta Åland is separated from the coast of Sweden by 38 kilometres (24 mi) of open water to the west. In the east, the Åland archipelago is contiguous with the Finnish Archipelago Sea. Åland's only land border is located on the uninhabited skerry of Märket, which it shares with Sweden.
Because of the autonomous status of the Åland Islands, the powers exercised at the provincial level by representatives of the central state administration in the rest of Finland are largely exercised by the Government of Åland in Åland.
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Ştefan Vodă District
Ştefan Vodă is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the south-east of Moldova, with the administrative center at Ştefan Vodă. As of 1 January 2011, its population was 71,900. The city situated 100 km from Chişinău and 100 km from Odessa, Ukraine.
Localities with the earliest documentary attestation are: Cioburciu, Olanesti, Carahasani, hardcore first certified locations in 1405-1456. In the 16th-18th centuries, develop intense agriculture, an important wine-making industries and population growth attests. In 1812, after the Russo-Turkish War (1806-1812), is the occupation of Basarabia, Russian Empire during this period (1812–1917), there is an intense russification of the native population. In 1918, after the collapse of the Russian Empire, Bessarabia united with Romania in this period (1918–1940, 1941–1944), the district is part of the Cetatea-Albă County. In 1940, after Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, Basarabia is occupied by the USSR. In 1991 as a result of the proclamation of Independence of Moldova, part and residence of the Tighina County (1991–2003), and in 2003 became administrative unit of Moldova.
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Ştefan Vodă district
Ştefan Vodă is a district (Moldovan: raion) in the south-east of Moldova, with the administrative center at Ştefan Vodă. As of 1 January 2011, its population was 71,900. The city situated 100 km from Chişinău and 100 km from Odessa, Ukraine.
Localities with the earliest documentary attestation are: Cioburciu, Olanesti, Carahasani, hardcore first certified locations in 1405-1456. In the 16th-18th centuries, develop intense agriculture, an important wine-making industries and population growth attests. In 1812, after the Russo-Turkish War (1806-1812), is the occupation of Basarabia, Russian Empire during this period (1812–1917), there is an intense russification of the native population. In 1918, after the collapse of the Russian Empire, Bessarabia united with Romania in this period (1918–1940, 1941–1944), the district is part of the Cetatea-Albă County. In 1940, after Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, Basarabia is occupied by the USSR. In 1991 as a result of the proclamation of Independence of Moldova, part and residence of the Tighina County (1991–2003), and in 2003 became administrative unit of Moldova.
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Alecu Donici
Alecu (or Alexandru) Donici (January 19, 1806 near Donici, Orhei - January 21, 1865, Iași) was a Moldavian-born Romanian poet and translator.
He was the first of four children of Dimitrie Donici and wife Ileana Lambrino. He studied at the Saint Petersburg Military Academy, and became a junior lieutenant in the Russian army. He was of boyar origin. Aleksandr Pushkin lived in the Donici family house during his exile in 1820-1823. After 1828, Donici assumed the duties of a civil servant in Chişinău, but later on he chose to resign and in 1835 settled in Iași, where most of his literary career unfolded. His chief work, a two-volume book of fables titled Fabule ("Fables"), was published in Iaşi in 1840; it shows the strong influence of Ivan Krylov.
He translated the works of Aleksandr Pushkin and Antioch Kantemir.
Alley of Classics, Chişinău
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Alecu Russo
Alecu Russo (born in March 17, 1819 near Chişinău, died on February 5, 1859 in Iaşi), was a Moldavian Romanian writer, literary critic and publicist.
Russo is credited with having discovered one of the most elaborate forms of the Romanian national folk ballad Mioriţa. He was also a contributor to the Iaşi periodical Zimbrul, in which he published one of his best-known works, Studie Moldovană ("Moldovan Studies"), in 1851-1852.
He also wrote Iaşii şi locuitorii lui în 1840 "Iaşi and its inhabitants in 1840" - a glimpse into Moldavian society during the Organic Statute administration, and two travel accounts (better described as folklore studies), Piatra Teiului and Stânca Corbului.
Russo is also notable for his Amintiri ("Recollections"), a memoir.
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Alexandru Diordiţă
Alexandru Diordiţă (13 September 1911 – 1 April 1996) was a Moldavian SSR politician.
Alexandru Diordiţă was born on September 13, 1911, in Handrabura, Ananiv. He died on April 1, 1996, in Moscow.
Alexandru Diordiţă was the prime minister of Moldavian SSR (23 January 1958 – 15 April 1970).
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Alexandru Hâjdeu
Alexandru Hâjdeu (Алекса́ндр Фадде́евич Хижде́у, 30 November 1811, Mizyuryntsi - 9 November 1872) was a writer of Romanian origin, who lived in Bessarabia (Russian Empire). He was the father of Romanian writer and philologist Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu.
Alexandru Hâjdeu was one of the founding members of the Romanian Academy.
Alley of Classics, Chişinău
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Alexandru Moşanu
Alexandru Moşanu (born on July 19, 1932 in Branişte, Rîşcani) is a Moldovan politician, historian and professor.
Alexandru Moşanu was born on July 19, 1932 in Branişte, Romania (now in Rîşcani district, Moldova). He was the first speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova between 1990 and 1993. He was also one of the co-authors of Moldova's 1991 Declaration of Independence.
Moşanu is the author of over 100 works on the history of Moldova and Romania. His most important contribution as an author is a study on Romanian historiography published in Moscow in 1988. Member of the Romanian Academy. Between 2002 and 2005 Mosanu was the Honorary Chairman of the Social Liberal Party (Moldova).
He is a leader of the Democratic Forum of Romanians in Moldova.
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Andrei Sangheli
Andrei Sangheli (born July 20, 1944) is a Moldovan politician.
Andrei Sangheli was Prime Minister of Moldova from 1992 until 1997.
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Andrei Stratan
Andrei Stratan (born September 3, 1966, Chişinău) is a Moldovan politician.
He was the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration in Vasile Tarlev Cabinet and Zinaida Greceanîi Cabinet.
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Austria
Austria (i/ˈɒstriə/ or /ˈɔːstriə/; German: Österreich [ˈøːstɐˌʁaɪç] ( listen)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich (help·info)), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.47 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,855 square kilometres (32,377 sq mi) and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speak local Austro-Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Burgenland Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.
The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria became one of the great powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon I as the Emperor of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary.
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Belarusians
Belarusians (Belarusian: беларусы, biełarusy, Russian: белорусы, byelorusy) are an East Slavic ethnic group who populate the majority of the Republic of Belarus. There are over 8 million people who associate themselves with the Belarusian nationality today.
Belarusians also form minorities in neighboring Poland (especially in the Podlaskie Voivodeship), Russia and Lithuania. At the beginning of 20th century Belarusians constituted a majority in the regions around Smolensk.[citation needed]
Noticeable numbers have emigrated to the United States, Brazil and Canada in the early 20th century. During Soviet times, many Belarusians were deported or migrated to various regions of the USSR, including Siberia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.
Since the breakup of the USSR several hundred thousand have emigrated to the European Union, United States, Canada and Russia.
The most spoken language in Belarus is Russian, principally spoken by 72% of the population, while the other official language, Belarusian, is only used by 11.9% in every day life. Statistical data shows that Belarusian is fluently communicated, read and written by 29.4%, while 52.5% of the population can communicate and read in Belarusian. Belarusian is a language of the Eastern Slavic group.
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Bessarabia Germans
The Bessarabia Germans (German: Bessarabiendeutsche, Romanian: Germani basarabeni) are an ethnic group who lived in Bessarabia (today part of Moldova and Ukraine) between 1814 and 1940. Between 1814 and 1842, 9000 of them immigrated from the German areas Baden, Württemberg, Alsace, Bavaria and some Prussian areas of modern-day Poland, to the Russian government of Bessarabia at the Black Sea. The area, bordering on the Black Sea, was part of the Russian Empire, in the form of Novorossiya; it later became the Bessarabia Governorate. In their 125-year history, the Bessarabia Germans were an overwhelmingly rural population. Until their moving to the Greater Germany (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact), they were a minority consisting of 93,000 people who made up some 3% of the population. They are distinguished from the Black Sea Germans who settled to the east of Odessa.
The most prominent person of Bessarabian ancestry is the former German President Horst Köhler. Before emigrating in 1940, his parents lived in the German colony Rîşcani in Northern Bessarabia, being moved to Poland, which was by that time occupied by Germany, where Köhler was born.
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Charles Upson Clark
Charles Upson Clark (1875–1960) was a professor of history at Columbia University. He discovered the Barberini Codex, the earliest Aztec writings on herbal medicines extant.
Charles Upson Clark was born in 1875 to Edward Perkins Clark and Catharine Pickens Upson. Throughout his life he was the author of many books on a variety of subjects. Among them was the history of West Indies by Antonio Vázquez de Espinosa translated into English, and the modern history of Romania.
He also collaborated with the American School of Classical Studies in Rome, where he held a directory of Classical Studies and Archaeology since 1910. He died in 1960.
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Constantin Stamati
Constantin Stamati (1786, Iaşi – September 12, 1869, Ocniţa) was a Romanian/Moldovan writer and translator.
He settled in Chişinău, Bessarabia (presently in Moldova) after the 1812 partition of Moldavia at the end of the Russo-Turkish War, but made his literary debut in Iaşi.
Stamati became a civil servant and official translator under the first Russian administration of the region. He was rewarded by the Russian Emperor with the Medal of Saint Anne and became a knight of that order.
He made the acquaintance of the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin at the time of latter's exile to Chişinău in 1820-1823. Stamati's most important work, Povestea poveştilor ("The Tale of Tales"), an idealized description of Moldavia's beginnings in verse, was published in Iaşi in 1843. His other works include contemporary satires and glorifications of Moldavia's past.
In 1866, he became one of the founding members of the Romanian Academy.
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Constantin Stere
Constantin G. Stere or Constantin Sterea (Romanian; Russian: Константин Егорович Стере, Konstantin Yegorovich Stere or Константин Георгиевич Стере, Konstantin Georgiyevich Stere; also known under his pen name Şărcăleanu; June 1, 1865 – June 26, 1936) was a Romanian writer, jurist, politician, ideologue of the Poporanist trend, and, in March 1906, co-founder (together with Garabet Ibrăileanu and Paul Bujor — the latter was afterwards replaced by the physician Ioan Cantacuzino) of the literary magazine Viaţa Românească. One of the central figures of the Bessarabian intelligentsia at the time, Stere was a key actor during the Union of Bessarabia with Romania in 1918, and is associated with its legacy.
Constantin Stere was professor of Administrative and Constitutional law at the University of Iaşi, serving as its rector between 1913 and 1916. He is also remembered for his partly autobiographical novel În preajma revoluţiei (literal translation: "On the Eve of the Revolution" — in reference to the Russian Revolution of 1917).
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Dacians
The Dacians ([pronunciation?]; Latin: Daci, Ancient Greek: Δάκοι Dakoi, Δάοι Daoi, Δάκες "Dakes"; Medieval Greek Δάκαι Dákai[citation needed]) were an Indo-European people, very close or part of the Thracians.[citation needed] Dacians were the ancient inhabitants of Dacia (located in the area in and around the Carpathian Mountains and east of there to the Black Sea). This area includes the present-day countries of Romania and Moldova, as well as parts of Sarmatia (mostly in eastern Ukraine), Moesia (Eastern Serbia, Northern Bulgaria), Slovakia and Poland. They spoke the Dacian language, believed to have been closely related to Thracian, but were culturally influenced by the neighbouring Scythians and by the Celtic invaders of the 4th century BC.
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Dan Bălan
Dan Mihai Bălan (born 6 February 1979) is a Uşak singer, songwriter, and producer.He was born to Mihai Bălan and Ludmila Bălan, a TV presenter. Dan Bălan has performed eurodance and commercial pop music. Bălan is best known for his part in the eurodance music trio O-Zone, which led to international fame with the hit single "Dragostea din tei".
The group was started by Dan Bălan in 1998 with Petru Jelihovschi. They released their first album, "Dar unde esti?" ("But, Where are you?") in 1999.[citation needed] However, for Petru music was just a hobby and the group split up. Bălan was determined not to end the project though. He held auditions where he met Arsenie Todiraş (or Arsenium). Though skeptical of Arsenie's talents, Bălan accepted Arsenie into the group after he performed Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender". A couple of weeks later Radu Sirbu took part in the auditions and the official O-Zone band was. In 2001, they moved to Romania. In 2002 they signed with Cat Music, a major Romanian label. Their single "Despre tine" reached first place on the "Romanian Top 100 single Chart".
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Daniel Ciugureanu
Daniel Ciugureanu (1884 - 1950 in Turda) was a Moldovan politician and the prime minister of the Moldavian Democratic Republic in 1918. Hw was also a minister in several Romanian governments.
He was the prime minister of the Moldavian Democratic Republic from February 6 [O.S. January 24] 1918 - April 9 [O.S. March 27] 1918, when Sfatul Ţării, the Parliament of Moldova, voted in favour of the union with Romania.
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Dimitrie Cantemir
Dimitrie Cantemir (Romanian: [diˈmitri.e kanteˈmir]; 1673 – 1723) was twice Prince of Moldavia (in March–April 1693 and in 1710–1711). He was also a prolific man of letters – philosopher, historian, composer, musicologist, linguist, ethnographer, and geographer.
His name is spelled Dimitrie Cantemir in Romanian, Dmitriy Konstantinovich Kantemir (Дми́трий Константи́нович Кантеми́р) in Russian, Dimitri Kantemiroğlu in Turkish, Dymitr Kantemir in Polish, Dimitrios Kantemiris (Δημήτριος Καντεμίρης) in Greek and Demetre Cantemir in several other languages.
Born in Silişteni (renamed Dimitrie Cantemir and now located in Vaslui County, Romania), Dimitrie was the son of Moldavian Voivode Constantin Cantemir (and brother to Antioh Cantemir, himself Prince), of the low-ranking boyar Cantemireşti family. His mother, Ana Bantăş, was a learned woman of noble origins. (Cantemir never forgot his paternal ancestry, but while in Constantinople because of his name similarity locals inspired him to claim descent from Khan Temir, an early 17th century khan of the Budjak Tatars – see Moldavian Magnate Wars on some occasions.)
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Dosoftei
Dimitrie Barilă, better known under his monastical name Dosoftei (October 26, 1624—December 13, 1693), was a Moldavian Metropolitan, scholar, poet and translator.
Born in Suceava, he attended the school of the "Trei Ierarhi" Monastery of Iaşi and then at the Orthodox Brotherhood school in Lviv, where he studied humanities and learned several languages.
In 1648 he became a monk at Probota Monastery, and was later bishop of Huşi (1658–1660) and Roman (1660–1671) to become Metropolitan bishop of Moldavia (1671–1674 and again 1675-1686). In 1686 he moved to Poland where he stayed for the rest of his life.
He was one of the most important ethnic Romanian scholars of the 17th century, the very first important Romanian language poet and the first translator into Romanian of epics, works on history, as well as religious scriptures Moldavia had. His most famous work is the Romanian psalter in verse.
The Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church canonized Dosoftei in July 2005, a fact that was proclaimed on October 14, 2005. His feast day is December 13.
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Dumitru Diacov
Dumitru Diacov (also transliterated from Russian as Dmitry Dyakov or Dmitri Diakov (Дмитрий Дьяков)) (born February 10, 1952, Kargapolie (ru:Каргаполье), Kurgan Oblast, Russian SFSR) is a Moldovan politician.
In 1974, Dumitru Diacov graduated from Belarusian State University and then worked for TeleRadio-Moldova. After 1984, he worked as correspondent in Chişinău for Komsomolskaya Pravda and then for Komsomol and CPSU in Moscow (1986-1989). Between 1989-1993, he worked for Information Telegraph Agency of Russia in Bucharest.[dead link]
Dumitru Diacov was a Moldovan MP (1994–2001, 2005-May 2009, July 2009-2010) and the president of the Moldovan Parliament (April 23, 1998 – March 20, 2001).
He was president of the Democratic Party of Moldova (1997-June 2009) and later has been the honorary president.
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Dumitru Moţpan
Dumitru Moţpan (born May 3, 1940) served as the President of the Moldovan Parliament.
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Eugen Doga
Eugen Doga (Евгений Дмитриевич Дога, translit. Yevgeniy Doga) (born March 1, 1937) is a Moldovan/Romaniancomposer. 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 Rîbniţa 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 Chişinău, he performed as violoncellist in the Orchestra of the State Committee of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic for television and radio (1957–1962), taught at the Music College "Stefan Neaga" from Chişinău (1962–1967), and worked from 1967 to 1972 at the repertory-editorial Board of the Ministry of Culture of Moldova.
Doga wrote music for more than 200 films, spectacles and ballets. He is the author of many cantatas, composed a symphony, instrumental music, romances, a symphonic poem, many songs for children, etc.
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Eugenia Ostapciuc
Eugenia Ostapciuc (Russian: Евгения Владимировна Остапчук) (born October 19, 1947, Fîntîniţa, Moldova) is a Moldovan politician, member of the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova. In 2001-2005 she was the President of the Moldovan Parliament.
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Eurasian Avars
The Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars ( /ˈævɑrz/) were a Turkic people from the steppes of Central Asia, and later they became a confederation of Eurasian tribes of mixed origin. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors. Although the name Avar first appeared in the mid-fifth century, the Avars of Europe enter the historical scene in the mid-sixth century AD, when they established a pax spanning considerable areas of Central and Eastern Europe. Their state was the Avar Khaganate. The rule of their country over much of the Pannonian Plain persisted until the early 9th century.
The origin of the Eurasian Avars is unclear. Information about origins is derived primarily from the works of Byzantine historians Menander Protector and Theophylact Simocatta. John of Ephesus used the term "those, who are called "Avars," because of their long hair." The confusion is compounded by the fact that many clans carried a particular name because they believed it to be prestigious, or it was attributed to them by outsiders describing their common characteristics, believed place of origin or reputation.[citation needed] Such a case has been seen repeatedly for many nomadic confederacies.
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Gagauz people
The Gagauz people are a Turkic group living mostly in southern Moldova (Gagauzia), southwestern Ukraine (Budjak), south-eastern Romania (Dobrogea), northeastern Bulgaria, Greece, Brazil, America and Canada. Unlike most other Turkic speaking people, the Gagauz are predominantly Orthodox Christians. There is a related ethnic group also called Gagavuz (or Gajal) living in the European part of northwestern Turkey.
Today Gagauz people outside Moldova live mainly in the Ukrainian regions of Odesa and Zaporizhia, as well as in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Bulgaria, Romania, Brazil, Turkmenistan, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Georgia, Turkey and the Russian region of Kabardino-Balkaria.
There are also nearly 20,000 descendants of Gagauzes living in the Balkan country of Bulgaria, as well as upwards of 2,000 living in the United States of America, Brazil and Canada. Most of Gagauz immigrants in the USA are Evangelical Christians, who left their homeland in Moldova as refugees. They were persecuted by the communist government of the Soviet Union. Gagauz immigrants live in Sacramento, California; Salem, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; Tacoma, Washington; Charlotte, North Carolina; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and in Massachusetts. The official figures in the latter group of countries cited in this article are much lower due to the loss of Gagauz identity during the last century.
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Gavriil Musicescu
Gavriil Musicescu (March 20, 1847, Izmail, Southern Bessarabia, now in Ukraine – December 21, 1903, Iaşi) was a Romanian composer, conductor and musicologist, father of the Romanian pianist and musical pedagogue Florica Musicescu.
He studied music and composition in Saint Petersburg and Iaşi. He is the author of numerous compositions of choral music. He settled in Romania and, from 1872 until his death in 1903, taught at the Iaşi Conservatory.
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Gheorghe Ghimpu
Gheorghe Ghimpu (July 26, 1937, Coloniţa - November 13, 2000) was a Moldovan politician and a political prisoner in the former Soviet Union.
Gheorghe Ghimpu was born on July 26, 1937 in Coloniţa, a village in Bessarabia during the Greater Romania administration. His mother, Irina Ursu (daughter of Haralambie Ursu) died in 2003; she worked at the local kolkhoz. His father, Toader Ghimpu (death in 1980), was an elementary school teacher only a few years because he completed only seven years of schooling during the Romanian rule, then he worked at the local kolkhoz too. Gheorghe Ghimpu is the oldest brother of Simion Ghimpu (born May 24, 1939), Visarion, Valentina (mother of Dorin Chirtoacă) and Mihai Ghimpu.
Gheorghe Ghimpu completed his studies at T. G. Shevchenko University in Tiraspol. Then he obtained his PhD at the Institute of Biological Physics, Academy of Sciences of the USSR in Moscow. Gheorghe Ghimpu was a teacher in Străşeni and a professor at T. G. Shevchenko University in Tiraspol and the Moldova State University in Chişinău.
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Gherasim Rudi
Gherasim Rudi (Sărăţei, March 4, 1907 – Chişinău, June 26, 1982) was a Moldavian SSR politician.
Gherasim Rudi (Gerasim Yakovlevich Rud) was born on March 4, 1907, in Sărăţei, Rîbniţa sub-district, Transnistria. He died on June 26, 1982, in Chişinău.
Gherasim Rudi was the prime minister of Moldavian SSR (5 January 1946 - 23 January 1958); until April 4, the name was Chairmen of the Council of People's Commissars.
Rudi signed the ruling concerning the deportation of more than 40,000 of Bessarabian Romanians to Siberia in the summer of 1949. The operation was undertaken by the NKVD, under the order of Joseph Stalin, on 6 June 1949 and was known as the operation "Iug"(South). After the retirement He was a Rector of the Chisinau Agricultural Institute.
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Goths
The Goths (Gothic: *Gut-þiuda, *Gutans; Old Norse: Gutar/Gotar; German: Goten; Latin: Gothi; Greek: Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe.
The most important source is Jordanes' 6th-century, semi-fictional Getica which describes a migration from southern Scandza (Scandinavia), to Gothiscandza, believed to be the lower Vistula region in modern Pomerania, and from there to the coast of the Black Sea. The Pomeranian Wielbark culture and the Chernyakhov culture northeast of the lower Danube are archaeological traces of this migration. In the 3rd century, either through crossing the lower Danube, or travelling by sea, the Goths ravaged the Balkan Peninsula and Anatolia as far as Cyprus, sacking Athens, Byzantium, Sparta. By the fourth century, the Goths conquered Dacia, and were divided into at least two distinct groups separated by the Dniester River, the Thervingi, led by the Balti dynasty, and the Greuthungi, led by the Amali dynasty. Centered around their capital at the Dnieper, the Goths ruled a vast area which at its peak under the Kings Ermanaric and Athanaric stretched from the Danube to the Volga river, and from the Black to the Baltic Sea.
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Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes (Greek: Ἕλληνες, [ˈelines]), are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and other regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world.
Greek colonies and communities have been historically established in most corners of the Mediterranean, but Greeks have always been centered around the Aegean Sea, where the Greek language has been spoken since antiquity. Until the early 20th century, Greeks were uniformly distributed between the Greek peninsula, the western coast of Asia Minor, Pontus, Egypt, Cyprus and Constantinople; many of these regions coincided to a large extent with the borders of the Byzantine Empire of the late 11th century and the Eastern Mediterranean areas of the ancient Greek colonization.
In the aftermath of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), a large-scale population exchange between Greece and Turkey transferred and confined Christians from Turkey, except Constantinople (effectively ethnic Greeks) into the borders of the modern Greek state and Cyprus. Other ethnic Greek populations can be found from southern Italy to the Caucasus and in diaspora communities in a number of other countries. Today, most Greeks are officially registered as members of the Greek Orthodox Church.
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Grigore Ureche
Grigore Ureche (Romanian pronunciation: [ɡriˈɡore uˈreke]; 1590–1647) was a Moldavian chronicler who wrote on Moldavian history in his Letopiseţul Ţării Moldovei (The Chronicles of the land of Moldavia), covering the period from 1359 to 1594.
Ureche is the first to assert the existence of the Moldavian language and its Romance character. He also acknowledges the common Roman origin of Moldavians, Wallachians and the Romanians from Transylvania.
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Heiner Bielefeldt
Heiner Bielefeldt (April 12, 1958) is a German philosopher, historian and Catholic theologian. He is Professor of Human Rights and Human Rights Policy at the University of Erlangen. In 2010, he was appointed United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief.
Bielefeldt studied philosophy and Catholic Theology at Bonn University und Tübingen University, which he completed in 1981 und 1982 respectively. Afterwards, he took a third undergraduate degree in history from Tübingen University in 1988. In 1989 he received his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Tübingen with a thesis on social contract theories.
He then worked until 1995 at the Faculty of Law at the University of Heidelberg. As a recipient of a Alexander-von-Humboldt Fellowship, he spent 1993/94 at the Faculty of Law and the Department of Philosophy of the University of Toronto. In February 2000, he took his post-doctoral habilitation degree in philosophy from the University of Bremen.
From 2003 to 2009, Bielefeldt served as Director of the German Institute for Human Rights, which monitors the human rights situation inside Germany.
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Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns, considerable scholarly effort has been devoted to investigating such a connection. However, there is no scholarly consensus on a direct connection between the dominant element of the Xiongnu and that of the Huns.Priscus mentions that the Huns had a language of their own; little of it has survived and its relationships have been the subject of debate for centuries. Most authorities suppose that it may have been a member of the Oghuric branch of the Turkic language family, with the languages Bulgar, Khazar, Turkic Avar and Chuvash. Numerous other languages were spoken within the Hun pax including East Germanic, which was widely used as a lingua franca in the Hunnic territories. Their main military technique was mounted archery.
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Igor Caşu
Igor Caşu (born October 8, 1973, Borogani) is a historian from the Republic of Moldova.
Igor Caşu was born on October 8, 1973, in Borogani, district Comrat, now in Leova. He graduate from University of Iaşi in 1995 and got a PhD from University of Iaşi in 2000. He contributed to the Presidential Commission for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Romania.
In 2000 fall semester he was Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence at Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, North Carolina.
Igor Caşu is also deputy Chair of the Commission for the analysis of the totalitarian communist regime in the Republic of Moldova, designated by Presidential Decree signed by the Acting President of Moldova, Mihai Ghimpu.
Since October 2010 he is Director of the Center for the Study of Totalitarianism at the Faculty of History and Philosophy, Moldova State University in Chisinau. He is also contributing for Radio Free Europe, Romanian language section as well as to daily Adevarul, Chisinau edition (www.adevarul.ro/moldova).
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Ion Ciubuc
Ion Ciubuc (born May 29, 1943) is a Moldovan politician who was Prime Minister of Moldova from January 1997 to February 1999.
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Ion Costaş
Ion Costaş (b. 1944, Ţarigrad) is a Moldovan soldier and a former Minister of Interior (1990–1992) and Defence (1992).
He is a leader of the Democratic Forum of Romanians in Moldova.
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Ion Creangă
Ion Creangă (Romanian pronunciation: [iˈon ˈkre̯aŋɡə]; also known as Nică al lui Ştefan a Petrei, Ion Torcălău and Ioan Ştefănescu; March 1, 1837 or June 10, 1839 – December 31, 1889) was a Moldavian-born Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher. A main figure in 19th century Romanian literature, he is best known for his Childhood Memories volume, his novellas and short stories, and his many anecdotes. Creangă's main contribution to fantasy and children's literature includes narratives structured around eponymous protagonists ("Harap Alb", "Ivan Turbincă", "Dănilă Prepeleac", "Stan Păţitul"), as well as fairy tales indebted to conventional forms ("The Story of the Pig", "The Goat and Her Three Kids", "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", "The Old Man's Daughter and the Old Woman's Daughter"). Widely seen as masterpieces of the Romanian language and local humor, his writings occupy the middle ground between a collection of folkloric sources and an original contribution to a literary realism of rural inspiration. They are accompanied by a set of contributions to erotic literature, collectively known as his "corrosives".
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Ion Neculce
Ion Neculce (1672–1745) was a Moldavian chronicler. His main work, Letopiseţul Ţărâi Moldovei [de la Dabija Vodă până la a doua domnie a lui Constantin Mavrocordat] (The Chronicles of the land of Moldavia [from the rule of Dabija Vodă to the second rule of Constantin Mavrocordat) was meant to extend Ion Neculce's narrative, covering events from 1661 to 1743.
Ion Neculce was born in 1672. Under Antioh Cantemir he was made a spătar (holder of the royal sword and bludgeon and second in rank in the army after the voivode), but achieved his highest rank under the rule of Dimitrie Cantemir when he was made grand hatman for supporting Peter I of Russia in the Russo-Turkish wars.
When the Russians lost the war Ion Neculce alongside Dimitrie Cantemir went to Russia and spent a few years there until 1719 when he returned to Moldova, where under the rule of Constantin Mavrocordat was appointed vornic. This was his last function before dying in 1745.
His tomb in Prigoreni village
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Ion Nistor
Ion Nistor (August 16, 1876 – November 11, 1962) was a prominent Romanian historian and politician. He was a member of the Romanian Academy after 1911, and served as administrator of its Library.
Nistor was born into a family of peasants in the Bivolărie hamlet of Vicovul de Sus, Bukovina — in Austria-Hungary at the time, it is now included in Suceava County, Romania. He studied at the local school in Vicovul de Sus, then at Elementary School of Rădăuţi and at the Rădăuţi German High School, getting his Matura in 1897.
He then studied Philosophy and Literature at the University of Czernowitz and between 1898 and 1900, he completed his military service in the Austro-Hungarian Army (serving in Polei and in Vienna), and graduated from the University in 1902, after which he was named teacher of history and geography at the Suceava Classic High school. Together with some of his friends, Nistor edited a magazine titled Junimea Literară between 1904 and 1914, first published in Rădăuţi and then in Suceava.
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Ion Pelivan
Ion Gheorghe Pelivan (b. April 1, 1876, Răzeni – d. January 25, 1954, Sighet) was a Moldovan politician.
In 1898, Ion Pelivan graduated from the Teological Seminary in Chişinău and in 1903 he graduated from Dorpat University. Then he worked as jurist in Bălţi.
Pelivan was the Foreign Minister of Moldova in Pantelimon Erhan Cabinet and Daniel Ciugureanu Cabinet.
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Ion Sturza
Ion Sturza (born 9 May 1960, Pîrjolteni, Călăraşi district) is a Moldovan politician and businessman who served as Prime Minister of Moldova between 19 February 1999 and 9 November 1999.
Born to the Sturdza family of Moldavian boyars, Ion Sturza graduated his studies in economics at the Moldova State University.
Sturza worked as a bank president and a business in distribution of juices and canned food in Moldova. Since 2002, he has been working for Rompetrol, the second biggest Romanian oil company, currently being its vice-president. In 2007, he initiated the biggest transaction in Romania, as KazMunaiGaz bought 75% of the shares of the company for $2.7 billion.
He served as Prime Minister of Moldova between February 19, 1999 and November 9, 1999. His government had the support of the Alliance for Democracy and Reforms.
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Ion Ustian
Ion Ustian (b. September 12, 1939, Olişcani) is a Moldavian politician.
Ion Ustian was born on September 12, 1939, in Olişcani, Şoldăneşti District.
Ion Ustian was the prime minister of Moldavian SSR (30 December 1980 – 24 December 1985).
Later that year, he was wounded in a car accident, but made a quick recovery.
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Ivan Călin
Ivan Petrovici Călin (Moldovan: Иван Петрович Калин; 10 March 1935 – 2 January 2012) was a Moldovan politician.
Călin was born in the small village of Plopi in the north of Transnistria, in Rîbniţa sub-district, then in Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
Călin was President of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Moldavian SSR from 10 April 1980 to 24 December 1985. Following this he became prime minister of the Moldavian SSR until 10 January 1990.
He was elected as member of the Parliament of Moldova in the 1998 election, 2005 election, April 2009 election and July 2009 election.
Until the speaker was elected, the plenary meetings of the Moldovan Parliament were chaired by the oldest MP, making Călin the acting speaker from 5 through 12 May 2009.
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Jews
The Jews (Hebrew: יְהוּדִים ISO 259-3 Yhudim Israeli pronunciation [jehuˈdim]), also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and an ethnoreligious group, originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation.Converts to Judaism, whose status as Jews within the Jewish ethnos is equal to those born into it, have been absorbed into the Jewish people throughout the millennia.
In Jewish tradition, Jewish ancestry is traced to the Biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the second millennium BCE. The modern State of Israel defines itself as a Jewish state in its Basic Laws, and Israel's Law of Return states: "Every Jew has the right to come to this country as an oleh." Israel is the only country where Jews are a majority of the population. Jews achieved political autonomy twice before in ancient history. The first of these periods lasted from 1350 to 586 BCE, and encompassed the periods of the Judges, the United Monarchy, and the Divided Monarchy of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, ending with the destruction of the First Temple. The second was the period of the Hasmonean Kingdom spanning from 140 to 37 BCE. Since the destruction of the First Temple, most Jews have lived in diaspora. A minority in every country in which they live (except Israel), they have frequently experienced persecution throughout history, resulting in a population that has fluctuated both in numbers and distribution over the centuries.
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List of Moldovans
This is a list of notable people, of all ethnicities, born in the Republic of Moldova, the Moldovan SSR or the historical province of Bessarabia.
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Marian Lupu
Marian Lupu (born 20 June 1966) is a Moldovan politician and is the President of the Parliament and served as Acting President of the Republic from 2010 until 2012.
Marian Lupu was born on 20 June 1966 in Bălţi, but he and his family moved to Chişinău when he was 6 years old. His parents gave him the nickname Marcel, because they liked the Romanian accordion musician Marcel Budală (1926–1989). His father, Ilie Ion Lupu (b.1938), was a mathematics professor at the Moldova State University and T. G. Shevchenko University, author, and a political activist of the Communist Party. In the 1990s, his father militated in favour of the re-legalization of the Communist Party after being banned in 1991. Ilie Ion Lupu met Vladimir Voronin only once, in 2008, at a ceremony where he was presented the Order of Work Merit. His mother taught French language at the Nicolae Testemiţanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy. He had been a member of Komsomol from 1980 until 1988 and a Member of Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1988 to 1991.
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Mihai Eminescu
Mihai Eminescu (Romanian pronunciation: [miˈhaj emiˈnesku]; born Mihail Eminovici; January 15, 1850 – June 15, 1889) was a poet, novelist and journalist, often regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active member of the Junimea literary society and he worked as an editor for the newspaper Timpul ("The Time"), the official newspaper of the Conservative Party (1880–1918). His poetry was first published when he was 16 and he went to Vienna to study when he was 19. The poet's Manuscripts, containing 46 volumes and approximately 14,000 pages, were offered by Titu Maiorescu as a gift to the Romanian Academy during the meeting that was held on January 25, 1902. Notable works include Luceafărul ("Evening Star"), Odă în metru antic (Ode in Ancient Meter), and the five Letters (Epistles/Satires). In his poems he frequently used metaphysical, mythological and historical subjects. In general his work was influenced by the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer.
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Mihai Ghimpu
Mihai Ghimpu (born 19 November 1951, Coloniţa, Moldova, is a Moldovan politician. He was Speaker of Parliament from 28 August 2009 to 30 December 2010 and Acting President from 11 September 2009 until 28 December 2010.
Mihai Ghimpu was born on 19 November 1951 in the village of Coloniţa, Chişinău, Moldavian SSR. His mother, Irina Ursu (daughter of Haralambie Ursu) died in 2003; she worked at the local kolkhoz. His father, Toader Ghimpu (deceased in 1980), was an elementary school teacher only a few years because he completed only seven years of schooling during the Romanian rule, then he worked at the local kolkhoz too. Mihai Ghimpu is the youngest brother of Gheorghe Ghimpu, Simion Ghimpu, Visarion, and Valentina (mother of Dorin Chirtoacă). He has been married, for more than 30 years, to Dina Ghimpu, an employee of Moldova's Culture Ministry; they have no children.
After attending elementary school in his hometown, Mihai Ghimpu enrolled in School no.1 of Chişinău (now "Gheorghe Asachi" High School). After high school, he carried out the compulsory military service in the Soviet army until 1972. Then, Ghimpu studied law at Moldova State University (1974–1978), after which worked as legal counsel to state enterprises. In 1978–1990 years he worked as a lawyer, headed the legal departments of various companies and served as a judge in Sectorul Rîşcani of Chişinău.
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Mircea Druc
Mircea Druc (born 25 July 1941, in Pociumbăuţi, Rîşcani district) is a Moldovan and Romanian politician who served as Prime Minister of Moldova between 26 May 1990 and 22 May 1991.
He was appointed as Prime Minister after the opposition walked out from the parliament, as a protest to the policies of the nationalist Popular Front of Moldova.
His government purged non-Moldovans from cultural institutions and changed the outlook of the education system to be centred towards Romanian-language education, away from the Russian-centric education system of the Soviet era. Street names and the symbols of the state were changed to show the Romanian heritage of Moldova. After revolts against the Pro-Romanian discriminatory policy of the government spread in Transnistria an Gagauzia, he threatened to unleash a civil war similar to that in Lebanon and Ulster.
In May 1991 he was removed from his position after an overwhelming vote of no confidence. After his dismissal he came under scutiny for questionable financial dealings. He was also accused of promoting subjugation of the Russian speakers.
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Mircea Snegur
Mircea Ion Snegur (b. January 17, 1940 – Trifăneşti, now in Florești district) was the first President of Moldova 1990–1997. Before that he was Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet 1989–1990 (head of state) and Chairman of the Supreme Soviet from 27 April to 3 September 1990. In the Soviet era, he was often known in English as Mircha Ivanovich Snegur, a transliteration from the Russian Мирча Иванович Снегур.
A former Communist Party official, Snegur endorsed independence for Moldova and actively sought Western recognition. Moldova declared its independence from the Soviet Union in August 1991. However, Snegur's opposition to immediate reunification with Romania led to a split with the Popular Front of Moldova in October 1991 and to his decision to run as an independent candidate in a December 1991 presidential election. Running unopposed, he won after the Popular Front's efforts to organize a voter boycott failed.
In the presidential elections of 1996, Parliamentary speaker Petru Lucinschi surprised the nation with an upset victory over Snegur in a second round of balloting.
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Miron Costin
Miron Costin (March 30, 1633 - 1691, Roman) was a Moldavian (Romanian) political figure and chronicler. His main work, Letopiseţul Ţărâi Moldovei [de la Aron Vodă încoace] (The Chronicles of the land of Moldavia [from the rule of Aron Vodă]) was meant to extend Grigore Ureche's narrative, co vering events from 1594 to 1660. The Chronicles were first published in 1675.
He also wrote Istoria în versuri polone despre Ţara Moldovei şi Munteniei (Polish verse history of Moldavia and Wallachia), also known under the title Poema polonă (The Polish poem).
Miron Costin was born as the son of a rich Moldavian boyar (Ion or Iancu). He spent his earliest years in Poland, where his family had taken refuge from Ottoman violence in Moldavia. His father had become a Polish magnate, which gave Miron the right to study at the Jesuit College in Bar, then at Kamienec Podolski.
He returned to Moldavia in 1653, and became a trainee of the country's treasury. Valued by the administration, he rose quickly, becoming Vornic in 1669 (i.e.: overseer of the Court, with several political responsibilities both inside the state and abroad).
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Moldovans
Moldovans or Moldavians (in Moldovan/Romanian moldoveni pronounced [moldoˈvenʲ]; also written молдовень in the Moldovan Cyrillic script currently used only in Transnistria) are the current inhabitants of the territory of historical Principality of Moldova. The territory is currently divided among Romania (42%), Ukraine (24%, including Northern Bukovina, Hertsa, Northern Bessarabia and Budjak) and the Republic of Moldova (34%).
This article refers primarily to the Romance-speakers of the Republic of Moldova, the historical Bessarabia and diaspora originating from these regions. There is an ongoing controversy whether Moldovans are a fully fledged ethnic group or a subgroup of the Romanian ethnic group.
A poll conducted in the Republic of Moldova by IMAS-Inc Chisinau in October 2009 presented a detailed picture. The respondents were asked to rate the relationship between the identity of Moldovans and that of Romanians on a scale between 1 (entirely the same) to 5 (completely different). The poll showed that 26% of the entire sample, which included all ethnic groups, claimed the two identities were the same or very similar, whereas 47% claimed they were different or entirely different. The results varied significantly among different categories of subjects. For instance, while 33% of the young respondents (ages 18–29) chose the same or very similar and 44% different or very different, among the senior respondents (aged over 60) the corresponding figures were 18.5% and 53%. The proportion of those who chose the same or very similar identity was higher than the average among the native speakers of Romanian/Moldovan (30%), among the urban dwellers (30%), among those with higher education (36%), and among the residents of the capital city (42%).
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Nicolae Coval
Nicolae Coval (Camenca, December 19, 1904 – Chişinău, January 15, 1970) was a Moldavian SSR politician.
Nicolae Coval (Nikolay Grigoryevich Koval) was born on December 19, 1904, in Camenca, Transnistria. He died on January 15, 1970, in Chişinău.
Coval was the prime minister of Moldavian SSR (April 17, 1945 – January 5, 1946). Coval was also the First Secretary of the Moldavian Communist Party (January 5, 1946 - July 1950).
During his rule the hunger of 1946-1947 has occurred in the Moldаvian SSR, when more than 170 thousands of people has died[citation needed]. The hunger had partially objective reasons (relatively low harvest), while partially was organized by Soviet Authorities[citation needed] (Joseph Stalin and Communist Party of the Soviet Union), which urged the completation of Soviet grain stocks. The hunger was stopped in the autumn of 1947, after which a forced collectivisation of the agriculture in Bessarabia was ordered by Communist and Soviet authorities.
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Nicolae Milescu
Nicolae Milescu (Romanian pronunciation: [nikoˈla.e miˈlesku], first name also Neculai, also known as Spătarul Milescu-Cârnu "Chancellor Milescu the Snub-nosed", in Russian: Николай Гаврилович Спафарий - Nikolai Gavrilovich Spathari or Николае Гаврилович Милеску - Nikolaye Gavrilovich Milescu; 1636–1708) was a Moldavian writer, diplomat and traveler. Milescu spoke 9 languages: Romanian, Latin, Greek, Modern Greek, French, German, Turkish, Swedish and Russian. One of his grandsons was the Spătar (Сhancellor) Yuri Stefanovich, who came to Russia in 1711 with prince Dimitrie Cantemir.
A boyar born in Vaslui, he studied at the Patriarchate College of Istanbul and after returning to Iaşi, was appointed Chancellor for the Moldavian Prince Gheorghe Ştefan. In 1660-1664, he acted as representative of his country with its Ottoman overlord, and then as envoy to Berlin and Stockholm.
He followed Gheorghe Ştefan in his exile to Stockholm and Szczecin (1664–1667), and visited Louis XIV's France (attempting to get the King to assist him in his wish for the creation of an anti-Ottoman alliance).
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Nicolae Timofti
Nicolae Timofti (born 22 December 1948) is a Moldovan politician and jurist who has been President of Moldova since 23 March 2012. He served as head of Moldova's Supreme Magistrate Council and was elected President by parliament on 16 March 2012.
Nicolae Timofti was born to Elena (born 1927) and Vasile Timofti in Ciutulești, Moldavian SSR, Soviet Union, and has four siblings.[citation needed] At the beginning of 1949, his family moved to Florești. On 6 July 1949, his paternal grandfather Tudor Timofti was deported by Soviet authorities to the Amur region, where he died in 1953.
Timofti is married to the lawyer Margareta Timofti and they have three sons: Alexei (born. 1977) works as a lawyer for the World Bank in Washington, Nicu (born 1980) is a sports journalist in Chişinău, and Ștefan (born 1989) studies economics in Chişinău.
Timofti graduated from the law school of Moldova State University in 1972 and spent two years in the Soviet Army before beginning his career as a judge in 1976. "He is a person who was with us when we started reforms in the 1990s," Mihai Ghimpu said. In 2005, Timofti was appointed to the Higher Judicial Chamber and, in 2011, he was named chairman of the Supreme Council of Magistrates.
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Nogais
The Nogai people (also written as Nogay or Noghai) are a Turkic ethnic group who live in southern Russia. Most are found in northern Dagestan and Stavropol Krai, as well as in Karachay–Cherkessia and the Astrakhan Oblast; an unknown number live in Chechnya. They speak the Nogai language and are descendants of various Turkic tribes, mainly Kipchaks, who formed the Nogai Horde.
From the sixteenth century until their removal in the mid-nineteenth century the Nogais were divided into the following sub-groups (west to east along the Black Sea coast of present-day Ukraine):
The name Nogai is derived from Nogai Khan, a general of the Golden Horde.. The Nogais are a ethnic Turkic speaking group of Kipchak descent and live in southern Russia of Dagestan, anthropologically they are an racial mixture of both Mongoloid and Caucasoid and have origins from the Golden horde. The Nogai Horde supported the Astrakhan Khanate, and after the conquest of Astrakhan in 1556 by Russians, they transferred their allegiance to the Crimean Khanate. The Nogais protected the northern borders of the khanate, and through organized raids to the northern steppes prevented Slavic settlement. Many Nogais migrated to the Crimean peninsula to serve as khan's cavalry. Settling there, they contributed to the formation of the Crimean Tatars. However, Nogais were not only good soldiers, they also had considerable agricultural skills. The Nogais mastered skills of growing grain and irrigating on the dry steppes they inhabited. They cultivated spring wheat and drought resistant millet. They raised various herds and migrated seasonally in search of better pastures for their animals. Nogais were proud of their nomadic traditions and independence, which they considered superior to settled agricultural life.
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Olia Tira
Olia Tira (born 1 August 1988 in Potsdam, East Germany) is a singer based in Moldova.
Tira was born in 1988 into a Soviet military family in Potsdam, East Germany. She spent a few years there and moved to Chişinău. She first appeared in festivals and concerts when she was 14 years old.
Tira attended school in Cahul and is currently a student in the Academy of Music, Theatre and Fine Arts in Chişinău.
Tira's first album, Your Place or Mine?, was released in December 2006 by Nordika Multimedia. The songs were all written by Ruslan Taranu.
After participating in the 2006 and 2007 Moldovan national finals and finishing fourth in the 2009 Moldovan national final with Unicul Meu, she was selected to represent Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, along with SunStroke Project. They finished 22nd place in the Eurovision song contest final.
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Pantelimon Erhan
Pantelimon Erhan (1884–1971) was a Moldovan politician and prime minister of the Moldavian Democratic Republic (1917–1918).
Pantelimon Erhan was born in 1884 in Tănătari, Căuşeni District. He died in 1971 in Bucharest.
He was the first prime minister of the Moldavian Democratic Republic (December 21 [O.S. December 8] 1917 - February 6 [O.S. January 24] 1918).
On December 21 [O.S. December 8] 1917, Sfatul Ţării elected the Pantelimon Erhan Cabinet (named the Council of Directors General), with nine members and with Pantelimon Erhan as President of the Council of Directors General and Director General for Agriculture. The Agrarian reform was a cornerstone priority of the Moldavian Democratic Republic government.
The presence of the Romanian army in Moldavian Democratic Republic has caused tension within the Council, with some of its members, Pantelimon Erhan protesting against it. In particular they feared that big land owners-dominated Romanian Government could use the troops to prevent the envisaged Agrarian reform, a cornerstone priority of the Moldavian Democratic Republic government.
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Pechenegs
The Pechenegs or Patzinaks (Russian: Печенег(и), Turkish: Peçenek(ler), Hungarian: Besenyő(k), Croatian: Pečenezi, Greek: Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, Georgian: პაჭანიკი, Bulgarian: печенеги, pechenegi or печенези, pechenezi; Serbian: Печенези, Latin: Pacinacae, Bisseni) were a semi-nomadic Turkic people of the Central Asian steppes speaking the Pecheneg language which belonged to the Turkic language family.
In Mahmud Kashgari's 11th-century work Dīwānu Lughati t-Turk (Arabic: ديوان لغات الترك), the name Beçenek is given two meanings. The first is "a Turkish nation living around the country of the Rum", where Rum was the Turkish word for the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantine Empire. Kashgari's second definition of Beçenek is "a branch of Oghuz Turks"; he subsequently described the Oghuz as being formed of 22 branches, of which the 19th branch was named Beçenek. Max Vasmer derives this name from the Turkic word for "brother-in-law, relative" (Turkmen: bacanak and Turkish: bacanak). According to Kashgari, Pechenegs are one of Üçok tribes of the Oghuz.
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Petru Cazacu
Petru Cazacu (October 6, 1873, Chişinău - August 1956, Bucharest) was a Moldovan politician.
He served as the prime minister of the Moldavian Democratic Republic in 1918.
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Petru Lucinschi
Petru Chiril Lucinschi (born January 27, 1940) was Moldova's second President (1997–2001).
Petru Chiril Lucinschi (Russian: Пётр Кириллович Лучинский, Pyotr Kirillovich Luchinsky; Ukrainian: Петро Кирилович Лучинський, Petro Kyrylovych Luchynsky) was born on January 27, 1940 in Rădulenii Vechi village, Soroca County, Romania (now Floreşti district). He has a PhD in Philosophy (1977).
From 1971, Lucinschi was a member of the Executive Committee (Politburo) of the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Moldavian SSR. He was the only native Moldovan in the leadership of Communist Party of Moldova at that time, when the leadership of Moldavian SSR was almost completely in the hands of people from outside the republic or Transnistrians.
From 1978 to 1989, he was first secretary of Chişinău branch of the Communist Party of Moldova. In 1978, Ivan Bodiul sent him to work for the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in Moscow, where Lucinschi remained until 1986. From 1986 to 1989, Lucinschi was second secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Tajikistan. Upon his return to Moldavian SSR in 1989, he became first secretary of the Communist Party of Moldova.
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Petru Pascari
Petru Pascari (b. 22 September 1929, Stroenţi) was a Moldavian SSR politician.
Petru Pascari (Пётр Андреевич Паскарь, Pyotr Andreyevich Paskar) was born in the small village of Stroenţi in the north of Transnistria, in Rîbniţa sub-district.
Petru Pascari was the prime minister of Moldavian SSR: 24 April 1970 – 1 August 1976 (1st time) and 10 January – 26 May 1990 (2nd time).
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Poles
The Polish people, or Poles (Polish: Polacy [pɔˈlat͡sɨ]; singular: Polak), are a nation indigenous to Poland. They speak the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe. The Polish word for a Polish person is "Polak" (masculine) and "Polka" (feminine).
The preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland defines the Polish nation as comprising all the citizens of Poland. Poland's inhabitants live in the following historic regions of the country: Wielkopolska, Małopolska, Mazovia, Pomerania, Warmia, Mazury, Podlasie, Kujawy and Silesia. A wide-ranging Polish diaspora exists throughout Europe (Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Belarus, Lithuania and Ukraine), the Americas (the United States, Brazil and Argentina) and Australia. Chicago, in the United States, has the world's largest urban Polish population after Warsaw.
Over a thousand years ago, the Polans of Giecz, Gniezno and Poznań — an influential tribe in Wielkopolska — succeeded in uniting Lechitic tribes under what became the Piast dynasty, thus giving rise to the Polish state.
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Romani people
The Romani are an ethnic group living mostly in Europe, who trace their origins to the Indian Subcontinent. Romani are widely known in the English-speaking world by the exonym Gypsies (or Gipsies).
They are known collectively in the Romani language as Romane or Rromane (depending on the dialect concerned) and also as Romany, Romanies, Romanis, Roma or Roms.
Romani are widely dispersed, with their largest concentrated populations in Europe, especially the Roma of Central and Eastern Europe and Anatolia, followed by the Kale of Iberia and Southern France.
The Americas are also home to large numbers of Romani. There are an estimated one million Roma in the United States; 800,000 in Brazil, to which Kale were deported by the government of Portugal during the colonial era; and in more recent migrations, Romani have also moved to other parts of the New World.
The Romani language is divided into several dialects, which add up to an estimated number of speakers larger than two million. The total number of Romani people is at least twice as large (several times as large according to high estimates). Many Romani are native speakers of the language current in their country of residence, or of mixed languages combining the two.
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Romanians
The Romanians (dated: Rumanians or Roumanians; in Romanian: români pronounced [roˈmɨnʲ] or — historically, but now a seldom-used regionalism — rumâni; dated exonym: Vlachs) are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania.
The Romanian people are a nation in the meaning of ethnos (Romanian: etnie), defined by the sense of sharing a common Romanian culture, descent, and having Romanian as mother tongue, as well as by citizenship or by being subjects to the same country. The Romanian citizenship law legislated in March 1991 establishes the rights of second and third generation descendants of Romanian citizens to obtain a Romanian citizenship, if they speak fluent Romanian and are able to demonstrate sufficient knowledge in Romanian history and culture. 89.4 percent of Romania's people declared themselves as Romanians at the 2002 Romanian Census.
In one interpretation of the census results in Moldova, Moldovans are counted as Romanians, which would mean that the latter form part of the majority in that country as well. Romanians are also an ethnic minority in several nearby countries.
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Russians
The Russian people (Russian: русские, russkiye) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries.
The English term Russians is also used to refer to the citizens of Russia, regardless of their ethnicity; the demonym Russian is translated into Russian as rossiyanin (россиянин, plural rossiyane), while the ethnic Russians are referred to as russkiye (sg. русский, russkiy).
According to the 2010 census, ethnic Russians make up about 81% of the population of Russia.
The modern Russian is formed from two groups, Northern and Southern, which were made up of Kriviches, Ilmen Slavs, Radimichs, Vyatiches and Severians East Slavic tribes. Genetic studies show that modern Russians do not differ significantly from Poles or Slovenians or Ukrainians. Some ethnographers, like Zelenin, affirm that Russians are more similar to Belarusians and Ukrainians than southern Russians to northern Russians. Russians in northern European Russia share moderate genetic similarities with Uralic peoples, who lived in modern north central European Russia and were partly assimilated by the Slavs as the Slavs migrated northeastwards. Among those peoples were Merya and Muromian.
wn.com/Russians -
Russians in Moldova
According to the Moldovan Census (2004) and a separate 2004 Census in Transnistria, there were about 370,000 Russians in Moldova. The Russophone population is even larger, considering that many ethnic Ukrainians, especially in major cities, are Russophones.
The Russian and Ukrainian dominated Transnistria region broke away from government control amid fears the country would soon reunite with Romania.
wn.com/Russians_in_Moldova -
Semion Grossu
Semion Grossu (b. March 18, 1934, Satul Nou) is a Moldavian politician and businessman.
Semion Grossu was born on March 18, 1934, in Satul Nou, Sarata district.
Semion Grossu was the prime minister of Moldavian SSR (1 August 1976 – 30 December 1980).
Semion Grossu was also the First Secretary of the Moldavian Communist Party (30 December 1981 – 16 November 1989).
Since 1991, Semion Grossu is the owner of "Product Impex" SRL.
wn.com/Semion_Grossu -
Tatars
Tatars (Tatar: Tatarlar / Татарлар, sometimes spelled Tartars) are a Turkic people, numbering around 7 million. The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of 5.5 million, 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan, 1 million in the republic of Bashkortostan and other 2.5 million in different regions of Russia. Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine.
The Tatars originated with the Tatar confederation in the north-eastern Gobi desert in the 5th century. After subjugation in the 9th century by the Khitans, they migrated southward. In the 13th century Mongol Empire, they were subjugated under Genghis Khan and reassigned once again particularly by his son Jochi. Under the leadership of his grandson Batu Khan, they moved westwards, forming part of the Golden Horde which dominated the Eurasian steppe during the 14th and 15th centuries. In Europe, they were assimilated by the local populations or their name spread to the conquered peoples: Kipchaks, Kimaks and others; and elsewhere with Uralic-speaking peoples, as well as with remnants of the ancient Greek colonies in the Crimea and Caucasians in the Caucasus.
wn.com/Tatars -
Tihon Konstantinov
Tihon Konstantinov (August 13, 1898–1957) was a Moldavian SSR and Moldavian ASSR politician.
Konstantinov was born in the village Khoroshoe of Pavlograd uyezd,Yekaterinoslav Governorate. The village was located by the Samara river, while next to the village there was the estate Dobrenkoe.
In the 1938-1940, he was a chairman of the council in the Moldavian ASSR in Tiraspol.
Tihon Konstantinov was the prime minister of Moldavian SSR (2 August 1940 – 17 April 1945) (in exile in Russian SFSR from June 1941 until August 1944). The exact name was Chairmen of the Council of People's Commissars.
During his mandate as prime minister, Piotr Borodin and Nikita Salogor were first secretaries of the Communist Party of Moldova.
wn.com/Tihon_Konstantinov -
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are a collection of ethnic groups that live in northern, central and western Asia, northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds. The term Turkic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people including existing societies such as the Turkish, Azerbaijani, Chuvashes, Kazakhs, Tatars, Kyrgyzs, Turkmens, Uyghurs, Uzbeks, Bashkirs, Qashqai, Gagauzs, Yakuts, Crimean Karaites, Krymchaks, Karakalpaks, Karachays, Nogais and as well as past civilizations such as the Göktürks, Kumans, Kipchaks, Avars, Bulgars, Turgeshes, Khazars, Seljuk Turks, Ottoman Turks, Mamluks, Timurids and possibly Huns and the Xiongnu.
The distribution of people of Turkic cultural background ranges from Siberia, across Central Asia, to Eastern Europe. As of 2011[update] the largest groups of Turkic people live throughout Central Asia—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan, in addition to Turkey and Iran. Additionally, Turkic people are found within Crimea, East Turkistan region of western China, northern Iraq, Pakistan, Israel, Russia, Afghanistan, and the Balkans: Moldova, Bulgaria, Romania, and former Yugoslavia. A small number of Turkic people also live in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Small numbers inhabit eastern Poland and the south-eastern part of Finland. There are also considerable populations of Turkic people (originating mostly from Turkey) in Germany, United States, and Australia, largely because of migrations during the 20th century.
wn.com/Turkic_peoples -
Ukrainians
Ukrainians (Ukrainian: Українці, Ukrayintsi, [ukrɑˈjinʲtsʲi]) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens. According to some dictionary definitions, a descriptive name for the "inhabitants of Ukraine" is Ukrainian or Ukrainian people.Russians and Belarusians are considered the closest relatives of Ukrainians, while Rusyns are either considered another closely related group, or an ethnic subgroup of Ukrainians.
Ethnonym Ukrainians became widely accepted only in the 20th century, so modern Ukrainians identify their ancestry with differently named historical Slavic groups, who are often called Ukrainians too, in retrospect. The oldest recorded ethnonyms used for Ukrainian ancestors are Rusy, Rusyny, and Rusychi (from term Rus'). From the 9th to 12th centuries those names applied to the population of Kievan Rus', as the united state of Rusy is restrospectively called. Similar names were adopted by the proto-Russian and proto-Belarusian inhabitants of the northern principalities of Rus', reflecting the common origin of all those East Slavic peoples.
wn.com/Ukrainians -
Valeriu Boboc
Valeriu Victor Boboc (May 5, 1985 - April 7, 2009) was a protester who died during the post-election riots in Chişinău, Moldova. He was posthumously decorated, by a presidential decree, with Moldova's highest state decoration – the Order of the Republic.
He was born on May 5, 1985, in Bubuieci (a Chişinău suburban community), in a family of intellectuals. His father Victor Boboc was a history teacher and his mother a Romanian language teacher. But the poverty has radically changed the situation in his family, his father working as taxi driver and his mother, Ala Boboc, became unemployed.
Valeriu Boboc graduated from "Miguel de Cervantes" High School Chişinău and attended International Relations Institute of Moldova for one year. He left university because he didn't have three thousand lei to pay the study contract. Looking to find a better paid work, he tried to leave for Russia, but failed. He worked at a car wash, a car service and then sold belts at market. In the same place was selling clothes Natalia, whom he married in 2007. Valeriu Boboc lived in an apartment in Bubuieci, with his wife, his child Dragoş (1.5 year old), his brother Marcel and parents. Nevertheless it is known at local city police stations as the passive addict and the hooligan.
wn.com/Valeriu_Boboc -
Valeriu Muravschi
Valeriu Muravschi (born July 31, 1949, Sirota, Orhei District) is a Moldovan politician and businessman who served as Prime Minister of Moldova between 28 May 1991 and 1 July 1992.
Muravschi was born in Sirota, Orhei District on 31 July 1949. He graduated from the Facultatea de Economie a Institutul Politehnic „Serghei Lazo" -- the Polytechnic Institute of Economics "Sergei Lazo" -- in Chişinău.
After graduation, Muravschi had a series of jobs in various economic ministries for the Moldavian SSR: he was a senior economist at the State Committee for Prices from 1971 until 1976, chief of Pricing Section of the Ministry of Industry of Building Materials from 1976 until 1984, head of the Department of Finance from 1984 until 1988, and finally director of the Directorate from 1988-1990. He then entered Mircea Druc's cabinet and held the posts of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance from 1990 until 1991. He was appointed Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova in 1991.
Muravschi's term was dominated by the conflict in Transnistria.
wn.com/Valeriu_Muravschi -
Vasile Tarlev
Vasile Petru Tarlev (Bulgarian: Васил Петров Тарлев; Russian: Василий Павлович Тарлев) (born October 6, 1963) is a Moldovan politician, and was Prime Minister of Moldova from 2001 until 2008.
He studied engineering and became a member of assorted economic councils. He was appointed Prime Minister on April 19, 2001.
Tarlev is ethnically a Bessarabian Bulgarian and was born in Başcalia, Basarabeasca district.
He resigned on March 19, 2008 in an unexpected move, saying that he wanted to make way for "new people." Parliament approved his resignation on March 20, and President Vladimir Voronin proposed Zinaida Greceanîi as his successor; she was approved by Moldovan Parliament on 31 March 2008.
wn.com/Vasile_Tarlev -
Vlad Filat
Vladimir Filat (born May 6, 1969) is a Moldovan politician, the Prime Minister of Moldova since 25 September 2009.
Vlad is the second child of Maria and Vasile Filat and was born on May 6, 1969, in Lăpuşna, a commune in the Moldavian SSR. Alongside his two sisters (Ala and Valentina) and brother Ion, Vlad grew up in a part of Lăpuşna called "Talcioc". In 1986, he graduated from high school in his hometown. Between 1986 and 1987, he worked at the school radio station until he was called up for military service. He carried out his compulsory military service in the Soviet army (May 8, 1987 – August 15, 1989), in Simferopol and Sevastopol.
From 1989 to 1990, he studied at the Cooperation College (Kooperativny technikum) of Chişinău, going on to study law at the University of Iaşi (1990-1994). As a student, he was the leader of the "League of students from Bessarabia in Romania", an organization formed by Moldovan students in Romania. In Iaşi, among his classmates was Alexandru Tănase. While he was a student in Iaşi, he met his wife Sanda in the autumn of 1991; they dated for only three months before they got married.
wn.com/Vlad_Filat -
Vladimir Voronin
Vladimir Nicolaevici Voronin (Russian: Владимир Николаевич Воронин, Vladimir Nikolaevič Voronin; born May 25, 1941) is a Moldovan politician. He was the third President of Moldova from 2001 until 2009 and has been the First Secretary of the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) since 1994. He was Europe's first democratically elected Communist Party head of state after the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc.
Vladimir Nicolaevici Voronin was born in the village of Corjova, Dubăsari District of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic. Despite his Russified name, his ethnic origins are Moldovan.[citation needed] Although Voronin is a lifelong communist who pursued unfriendly policies towards Romania at various times during the 2000s, his grandfather Isidor Sârbu was an anticommunist fighter in Romania after 1944. Voronin's mother, Pelagheia Bujeniţă, died on July 2, 2005.
Voronin graduated from the Cooperation College (Kooperativny technikum) of Chişinău (1961), the All-Union Institute for Food Industry (1971), the Academy of Social Sciences of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1983), and the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Soviet Union (1991).
wn.com/Vladimir_Voronin -
Zinaida Greceanîi
Zinaida Greceanîi (also Zinaida Grecianii, born 7 February 1956;Russian: Зинаида Петровна Гречаная, Zinaida Petrovna Grechanaya) is a Moldovan politician. She is a member of the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova and was the Prime Minister of Moldova between 31 March 2008 and 14 September 2009. She is Moldova's first female Prime Minister and is the second female Communist head of government in Europe, the first having been Premier Milka Planinc of Yugoslavia.
Greceanîi was born in Tomsk Oblast of the Russian SFSR. Her parents, Marioara Ursu (1918–1993) and Petrea Bujor (1906–1996), were deported in 1951 from Cotiujeni, during the Operation North, because they were Jehovah's Witnesses members. Her brother died during the deportation. Zinaida Greceanîi and her parents come back in Cotiujeni only in 1968. She was baptised as Orthodox by her grandmother on mother's side.
She graduated from the Financial and Economic College in Chişinău and the State University of Moldova.
Greceanîi is married to Alexei Greceanîi and has two children.
wn.com/Zinaida_Greceanîi -
Ştefan Neaga
Ştefan Neaga (Moldavian Cyrillic: Штефан Няга; Chişinău, 7 December [O.S. 24 November] 1900 – 30 May 1951) was a Moldavian composer. He was known in Russian as Степан Тимофеевич Няга.
The Chişinău College of Music is named for him.
wn.com/Ştefan_Neaga
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Life in Moldova
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:28
- Updated: 31 Jan 2013
Moldova is one of those countries many people have forgotten about. After visiting during the summer of 2012, we were able to get an interview with a local and get an inside view of this mysterious place.
http://wn.com/Life_in_Moldova
Moldova is one of those countries many people have forgotten about. After visiting during the summer of 2012, we were able to get an interview with a local and get an inside view of this mysterious place.
Moldova - Eurovision Song Contest 2010 Semi Final 1 - BBC Three
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:10
- Updated: 01 Feb 2013
www.bbc.co.uk "Run Away" is being performed in Oslo for Moldova by the act Sun Stroke Project & Olia Tira.
http://wn.com/Moldova_Eurovision_Song_Contest_2010_Semi_Final_1_BBC_Three
www.bbc.co.uk "Run Away" is being performed in Oslo for Moldova by the act Sun Stroke Project & Olia Tira.
- published: 25 May 2010
- views: 8160506
- author: BBC
euronews reporter - No spring for Moldova
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:37
- Updated: 19 Jan 2013
Economic distress and frozen conflict on the borders of the European Union. After 20 years, Moldova, the poorest country in Europe, still seems unable to come to terms with transition. What does the future hold?... www.euronews.net
http://wn.com/euronews_reporter_No_spring_for_Moldova
Economic distress and frozen conflict on the borders of the European Union. After 20 years, Moldova, the poorest country in Europe, still seems unable to come to terms with transition. What does the future hold?... www.euronews.net
- published: 02 Jun 2011
- views: 7061
- author: Euronews
GANGNAM STYLE (Moldova,Edinet)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:58
- Updated: 01 Feb 2013
GANGNAM STYLE parody
http://wn.com/GANGNAM_STYLE_Moldova,Edinet
SunStroke Project & Olia Tira - Run Away (Moldova)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:02
- Updated: 01 Feb 2013
Powered by www.eurovision.tv. SunStroke Project & Olia Tira will represent Moldova with the song Run Away at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo (Norway), taking place on the 25th, 27th and 29th of May.
http://wn.com/SunStroke_Project_Olia_Tira_Run_Away_Moldova
Powered by www.eurovision.tv. SunStroke Project & Olia Tira will represent Moldova with the song Run Away at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo (Norway), taking place on the 25th, 27th and 29th of May.
- published: 24 Mar 2010
- views: 5773239
- author: eurovision
Moldova: Coming home
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:36
- Updated: 21 Dec 2012
Twenty years after the fall of the Soviet Union, Moldova continues to struggle economically, with 25 per cent of the population forced to work abroad. The exodus has halted investment in local infrastructure, but now with the support of IFAD - a United Nations agency working to develop farming communities- the creation of new jobs gives hope to Moldovans returning home. UNIA Transcript #1370: www.un.org
http://wn.com/Moldova_Coming_home
Twenty years after the fall of the Soviet Union, Moldova continues to struggle economically, with 25 per cent of the population forced to work abroad. The exodus has halted investment in local infrastructure, but now with the support of IFAD - a United Nations agency working to develop farming communities- the creation of new jobs gives hope to Moldovans returning home. UNIA Transcript #1370: www.un.org
- published: 19 Dec 2012
- views: 257
- author: unitednations
Cristina Scarlat I Pray Eurovision 2013 Moldova
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:01
- Updated: 31 Jan 2013
An amazing singer , an amazing voice, an amazing song composer - Ivan Akulov lyrics - Lidia Scarlat
http://wn.com/Cristina_Scarlat_I_Pray_Eurovision_2013_Moldova
An amazing singer , an amazing voice, an amazing song composer - Ivan Akulov lyrics - Lidia Scarlat
- published: 30 Jan 2013
- views: 460
- author: vioricatanasov
Aliona Munteanu Moldova 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:55
- Updated: 30 Jan 2013
http://wn.com/Aliona_Munteanu_Moldova_1
Cristina Croitoru & Karizma - Never Fall Again (Eurovision 2013 Moldova)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:58
- Updated: 31 Jan 2013
"Never Fall Again" Music: Cristina Croitoru Lyrics: Olga Fesenco Music Arranger: Sergey Harlamov Lyrics "Never Fall Again" Standing here for so long And you feel you cant go on Break your walls Find new doors One step behind your back I'm like a shadow here to help Lesson learned Let it end Chorus: Heeeey! I know it's hard Heeeey! Listen your heart I care I wont let you fall again Heeeey! Life is chance Heeeey! To find your place I swear You will never fall again Bridge: Sun is going to shine Clouds are leaving behind It's gonna be alright Try and open your mind... and fight! Chorus:
http://wn.com/Cristina_Croitoru_Karizma_Never_Fall_Again_Eurovision_2013_Moldova
"Never Fall Again" Music: Cristina Croitoru Lyrics: Olga Fesenco Music Arranger: Sergey Harlamov Lyrics "Never Fall Again" Standing here for so long And you feel you cant go on Break your walls Find new doors One step behind your back I'm like a shadow here to help Lesson learned Let it end Chorus: Heeeey! I know it's hard Heeeey! Listen your heart I care I wont let you fall again Heeeey! Life is chance Heeeey! To find your place I swear You will never fall again Bridge: Sun is going to shine Clouds are leaving behind It's gonna be alright Try and open your mind... and fight! Chorus:
- published: 25 Jan 2013
- views: 3393
- author: KARIZMAOFFICIAL
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain vs Moldova HD
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:37
- Updated: 31 Jan 2013
www.arsenalfan.hu If you wish to follow me on Twitter twitter.com Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. It is not to be used for copying and selling. No copyright infringement intended.
http://wn.com/Alex_Oxlade-Chamberlain_vs_Moldova_HD
www.arsenalfan.hu If you wish to follow me on Twitter twitter.com Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. It is not to be used for copying and selling. No copyright infringement intended.
- published: 08 Sep 2012
- views: 32731
- author: BattiProds10
9 Martie in Moldova
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:46
- Updated: 01 Feb 2013
O singura realitate si 2 versiuni!
http://wn.com/9_Martie_in_Moldova
Eurovision 2012 Moldova: Pasha Parfeny- Lautar (FINAL - Selectia Nationala 2012) WINNER
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:07
- Updated: 24 Jan 2013
WINNER - LIVE SELECTIA NATIONALA 2012 FINAL Pasha Parfeny performs Lautar live at Moldovan National Final for Eurovision 2012(Azerbaijan - Baku). He is the winner and he will represent Moldova at Eurovision 2012. Pasha Parfeny representará a Moldavia en Eurovisión 2012 con la canción Lautar.
http://wn.com/Eurovision_2012_Moldova_Pasha_Parfeny_Lautar_FINAL_Selectia_Nationala_2012_WINNER
WINNER - LIVE SELECTIA NATIONALA 2012 FINAL Pasha Parfeny performs Lautar live at Moldovan National Final for Eurovision 2012(Azerbaijan - Baku). He is the winner and he will represent Moldova at Eurovision 2012. Pasha Parfeny representará a Moldavia en Eurovisión 2012 con la canción Lautar.
- published: 11 Mar 2012
- views: 232984
- author: EurovisionTV12
Vika Jigulina - Memories (Official single)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:38
- Updated: 01 Feb 2013
Vika Jigulina - MEMORIES Composed and produced by : Vika Jigulina Lyrics by : Vika Jigulina Label: StereoTunesRecords UK Booking and management : office@vikajigulina.com www.facebook.com/vikajigulina Lyrics: Vika Jigulina - MEMORIES (music and lyrics by Vika Jigulina) Everytime I close my eyes I see your face It feels like (I) can't let you go Everytime I lose myself I remember you When you were mine before Everytime i close my eyes I can't believe it's true That someone like you Can loveeee me too If I could see you once more I would catch you in my soul Oh my boy You did me wrong Don't go, life is not easy Life is not easy, not easy, without you Oh! Don't go I'm feeling empty And my soul is , soul is crying for you Don't goooo,aaaaa... don't gooo please.... Forgive me ,a...., please Cause I can live without,can live without you I love you please come back home....
http://wn.com/Vika_Jigulina_Memories_Official_single
Vika Jigulina - MEMORIES Composed and produced by : Vika Jigulina Lyrics by : Vika Jigulina Label: StereoTunesRecords UK Booking and management : office@vikajigulina.com www.facebook.com/vikajigulina Lyrics: Vika Jigulina - MEMORIES (music and lyrics by Vika Jigulina) Everytime I close my eyes I see your face It feels like (I) can't let you go Everytime I lose myself I remember you When you were mine before Everytime i close my eyes I can't believe it's true That someone like you Can loveeee me too If I could see you once more I would catch you in my soul Oh my boy You did me wrong Don't go, life is not easy Life is not easy, not easy, without you Oh! Don't go I'm feeling empty And my soul is , soul is crying for you Don't goooo,aaaaa... don't gooo please.... Forgive me ,a...., please Cause I can live without,can live without you I love you please come back home....
- published: 28 Sep 2012
- views: 356182
- author: Vika Jigulina
Nelly Ciobanu - Hora Din Moldova (Moldova) - Eurovision 2009 (The Final)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:16
- Updated: 01 Feb 2013
Nelly Ciobanu - Hora Din Moldova (Moldova) - The Final of Eurovision Song Contest, Moscow 2009
http://wn.com/Nelly_Ciobanu_Hora_Din_Moldova_Moldova_Eurovision_2009_The_Final
Nelly Ciobanu - Hora Din Moldova (Moldova) - The Final of Eurovision Song Contest, Moscow 2009
- published: 17 May 2009
- views: 176768
- author: MrTechnologic
SAXOPHONE GUY REMIX! Moldova Eurovision 2010
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:43
- Updated: 01 Feb 2013
DOWNLOAD LINKS HERE! PLEASE STOP ASKING ABOUT THEM! Alright, so this guy was so awesome that i had to remove the rest and remix the crap out of him. And yes, i learned the dance and everything. This is looped AND remixed, i hope you guys enjoy the moves! MP3-Download links: Since Megaupload has died, go check these links! soundcloud.com www.mediafire.com www.mediafire.com www.4shared.com www.4shared.com Seems these download links just keep messing up all the time... Just download the "download helper" plugin for firefox, works great for downloading videos! Just get the song in a way or another, I don't mind. These are non-profit links for me, i am only doing this for you guys, so i hope you enjoy! Please tell me what you think of the fixed remix, I got to know if it's crap or of it's alright. 11/06 Edit: 50K views! Thank you guys! 21/06 Edit: Reached 100 000! Coolies! 03/08 Edit: 200 K nice guys! Reached the third bar for my birthday! ^^ Thank you! 10/09 Edit: 300K! You guys just keep surprising me! 06/10 Edit: 400K, what's going on guys, i thought views would decrease over time? Thanks anyway! 16/11 Edit: 500K, going towards 600 K! Damn you guys! If I reach a million views I guess I'll have to make some sort of other remix! But I need remix propositions! 24/11 Edit: Reached 600K! Doesn't this ever get old? 19/12 Edit: 700 000 views, going towards the million! 12/02/11 Edit: It's now over nine HUNDRED thousand. You are really fucked for sure Vegeta. 08/03/11 Edit: 1 0 0 0 ...
http://wn.com/SAXOPHONE_GUY_REMIX!_Moldova_Eurovision_2010
DOWNLOAD LINKS HERE! PLEASE STOP ASKING ABOUT THEM! Alright, so this guy was so awesome that i had to remove the rest and remix the crap out of him. And yes, i learned the dance and everything. This is looped AND remixed, i hope you guys enjoy the moves! MP3-Download links: Since Megaupload has died, go check these links! soundcloud.com www.mediafire.com www.mediafire.com www.4shared.com www.4shared.com Seems these download links just keep messing up all the time... Just download the "download helper" plugin for firefox, works great for downloading videos! Just get the song in a way or another, I don't mind. These are non-profit links for me, i am only doing this for you guys, so i hope you enjoy! Please tell me what you think of the fixed remix, I got to know if it's crap or of it's alright. 11/06 Edit: 50K views! Thank you guys! 21/06 Edit: Reached 100 000! Coolies! 03/08 Edit: 200 K nice guys! Reached the third bar for my birthday! ^^ Thank you! 10/09 Edit: 300K! You guys just keep surprising me! 06/10 Edit: 400K, what's going on guys, i thought views would decrease over time? Thanks anyway! 16/11 Edit: 500K, going towards 600 K! Damn you guys! If I reach a million views I guess I'll have to make some sort of other remix! But I need remix propositions! 24/11 Edit: Reached 600K! Doesn't this ever get old? 19/12 Edit: 700 000 views, going towards the million! 12/02/11 Edit: It's now over nine HUNDRED thousand. You are really fucked for sure Vegeta. 08/03/11 Edit: 1 0 0 0 ...
- published: 04 Jun 2010
- views: 2151218
- author: jordantiste
Eurovision 2012 Moldova final- Pasha Parfeny (Паша Парфени)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:56
- Updated: 28 Jan 2013
полуфинал в Баку 22 мая 2012,semifinala Eurovision Baku 2012 , 22 mai !!! Bravo, Moldova! Pasha Parfeni - Lautar!!!! semi Baku! Паша Парфени - Евровидение 2012
http://wn.com/Eurovision_2012_Moldova_final_Pasha_Parfeny_Паша_Парфени
полуфинал в Баку 22 мая 2012,semifinala Eurovision Baku 2012 , 22 mai !!! Bravo, Moldova! Pasha Parfeni - Lautar!!!! semi Baku! Паша Парфени - Евровидение 2012
- published: 22 May 2012
- views: 262800
- author: Slavici Moroz
Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira (Moldova) - Run Away (Eurovision Song Contest 2010)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:52
- Updated: 01 Feb 2013
powered by http;//www.eurovision.tv Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira gave one of the most energetic performances of this year's Eurovision Song Contest with their song Run Away. They were rewarded for it and brought back a Final qualification, placing 21st in the Final. Who are they? Sunstroke project is a symbiosis of a violin, saxophone and live vocals, making up a fashionable chaos of music. They've given concerts in more than 30 cities and 40 clubs all over Europe and have had many hits. That all is in spite the fact they were founded less than 2 years ago. Olia Tira has moved around a lot in her early years as she was born in the family of an officer. She even lived in the Far East but went to school in her native Moldova. Even though she's only 21, she's already achieved a lot, having released an album already and taking part in international song contests. She is hosting a morning show on one of the TV channels and her pictures are on the covers of many popular magazines, her songs are very popular and you can hear them on TV and all radio stations in Moldova.
http://wn.com/Sunstroke_Project_Olia_Tira_Moldova_Run_Away_Eurovision_Song_Contest_2010
powered by http;//www.eurovision.tv Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira gave one of the most energetic performances of this year's Eurovision Song Contest with their song Run Away. They were rewarded for it and brought back a Final qualification, placing 21st in the Final. Who are they? Sunstroke project is a symbiosis of a violin, saxophone and live vocals, making up a fashionable chaos of music. They've given concerts in more than 30 cities and 40 clubs all over Europe and have had many hits. That all is in spite the fact they were founded less than 2 years ago. Olia Tira has moved around a lot in her early years as she was born in the family of an officer. She even lived in the Far East but went to school in her native Moldova. Even though she's only 21, she's already achieved a lot, having released an album already and taking part in international song contests. She is hosting a morning show on one of the TV channels and her pictures are on the covers of many popular magazines, her songs are very popular and you can hear them on TV and all radio stations in Moldova.
- published: 10 Jul 2010
- views: 883096
- author: eurovision
HD HDTV MOLDOVA Eurovision Song Contest 2010 1st semifinal LIVE Sunstroke Project Olia Tira Run Away
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:11
- Updated: 01 Feb 2013
Eurovision Song Contest 2010, Oslo Norway 25.5.2010 - 1st semifinal night MOLDOVA Performer: Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira Song title: Run Away Song writer(s): Alina Galetskaya Song composer(s): Anton Ragoza & Sergey Stepanov Moldova qualified to the final. Lyrics: Oh, forget, let me breathe, let me live! Just run away from my mind. Oh, forgive, I don't need, I won't breathe! Just get away from my life! You've lost one and all, so fly away Over the clouds, under the sky. Never come back and run away With all your might, give up you! I don't believe anymore your shallow heart. I know that it's you who chose to play this trick. O'll never forgive you, not for anything! And now you are left with nothing. Oh, forget, let me breathe, let me live! Just run away from my mind. Oh, forgive, I don't need, I won't breathe! Just get away from my life. Oh, forget, let me breathe, let me live! Just run away from my mind. Oh, forgive, I don't need, I won't breathe! Just get away from my life. There's no other time to making Happiness. You have mistaken. We have no progressive future! I know your lying nature. There's no other time to making Happiness. You have mistaken! We have no progressive future! I know your lying nature! Oh, forget, let me breathe, let me live! Just run away from my mind. Oh, forgive, I don't need, I won't breathe! Just get away from my life. Oh, forget, let me breathe, let me live! Just run away from my mind. Oh, forgive, I don't need, I won't breathe! Just get ...
http://wn.com/HD_HDTV_MOLDOVA_Eurovision_Song_Contest_2010_1st_semifinal_LIVE_Sunstroke_Project_Olia_Tira_Run_Away
Eurovision Song Contest 2010, Oslo Norway 25.5.2010 - 1st semifinal night MOLDOVA Performer: Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira Song title: Run Away Song writer(s): Alina Galetskaya Song composer(s): Anton Ragoza & Sergey Stepanov Moldova qualified to the final. Lyrics: Oh, forget, let me breathe, let me live! Just run away from my mind. Oh, forgive, I don't need, I won't breathe! Just get away from my life! You've lost one and all, so fly away Over the clouds, under the sky. Never come back and run away With all your might, give up you! I don't believe anymore your shallow heart. I know that it's you who chose to play this trick. O'll never forgive you, not for anything! And now you are left with nothing. Oh, forget, let me breathe, let me live! Just run away from my mind. Oh, forgive, I don't need, I won't breathe! Just get away from my life. Oh, forget, let me breathe, let me live! Just run away from my mind. Oh, forgive, I don't need, I won't breathe! Just get away from my life. There's no other time to making Happiness. You have mistaken. We have no progressive future! I know your lying nature. There's no other time to making Happiness. You have mistaken! We have no progressive future! I know your lying nature! Oh, forget, let me breathe, let me live! Just run away from my mind. Oh, forgive, I don't need, I won't breathe! Just get away from my life. Oh, forget, let me breathe, let me live! Just run away from my mind. Oh, forgive, I don't need, I won't breathe! Just get ...
- published: 27 May 2010
- views: 536860
- author: Eteoclus
Elena Gheorghe - Your Captain Tonight
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:15
- Updated: 31 Jan 2013
www.facebook.com iTunes song download link: tinyurl.com Dancin' in the moonlight, Livin' on boys and fun, Feels just so right. Drinkin', i'm not thinkin', I am love drunk and I Feel amazin'. Oh oh Boy you bring me up up, Take me to the top top. We don't need to talk talk, We're international. Kissing in the dark, dark, This is what I want want. Cause you're the bomb, bomb. Chorus: Baby put it on me, You make me feel so hasty, I'm go-go-gonna be Your captain tonight. Baby put it on me, You make me feel so hasty, I'm go-go-gonna be Your captain tonight. Its getting dark and hazy, This party's going crazy, We do it how we like it. And keep on rockin', and keep on rockin'. Oh oh Boy you bring me up up, Take me to the top top. We don't need to talk talk, We're international. Kissing in the dark, dark, This is what I want want. Cause you're the bomb, bomb. Chorus: Baby put it on me, You make me feel so hasty, I'm go-go-gonna be Your captain tonight. Baby put it on me, You make me feel so hasty, I'm go-go-gonna be Your captain tonight.
http://wn.com/Elena_Gheorghe_Your_Captain_Tonight
www.facebook.com iTunes song download link: tinyurl.com Dancin' in the moonlight, Livin' on boys and fun, Feels just so right. Drinkin', i'm not thinkin', I am love drunk and I Feel amazin'. Oh oh Boy you bring me up up, Take me to the top top. We don't need to talk talk, We're international. Kissing in the dark, dark, This is what I want want. Cause you're the bomb, bomb. Chorus: Baby put it on me, You make me feel so hasty, I'm go-go-gonna be Your captain tonight. Baby put it on me, You make me feel so hasty, I'm go-go-gonna be Your captain tonight. Its getting dark and hazy, This party's going crazy, We do it how we like it. And keep on rockin', and keep on rockin'. Oh oh Boy you bring me up up, Take me to the top top. We don't need to talk talk, We're international. Kissing in the dark, dark, This is what I want want. Cause you're the bomb, bomb. Chorus: Baby put it on me, You make me feel so hasty, I'm go-go-gonna be Your captain tonight. Baby put it on me, You make me feel so hasty, I'm go-go-gonna be Your captain tonight.
- published: 23 Dec 2011
- views: 1614537
- author: catmusicoffice
Natalia Barbu - Suflet Gol
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:17
- Updated: 01 Feb 2013
Natalia Barbu - Suflet Gol (Copyright 2007 Cat Music) Director: Iulian Moga. Buy it on iTunes: itunes.apple.com
http://wn.com/Natalia_Barbu_Suflet_Gol
Natalia Barbu - Suflet Gol (Copyright 2007 Cat Music) Director: Iulian Moga. Buy it on iTunes: itunes.apple.com
- published: 15 Jun 2009
- views: 943437
- author: orchardmusic
KORG Pa3x - Style...ca la Moldova & Daniel Andronescu
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:47
- Updated: 01 Feb 2013
Ma puteti contacta pe M&C; Musical Forum; forum.mcmusic.ro Free Set Pa3x; www.mediafire.com rapidshare.com Pass; danielandronescu
http://wn.com/KORG_Pa3x_Styleca_la_Moldova_Daniel_Andronescu
Ma puteti contacta pe M&C; Musical Forum; forum.mcmusic.ro Free Set Pa3x; www.mediafire.com rapidshare.com Pass; danielandronescu
- published: 18 Mar 2012
- views: 60149
- author: Daniel Andronescu
ARSENIE - ERASE IT (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:50
- Updated: 31 Jan 2013
New single Arsenie - Erase It. Production: Music Vision, Publishing: Standard Vision, Written & composed by: Arsenie, Video Production House: Rival Film, director: Florin G. Botea. Official site: arsenie.net Official Facebook page www.facebook.com Official Twitter account: twitter.com
http://wn.com/ARSENIE_ERASE_IT_OFFICIAL_VIDEO
New single Arsenie - Erase It. Production: Music Vision, Publishing: Standard Vision, Written & composed by: Arsenie, Video Production House: Rival Film, director: Florin G. Botea. Official site: arsenie.net Official Facebook page www.facebook.com Official Twitter account: twitter.com
- published: 19 Dec 2010
- views: 198138
- author: Arsenie Todiras
photo: AP / ESPN Images, Eric Lards Bakke
31 Jan 2013
A freestyle snowmobile rider hurt in a crash at last week's Winter X Games in Colorado has died at the age of 25. Caleb Moore was attempting a backflip when his snowmobile caught the edge of a landing area, sending him over the handlebars. The 450-lb (204-kg) snowmobile rolled over him ... 'Deeply saddened' ... ....(size: 1.7Kb)
photo: AP / Aleppo Revolution Against Assad Regime
29 Jan 2013
By Alexander Dziadosz and Oliver Holmes. BEIRUT, Jan 29 (Reuters) - At least 65 people were found shot dead with their hands bound in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Tuesday in a "new massacre" in the near two-year revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, activists said. Opposition campaigners blamed the government but it was impossible to confirm who was responsible ... The U.N ... State media did not mention the incident ... STALEMATE ... ....(size: 9.0Kb)
photo: AP / Manu Brabo
01 Feb 2013
Hillary Clinton, the outgoing US secretary of state, has warned that Iran is stepping up its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while Russia is continuing to send money and arms to the regime. Clinton on Thursday accused Tehran of sending into Syria "more personnel" to support and advise military security forces in their fight against the armed opposition ... "The Iranians have been actively involved from the very beginning ... ....(size: 19.0Kb)
photo: AP / Eduardo Verdugo
01 Feb 2013
MEXICO CITY — Rescuers searched the rubble for survivors and authorities promised a thorough investigation after an office building blast killed 25 people and injured 101 at the headquarters of Mexico’s state-owned oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos ... Theories ranged from an electrical fire to an air conditioning problem to a possible attack. “We have no conclusive report on the reason,” Pena Nieto told reporters ... My son.” ... ....(size: 4.5Kb)
photo: AP / Ariel Schalit
31 Jan 2013
Zeenews Bureau. Damascus. The Syrian Army has confirmed that Israeli Air Force fighter planes carried out strikes in its territory, but denied reports of a convoy carrying weapons to Lebanon was bombed. The Syrian Army statement says that the IAF jet fighters’ target was a military research centre near the border with Lebanon. Two people have been reported to be dead and five others injured in the attack ... First Published ... ....(size: 2.6Kb)
noodls
01 Feb 2013
Government of Moldova). MCA Moldova executive director Valentina Badrajan presented a report on actions taken by the institution to implement the Compact Programme and on the use of the budget means in 2012 ... / / / Prime Minister Vlad Filat has chaired a meeting of the Steering Committee of the Millennium Challenge Account Moldova (MCA Moldova) distributed by....(size: 4.0Kb)
noodls
01 Feb 2013
(Source. Government of Moldova) ... The participants in the event approached issues related to the labor safety and observance of hygiene at work places, as well as the need to increase the minimum wage per country ... / / / Prime Minister Vlad Filat today held a meeting with members of the National Trade Union Confederation of Moldova (CNSM) distributed by. This noodl was issued by Government of Moldova and was initially posted at www.gov.md....(size: 3.1Kb)
noodls
01 Feb 2013
(Source. Government of Moldova). Filat handed the contest's trophy "Golden Mercury" to 13 winning companies operating in Moldova ... As many as 97 projects, presented by 82 Moldova-based companies competed for this contest's awards ... This noodl was issued by Government of Moldova and was initially posted at www.gov.md ... (noodl. 17408104) ....(size: 2.4Kb)
noodls
01 Feb 2013
(Source. Government of the Republic of Estonia). No 29-E ... "We hope that bilateral trade negotiations will begin soon," said Paet ... "It is important to continue our joint support for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia in carrying out reforms and for Belarus by supporting civil society," he added ... Additional information.. Helen Ennok, press spokesperson, Estonia's Permanent Representation to the EU. +32 474 98 16 57. SPOKESPERSON'S OFFICE....(size: 2.6Kb)
noodls
01 Feb 2013
(Source. FIVB - Fédération Internationale de Volleyball). Record registration for FIVB Volleyball World Championships. Russia has won the last two editions of the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship in 2010 and 2006. Lausanne, Switzerland, February 1, 2013 - A record number of 295 teams have registered to enter the qualification process for the 2014 FIVB Volleyball World Championships ... Ary S. Graça F° said ... MEN ... 4 ... Moldova ... Moldova....(size: 15.0Kb)
noodls
01 Feb 2013
(Source. FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation). SYRACUSE, NY-United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian announced that a Syracuse federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Alexandru Turcan, 29, with wire fraud, false use of a passport, and aggravated identity theft in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343, 1543 and 1028A. Turcan, originally from Chisinau, Moldova, is a lawful permanent resident of the United States ... Attorney John G....(size: 3.3Kb)
noodls
01 Feb 2013
(Source ... This is illustrated by programs such as the Nile Basin Initiative's Socio-Economic Benefits Sharing Project, the agreement between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay over the conservation and environmental protection of the Guarani Aquifer, the Mekong River Basin management programme, or the recent treaty between Moldova and the Ukraine for the Conservation and Sustainable Development of the Dniester Basin ... *** ... All news....(size: 5.0Kb)
CNN
01 Feb 2013
February 1, 2013 -- Updated 1742 GMT (0142 HKT). David Beckham has signed on with a new team. Here he poses with PSG Qatari president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, left, and PSG sports director Leonardo during a press conference announcing his new gig. We look back on Beck's time in the spotlight. David Beckham makes his England debut at a World Cup Europe Qualifying Round Group 2 match against Moldova in 1996 ... Revealing his new No ... No ... HIDE CAPTION....(size: 5.1Kb)
noodls
01 Feb 2013
(Source. Austrian Airlines AG). Austrian Airlines strengthens role as East-West carrier. • More flights east, including St. Petersburg and Chisinau. • Total of 43 destinations in Eastern Europe. • Extension of North American product to Chicago, ideal East-West route network ... Petersburg (Russia) and four extra flights a week to Chisinau (Moldova), the company will strengthen its role as the most important East-West carrier in Austria ... Owner....(size: 5.2Kb)
noodls
01 Feb 2013
... Read The managerial team of Transelectrica received a visit of Company Moldelectrica from the Republic of Moldova 2011-07-28 Read Transelectrica has received the visit of the friendship parliamentary group Sweden - Romania 2011-05-23 Read Transelectrica has officially inaugurated the 400 kV substation Tariverde from Constanta County 2011-05-18....(size: 7.4Kb)
The Independent
01 Feb 2013
On Tuesday, David Beckham was jogging around a field in Hertfordshire chatting to Nico Yennaris and Andre Santos. On Thursday he was presented as the latest luxury acquisition of a Middle East oil dynasty in possession of a football club in one of the famous cities of the western world in which Beckham has not yet lived ... Now, it matters much less what happens with the football ... Beckham is status ... Makes England debut in Moldova ... ....(size: 6.5Kb)
Belfast Telegraph
01 Feb 2013
On Tuesday, David Beckham was jogging around a field in Hertfordshire chatting to Nico Yennaris and Andre Santos. On Thursday he was presented as the latest luxury acquisition of a Middle East oil dynasty in possession of a football club in one of the famous cities of the western world in which Beckham has not yet lived ... Now, it matters much less what happens with the football ... Beckham is status ... Makes England debut in Moldova ... ....(size: 6.9Kb)
noodls
01 Feb 2013
(Source. UNOG - United Nations Office at Geneva). REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE. 1 February 2013 ... Mali ... Nonetheless, considerable challenges remained to a safe and sustainable return ... Buses were presently travelling only as far as Mopti and Sevare ... Jean Rodriguez for the Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) said a team was to visit Moldova next week for the third evaluation of the country's environmental performance....(size: 19.1Kb)
This article is about the modern state. For the principality, see Moldavia. For other uses, see Moldova (disambiguation).
| Republic of Moldova
Republica Moldova
|
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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| Anthem: Limba Noastră Our Language |
||||||
 Location of Moldova (green) – Transnistria (light green)
on the European continent (green + dark grey) |
||||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
 Chişinău47°0′N 28°55′E / 47°N 28.917°E / 47; 28.917 |
|||||
| Official language(s) | Moldovan (Romanian)1 | |||||
| Recognised regional languages | Gagauz, Russian, and Ukrainian | |||||
| Ethnic groups (2004) | 69.6% Moldovans2 11.2% Ukrainians 9.4% Russians 3.8% Gagauzes 2.0% Bulgarians 1.9% Romanians2 1.5% others and unspecified[1] (including Transnistria) |
|||||
| Demonym | Moldovan, Moldavian | |||||
| Government | Parliamentary republic | |||||
| - | President | Nicolae Timofti | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Vlad Filat | ||||
| - | President of the Parliament | Marian Lupu | ||||
| Legislature | Parliament | |||||
| Consolidation | ||||||
| - | Declaration of Sovereignty | 23 June 1990 | ||||
| - | Declaration of Independence (from the Soviet Union) | 27 August 19913 |
||||
| - | Constitution of Moldova adopted | 29 July 1994 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 33,846 km2 (138th) 13,067 sq mi |
||||
| - | Water (%) | 1.4 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2012 estimate | 3,559,500[1] (129th3) | ||||
| - | 2004 census | 3,383,332[2] (excluding Transnistria) 3,938,679[3] (including Transnistria) |
||||
| - | Density | 121.9/km2 (93rd) 316/sq mi |
||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $11.998 billion[4] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $3,373[4] | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $7.003 billion[4] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $1,968[4] | ||||
| Gini (2011) | 38.0 (high) | |||||
| HDI (2011) |  0.649[5] (medium) (111th) |
|||||
| Currency | Moldovan leu (MDL) |
|||||
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||||
| Drives on the | right | |||||
| ISO 3166 code | MD | |||||
| Internet TLD | .md | |||||
| Calling code | 373 | |||||
| 1 | "Moldovan" used as formal official name; in fact Romanian.[6] | |||||
| 2 | There is a controversy whether Moldovans and Romanians are the same of different ethnic groups. | |||||
| 3 | Proclaimed. Finalized along with the dissolution of the USSR in December 1991. | |||||
| 4 | Ranking based on 2009 UN figure. | |||||
Moldova i/mɒlˈdoʊvə/, officially the Republic of Moldova (Moldovan/Romanian: Republica Moldova pronounced [reˈpublika molˈdova]) is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991 as part of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On 29 July 1994, the new constitution of Moldova was adopted. A strip of Moldova's internationally recognized territory on the east bank of the river Dniester has been under the de facto control of the breakaway government of Transnistria since 1990.
The nation is a parliamentary republic with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. Moldova is a member state of the United Nations, Council of Europe, WTO, OSCE, GUAM, CIS, BSEC and other international organizations. Moldova currently aspires to join the European Union,[7] and has implemented the first three-year Action Plan within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).[8]
Contents |
Etymology[link]
Main article: Name of Moldova
The name "Moldova" is derived from the Moldova River; the valley of this river was a political center when the Principality of Moldavia was founded in 1359.[9] The origin of the name of the river is not clear. There is an account (a legend) of prince Dragoş naming the river after hunting an aurochs: after the chase, his exhausted hound Molda drowned in the river. According to Dimitrie Cantemir and Grigore Ureche, the dog's name was given to the river and extended to the Principality.[10]
History[link]
Main article: History of Moldova
Prehistory[link]
During the Neolithic stone age era, Moldova's territory was the center of the large Cucuteni-Trypillian culture that stretched east beyond the Dniester River in Ukraine, and west up to and beyond the Carpathian Mountains in Romania. The inhabitants of this civilization, which lasted roughly from 5500 to 2750 BC, practiced agriculture, raised livestock, hunted, and made intricately designed pottery.[11] This society built very large settlements, some of which numbered up to 15,000 inhabitants.[citation needed]
Antiquity and Middle Ages[link]
In Antiquity Moldova's territory was inhabited by Dacian tribes. Between the 1st and 7th centuries AD, the south was intermittently under the Roman, then Byzantine Empires. Due to its strategic location on a route between Asia and Europe, the territory of modern Moldova was invaded many times in late antiquity and early Middle Ages, including by Goths, Huns, Avars, Bulgarians, Magyars, Pechenegs, Cumans, Mongols and Tatars.
The Principality of Moldavia, established in 1359, was bounded by the Carpathian mountains in the west, Dniester river in the east, and Danube and Black Sea in the south. Its territory comprised the present-day territory of the Republic of Moldova, the eastern eight of the 41 counties of Romania, and the Chernivtsi oblast and Budjak region of Ukraine. Like the present-day republic and Romania's north-eastern region, it was known to the locals as Moldova. Moldavia was invaded repeatedly by Crimean Tatars and, since the 15th century, by the Turks. In 1538, the principality became a tributary to the Ottoman Empire, but it retained internal and partial external autonomy.[12]
Modern history[link]
Russian Empire[link]
In accordance with the Treaty of Bucharest of 1812 and despite numerous protests by Moldavian nobles on behalf of their autonomous status, the Ottoman Empire (of which Moldavia was a vassal) ceded to the Russian Empire the eastern half of the territory of the Principality of Moldavia along with Khotyn and old Bessarabia (modern Budjak).
The new Russian province was called "Oblast of Moldavia and Bessarabia", and initially enjoyed a large degree of autonomy. After 1828 this autonomy was progressively restricted and in 1871 the Oblast was transformed into the Bessarabia Governorate, in a process of state-imposed assimilation, "Russification". As part of this process, the Tsarist administration in Bessarabia gradually removed the Romanian language from official and religious use.[13] The western part of Moldavia (which is a part of present-day Romania) remained an autonomous principality, and in 1859, united with Wallachia to form the Kingdom of Romania.
The Treaty of Paris (1856) returned three counties of Bessarabia — Cahul, Bolgrad and Ismail — to Moldavia, but in the Treaty of Berlin (1878), the Kingdom of Romania agreed to return them to the Russian Empire. Over the 19th century, the Russian authorities encouraged colonization of the south of the region by Ukrainians, Lipovans, Cossacks, Bulgarians,[14] Germans,[15] Gagauzes, and allowed the settlement of more Jews,[16] to replace the large Nogai Tatar population expelled in the 1770s and 1780s, during Russo-Turkish Wars;[17] the Moldovan proportion of the population decreased from around 86% in 1816[18] to around 52% in 1905.[19]
Greater Romania[link]
World War I brought in a rise in political and cultural (ethnic) awareness among the inhabitants of the region, as 300,000 Bessarabians were drafted into the Russian Army formed in 1917; within bigger units several "Moldavian Soldiers' Committees" were formed. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, a Bessarabian parliament, Sfatul Ţării, was elected in October–November 1917 and opened on December 3 [O.S. November 21] 1917. The Sfatul Ţării proclaimed the Moldavian Democratic Republic (December 15 [O.S. December 2] 1917) within a federal Russian state, and formed a government (December 21 [O.S. December 8] 1917).
Bessarabia proclaimed independence from Russia on February 6 [O.S. January 24] 1918 and requested the assistance of the French army present in Romania (general Henri Berthelot) and of the Romanian army, which had occupied the region in early January.[20] On April 9 [O.S. March 27] 1918, the Sfatul Ţării decided with 86 votes for, 3 against and 36 abstaining, to unite with the Kingdom of Romania. The union was conditional upon fulfillment of the agrarian reform, autonomy, and respect for universal human rights.[21] A part of the interim Parliament agreed to drop these conditions after Bukovina and Transylvania also joined the Kingdom of Romania, although historians note that they lacked the quorum to do so.[22][23][24][25][26]
This union was recognized by the principal Allied Powers in the 1920 Treaty of Paris, which however was not ratified by all of its signatories.[27][28] Some major powers, such as the United States and the newly communist Russia, did not recognize Romanian rule over Bessarabia, the latter considering it an occupation of Russian territory.[29]
In May 1919, the Bessarabian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed as a government in exile. After the failure of the Tatarbunary Uprising in 1924, the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Moldavian ASSR) was formed.
In August 1939, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and its secret additional protocol were signed, by which Nazi Germany recognized Bessarabia as being within the Soviet sphere of influence, which led the latter to actively revive its claim to the region.[30] On June 28, 1940, the Soviet Union, with the acknowledgement of Nazi Germany, issued an ultimatum to Romania requesting the cession of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina, with which Romania complied the following day. Soon after, the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (Moldavian SSR) was established,[30] comprising about 70% of Bessarabia, and 50% of the now-disbanded Moldavian ASSR.
As part of the 1941 Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, Romania seized the territories of Bessarabia, northern Bukovina, and Transnistria. Romanian forces, working with the Germans, deported or exterminated about 300,000 Jews, including 147,000 from Bessarabia and Bukovina (of the latter, approximately 90,000 perished).[31] The Soviet Army re-captured the region in February–August 1944, and re-established the Moldavian SSR. Between the end of the Jassy-Kishinev Offensive in August 1944 and the end of the war in May 1945, 256,800 inhabitants of the Moldavian SSR were drafted into the Soviet Army. 40,592 of them perished.[32]
Soviet era[link]
During the Stalinist period (1940–1941, 1944–1953), deportations of locals to the northern Urals, to Siberia, and northern Kazakhstan occurred regularly, with the largest ones on 12–13 June 1941, and 5–6 July 1949, accounting from MSSR alone for 18,392[33] and 35,796 deportees respectively.[34] Other forms of Soviet persecution of the population included 32,433 political arrests, followed by Gulag or (in 8,360 cases) execution.
In 1946, as a result of a severe drought and excessive delivery quota obligations and requisitions imposed by the Soviet government, the southwestern part of the USSR suffered from a major famine.[35] In 1946–1947, at least 216,000 deaths and about 350,000 cases of dystrophy were accounted by historians in the Moldavian SSR alone.[34] Similar events occurred in 1930s in the Moldavian ASSR.[34] In 1944–53, there were several anti-Soviet resistance groups in Moldova; however the NKVD and later MGB managed to eventually arrest, execute or deport their members.[34]
In the postwar period, the Soviet government arranged migration of workforce (mostly Russians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians), into the new Soviet republic, especially into urbanized areas, partly to compensate for the demographic loss caused by the war and the emigration of 1940 and 1944.[36] In the 1970s and 1980s, the Moldavian SSR received substantial allocations from the budget of the USSR to develop industrial and scientific facilities and housing. In 1971, the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a decision "About the measures for further development of the city of Kishinev" (modern Chişinău), that allotted more than one billion Soviet rubles from the USSR budget for building projects,[37] subsequent decisions also directed substantial funding and brought qualified specialists from other parts of the USSR to develop Moldova's industry.[citation needed]
The Soviet government conducted a campaign to promote a Moldovan ethnic identity distinct from that of the Romanians, based on a theory developed during the existence of the Moldavian ASSR. Official Soviet policy asserted that the language spoken by Moldovans was distinct from the Romanian language (see Moldovenism). To distinguish the two, during the Soviet period, Moldovan was written in the Cyrillic alphabet, in contrast[citation needed] with Romanian, which since 1860 had been written in the Latin alphabet.
After the death of Stalin, political persecutions changed in character from mass to individual. All independent organizations were severely reprimanded, with the National Patriotic Front leaders being sentenced in 1972 to long prison terms. The Commission for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Moldova is assessing the activity of the communist totalitarian regime.
In the 1980s, political conditions created by the glasnost and perestroika, a Democratic Movement of Moldova was formed, which in 1989 became known as the nationalist Popular Front of Moldova (FPM).[38][39] Along with several other Soviet republics, from 1988 onwards, Moldova started to move towards independence. On August 27, 1989, the FPM organized a mass demonstration in Chişinău that became known as the Grand National Assembly. The assembly pressured the authorities of the Moldavian SSR to adopt a language law on August 31, 1989 that proclaimed the Moldovan language written in the Latin script to be the state language of the MSSR. Its identity with the Romanian language was also established.[38][40] The year 1989 that had seen Communist Party increasingly pummeled, was also marked by November riots.[41][42]
Independence[link]
The first democratic elections for the local parliament were held in February and March 1990. Mircea Snegur was elected as Speaker of the Parliament, and Mircea Druc as Prime Minister. On June 23, 1990, the Parliament adopted the Declaration of Sovereignty of the "Soviet Socialist Republic Moldova", which, among other things, stipulated the supremacy of Moldovan laws over those of the Soviet Union.[38] After the failure of the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, on August 27, 1991, Moldova declared its independence, Romania being the first state to recognize its independence.
On December 21 of the same year Moldova, along with most of the other Soviet republics, signed the constitutive act that formed the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Moldova received official recognition on December 25. On December 26, 1991 the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Declaring itself a neutral state, it did not join the military branch of the CIS. Three months later, on March 2, 1992, the country gained formal recognition as an independent state at the United Nations. In 1994, Moldova became a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program and also a member of the Council of Europe on June 29, 1995.[38]
In the region east of the Dniester river, Transnistria, which includes a large proportion of predominantly russophone East Slavs of Ukrainian (28%) and Russian (26%) descent (altogether 54% as of 1989), while Moldovans (40%) have been the largest ethnic group, and where the headquarters and many units of the Soviet 14th Guards Army were stationed, an independent Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed on August 16, 1990, with its capital in Tiraspol.[38] The motives behind this move were fear of the rise of nationalism in Moldova and the country's expected reunification with Romania upon secession from the USSR. In the winter of 1991–1992 clashes occurred between Transnistrian forces, supported by elements of the 14th Army, and the Moldovan police. Between March 2 and July 26, 1992, the conflict escalated into a military engagement.
On January 2, 1992, Moldova introduced a market economy, liberalizing prices, which resulted in rapid inflation. From 1992 to 2001, the young country suffered a serious economic crisis, leaving most of the population below the poverty line. In 1993, a national currency, the Moldovan leu, was introduced to replace the temporary cupon. The economy of Moldova began to change in 2001; and until 2008 the country saw a steady annual growth of between 5% and 10%. The early 2000s also saw a considerable growth of emigration of Moldovans looking for work (mostly illegally) in Russia (especially the Moscow region), Italy, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, and other countries; remittances from Moldovans abroad account for almost 38% of Moldova's GDP, the second-highest percentage in the world.[43]
In the 1994 parliamentary elections, the Democratic Agrarian Party gained a majority of the seats, setting a turning point in Moldovan politics. With the nationalist Popular Front now in a parliamentary minority, new measures aiming to moderate the ethnic tensions in the country could be adopted. Plans for a union with Romania were abandoned,[38] and the new Constitution gave autonomy to the breakaway Transnistria and Gagauzia. On December 23, 1994, the Parliament of Moldova adopted a "Law on the Special Legal Status of Gagauzia", and in 1995 the latter was constituted.
After winning the 1996 presidential elections, on January 15, 1997, Petru Lucinschi, the former First Secretary of the Moldavian Communist Party in 1989–91, became the country's second president (1997–2001), succeeding Mircea Snegur (1991–1996). In 2000, the Constitution was amended, transforming Moldova into a parliamentary republic, with the president being chosen through indirect election rather than direct popular vote.
Winning 49.9% of the vote, the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (reinstituted in 1993 after being outlawed in 1991), gained 71 of the 101 MPs, and on April 4, 2001, elected Vladimir Voronin as the country's third president (re-elected in 2005). The country became the first post-Soviet state where a non-reformed Communist Party returned to power.[38] New governments were formed by Vasile Tarlev (April 19, 2001 – March 31, 2008), and Zinaida Greceanîi (March 31, 2008 – September 14, 2009). In 2001–2003 relations between Moldova and Russia improved, but then temporarily deteriorated in 2003–2006, in the wake of the failure of the Kozak memorandum, culminating in the 2006 wine exports crisis. The Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova managed to stay in power for eight years. The fragmentation of the liberal (aka the democrats) helped consolidate its power. The decline of the party started in 2009 after Marian Lupu joined the Democratic Party and thus attracted many of the Moldovans supporting the Communists.[44]
In the April 2009 parliamentary elections, the Communist Party won 49.48% of the votes, followed by the Liberal Party with 13.14% of the votes, the Liberal Democratic Party with 12.43%, and the Alliance "Moldova Noastră" with 9.77%. The controversial results of this election sparked civil unrest[45][46]
In August 2009, four Moldovan parties – Liberal Democratic Party, Liberal Party, Democratic Party, and Our Moldova Alliance – agreed to create a governing coalition that pushed the Communist party into opposition. On August 28, 2009, this coalition chose a new parliament speaker (Mihai Ghimpu) in a vote that was boycotted by Communist legislators. Vladimir Voronin, who had been President of Moldova since 2001, eventually resigned on September 11, 2009, but the Parliament failed to elect a new president. The acting president Mihai Ghimpu instituted the Commission for constitutional reform in Moldova to adopt a new version of the Constitution of Moldova. After the constitutional referendum aimed to approve the reform failed in September 2010,[47] the parliament was dissolved again and a new parliamentary election was scheduled for 28 November 2010.[48] On December 30, 2010, Marian Lupu was elected as the Speaker of the Parliament.[49] In accordance with the Constitution, he will be serving as the Acting President of Republic of Moldova.
Government and politics[link]
Main article: Politics of Moldova
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Moldova is a unitary parliamentary representative democratic republic. The 1994 Constitution of Moldova sets the framework for the government of the country. A parliamentary majority of at least two thirds is required to amend the Constitution of Moldova, which cannot be revised in time of war or national emergency. Amendments to the Constitution affecting the state's sovereignty, independence, or unity can only be made after a majority of voters support the proposal in a referendum. Furthermore, no revision can be made to limit the fundamental rights of people enumerated in the Constitution.[50]
The country's central legislative body is the unicameral Moldovan Parliament (Parlament), which has 101 seats, and whose members are elected by popular vote on party lists every four years.
The head of state is the President of Moldova, who is elected by the Moldovan Parliament, requiring the support of three fifths of the deputies (at least 61 votes). The president of Moldova has been elected by the parliament since 2001, a change designed to decrease executive authority in favor of the legislature. The president appoints a prime minister who functions as the head of government, and who in turn assembles a cabinet, both subject to parliamentary approval.
The 1994 constitution also establishes an independent Constitutional Court, composed of six judges (two appointed by the President, two by Parliament, and two by the Supreme Council of Magistrature), serving six-year terms, during which they are irremovable and not subordinate to any power. The Court is invested with the power of judicial review over all acts of the parliament, over presidential decrees, and over international treaties, signed by the country.[50]
| Political forces | Seats | Moldovan Parliament seats after 2010 polls | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alliance for European Integration | 59 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Party of Communists | 42 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PCRM (42) · PLDM (32) · PDM (15) · PL (12) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Foreign relations[link]
Main articles: Foreign Relations of Moldova and Moldova and the European Union
.JPG)
After achieving independence from the Soviet Union, Moldova established relations with other European countries. A course for European Union integration and neutrality define the country's foreign policy guidelines. In 1995 the country was admitted to the Council of Europe. In addition to its participation in NATO's Partnership for Peace program, Moldova is also a member state of the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the North Atlantic Cooperation Council, the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Francophonie and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
In 2005, Moldova and the EU established an action plan that sought to improve the collaboration between the two neighboring structures. At the end of 2005 EUBAM, the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine, was established at the joint request of the presidents of Moldova and Ukraine. EUBAM assists the Moldovan and Ukrainian governments in approximating their border and customs procedures to EU standards, and offers support in both countries' fight against cross-border crime.
After the War of Transnistria, Moldova sought a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the Transnistria region by working with Romania, Ukraine, and Russia, calling for international mediation, and cooperating with the OSCE and UN fact-finding and observer missions. The foreign minister of Moldova, Andrei Stratan, repeatedly stated that the Russian troops stationed in the breakaway region are there against the will of the Moldovan Government and called on them to leave "completely and unconditionally."[51] In 2012, the death of Vadim Pisari has raised the tension with Russia and has revived a decades-old debate over security in Moldova.[52]
In September 2010, the European Parliament approved a grant of €90 million to Moldova.[53] The money will supplement $570 million in International Monetary Fund loans,[54] World Bank and other bilateral support already granted to Moldova. In April 2010, Romania offered to Moldova development aid worth of €100 million while the number of scholarships for Moldovan students will double to 5,000.[55] According to a lending agreement signed in February 2010, Poland will provide US$15 million and will support Moldova in its European integration efforts.[56] The first joint meeting of the Governments of Romania and Moldova, held in March 2012, concluded with several bilateral agreements in various fields.[57][58] The European orientation “has been the policy of Moldova in recent years and this is the policy that must continue,” Nicolae Timofti told lawmakers before his election.”[59]
Military[link]
Main article: Military of Moldova
The Moldovan armed forces consist of the Ground Forces and Air and Air Defense Forces. Moldova has accepted all relevant arms control obligations of the former Soviet Union. On October 30, 1992, Moldova ratified the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, which establishes comprehensive limits on key categories of conventional military equipment and provides for the destruction of weapons in excess of those limits. The country acceded to the provisions of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in October 1994 in Washington, D.C. It does not have nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons. Moldova joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's Partnership for Peace on March 16, 1994.
Moldova is committed to a number of international and regional control of arms regulations such as the UN Firearms Protocol, Stability Pact Regional Implementation Plan, the UN Programme of Action (PoA) and the OSCE Documents on Stockpiles of Conventional Ammunition.
Human rights[link]
Main article: Human rights in Moldova
According to Amnesty International, "Torture and other ill-treatment in police detention remained widespread; the state failed to carry out prompt and impartial investigations and police officers sometimes evaded penalties. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activists were again denied the right to demonstrate."[60] Political dissidents from Ilaşcu Group were released from arbitrary detention only after an order of the European Court of Human Rights.[61] In 2009, when Moldova experienced its most serious civil unrest in a decade, several civilians like Valeriu Boboc were killed by police and many more injured.[62] According to Human Rights Report of the United States Department of State, released in April 2011, "In contrast to the previous year, there were no reports of killings by security forces. During the year reports of government exercising undue influence over the media substantially decreased." But "Transnistrian authorities continued to harass independent media and opposition lawmakers; restrict freedom of association, movement, and religion; and discriminate against Romanian speakers."[63] Moldova "has made “noteworthy progress” on religious freedom since the era of the Soviet Union, but it can still take further steps to foster diversity," said the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief Heiner Bielefeldt, in Chişinău, in September 2011.[64]
Administrative divisions[link]
Main articles: Administrative divisions of Moldova, List of cities in Moldova, and List of localities in Moldova
Moldova is divided into thirty-two districts (raioane, singular raion), three municipalities and two autonomous regions (Gagauzia and Transnistria).[65] The final status of Transnistria is disputed, as the central government does not control that territory. The cities of Comrat and Tiraspol, the administrative seats of the two autonomous territories also have municipality status.
 |
|
|---|---|
| Municipalities | Autonomous regions |
| Chişinău Bălţi Bender |
Gagauzia Transnistria[66] |
| Districts | |
Moldova has 65 cities (towns), including the five with municipality status, and 917 communes. Some other 699 villages are too small to have a separate administration, and are administratively part of either cities (40 of them) or communes (659). This makes for a total of 1,681 localities of Moldova, all but two of which are inhabited.
| Largest cities of Moldova | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | City | Urban | Rank | City | Urban | |||||
| 1 | Chişinău1 | 723,500 (2012) | 11 | Comrat3 | 25,600 (2012) | |||||
| 2 | Tiraspol2 | 148,900 (2011) | 12 | Ceadîr-Lunga3 | 22,800 (2012) | |||||
| 3 | Bălţi1 | 144,300 (2012) | 13 | Străşeni3 | 21,200 (2012) | |||||
| 4 | Bender2 | 93,700 (2011) | 14 | Drochia3 | 20,400 (2012) | |||||
| 5 | Rîbniţa2 | 50,100 (2011) | 15 | Edineţ3 | 20,200 (2012) | |||||
| 6 | Cahul3 | 41,100 (2012) | 16 | Căuşeni3 | 19,900 (2012) | |||||
| 7 | Ungheni3 | 38,100 (2012) | 17 | Durleşti | 18,700 (2012) | |||||
| 8 | Soroca3 | 37,500 (2012) | 18 | Făleşti | 17,800 (2012) | |||||
| 9 | Orhei3 | 33,500 (2012) | 19 | Hînceşti | 16,900 (2012) | |||||
| 10 | Dubăsari3 | 25,700 (2011) | 20 | Vulcăneşti | 16,900 (2012) | |||||
| Source: Moldovan Census (2004); Note: 1.World Gazetteer. Moldova: largest cities 2004. 2.Pridnestrovie.net 2004 Census 2004. 3. National Bureau of Statistics of Moldova | ||||||||||
Geography[link]
Main article: Geography of Moldova
Moldova lies between latitudes 45° and 49° N, and mostly between meridians 26° and 30° E (a small area lies east of 30°).The total land area is 33,851 km2
The largest part of the nation lies between two rivers, the Dniester and the Prut. The western border of Moldova is formed by the Prut river, which joins the Danube before flowing into the Black Sea. Moldova has access to the Danube for only about 480 m (1,575 ft), and Giurgiuleşti is the only Moldovan port on the Danube. In the east, the Dniester is the main river, flowing through the country from north to south, receiving the waters of Răut, Bâc, Ichel, Botna. Ialpug flows into one of the Danube limans, while Cogâlnic into the Black Sea chain of limans.
The country is landlocked, even though it is very close to the Black Sea. While most of the country is hilly, elevations never exceed 430 m (1,411 ft) — the highest point being the Bălăneşti Hill. Moldova's hills are part of the Moldavian Plateau, which geologically originate from the Carpathian Mountains. Its subdivisions in Moldova include Dniester Hills (Northern Moldavian Hills and Dniester Ridge), Moldavian Plain (Middle Prut Valley and Bălţi Steppe), and Central Moldavian Plateau (Ciuluc-Soloneţ Hills, Corneşti Hills (Codri Massive; "Codri" meaning "forests"), Lower Dniester Hills, Lower Prut Valley, and Tigheci Hills). In the south, the country has a small flatland, the Bugeac Plain. The territory of Moldova east of the river Dniester is split between parts of the Podolian Plateau, and parts of the Eurasian Steppe.
The country's main cities are the capital Chişinău, in the center of the country, Tiraspol (in the eastern region of Transnistria), Bălţi (in the north) and Bender (in the south-east). Comrat is the administrative center of Gagauzia.
Climate[link]
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This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability. |
Moldova's proximity to the Black Sea gives it a mild and sunny climate.
Moldova's climate is moderately continental: the summers are warm and long, with temperatures averaging about 20 °C (68 °F), and the winters are relatively mild and dry, with January temperatures averaging −4 °C (25 °F). Annual rainfall, which ranges from around 600 millimeters (23.6 in) in the north to 400 millimeters (15.7 in) in the south, can vary greatly; long dry spells are not unusual. The heaviest rainfall occurs in early summer and again in October; heavy showers and thunderstorms are common. Because of the irregular terrain, heavy summer rains often cause erosion and river silting.
Weather records. The highest temperature ever recorded: +41.5 °C (106.70 °F) on July 21, 2007 (Camenca). The lowest temperature ever recorded: −35.5 °C (−31.9 °F) on January 20, 1963 (Brătuşeni, Edineţ county).[citation needed]
Economy[link]
Main article: Economy of Moldova
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the relative weight of the service sector in the economy of Moldova started to grow and began to dominate the GDP (now about 75%), as a result of decrease in industry and agriculture. The main economic indicators contracted dramatically.
As of 2009[update], Moldova has been described by the European Parliament as the poorest country in Europe in terms of GDP.[67]
Energy[link]
Moldova imports all of its supplies of petroleum, coal, and natural gas, largely from Russia. Moldova is a partner country of the EU INOGATE energy programme, which has four key topics: enhancing energy security, convergence of member state energy markets on the basis of EU internal energy market principles, supporting sustainable energy development, and attracting investment for energy projects of common and regional interest.[68]
Economic reforms[link]
After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, energy shortages contributed to sharp production declines. As part of an ambitious economic liberalization effort, Moldova introduced a convertible currency, liberalized all prices, stopped issuing preferential credits to state enterprises, backed steady land privatization, removed export controls, and liberalized interest rates. The government entered into agreements with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to promote growth.
Recent trends indicate that the Communist government intends to reverse some of these policies, and recollectivise land while placing more restrictions on private business. The economy returned to positive growth, of 2.1% in 2000 and 6.1% in 2001. Growth remained strong in 2007 (6%), in part because of the reforms and because of starting from a small base. The economy remains vulnerable to higher fuel prices, poor agricultural weather, and the skepticism of foreign investors.[citation needed]
Following the regional financial crisis in 1998, Moldova has made significant progress towards achieving and retaining macroeconomic and financial stabilization. It has, furthermore, implemented many structural and institutional reforms that are indispensable for the efficient functioning of a market economy. These efforts have helped maintain macroeconomic and financial stability under difficult external circumstances, enabled the resumption of economic growth and contributed to establishing an environment conducive to the economy's further growth and development in the medium term.[citation needed]
Despite these efforts and recent resumption of economic growth, Moldova ranks low in terms of commonly used living standards and human development indicators in comparison with other transition economies. Although the economy experienced a constant economic growth after 2000: with 2.1%, 6.1%, 7.8% and 6.3% between 2000 and 2003 (with a forecast of 8% in 2004), one can observe that these latest developments hardly reach the level of 1994, with almost 40% of the GDP registered in 1990. Thus, during the last decade little has been done to reduce the country's vulnerability. After a severe economic decline, social and economic challenges, energy uprooted dependencies, Moldova continues to occupy one of the last places among European countries in income per capita.[citation needed]
In 2005 (according to the Human Development Report), the registered GDP per capita was US $ 2,100 PPP, which was 4.5 times lower than the world average at the time (US $ 9,543). Moreover, GDP per capita was under the average of its statistical region (US $ 9,527 PPP). In 2005, about 20.8% of the population were under the absolute poverty line and registered an income lower than US $ 2.15 (PPP) per day. Moldova is classified as medium in human development and is at the 111th spot in the list of 177 countries. The value of the Human Development Index (0.708) is below the world average. Moldova remains the poorest country in Europe in terms of official (i.e., excluding the black and grey economy) per capita which currently stands at $1,808.729[69]
The GDP in 2007 constituted $4.104 billion.[70] That constituted a growth of 3% from 2006.
Wine industry[link]
Main articles: Moldovan wine and Moldovan wine producers
Moldova is known for its wines. For many years viticulture and winemaking in Moldova were the general occupation of the population. Evidence of this is present in historical memorials and documents, folklore, and the Moldovan spoken language.
The country has a well established wine industry. It has a vineyard area of 147,000 hectares (360,000 acres), of which 102,500 ha (253,000 acres) are used for commercial production. Most of the country's wine production is made for export. Many families have their own recipes and strands of grapes that have been passed down through the generations.
Moldova consumes the highest amount of alcohol per capita in the world.[71]
Agriculture[link]
Main article: Agriculture of Moldova
Moldova's rich soil and temperate continental climate (with warm summers and mild winters) have made the country one of the most productive agricultural regions since ancient times, and a major supplier of agricultural products in southeastern Europe. In agriculture, the economic reform started with the land cadastre reform.
Tourism[link]
Main article: Tourism in Moldova
Tourism focuses on the country's natural landscapes and its history. Wine tours are offered to tourists across the country. Vineyards/cellars include Cricova, Purcari, Ciumai, Romanesti, Cojuşna, Milestii Mici.
Transport[link]
Main articles: Transport in Moldova and Rail transport in Moldova
The main means of transportation in Moldova are railroads 1,138 km (707 mi) and a highway system (12,730 km/7,910 mi overall, including 10,937 km/6,796 mi of paved surfaces). The sole international air gateway of Moldova is the Chişinău International Airport. The Giurgiuleşti terminal on the Danube is compatible with small seagoing vessels. Shipping on the lower Prut and Nistru rivers plays only a modest role in the country's transportation system.
Telecommunications[link]
Main article: Telecommunications in Moldova
The first million of mobile telephone users was registered in September 2005. The number of mobile telephone users in Moldova increased by 47.3 % in the first quarter of 2008 against the last year and exceeded 2.89 million.[72]
In September 2009, Moldova was the first country in the world to launch high-definition voice services (HD voice) for mobile phones, and the first country in Europe to launch 14,4 Mbit/s mobile broadband at a national scale, with over 40% population coverage.[73]
As of 2010[update] there are around 1,295,000 Internet users in Moldova with overall Internet penetration of 35.9%.[74]
Demographics[link]
Main article: Demographics of Moldova
Cultural and ethnic composition[link]
The last reference data is that of the 2004 Moldovan Census[2] (areas controlled by the central government), and the 2004 Census in Transnistria (areas controlled by the breakaway authorities, including Transnistria, Bender/Tighina, and four neighboring communes):
| Self-identification | Moldovan census |
% Core Moldova |
Transnistrian census |
% Transnistria + Bender |
Total | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moldovans1 | 2,564,849 | 75.81% | 177,382 | 31.94% | 2,742,231 | 69.62% |
| Ukrainians | 282,406 | 8.35% | 160,069 | 28.82% | 442,475 | 11.23% |
| Russians | 201,218 | 5.95% | 168,678 | 30.37% | 369,896 | 9.39% |
| Gagauz | 147,500 | 4.36% | 4,096 | 0.74% | 151,596 | 3.85% |
| Romanians1 | 73,276 | 2.17% | 253 | 0.05% | 73,529 | 1.87% |
| Bulgarians | 65,662 | 1.94% | 13,858 | 2.50% | 79,520 | 2.02% |
| Romani | 12,271 | 0.36% | 507 | 0.09% | 12,778 | 0.32% |
| Jews | 3,608 | 0.11% | 1,259 | 0.23% | 4,867 | 0.12% |
| Poles | 2,383 | 0.07% | 1,791 | 0.32% | 4,174 | 0.11% |
| Others/undeclared | 30,159 | 0.89% | 27,454 | 4.94% | 57,613 | 1.46% |
| TOTAL | 3,383,332 | 100% | 555,347 | 100% | 3,938,679 | 100% |
1There is an ongoing controversy whether Romanians and Moldovans are the same ethnic group, namely whether Moldovans' self-identification constitutes an ethnic group distinct and apart from Romanians or a subset. There were also numerous allegations that the ethnic affiliation numbers were rigged, 7 out of 10 observer groups of the Council of Europe reported a significant number of cases when census-takers recommended respondents to declare themselves Moldovans rather than Romanians. Complicating the interpretation of the results, 18.8% of respondents that identified themselves as Moldovans declared Romanian to be their native language. [75]
Languages[link]
The Constitution of 1994 states that the national language of the Republic of Moldova is Moldovan, and its writing is based on the Latin alphabet.[76] The 1991 Declaration of Independence names the official language Romanian.[77][78] The 1989 State Language Law speaks of a Moldovan-Romanian linguistic identity.
There is a political controversy over the name of the main ethnicity of the Republic of Moldova. During 2003–2009, the Communist government adopted a national political conception which states that one of the priorities of the national politics of the Republic of Moldova is the insurance of the existence of the Moldovan language.[79][80] Scholars agree that Moldovan and Romanian are the same language, with the glottonym "Moldovan" used in certain political contexts.[81]
Russian is provided with the status of a "language of interethnic communication" (alongside the official language), and in practice remains widely used on all levels of the society and the state. The above-mentioned national political conception also states that Russian-Moldovan bilingualism is characteristic for Moldova.[80]
As of the 2004 census, the country has significant Russian (6%) and Ukrainian (8.4%) populations. 50% of ethnic Ukrainians, 27% of Gagauz, 35% of Bulgarians, and 54% of smaller ethnic groups speak Russian as first language. In total, there are 541,000 people (or 16% of the population) in Moldova who use Russian as first language, including 130,000 ethnic Moldovans. On the other hand, 47,000 members of ethnic minorities use Romanian as first language.
Gagauz and Ukrainian have significant regional speaker populations and are granted official status together with Russian in Gagauzia and Transnistria respectively.
| Population of Moldova | Moldovan (Romanian) | Russian | Ukrainian | Gagauz | Bulgarian | Other languages, non-declared |
| by native language | 2,588,355 76.51% |
380,796 11.26% |
186,394 5.51% |
137,774 4.07% |
54,401 1.61% |
35,612 1.04% |
| by language of first use | 2,543,354 75.17% |
540,990 15.99% |
130,114 3.85% |
104,890 3.10% |
38,565 1.14% |
25,419 0.75% |
From 1996 the Republic, also being Romance-speaking, is a full member of Francophonia. Therefore the French language occupies the principal place among the foreign languages. In 2009/10 it was told taught to 52% of schoolchildren as L1 and 7% as L2. It is followed by English having 48% and 6% respectively, and German, which was taught to 3% altogether.[82]
Religion[link]
| Religion in Moldova | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Religion | Percent | |||
| Orthodox |
|
93.34% | ||
| Protestant |
|
1.89% | ||
| Old Believer |
|
0.15% | ||
| Roman Catholic |
|
0.14% | ||
| Atheist |
|
0.38% | ||
| Non-religious |
|
0.98% | ||
| No answer |
|
2.24% | ||
| Other religion |
|
0.88% | ||
Main article: Religion in Moldova
For the 2004 census, Orthodox Christians, who make up 93.3% of Moldova's population, were not required to declare the particular of the two main churches they belong to. The Moldovan Orthodox Church, autonomous and subordinated to the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Orthodox Church of Bessarabia, autonomous and subordinated to the Romanian Orthodox Church, both claim to be the national church of the country. 1.9% of the population is Protestant, 0.9% belongs to other religions, 1.0% is non-religious, 0.4% is atheist, and 2.2% did not answer the religion question at the census.
Education[link]
Main article: Education in Moldova
In Moldova, there are 16 state and 15[83] private institutions of higher education, with a total of 126,100 students, including 104,300 in the state institutions, and 21,700 in the private ones. The number of students per 10,000 inhabitants in Moldova has been constantly growing since the collapse of the Soviet Union, reaching 217 in 2000–2001, and 351 in 2005–2006.
The National Library of Moldova was founded in 1832. The Moldova State University and the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, the main scientific organizations of Moldova, were established in 1946.
Crime[link]
Main article: Crime in Moldova
The CIA World Factbook lists widespread crime and underground economic activity among major crime issues in Moldova.[84]
Health[link]
Main article: Health in Moldova
The average birth rate is at 1.5 children per woman.[85] Public expenditure on health was 4.2% of the GDP and private expenditure on health 3.2%.[85] There are about 264 physicians per 100,000 people.[85] Health expenditure was 138 US$ (PPP) per capita in 2004.[85]
Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, the country has seen a decrease in spending on health care and, as a result, the tuberculosis incidence rate in the country has grown.[86] Because of this, Moldova is struggling with one of the highest incidence rates of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in the world.[87]
Emigration[link]
Main article: Emigration from Moldova
Emigration is a mass phenomenon in Moldova and has a major impact on the country's demographics and economy. The Moldovan Intelligence and Security Service has estimated that 600,000 to one million Moldovan citizens (almost 25% of the population) are working abroad, most illegally.[88]
Culture[link]
Main article: Culture of Moldova
Located geographically at the crossroads of Latin, Slavic and other cultures, Moldova has enriched its own culture adopting and maintaining some of the traditions of its neighbors and of other influence sources.
The country's cultural heritage was marked by numerous churches and monasteries built by the Moldavian ruler Stephen the Great in the 15th century, by the works of the later renaissance Metropolitans Varlaam and Dosoftei, and those of scholars such as Grigore Ureche, Miron Costin, Nicolae Milescu, Dimitrie Cantemir,[89] Ion Neculce. In the 19th century, Moldavians from the territories of the medieval Principality of Moldavia, then split between Austria, Russia, and an Ottoman-vassal Moldavia (after 1859, Romania), made a significant contribution to the formation of the modern Romanian culture. Among these were many Bessarabians, such as Alexandru Donici, Alexandru Hâjdeu, Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, Constantin Stamati, Constantin Stamati-Ciurea, Costache Negruzzi, Alecu Russo, Constantin Stere.
Mihai Eminescu, a late Romantic poet, and Ion Creangă, a writer, are the most influential Romanian language artists, considered national writers both in Romania and Moldova.[90]
The largest ethnic group is a speaker of Romanian and share the Romanian culture. Their culture has been also influenced (through Eastern Orthodoxy) by the Byzantine culture.[citation needed]
The country has also important minority ethnic communities. Gagauz, 4.4% of the population, are Christian Turkic people. Greeks, Armenians, Poles, Jews, Ukrainians, although not numerous, were present since as early as 17th century, and had left cultural marks. The 19th century saw the arrival of many more Ukrainians and Jews from Podolia and Galicia, as well as new communities, such as Lipovans, Bulgarians and Bessarabian Germans.
In the second part of the 20th century, Moldova saw a massive Soviet immigration, which brought with it many elements of Soviet culture.
Moldovan culture was also influenced by historic minority ethnic communities, and in turn has had an influence on the culture of these groups, such as Bessarabian Germans and Bessarabian Jews.
Popular media[link]
In October 1939, Radio Basarabia, a local station of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company, was the first radio station opened in Chişinău. Television in Moldova was introduced in April 1958, within the framework of Soviet television. Through cable, Moldovan viewers can receive a large number of Russian channels, a few Romanian channels, and several Russian language versions of international channels in addition to several local channels. One Russian and two local channels are aired.
Food and beverage[link]
Main article: Moldovan cuisine
See also: Moldovan wine
Moldovan cuisine is similar to neighboring Romania, and has been influenced by elements of Russian, Turkish, and Ukrainian cuisine. Main dishes include beef, pork, potatoes, cabbage, and a variety of cereals. Popular alcoholic beverages are divin (Moldovan brandy), beer, and local wine.
Total recorded adult alcohol consumption is approximately evenly split between spirits, beer and wine; and the average annual adult per capita consumption, in terms of pure alcohol, in 2003–2005, was 18.2 litres, the highest in the world.[91]
Music[link]
Main article: Music of Moldova
Among Moldova's most prominent composers are Gavriil Musicescu, Ştefan Neaga and Eugen Doga.
In the field of popular music, Moldova has produced the band O-Zone, who came to prominence in 2003, with their hit song Dragostea Din Tei. Moldova has been participating in the Eurovision Song Contest since 2005. Another popular band from Moldova is ska rock band Zdob şi Zdub that represented the country in the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing 6th. They also again represented Moldova in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing 12th. Dan Bălan, another popular artist, released the album Chica Bomb in 2010.
Also worth mentioning is the band SunStroke Project, which along with Olia Tira represented the country in the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest with their hit song, Run Away. Their performance gained international notoriety as an internet meme due to the pelvic thrusting and dancing of Sergey Stepanov, the band saxophonist. He has been fittingly dubbed "Epic Sax Guy."
Holidays[link]
Main article: Public holidays in Moldova
Most retail businesses close on New Year's Day and Independence Day, but remain open on all other holidays.
Sport[link]
_and_his_football_team_in_Chi%C5%9Fin%C4%83u,_1925.jpg)
Main article: Sport in Moldova
Trânta (a form of wrestling) is the national sport in Moldova. Football is the most popular sport in Moldova.[citation needed]
Rugby union is popular as well. Registered players have doubled, and almost 10,000 spectators turn up at every European Nations Cup match.[citation needed] The most prestigious cycling race is the Moldova President's Cup, which was first run in 2004.
See also[link]
Notes[link]
- ^ "Preliminary number of resident population in the Republic of Moldova as of January 1, 2012" (Press release). National Bureau of Statistics of Moldova. February 8, 2012. http://www.statistica.md/newsview.php?l=en&idc=168&id=3670. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
- ^ a b (Romanian) National Bureau of Statistics of Moldova
- ^ http://www.languages-study.com/demography/pridnestrovie.html 2004 census in Transnistria (Russian)
- ^ a b c d "Moldova". International Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2012/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=21&pr.y=16&sy=2009&ey=2012&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=921&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
- ^ "Human Development Report 2011". United Nations. 2011. http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2011_EN_Table1.pdf. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
- ^ State.gov, US Department of State
- ^ "Moldova will prove that it can and has chances to become EU member,". Moldpress News Agency. June 19, 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-04-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20080430044847/http://www.moldpres.md/default.asp?Lang=en&ID=68715.
- ^ "Moldova-EU Action Plan Approved by European Commission". moldova.org. December 14, 2004. http://politicom.moldova.org/news/moldovaeu-action-plan-approved-by-european-commission-40-eng.html. Retrieved July 2, 2007.
- ^ History, Official site of Republic of Moldova
- ^ Where did the name Moldova come from?
- ^ Constantinescu, Bogdan; [|Bugoi, Roxana]; Pantos, Emmanuel; Popovici, Dragomir (2007). "Phase and chemical composition analysis of pigments used in Cucuteni Neolithic painted ceramics". Documenta Praehistorica (Ljubljana: Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana) XXXIV: 281–288. ISSN 1408-967X. OCLC 41553667. http://193.2.104.55/documenta/pdf34/DPConstantinescu34.pdf. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
- ^ "Moldova". Library of Congress Country Studies
- ^ Bessarabia by Charles Upson Clark, 1927, chapter 10: "Naturally, this system resulted not in acquisition of Russian by the Moldavians, but in their almost complete illiteracy in any language."
- ^ Bessarabia by Charles Upson Clark, 1927, chapter 8: "Today, the Bulgarians form one of the most solid elements in Southern Bessarabia, numbering (with the Gagauzes, i.e., Turkish-speaking Christians also from the Dobrudja) nearly 150,000. Colonization brought in numerous Great Russian peasants, and the Russian bureaucracy imported Russian office-holders and professional men; according to the Romanian estimate of 1920, there were about Great Russians were about 75,000 in number (2.9%), and the Lipovans and Cossacks 59,000 (2.2%); the Little Russians (Ukrainians) came to 254,000 (9.6%). That, plus about 10,000 Poles, brings the total number of Slavs to 545,000 in a population of 2,631,000, or about one-fifth"
- ^ The Germans from Bessarabia
- ^ The Jewish minority was more numerous in the past (228,620 Jews in Bessarabia in 1897, or 11.8% of the population). [1].
- ^ Mennonite-Nogai Economic Relations, 1825–1860
- ^ Ion Nistor, Istoria Bassarabiei, Cernăuţi, 1921
- ^ (German) Flavius Solomon, Die Republik Moldau und ihre Minderheiten (Länderlexikon), in: Ethnodoc-Datenbank für Minderheitenforschung in Südostosteuropa, p. 52
- ^ (French) Anthony Babel: La Bessarabie (Bessarabia), Félix Alcan, Genève, Switzerland, 1931
- ^ King, Charles (2000). "From Principality to Province". The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the politics of culture. Hoover Press. pp. 33–35. ISBN 0-8179-9792-X. http://books.google.com/books?id=ldBFWtuv8DQC&pg=PA33. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
- ^ (Romanian) PRM.md, "Sfatul Ţării ... proclaimed the Moldavian Democratic Republic"
- ^ Charles Upson Clark (1927). "24:The Decay of Russian Setiment". Bessarabia: Russia and Romania on the Black Sea – View Across Dniester From Hotin Castle. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company. http://depts.washington.edu/cartah/text_archive/clark/bc_17.shtml#bc_17. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
- ^ Ion Pelivan (Chronology)
- ^ Petre Cazacu (Moldova, pp. 240–245).
- ^ Cristina Petrescu, "Contrasting/Conflicting Identities:Bessarabians, Romanians, Moldovans" in Nation-Building and Contested Identities, Polirom, 2001, pg. 156
- ^ Malbone W. Graham (October 1944). "The Legal Status of the Bukovina and Bessarabia". The American Journal of International Law (American Society of International Law) 38 (4): 667–673. DOI:10.2307/2192802. JSTOR 2192802.
- ^ Mitrasca, Marcel (2002). "Introduction". Moldova: a Romanian province under Russian rule : diplomatic history from the archives of the great powers. Algora Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 1-892941-86-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=mZogbSmBR-4C&pg=PA13. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
- ^ Wayne S. Vucinich, Bessarabia In: Collier's Encyclopedia (Crowell Collier and MacMillan Inc., 1967) vol. 4, p. 103
- ^ a b Olson, James (1994). An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires. p. 483.
- ^ Tismăneanu Report, page 748-749
- ^ Asociaţia Oamenilor de Ştiinţă din Moldova. H. Milescu-Spătaru., ed. (2002) (in ro). Istoria Republicii Moldova: din cele mai vechi timpuri pină în zilele noastre [History of the Republic of Moldova: From Ancient Times to Our Days] (2nd ed.). Chişinău: Elan Poligraf. pp. 239–244. ISBN 9975-9719-5-4.
- ^ Note: Further 11,844 were deported on 12–13 June 1941 from other Romanian territories occupied by the USSR a year earlier.
- ^ a b c d (Romanian) Tismăneanu Report, pages 747 and 752
- ^ Michael Ellman, The 1947 Soviet Famine and the Entitlement Approach to Famines Cambridge Journal of Economics 24 (2000): 603–630.
- ^ Pal Kolsto, National Integration and Violent Conflict in Post-Soviet Societies: The Cases of Estonia and Moldova, Rowman & Littlefield, 2002, ISBN 0-7425-1888-4, pg. 202
- ^ "Architecture of Chişinău". on Kishinev.info. http://www.kishinev.info/architecture_en. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
- ^ a b c d e f g (Romanian) Horia C. Matei, "State lumii. Enciclopedie de istorie." Meronia, Bucureşti, 2006, p. 292-294
- ^ "Romanian Nationalism in the Republic of Moldova" by Andrei Panici, American University in Bulgaria, 2002; pages 40 and 41
- ^ Legea cu privire la functionarea limbilor vorbite pe teritoriul RSS Moldovenesti Nr.3465-XI din 01.09.89 Vestile nr.9/217, 1989 (Law regarding the usage of languages spoken on the territory of the Republic of Moldova): "Moldavian SSR supports the desire of the Moldovans that live across the borders of the Republic, and considering the existing linguistic Moldo-Romanian identity — of the Romanians that live on the territory of the USSR, of doing their studies and satisfying their cultural needs in their native language."
- ^ "Ion Costaş: 7 APRILIE 2009 NE AMINTEŞTE DE 10 NOIEMBRIE 1989" (in Romanian). Basarabia Literară .ro. 28 February 2010. http://basarabialiterara.com.md/?p=3231. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- ^ "Igor Caşu, Chişinău 7 noiembrie 1989: "Jos dictatura comunistă!"" (in Romanian). Radio Free Europe. 7 November 2009. http://www.europalibera.org/content/article/1871579.html. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- ^ "Moldova: Information Campaign to Increase the Efficiency of Remittance Flows". International Organization for Migration. 10 December 2008. http://iom.ramdisk.net/iom/artikel.php?menu_id=10&artikel_id=557&history_back=true.
- ^ Marandici, Ion, The Factors Leading to the Electoral Success, Consolidation and Decline of the Moldovan Communists' Party During the Transition Period (April 23, 2010). Presented at the Midwestern Political Science Association Convention from April 2010. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1809029
- ^ SevenTimes.ro: "Supporting actions for Moldova's riot", 08 April 2009
- ^ "The protest initiative group: LDPM is the guilty one for the devastations in the Chişinău downtown", April 08, 2009
- ^ Reuters, Moldovan referendum appears to flop on low turnout
- ^ "Moldova going to third election in two years". BBC News. 28 September 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11430570. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- ^ "Marian Lupu elected Head of Parliament". allmoldova. 30 November 2010. http://www.allmoldova.com/en/moldova-news/1249049268.html. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
- ^ a b The Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, 2000. Retrieved 31-10-2010.
- ^ "Moldova Calls On Russian Troops To Leave Transdniestr". http://www.easybourse.com/bourse-actualite/marches/moldova-calls-on-russian-troops-to-leave-transdniestr-574221. [dead link]
- ^ The New York Times, Shooting at Checkpoint Raises Tensions in a Disputed Region Claimed by Moldova
- ^ EU to grant €90 million to crisis-hit Moldova
- ^ Moldova to get $570 million in IMF loans
- ^ Romania, Moldova to Boost Relations
- ^ Poland will support Moldova in its European integration efforts
- ^ First meeting of Romania and Rep. of Moldova Governments, concluded with initialling of several bilateral agreements
- ^ Joint meeting of the Government of Romania and Government of the Republic of Moldova
- ^ Washington Post, Moldova elects pro-European judge Timofti as president, ending 3 years of political deadlock
- ^ Amnesty International, Annual Report 2011
- ^ Ilascu and Others vs. Moldova and Russia
- ^ Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Moldova 2011 Crime and Safety Report
- ^ United States Department of State, 2010 Human Rights Report: Moldova
- ^ Moldova: UN human rights expert calls for more fostering of religious diversity
- ^ "Autorităţi publice locale". Government of Moldova. http://descentralizare.gov.md/regionmap.php?l=ro&idc=310. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
- ^ De-facto independent after the war of Transnistria
- ^ "Europe's poorest country Moldova holds election". Europarl.europa.eu. 2009-04-13. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?language=EN&type=IM-PRESS&reference=20090403STO53395. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
- ^ "INOGATE website". http://www.inogate.org.
- ^ World Economic Outlook Database, April 2009
- ^ "2007 evaluation". http://www.statistica.md/statistics/dat/1114/ro/res_util_alePIB_a2007pr.pdf.
- ^ "15 Countries That Consume The Most Alcohol". CNBC. http://www.cnbc.com/id/41990305/15_Countries_That_Consume_The_Most_Alcohol?slide=16. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
- ^ (Romanian) R. Moldova are deja peste două milioane de utilizatori ai serviciilor de telefonie mobilă – Agenţia Naţionala pentru Reglementare în Comunicaţii Electronice şi Tehnologia Informaţiei (ANRCETI)
- ^ Katie Allen (31 December 2009). "Orange launches HD mobile phone service". # guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/dec/31/orange-launches-hd-mobile-phone-service. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
- ^ International Telecommunication Union – BDT
- ^ Protsyk, Oleh (01 January 2007). "Nation-building in Moldova". Nation and Nationalism. Political and Historical Studies. Andrzej Marcin Suszycki, Ireneusz Pawel Karolewski. Oficyna Wydawnicza Atut Wrocawskie Wydawn. Oswiatowe. ISBN 978-83-7432-261-4. http://www.policy.hu/protsyk/Publications/NationalisminMoldova.pdf.
- ^ "Article 13, line 1 – of Constitution of Republic of Moldova". http://www.e-democracy.md/en/legislation/constitution/.
- ^ (Romanian) Declaraţia de independenţa a Republicii Moldova, Moldova Suverană
- ^ A Field Guide to the Main Languages of Europe – Spot that language and how to tell them apart, on the website of the European Commission
- ^ The law regarding approval of the National Political Conception of the Republic of Moldova stipulates that "The conception is rooted in the historically established truth and confirmed by the common literary treasure: Moldovan nation and Romanian nation use a common literary form "which is based on the live spring of the popular talk from Moldova" — a reality which impregnates the national Moldovan language with a specific peculiar pronunciation, a certain well known and appreciated charm. Having the common origin; common basic lexical vocabulary, the national Moldovan language and national Romanian language keep each their lingvonim/glotonim as the identification sign of each nation: Moldovan and Romanian.'"
- ^ a b (Romanian) "Concepţia politicii naţionale a Republicii Moldova" Moldovan Parliament
- ^ "Marian Lupu: Româna şi moldoveneasca sunt aceeaşi limbă". Realitatea .NET. http://www.realitatea.net/marian-lupu--romana-si-moldoveneasca-sunt-aceeasi-limba_288666.html. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
- ^ Moldavie.fr – Portail francophone de la Moldavie: Le français, première langue étrangère enseignée en Moldavie (French)
- ^ Moldovanu-Batrinac, Viorelia (18 December 2006). "Bologna Process Template for National Reports: 2005–2007 (Moldova)". Bologna Process website. European Higher Education Area. p. 3. http://www.ond.vlaanderen.be/hogeronderwijs/bologna/links/National-reports-2007/National_Report_moldova2007.pdf. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
- ^ "Moldova". https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/md.html.
- ^ a b c d "Human Development Report 2009 – Moldova". Hdrstats.undp.org. http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_MDA.html. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
- ^ "Pulitzer Center Reporting on MDR-TB in Moldova". http://pulitzercenter.org/blog/untold-stories/health-system-declined-tb-increased.
- ^ "Tuberculosis,Former Soviet Nations, China Face High MDR-TB Prevalence". http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=58042.
- ^ Understanding Migration, Emigration from Moldova
- ^ Prince Dimitrie Cantemir was one of the most important figures of Moldavian culture of the 18th century. He wrote the first geographical, ethnographic and economic description of the country. (Latin) Descriptio Moldaviae, (Berlin, 1714), at Latin Wikisource
- ^ Biography of Mihai Eminescu at poemhunter.com
Mihai Eminescu at creatingculturalcapitals.eu
Moldova at refugeesinpa.org
2000: Year of Eminescu at Central Europe Review
Moldova at explore.theculturetrip.com - ^ WHO Global Alcohol Report, Republic of Moldova
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- Official website
- Moldova entry at The World Factbook
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- Wikimedia Atlas of Moldova
- Moldova travel guide from Wikitravel
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| Olia Tira | |
|---|---|
 Olia Tira in Oslo 2010 |
|
| Background information | |
| Born | (1988-08-01) 1 August 1988 (age 23) |
| Origin | Potsdam, East Germany |
| Genres | Pop, Soul |
| Occupations | Singer |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Associated acts | SunStroke Project |
Olia Tira (born 1 August 1988 in Potsdam, East Germany) is a singer based in Moldova.
Early life[link]
Tira was born in 1988 into a Soviet military family[1] in Potsdam, East Germany.[2] She spent a few years there and moved to Chişinău. She first appeared in festivals and concerts when she was 14 years old.[3]
Tira attended school in Cahul and is currently a student in the Academy of Music, Theatre and Fine Arts in Chişinău.[2]
Tira's first album, Your Place or Mine?, was released in December 2006 by Nordika Multimedia. The songs were all written by Ruslan Taranu.[1][3]
Eurovision Song Contest[link]
After participating in the 2006 and 2007 Moldovan national finals[3] and finishing fourth in the 2009 Moldovan national final with Unicul Meu,[4] she was selected to represent Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, along with SunStroke Project.[4][5] They finished 22nd place in the Eurovision song contest final.
References[link]
- ^ a b "evenimente: Olia Tira, cântăreaţa care sparge stereotipurile". Muzica Md. Imco. 2 February 2007. http://muzica.md/news.php?nid=1465. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
- ^ a b "Moldova – "Sun Stroke Project" & Olia Tira". Eurovision Song Contest Oslo 2010. Eurovision Georgia. 2010. http://www.eurovision-georgia.ge/participants/Moldova.aspx?LanguageID=2. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
- ^ a b c Floras, Stella (9 December 2007). "The Olia Tira interview". Special. ESCToday. http://www.esctoday.com/specials/read/9838. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
- ^ a b Brey, Marco (2010-03-06). "Sun". European Broadcasting Union. http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news?id=10103&_t=Sun+Stroke+Project+%26+Olia+Tira+for+Moldova!. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
- ^ Klier, Marcus (2010-03-06). "Moldova sends Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira to Eurovision". ESCToday. http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/15314. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Nelly Ciobanu with Hora Din Moldova |
Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest (with SunStroke Project) 2010 |
Succeeded by Zdob şi Zdub with So Lucky |
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tira, Olia |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 1 August 1988 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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This article related to the Republic of Moldova is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
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| Vika Jigulina | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Victoria Corneva |
| Born | (1986-02-18) February 18, 1986 (age 26)[1] Cahul, Moldova[1] |
| Origin | Timișoara, Romania |
| Genres | Electronic music |
| Occupations | music producer, singer, disc jockey, gymnastic |
| Instruments | Guitar, piano |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | Mayavin Records.Ro |
| Associated acts | Edward Maya |
Vika Jigulina (born Victoria Corneva, February 18, 1986) is a Romanian (from Moldova) music producer, singer, and DJ. She was born in Cahul and graduated from the Rachmaninov School of Music. In 2000, she moved to Timişoara, Romania, where she still lives, and continued her studies there. She worked in various clubs in Timişoara and eventually Bucharest. She landed a weekly show on the Romanian station Radio Deea and later on with VIBE FM that gave her national exposure and fame. In 2010 she became a Romanian citizen.
Jigulina has made mixes with Steve Murrano, ATB, Tomcraft, DJ DOX, Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso, and other Romanian artists. She is the vocalist in the international dance hit "Stereo Love" by Romanian producer and musician Edward Maya. She is also touring with Edward Maya in Canada in March 2011."Stereo Love" won the Billboard Music Awards 2011 for the Top Dance Song. Vika's 4th single, "Mono In Love", is scheduled for release in early 2012 featuring Edward Maya.
Contents |
Discography[link]
Jigulina is currently working with Maya on his debut studio album The Stereo Love Show.
Discography[link]
Singles[link]
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL (FLA) [2] |
CAN [3] |
FRA [4] |
GER [5] |
IRE [6] |
NDL [7] |
POR [8] |
SPA [9] |
SWE [10] |
SWI [11] |
UK [12] |
US [13] |
||||
| 2009 | "Stereo Love" (Edward Maya feat.) | 7 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 16 | The Stereo Love Show[20] (Edward Maya album) |
|
| 2010 | "This Is My Life" (Edward Maya feat.) | 54 | — | 2 | — | — | 42 | 7 | — | 58 | 43 | — | — | ||
| 2011 | "Desert Rain" (Edward Maya feat.) | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
References[link]
- ^ a b Allmusic birth date
- ^ "Belgium's singles positions for Edward Maya". Hung Medien. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/search.asp?lang=nl&cat=s&artist=Edward+Maya&artist_search=starts&title=&title_search=starts. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
- ^ "Billboard: Edward Maya (Canada)". Billboard Magazine. http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100#/artist/edward-maya/chart-history/1355116?f=793&g=Singles. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ^ "France's singles positions for Edward Maya". Hung Medien. http://lescharts.com/search.asp?cat=s&artist=Edward+Maya&artist_search=starts&title=&title_search=starts. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ^ "Chartverfolgung / Maya,Edward Feat.Jigulina,Vika / Single". Musicline.de. http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Maya%2CEdward+Feat.Jigulina%2CVika/single. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ^ "Search the charts". irishcharts.ie. http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ^ "Holland's singles positions for Edward Maya". Hung Medien. http://www.dutchcharts.nl/search.asp?cat=s&artist=Edward+Maya&artist_search=starts&title=&title_search=starts. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ^ "Portugal's singles positions for Edward Maya". Portugal Singles Top 50. http://acharts.us/performer/edward_maya. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ^ "Spain's singles positions for Edward Maya". Hung Medien. http://www.spanishcharts.com/search.asp?cat=s&artist=Edward+Maya&artist_search=starts&title=&title_search=starts. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ^ "Sweden's singles positions for Edward Maya". Hung Medien. http://www.swedishcharts.com/search.asp?cat=s&artist=Edward+Maya&artist_search=starts&title=&title_search=starts. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ^ "Switzerland's singles positions for Edward Maya". Hung Medien. http://www.swisscharts.com/search.asp?cat=s&artist=Edward+Maya&artist_search=starts&title=&title_search=starts. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ^ "Chart Stats: Edward Maya". Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=12581. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
- ^ "Billboard: Edward Maya (US)". Billboard Magazine. http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100#/artist/edward-maya/chart-history/1355116?f=379&g=Singles. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ^ "Ultratop: Goud En Platina Singles 2010". Ultratop. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/certifications.asp?year=2010. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum Certification: October 2010". Canadian Recording Industry Association. http://www.cria.ca/gold/1010_g.php. Retrieved 2010-12-05.
- ^ "Guld og platin 2010: Track platin". IFPI (Denmark). http://www.ifpi.dk/index.php?pk_menu=284. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Edward Maya)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=&strInterpret=Edward+Maya&strTtArt=alle&strAwards=checked. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
- ^ "SEMANA 46: del 15.11.2010 al 21.11.2010". PROMUSICAE. http://promusicae.es/files/listastonos/historial/TOP%2050%20CANCIONES%2010_46.pdf. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ^ "Switzerland Certifications: Awards 2010". Hung Medien. http://www.swisscharts.com/awards.asp?year=2010. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ^ "Edward Maya official site: Desert Rain". edwardmaya.com. http://edwardmaya.com/home/232-edward-maya-feat-vika-jigulina-desert-rain-official-video. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
External links[link]
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Jigulina, Vika |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 1983-02-18 |
| Place of birth | Cahul, Moldavian SSR |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
 |
This article on a Romanian singer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
http://wn.com/Vika_Jigulina
Related pages:
http://fr.wn.com/Vika Jigulina
http://pt.wn.com/Vika Jigulina
http://de.wn.com/Vika Jigulina
http://it.wn.com/Vika Jigulina
http://es.wn.com/Vika Jigulina
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vika_Jigulina
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2009) |
| Nelly Ciobanu | |
|---|---|
 Ciobanu in Moscow, 2009 |
|
| Background information | |
| Born | (1974-10-28) 28 October 1974 (age 37) |
| Origin | Moldova |
| Occupations | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Website | www.nellyciobanu.com |
Nelly Ciobanu (born October 28, 1974) is a Moldovan singer. Ciobanu graduated from music college of the city of Tiraspol. Nelly made her debut on stage in 1993, with her brother as part of duo "Master Dinamit". She represented Moldova in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest.
Contents |
Biography[link]
Career[link]
Ciobanu is a winner of multiple international competitions: in 1998 won second prize at the festival "Yalta - 98" (Ukraine), 1999 "Grand Prix" at the "Discovery" in Bulgaria (for the performance of a song of composer Liviu Stirbu ), the second prize at the festival "Voice of Asia" (Almaty, Kazakhstan), in 2000 - the first prize at the festival "Slavic Bazaar" in Belarus, the bronze medal of "Delphian Games" in Russia, in 2002, the golden prize of the festival "Spring of April" (North Korea), in 2003 - second prize at the festival "New Wave" in Jūrmala, the Grand Prix of K. Shulzhenko contest (Kharkiv, Ukraine), 2nd place in national pre-selection for Eurovision Song Contest 2005, was jury member at "Five Stars. Sings in 11 languages: Romanian, Russian, English, Italian, and even Korean. She has toured with many Russian artists and international stars such as Patricia Kaas and Mike Bolton. On 24 December 2005 her daughter, Mirela Christiana was born.
Eurovision 2009[link]
Nelly Ciobanu represented Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia with the song "Hora Din Moldova" which was written by her and composed by Veaceslav Daniliuc. She ranked 14th with 69 points in the Final.[1]
Eurovision 2012[link]
It was announced on 16 January 2012 that Nelly Ciobanu would try to represent Moldova once more, with the song "Turn on the light"
References[link]
External links[link]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Geta Burlacu with A Century of Love |
Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 |
Succeeded by Sun Stroke Project & Olia Tira with Run Away |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Ciobanu, Nelly |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 28 October 1974 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Nelly_Ciobanu
Related pages:
http://ru.wn.com/Чобану, Нелли
http://fr.wn.com/Nelly Ciobanu
http://nl.wn.com/Nelly Ciobanu
http://pt.wn.com/Nelly Ciobanu
http://de.wn.com/Nelly Ciobanu
http://it.wn.com/Nelly Ciobanu
http://pl.wn.com/Nelly Ciobanu
http://es.wn.com/Nelly Ciobanu
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelly_Ciobanu
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Elena | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Elena Gheorghe in Moscow, Russia in May, 2009 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Elena Gheorghe |
| Also known as | Elena |
| Born | (1985-07-30) July 30, 1985 (age 26) |
| Origin | Bucharest, Romania |
| Genres | Pop, Latino |
| Occupations | Singer |
| Instruments | vocal |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Cat Music, Major |
| Associated acts | Mandinga, Laurentiu Duta, Dony |
| Website | http://elenagheorghe.ro/ |
| Notable instruments | |
| Vocals | |
Elena Gheorghe (born July 30, 1985; Romanian pronunciation: [eˈle.na ˈɡe̯orɡe]) is a Romanian singer of Aromanian descent. She was born to a Priest and and his wife in the village of Clinceni next to Bucharest. She started her musical career as part of a duo along with Adela Popescu. In the first half of the 2000s she joined latin group Mandinga with whom she released a couple of albums and a few hit singles. In 2006 she separated from the group and pursued her solo career. She released two albums and scored a top ten in the Romanian Top 100 with the debut single "Vocea ta" (Your Voice). After an internal selection, Gheorghe was elected to represent Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "The Balkan Girls" wrote by Laurentiu Duta. She came the second in the voting result, but as the jury voted for her, she won the National Final. At Eurovision, in Moscow she qualified for the Grand Final where she came the nineteenth after accumulating a total of 40 points (12 points from Moldova). After Eurovision she became more famous Europe-wide and released her signature song "Disco Romancing" which was a smash hit in Romania as well as a top-ten in Hungary and a mild success in Czech Republic, Netherlands, Poland or Slovakia. The following single "Midnight Sun" was a top-ten success in the Dutch Top 40 and in the Romanian Top 100. In 2011 she collaborated with Dony and released the single "Hot Girls" which once again charted troughout Europe. The same year she had her first European tour, getting to Germany, Spain or Greece. In the summer she got engaged with her producer and before Christmas she gave birth to a boy named Nicolas. Her latest single is called "Your Captain Tonight".
Contents |
Early life and career beginnings[link]
Elena Gheorghe was born on July 30, 1985 in the village of Clinceni next to Bucharest, the capital city of Bucharest in the family of priest Gheorghe Gheorghe. Many of her ancestors were Orthodox priests. Elena has a sister, Ana, who is a journalist and her brother, Costin, plays football for Sportul Studenţesc. Her mother, Mărioara Gheorghe is a folk artist. Elena debuted on the folk music scene with her when just three years of age with the song Sus în Deal în Poieniţă.
At age 11 she joined the Children's National Palace where she took singing lessons. In 2000 she won the gold trophy Little Bear (in Baia Mare) with One Moment In Time by Whitney Houston. In 2001 she participated in the Mamaia Festival. Elena Gheorghe is of both Romanian and Macedonian Aromanian background.[1][2]
Career[link]
2002—05: Career as part of Mandinga[link]
Elena started singing with Mandinga, a very successful band in the 'Latino'genre in early 2003. In June that year, Mandinga released their first album – ...De Corazón. Mandinga was placed 4th in the Romanian National Eurovision Selection in March 2005 with the song My Sun which was awarded a golden disc one year later. In January 2006, she opened her own dance school called Passitos and a month later ended the collaboration with Mandinga, starting her solo career with the help of musical producer Laurenţiu Duţă.
2006—08: Solo career beginnings[link]
In June 2006 Elena released her first solo album, entitled Your Voice.In March 2007 Elena won the prize Radio România Actualitaţi for best performing act in 2006 and was nominated for the Best Song of 2006 section with the song Your Voice. In August 2007 at the Romanian Top Hit Music Awards, Elena won the award for Best Song of 2007, with the song Your Brown Eyes. Some of her songs are sung in aromanian language as Ma ţi s-adar, Lilicea Vreariei, and others.
2009: Eurovision Song Contest[link]
In late 2008, songwriter Laurentiu Duta offered Elena a song to submit in the Romanian pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Right after New Year's Eve 2009 it was announced that Gheorghe was one of 24 semi-finalists. She competed in the semi-final and then passed to the National Final on January 31, 2009. There she came second after televoting but the jury helped her win the selection thus representing Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "The Balkan Girls". She started a promo tour allover Europe from February to May. Meanwhile, the song was already setting records as in became the first Eurovision song to be a number-one in the Romanian Top 100 and Elena's first number-one there. The song was performed in the second half of the first semi-final on May 12 in Moscow, Russia where it was in the first top ten positions, at number-nine with 67 points. She preceded towards the Grand Final of May 16. Then it was performed the twenty-second song of the evening and Gheorghe presented a concept show about wooden fairies called Iele in Romania. She came the nineteenth that night gaining forty points including 12 points from Moldova, 7 points from Spain, five from Turkey and Macedonia, etc.[3]
2010—present: European recognition and motherhood[link]
Discography[link]
Studio albums[link]
- 2006 Vocea Ta
- 2008 Lilicea Vreariei
- 2008 Te Ador
- TBA Midnight Sun
Singles[link]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROM [4] |
NLD [5] |
SVK [6] |
UK [7] |
||||||||||
| "Vocea ta" | 2006 | 8 | — | — | — | Vocea ta | |||||||
| "Ochii tăi căprui" | 2007 | 21 | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Te ador" | 2008 | 24 | — | — | — | Te ador | |||||||
| "Până la stele" | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "The Balkan Girls" | 2009 | 1 | — | — | 172 | ||||||||
| "Disco Romancing" | 2010 | 1 | 19 | 24 | 199 | Midnight Sun | |||||||
| "Midnight Sun" | 5 | 9 | 61 | — | |||||||||
| "Hot Girls" (with Dony) | 2011 | 12 | — | 35 [8] |
— | ||||||||
| "Your Captain Tonight" | — | 95 | 38 | — | |||||||||
| "Amar tu Vida" | 2012 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "—" denotes single that did not chart or was not released | |||||||||||||
References[link]
- ^ Biography of Elena Gheorghe on her official website.
- ^ Report from Cotidianul newspaper
- ^ http://www.eurovision.tv
- ^ "Romanian Charts". http://romaniantop100.blogspot.com/2012/01/statistics-inna.html. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
- ^ "Dutch Top 40 > Elena" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. http://www.top40.nl/search.aspx?keyword=elena. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
- ^ Kvasnička, Matúš (2010-04-19). "Forget About Aurel: The Slovak IFPI Is Finishing". PRAVDA. PEREX. kultura.pravda.sk. http://kultura.pravda.sk/zabudnite-na-aurela-slovenska-ifpi-konci-ffq-/sk_khudba.asp?c=A100418_145945_sk_khudba_p46. Retrieved 2011-04-20. (Slovak)
- ^ "UK Charts > Elena". Official Charts Company. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/artist/_/inna/. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
- ^ http://www.ifpicr.cz/hitparadask/index.php?a=titul&hitparada=18&titul=146741&sec=849148434828c4658b78a5c0d3ddd3dc
External links[link]
| Preceded by Nico & Vlad with "Pe-o margine de lume" |
Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 |
Succeeded by Paula Seling & Ovi with "Playing with Fire" |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Gheorghe, Elena |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 1985-07-30 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Elena_Gheorghe
Related pages:
http://it.wn.com/Elena Gheorghe
http://id.wn.com/Elena Gheorghe
http://es.wn.com/Elena Gheorghe
http://ru.wn.com/Георге, Елена
http://nl.wn.com/Elena Gheorghe
http://pt.wn.com/Elena Gheorghe
http://pl.wn.com/Elena Gheorghe
http://fr.wn.com/Elena Gheorghe
http://de.wn.com/Elena Gheorghe
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elena_Gheorghe
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
