Chițcani ( mo-Cyrl, Кицкань, ; ; ) is a commune in Căușeni District, in south-eastern

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

. It consists of the village ''Chițcani'' and two small villages (hamlets), ''Merenești'' and ''Zahorna''. Chițcani is situated to the south-east of the city of Tighina (Bender). The locality, although situated on the right (western) bank of the river

Dniester The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Uk ...

, is under the control of the breakaway

Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...

n authorities. On the opposite side of the river lies the city of

Tiraspol Tiraspol (, ; also /; , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Transnistria, a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the third-largest city. The city is located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River. Tiraspol is a regional hub of cul ...

. The village is also well known as the home of the Noul Neamț Monastery. The monastery was closed when Moldova was under the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. It was then used as a hospital, a storehouse, then as a makeshift museum.

History

Chițcani is one of the oldest recorded villages in

, its history dating back to 1367. The name of the village means '

shrew Shrews ( family Soricidae) are small mole-like mammals classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, West Indies shrews, or marsupial shrews, which belong to dif ...

s' in

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

. In the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, the village was part of ''Plasa Căușani'' of Tighina County in Romania. During the 1992

War of Transnistria The Transnistria War (; ) was an armed conflict that broke out on 2 November 1990 in Dubăsari between pro-Transnistria (Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, PMR) forces, including the Transnistrian Republican Guard, militia and neo- Cossack un ...

, especially during the months of June and July, Chițcani was the scene of several gun-battles between the Moldovan police and army on one side, and Transnistrian separatists and Russia's 14th Army on the other side. After the Moldovans retreated when the war ended, the village was the scene of human rights abuses perpetrated by the Transnistrians, who took revenge on the locals that had supported the Moldovan police. According to the

Helsinki Committee for Human Rights Helsinki Committees for Human Rights exist in many European countries (and in the wider OSCE region) as volunteer, non-profit organizations devoted to the protection of human rights. It was presumably named after the Helsinki Accords. It was for ...

in Moldova, there were some alleged 20 killings between 1996 and 2000. Moldovan authorities have stated that they have no access to the village to investigate these cases, while Transnistrian authorities denied the allegations and refused to investigate. On 25 September 2023, at approximately 00:50 in the morning, the warhead of an S-300 missile fell into Chițcani, in a resident's garden. There were no victims, but the incident caused fear among the locals, this being a densely populated area, from Tiraspol. At the moment, it was not known what country fired the missile or which trajectory did it follow before crashing. This was the first such incident to take place in Transnistria since the start of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

Demographics

According to the 2004 census, the population of the commune stands at 9,266 people, of which 4,921 ethnic

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

, 3,153 ethnic

Moldovans Moldovans, sometimes referred to as Moldavians (, , ), are an ethnic group native to Moldova, who mostly speak the Romanian language, also referred to locally as Moldovan language, Moldovan. Moldovans form significant communities in Romania, It ...

, and 969 ethnic

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

. At the 1930 Romanian Census, there were 4,744 inhabitants in Chițcani, including the 2,456 Romanians, 2,146 Russians, 71

Ruthenians A ''Ruthenian'' and ''Ruthene'' are exonyms of Latin language, Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common Ethnonym, ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term ...

and

, 35

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, 16

Gypsies {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , ...

, 7

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

, 3

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

, 2

Gagauzians The Gagauz (; ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to southern Moldova (Gagauzia, Taraclia District, Basarabeasca District) and southwestern Ukraine (Budjak). Gagauz are mostly Eastern Orthodox Christians. The term Gagauz is also often used ...

, and 8 unclear. 2,426 people named

as native language, 2,245 named

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

, 35 named

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

, 27 named Ukrainian, 5 named

Gypsy {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...

, 3 named Bulgarian, 2 named Turkish, and 1 non-declared.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chitcani Communes of Căușeni District Populated places under Transnistrian control Bessarabia Governorate