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Most of Moldovan territory was a part of the Principality of Moldavia from the 14th century until 1812, when it was ceded to the Russian Empire by the Ottoman Empire (to which Moldavia was a vassal state) and became known as Bessarabia. During the periods 1812-1917 and 194489, Moldovans were influenced by Russian and Soviet administrative control as well and by ethnic Russian immigration.[222]. [147], Once possessing a range from the British Isles through Central Asia over the Bering Strait into Alaska and Canada's Yukon as well as the Northwest Territories, saigas survived in Moldova and Romania into the late 18th century. [17] Human trafficking of Moldovan women and children to other parts of Europe is a serious problem. Resisting pre-election pressures for selective spending increases and returning to the path of fiscal consolidation would reduce reliance on exceptionally high donor support. Moldova portal. Conrad Landin takes a look at the country and its tormented past. [218] According to a 2009 study, Moldova was struggling with one of the highest incidence rates of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in the world. 28 February 2023. But there live also about 30% of Russians, Ucraineans and some smaller minorities which are non-slavic. Slovakia - 5,414,000. While this was significantly lower than 94 percent in 2002, Moldova's poverty rate is still more than double the ECA average of 25 percent. Like Poland, the country has seen its population decline since the fall of communism. [175], On 6 June 2012, the Government approved the licensing of 4G / LTE for mobile operators. After the 19901992 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 co-operating with the OSCE and UN fact-finding and observer missions. More than 10,000 supporters turn out for home internationals. [27] The Bolohoveni disappeared from written chronicles after they were defeated in 1257 by Daniel of Galicia. They were considered a characteristic animal of Scythia in antiquity. The band SunStroke Project with Olia Tira represented the country in the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest with their hit song "Run Away". But, says Eastern Europe scholar. By ethnic composition, the population of Transnistria was distributed as follows: Russians - 29.1%, Moldovans - 28.6%, Ukrainians - 22.9%, Bulgarians - 2.4%, Gagauzians - 1.1%, Belarusians - 0.5%, Transnistrian - 0.2%, other nationalities - 1.4%. 36 din 05.12.2013 privind interpretarea articolului 13 alin. During the periods 19401941 and 19441953, deportations of locals to the northern Urals, to Siberia, and northern Kazakhstan occurred regularly, with the largest ones on 1213 June 1941, and 56 July 1949, accounting from MSSR alone for 18,392[f] and 35,796 deportees respectively. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for College Slavic Treasures University of Kansas KU Jayhawks Diner Village Figurine at the best online prices at eBay! The governing body is the Moldovan Football Federation, which belongs to UEFA. It does not have nuclear, biological, chemical or radiological weapons. In a country with a population of 3.5 million, of which 1 million are abroad, there are more than 700,000 pensioners. [94] Parliamentary elections took place on 11 July 2021. The Moldovan language (or dialect) differs only . In November 2013, Moldova initialed an Association Agreement with the EU which includes provisions establishing a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA). [144] The movement is national representative of the Center "Naturopa" of the Council of Europe and United Nations Environment Programme of the United Nations. Most of Moldova's Jewish population emigrated between 1979 and 2004. [231] The most prestigious cycling race is the Moldova President's Cup, which was first run in 2004. 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. [17] The unrecognised state of Transnistria lies across the Dniester river on the country's eastern border with Ukraine. Its territory comprised the present-day territory of the Republic of Moldova, the eastern eight counties of Romania, and parts of the Chernivtsi Oblast and Budjak region of present-day Ukraine. Greeks, Armenians, Poles, Ukrainians, although not numerous, were present as early as the 17th century, and have contributed cultural marks. Deforestation, demographic pressure, as well as excessive hunting eradicated the native saiga herds which is currently threatened with extinction. The history of what is today Moldova has been intertwined with that of Poland for centuries. Ukraine. In October 1939, Radio Basarabia, a local station of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company, was the first radio station opened in Chiinu. With a per capita GNI of $3,540, Ukraine is the poorest country in Europe as of 2020. The country acceded to the provisions of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in October 1994 in Washington, D.C. The 1994 Constitution of Moldova sets the framework for the government of the country. [223] The largest ethnic group, which had come to identify itself widely as "Moldovan" by the 14th century, played a significant role in the shaping of classical Romanian culture. . Austrians are Germanic, not Slavic; Hungarians are not Slavic, neither are Romanians or Greeks. Nevertheless, the Constitutional Court ruled on 4 March 2016, that this constitutional change adopted in 2000 regarding the presidential election was unconstitutional,[111] thus reverting the election method of the president to a two-round system direct election. [58], In the postwar period, the Soviet government organized the immigration of working age Russian speakers (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. Olympic medalists include Sergei Mureiko, Oleg Moldovan, Vitalie Gruac, Veaceslav Gojan, and Serghei Tarnovschi. Moldova is a small country nestled between Romania and Ukraine. With the nationalist Popular Front now in a parliamentary minority, new measures aiming to moderate the ethnic tensions in the country could be adopted. Before the election of Timofti, Moldova had had three acting presidents in three years. The Metropolis of Chiinu and All Moldova (the Moldovan Orthodox Church), autonomous and subordinated to the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Metropolis of Bessarabia (the Bessarabian Orthodox Church), autonomous and subordinated to the Romanian Orthodox Church, both claim to be the national church of the country. The heaviest rainfall occurs in early summer and again in October; heavy showers and thunderstorms are common. (1) din Constituie n corelaie cu Preambulul Constituiei i Declaraia de Independen a Republicii Moldova (Sesizrile nr. The Republic of Moldova was ranked 64th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, down from 58th in 2019. An anti-government protests in front of the general prosecutor's headquarters in Moldova's capital, Chiinu. The country finally achieved its political independence from the Soviet Union in August 1991. W.Slavic includes languages such as Czech , Polish and Slovak . This gesture was to have unexpected consequences: Petru supplied the Polish ruler with funds needed in the war against the Teutonic Knights, and was granted control over Pokuttya until the debt was to be repaid; as this is not recorded to have been carried out, the region became disputed by the two states, until it was lost by Moldavia in the Battle of Obertyn (1531). Locals referred to the principality as Moldova - like the present-day republic and Romania's north-eastern region. Additionally, because the election results were verified on 9 March, three months should be interpreted as three calendar months, not 90 days as was the case. To bridge this gap with respect to paternal lineages, we analyzed 37 binary and 17 multiallelic (STRs) polymorphisms on the non-recombining portion of the Y chromosome in . The miracle about them is that, although genetically they basically are just germans, slavs and romanians melted by force and deception into this nation, the language could be imposed. Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. In February 2022 Sandu condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling it "a blatant breach of international law and of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity. [166] 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. [142] Forests currently cover only 11% of Moldova, though the state is making efforts to increase their range. "[133] 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 Chiinu, in September 2011. [20], The name Moldova is derived from the Moldova River (German: Moldau); the valley of this river served as a political centre at the time of the foundation of the Principality of Moldavia in 1359. In the 21st century, the primary foreign language taught in the schools is English. Many families have their own recipes and grape varieties that have been passed down through the generations. [220], Emigration is a mass phenomenon in Moldova and has a major impact on the country's demographics and economy. They are natives of Central, Eastern, Southeast, and Northeast Europe as well as Central and North Asia. 8b/2013 i 41b/2013)", "Population Census 2004: Population by main nationalities, mother tongue and language usually spoken", National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova, "Structure of population by language usually used for communication and age groups on 2014 census", "English the most preferred foreign language among Moldovan students", "DN Carnevale - A Context-Grounded Approach to Religious Freedom: The Case of Orthodoxy in the Moldovan Republic", "2020 Report on International Religious Freedom: Moldova", "Bologna Process Template for National Reports: 20052007 (Moldova)", "Romnia ofer tinerilor moldoveni 5.000 de burse n licee i universiti", "Presedintele Klaus Iohannis l-a primit, la Suceava, pe Nicolae Timofti: "Republica Moldova isi poate implini destinul doar in Uniunea Europeana. [219], The percentage of adults (aged 1549) living with HIV/AIDS was estimated in 2009 at 0.40%. [211] In two days, loans worth US$1 billion were transferred in to United Kingdom and Hong Kong-registered companies whose ultimate owners are unknown. The country also has important minority ethnic communities, as shown in the table below. 2 December]1917) within a federal Russian state, and formed a government (21 December[O.S. It ended with a ceasefire and the establishment of a security zone policed by a three-way peacekeeping force of Russian, Transnistrian, and Moldovan personnel. Moldova largely achieved the main objectives of the combined ECF/EFF (IMF financial credit) supported program. Ruxandra Lupu, the daughter of Moldavian voivode Vasile Lupu who married Tymish Khmelnytsky, lived in Racov according to Ukrainian tradition. 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. This system was designed to decrease executive authority in favour of the legislature. Article 13 of the Moldovan Constitution names it "the national language of the country" (the . The Russian strike was targeting a Ukrainian dam on the Nistru river that runs through Moldova and Ukraine. The culture of Moldova is influenced primarily by the Romanian origins of its majority population, while also being heavily indebted to the Slavic and minority Gagauz populations. In May 1919, the Bessarabian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed as a government in exile. In 2013 more than 60% of schoolchildren took it as their first foreign language. The Principality of Moldavia was bounded by the Carpathian Mountains in the west, the Dniester River in the east, and the Danube River and Black Sea to the south. [81], In the December 2016 presidential election, Socialist, pro-Russian Igor Dodon was elected as the new president of the republic. Moldovans, sometimes referred to as Moldavians ( Romanian: moldoveni [moldoven], Moldovan Cyrillic: ), is a term used to describe the Romanian-speaking indigenous people of the Republic of Moldova and the largest self-declared ethnic group of the Republic of Moldova (75.1% of the population as of 2014) as well as a significant minority [citation needed] One Russian and two local channels are aired. [64][65] Along with several other Soviet republics, from 1988 onwards, Moldova started to move towards independence. [106] On 5 December, another missile fell near the city of Briceni as Russia launched another wave of missile strikes against Ukraine. Moldova Formerly known as Bessarabia, this region was an integral part of the Romanian principality of Moldavia until 1812, when it was ceded to Russia by its suzerain, the sultan of the Ottoman Empire. [61] 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. Mircea Snegur was elected as Speaker of the Parliament, and Mircea Druc as Prime Minister. The prehistory of Moldova covers the period from the Upper Paleolithic which begins with the presence of Homo sapiens in the area of Southeastern Europe some 44,000 years ago and extends into the appearance of the first written records in Classical Antiquity in Greece. Gagauz, 4.4% of the population, are Christian Turkic people. Between the end of the Second JassyKishinev 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. [186], According to the last census in Transnistria (October 2015), the population of the region was 475,373, a 14.47% decrease from the figure recorded at the 2004 census. [64], 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), an independent Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed on 16 August 1990, with its capital in Tiraspol. Moldova is a little land-locked country squeezed in between Northern Romania and Southern Ukraine with 2,6 million inhabitants. The main means of transportation in Moldova are railways 1,138km (707mi) and a highway system (12,730km or 7,910mi overall, including 10,937km or 6,796mi of paved surfaces). However, delays in policy implementation prevented completion of the final reviews under the ECF/EFF arrangements. The Romanian majority living there is of course latin. The retirement age will be lifted gradually by a few months every year until it is fully in effect in 2028. Then Zdob i Zdub again represented Moldova in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest finishing 12th. Moldavia finally returned to Ottoman vassalage in 1621. On 30 October 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 number of students per 10,000 inhabitants in Moldova has been constantly growing since the collapse of the Soviet Union, reaching 217 in 20002001, and 351 in 20052006. Moldova signed a military agreement with Romania to strengthen regional security. The total land area is 33,851km2 (13,070sqmi). The capital city is Chisinau. Crossing the Carpathian mountains in 1359, the voivode took control of Moldavia and succeeded in creating Moldavia as an independent political entity. [84] However, on 8 June, the NOW Platform DA and PAS reached an agreement with the Socialist party forming a government led by Maia Sandu as the new prime minister, pushing the Democratic Party out of power. . 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. The acting president Mihai Ghimpu instituted the Commission for constitutional reform in Moldova to adopt a new version of the Constitution of Moldova. 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. Rugby union is popular as well. [163] Moldova has also achieved a Free Visa Regime[164] with the EU which represents the biggest achievement of Moldovan diplomacy since independence. [59][60] In 19461947, at least 216,000 deaths and about 350,000 cases of dystrophy were accounted by historians in the Moldavian SSR alone. In 1538, the principality became a tributary to the Ottoman Empire, but it retained internal and partial external autonomy. [119][120] 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 in 2012. [216] The life expectancy in 2015 was estimated at 70.42 years (66.55 years male, 74.54 years female). Moldova. The country is landlocked, though it is close to the Black Sea; at its closest point it is separated from the Dniester Liman, an estuary of the Black Sea, by only 3km of Ukrainian territory. To date, no comprehensive studies exist about the population genetic structure of modern Moldavians. Their performance gained international notoriety as an internet meme due to the pelvic thrusting and dancing of Sergey Stepanov, the band saxophonist. [140], Phytogeographically, Moldova is split between the East European Plain and the PonticCaspian steppe of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. Carpian tribes also inhabited Moldova's territory in the period of classical antiquity. Ialpug flows into one of the Danube limans, while Coglnic into the Black Sea chain of limans. [139] The lowest temperature ever recorded was 35.5C (31.9F) on 20 January 1963 in Brtueni, Edine county. The 1989 Language Law of the Moldavian SSR, which is still in effect in Moldova, according to the Constitution, asserts a "linguistic Moldo-Romanian identity". [86] The Constitutional Court reversed the decision on 15 June, effectively ending the crisis. Slavic people mostly live in Eastern and south/central Europe, but not every country there is majority Slavic. 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. [88] On 17 March, Parliament declared a state of emergency for at least 60 days, suspended all international flights and closed borders with neighbours Romania and Ukraine. [121][full citation needed], On 29 November 2013, at a summit in Vilnius, Moldova signed an association agreement with the European Union dedicated to the European Union's 'Eastern Partnership' with ex-Soviet countries. Serbia - $7,666. The first million mobile telephone users were registered in September 2005. It did not happen for instance with Bulgars. Answer (1 of 10): Romania isn't the only non Slavic country . The most successful football club is Sheriff Tiraspol, the first and only Moldovan club to qualify for the group stage of the Champions League and the Europa League. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The matter of whether or not Moldovan is a separate language continues to be contested politically within and beyond the Republic of Moldova. In the field of pop music, Moldova has produced the band O-Zone, who came to prominence in 2003, with their hit song "Dragostea Din Tei", which topped multiple notable single charts. [217] Health expenditure was US$138 (PPP) per capita in 2004. The largest city in Moldova is Chiinu with a population of 635,994 people. [166] There are 16 state and 15[201] private institutions of higher education in Moldova, with a total of 126,100 students, including 104,300 in the state institutions and 21,700 in the private ones. The western border of Moldova is formed by the Prut river, which joins the Danube before flowing into the Black Sea. [193], In 2013, the Constitutional Court of Moldova ruled that the name "Romanian", as used in the Declaration of Independence to identify the official language, prevails over the name "Moldovan", given in Article 13 of the Constitution.[194]. [199] 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. [82], In 2019, from 7 to 15 June, the Moldovan government went through a period of dual power in what is known as the 2019 Moldovan constitutional crisis. The head of state is the President of Moldova, who between 2001 and 2015 was elected by the Moldovan Parliament, requiring the support of three-fifths of the deputies (at least 61 votes). Declaring itself a neutral state, Moldova did not join the military branch of the CIS. In 1995 the country was admitted to the Council of Europe. It occupies an area of 92,046 square miles and has a population of slightly more than 20 million people. [211], The total fertility rate (TFR) in Moldova was estimated in 2015 at 1.56 children/woman,[213] which is below the replacement rate of 2.1. Christmas is celebrated either on 7 January, the traditional date in Old Calendarists Eastern Orthodox Churches, or on 25 December, with both dates being recognized as public holidays. [114], In September 2010, the European Parliament approved a grant of 90 million to Moldova. [152] Moldova's remarkable recovery from the severe recession of 2009 was largely the result of sound macroeconomic and financial policies and structural reforms. Main dishes include beef, pork, potatoes, cabbage, and a variety of cereals. As a 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. Furthermore, no revision can be made to limit the fundamental rights of people enumerated in the Constitution. The summers are warm and long, with temperatures averaging about 20C (68F) and the winters are relatively mild and dry, with January temperatures averaging 4C (25F). In the 11th century, a Viking by the name of Rodfos was possibly killed in the area by the Blakumen who betrayed him. On 21 December 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). The economy of Moldova began to change in 2001; and until 2008, the country saw a steady annual growth between 5% and 10%. Poland (38+ million) and Ukraine (45+ million) round out the top three highest Slav populations in the world. In 1993, the Government of Moldova introduced a new national currency, the Moldovan leu, to replace the temporary cupon. The Treaty of Paris (1856) returned the southern part of Bessarabia (later organised as the Cahul, Bolgrad and Ismail counties) to Moldavia, which remained an autonomous principality and, in 1859, united with Wallachia to form Romania. Over the longer term, Moldova's economy remains vulnerable to political uncertainty, weak administrative capacity, vested bureaucratic interests, corruption, higher fuel prices, Russian pressure, and the separatist regime in Moldova's Transnistria region. In the 1980s, amid political conditions created by glasnost and perestroika, a Democratic Movement of Moldova was formed, which in 1989 became known as the nationalist Popular Front of Moldova (FPM). The Moldavian SSR . 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. Moldova received official recognition on 25 December. Moldovan [citation needed] Infotag is the state news agency. The Russian influence was intensified in Bessarabia after it was handed over [34] to the Russian Empire and becoming a Soviet Republic . In agriculture, the economic reform started with the land cadastre reform. The implementation of structural reforms outlined in the National Development Strategy (NDS) Moldova 2020especially in the business environment, physical infrastructure, and human resources development areaswould help boost potential growth and reduce poverty. From 1992 to 2001, the country suffered a serious economic crisis, leaving most of the population below the poverty line. [58] Other forms of Soviet persecution of the population included political arrests or, in 8,360 cases, execution. [200] More than 2.0% of the population is Protestant including a growing number of Jehovah's Witnesses, 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. Although Moldova has been independent from the Soviet Union since 1991, Russian forces have remained on Moldovan territory east of the Nistru River in the breakaway region of Transnistria. This area of present-day Moldova was inhabited by ancient Dacians and Moldovans identify themselves with their ancestors. In chess, the Republic of Moldova has several international masters, among which can be mentioned Viorel Iordchescu, Dmitry Svetushkin, and Viorel Bologan. Free shipping for many products! Drago established a polity as a vassal to the Kingdom of Hungary in the 1350s. [107] Yet another missile fell into Larga on 14 January 2023 as a result of another wave of missile strikes against Ukraine.[108][109]. Moldova has a climate which is moderately continental; its proximity to the Black Sea leads to the climate being mildly cold in the autumn and winter and relatively cool in the spring and summer.[138]. 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[g] and Ion Neculce. Mihai Eminescu, a late Romantic poet, and Ion Creang, a writer, are the most influential Romanian language artists, considered national writers both in Romania and Moldova. The Moldova State University and the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, the main scientific organizations of Moldova, were established in 1946. [174], As of 2010[update], there are around 1,295,000 Internet users in Moldova with overall Internet penetration of 35.9%. The gross average monthly salary in the Republic of Moldova has registered a steady positive growth after 1999, being 5906 lei or 298 euros in 2018. [124][125], Religious leaders play a role in shaping foreign policy. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. Natalia squeezed into the final by a very small margin. [144] Founded in 1990, the Ecological Movement of Moldova, a national, non-governmental, nonprofit organization which is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature has been working to restore Moldova's damaged natural environment. Although Alexander I was brought to the throne in 1400 by the Hungarians (with assistance from Mircea I of Wallachia), this ruler shifted his allegiances towards Poland (notably engaging Moldavian forces on the Polish side in the Battle of Grunwald and the siege of Marienburg), and placed his own choice of rulers in Wallachia. Although estimates point to possible modest overvaluation of the real exchange rate, external competitiveness appears broadly adequate as reflected in strong sustained export performance. In addition to its participation in NATO's Partnership for Peace programme, 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. That, plus about 10,000Poles, brings the total number of Slavs to 545,000 in a population of 2,631,000, or about one-fifth. dollars. Among these were many Bessarabians, such as Alexandru Donici, Alexandru Hjdeu, Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, Constantin Stamati, Constantin Stamati-Ciurea, Costache Negruzzi, Alecu Russo, Constantin Stere. On 19 December 2016, Moldovan MPs approved raising the retirement age to 63 years[112] from the current level of 57 for women and 62 for men, a reform that is part of a 3-year-old assistance program agreed with the International Monetary Fund. Although only 4.1% are ethnic Russians, Russian is still used as the main language by 14.5% of the total population.