Moldovans in Ukraine

Moldovans in Ukraine are the third biggest minority recorded in the 2001 All Ukrainian Census after Russians and Belarusians. Unlike many other minorities, Moldovans often live in the countryside (71.5%) rather than in a city (28.5%), the majority in the northern and southern historical region of Bessarabia.

There is an ongoing controversy whether Moldovans are part of the larger Romanian ethnic group or a separate ethnicity.

History

After 1812, Russian Empire annexed Bessarabia from Moldavia. Initially, Romanians under Russian rule enjoyed privileges well, the language of Moldavians was established as an official language in the governmental institutions of Bessarabia, used along with Russian, as more than 90% of the population was Romanian. The publishing works established by Archbishop Gavril Bănulescu-Bodoni were able to produce books and liturgical works in Moldavian between 1815 and 1820.

From 1829 to 1905, the Russification policies were implemented and all public use of Romanian was phased out, being substituted with Russian. Romanian continued to be used as the colloquial language of home and family, mostly spoken by Romanians, either first or second language. Many Romanians changed their family names to Russian. This was the era of the highest level of assimilation in the Russian Empire.Colesnic-Codreanca, Lidia. ''Limba Română în Basarabia. Studiu sociolingvistic pe baza materialelor de arhivă (1812–1918)'' ("The Romanian language in Bessarabia. A sociolinguistic study based on archival materials (1812–1918)"). Chișinău: Editorial Museum, 2003.

In 1918, Bessarabia united with the Kingdom of Romania.

In 1940, Bessarabia was annexed by the Soviet Union. Around 65% of Bessarabia is part of the modern-day Moldova, with the Ukrainian Budjak region (part of the Odessa Oblast) covering the southern coastal region, and part of the Ukrainian Chernivtsi Oblast covering an area in the north.

Demographics

The number of Moldovans was 258,619 in 2001 (the 2001 Ukrainian Census). The people identifying themselves as Moldovans represented a majority in Novoselytsia Raion (Chernivtsi Oblast) and Reni Raion (Odessa Oblast) before the 2020 administrative reform of Ukraine. The number of Romanians, at the same 2001 Census, was 151,100.

Notable representatives

* Sophia Rotaru
* Tatiana Gutsu
* Vasyl Tsushko

See also

* Moldova–Ukraine relations
*Ukrainians in Moldova
*Romanians in Ukraine
*Moldovan diaspora
* New Serbia, a province in the Russian Empire where colonists from Moldavia were the majority
* Slavo-Serbia, another province of the Russian Empire that had a notable minority of colonists from Moldavia

References

{{Moldovan diaspora

Ukraine
Ethnic groups in Ukraine