MOLDOVA

History

The Republic of Moldova (conventional long form, conventional short form: Moldova, local official long form: Republica Moldova) is a landlocked country in eastern Europe, located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the east. Moldova's territory was inhabited in ancient times by Dacians. Due to its strategic location on a route between Asia and Europe, Moldova has suffered from several invasions, including those of the Kievan Rus' and the Mongols.

Historically part of the Principality of Moldava, it was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1812 and reunited with other Romanian lands in Romania in 1918. After the Soviet Union occupied the region of Bessarabia during World War II, the Soviets began a campaign to create an Moldovan ethnic identity different from the one of the Romanians, who were said to be "capitalist oppressors".

The Soviet official policy also stated that Romanian and Moldovan were two different languages and Moldovan was written in Cyrillic alphabet, as opposed to Romanian, which was written in Latin alphabet.

Along with the other peripheral Soviet republics, Moldova started to move towards independence from 1991 onwards; in August 1991, Moldova declared its independence and in December of that year became a member of the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States along with most of the former Soviet republics. At the end of that year, an ex-communist reformer, Mircea Snegur, won an election for the presidency. Four months later, the country achieved formal recognition as an independent state at the United Nations.

Economy
Moldava is classified as the poorest country in Europe, and the country is heavily in dept to foreign countries. The reform-process is slow, and Moldava is struggling with large economical and social problems.

Moldova enjoys a favorable climate and good farmland but has no major mineral deposits. Nearly 90% of Moldava area is cultivated, and as a result, the economy depends heavily on agriculture, featuring fruits, vegetables, Moldovan wine, and tobacco. Wine has being cultivated since ancient times in the territory of Dacia. However, the current wine tradition dates from around the time of the founding of Moldavia. The earliest wineries were set up in Cotnari and Hârlău the western part of Moldavia, now part of Romania. The type of the vines is Tokaj, which enforces the supposition that they were planted once with the founding of Moldavia as a Hungarian vassal.

Wine was one of the chief exports of Moldavia throughout the medieval period, especially to Poland, Ukraine and Russia. Because it was a ware that was always easily sold, it was the only product for which the taxes were paid with silver coins, such as Greek hyperperos. For other agricultural wares, such as wheat, the taxes were paid in products, usually one tenth of the production.In 2006, a diplomatic conflict with Russia began after the 2006 Russian ban of Moldovan and Georgian wines.

More than 50 % of the exports are constituted from foodstuffs, and Russia and Romania are the largest trade partners. Moldova is totally in lack of natural resources, and must import all of its supplies of petroleum, coal, and natural gas, largely from Russia. Energy shortages contributed to sharp production declines after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

As part of an ambitious economic liberalization effort, Moldova introduced a convertible currency, freed all prices, stopped issuing preferential credits to state enterprises, backed steady land privatization, removed export controls, and freed interest rates. The government entered into agreements with the World Bank and the IMF 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 2002, in part because of the reforms and because of starting from a small base. Further liberalization is in doubt because of strong political forces backing government controls. The economy remains vulnerable to higher fuel prices, poor agricultural weather, and the skepticism of foreign investors.

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.

Despite these efforts, and despite the recent resumption of economic growth, Moldova still 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 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 the European countries according to the income per capita.

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Salvation Army in Moldava

The Salvation Army began evangelical and humanitarian services in Moldova, a small country situated next to Romania in 1993. Captains Sven-Erik and Kathleen Ljungholm made several visits from Kiev to Moldova to prepare for the opening of the work there. Captain Kathleen Ljungholm was present with Majors Wesley and Ruth Sundin (USA Western Territory) for the first meeting in October, 1993.

Three corps and a regional office had been established within three years. When Majors Sundin were transferred to the Russia North region in 1996, Captains Will and Sue Cundiff (USA Southern Territory) were appointed Regional Officers. They found a real enthusiasm for Christ, and for expansion, among the new Salvationists.

The serious economic situation created when Moldova separated from the USSR, intensified during a civil war that created the break-away region of Transdniestria, (an area more closely allied to Russia than the rest of Moldova.) It was in the capital city of Dubasari that local officers began Army work in April 1996. Although the local people enthusiastically welcomed the Army, the government shut it down within a few months. Through the continued efforts of lay Salvationists, the Dubasari Corps was allowed to re-open in April 1997.

A remarkable feature of the Army’s development in Moldova is that the work and opportunities to serve grew faster than officer leadership could be trained. Many capable local officers successfully led corps, opened new outposts, and provided care to the needy. In July 1997, Envoys Pavel and Anna Bucalov opened The Salvation Army in Beltsi, Moldova. Their personal Christian faith had been tried during the Communist era when their house was burned down because they had been holding Bible studies in their home. When the Army came to Moldova, the Bucalovs embraced its mission and became enthusiastic and effective leaders.

The spiritual growth of the Beltsi Corps resulted in soldiers opening four thriving outposts in nearby towns and villages. Moldova has sent more cadets to be trained in the Institute for Officer Training than any other region in the territory, and as commissioned officers, Moldovans have served in all five countries of the territory.

In addition to Sunday meetings, group Bible studies, and other corps activities, soldiers in Moldova helped to deliver much needed humanitarian aid generously provided by European organizations and Salvationists. One small but successful project is a medical clinic in the capital, Chisinau, with an attached mobile clinic that travels to villages serving people who otherwise would have no access to medical care.

Although at present Moldova is the ‘poorest country in Europe’, the Salvationists are not only contributing to the support of their corps as they are able, but a number of soldiers have tried to raise funds for the corps by growing crops like beets on unused land.

The Salvation Army in Moldova received national registration as a religious organization in 1998, allowing freedom for both religious and social services. The elected Communist-led government decided to require all religious groups to re-register from July 2003, and the Army is in process of doing this.