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Article: The Bessarabians. (autonomy movements in region of Moldavia changing it into a little Rumania)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- April 6, 1991
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1991 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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IN THE history books there is a place called Bessarabia. It lay between the Prut and Dniester rivers and was last heard of in 1940 when Stalin annexed the then Romanian province and created the Soviet republic of Moldavia. Today that republic is dying, and Bessarabia is coming back to life.
Since last spring the Romanian flag has been flying again over Kishinev, the capital of Soviet Moldavia (or Moldova, as the locals now call it). Romanian is once again the official language and most of the republic has switched its clocks from Moscow time to Bucharest time. All this implies that Moldavia knows where its future lies. It does not. Rip-van-Winkle Bessarabia ...