 | ||
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%), majority in northern and southern historical region of Bessarabia.
Contents
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 Romania. 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 95% of the population was Romanian. The publishing works established by Archbishop Gavril Bănulescu-Bodoni were able to produce books and lithurgical works in Moldavian between 1815 and 1820., until the period from 1871 to 1905, when Russification policies were implemented that all public use of Romanian was phased out, and 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.
In 1940, Bessarabia was claimed by Soviet Union, meaning Bessarabia came back to Russian power, wherein Bessarabia is now part of Moldova and Ukraine.
Location and number
The number of Moldovans was 258,619 in 2001 (the 2001 Ukrainian Census). The people identifying themselves as Moldovans represent a majority in Novoselitsa Raion and Reni Raion.