Culture of Moldova
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The culture of Moldova has been influenced primarily by its Romanian origin, the roots of which reach back to the second century A.D., the period of Roman colonization in Dacia. This is due to the fact that the majority of the population of Moldova (Moldovans) are of common ethnicity with Romanians.
During the centuries following the Roman withdrawal in 271 A.D., the population of the region was influenced by contact with the Byzantine Empire, neighboring Slavic and Magyar populations, and later the Ottoman Turks. Beginning in the nineteenth century, a strong West European (particularly French) influence came to be evident in Romanian literature and the arts. The resulting mélange has produced a rich cultural tradition. Although foreign contacts were an inevitable consequence of the region's geography, their influence only served to enhance a vital and resilient popular culture.
The regional population had come to identify itself widely as "Moldovan" by the fourteenth century, but continued to maintain close cultural links with other Romanian groups. After 1812, the eastern Moldovans, however, those inhabiting Bessarabia and Transnistria, were also influenced by Slavic culture: during the periods 1812-1917, and 1941-1944, 1944-1989, they were influenced by Russian, respectively Soviet administrative control, as well and by ethnic Russian or Russian-speaking immigration.
By 1918, Bessarabia was one of the least-developed, and least-educated European regions of the Russian Empire. In 1930, its literacy rate was only 40 percent, according to a Romanian census. Especially low was the literacy rate for women: less than 10% in 1918 to just under 50% in 1940. Although Soviet authorities promoted education (not the least to spread communist ideology), they also did everything they could to break the region's cultural ties with Romania. With many ethnic Romanian intellectuals, either fleeing, being killed, or being deported both during and after World War II, Bessarabia's cultural and educational situation worsened.
To fill the gap, Soviet authorities developed urban cultural and scientific centers and institutions that were subsequently filled with Russians, and with other non-Romanian ethnic groups, but this culture was superimposed and alien. Urban culture came from Moscow; the rural ethnic Romanian population was allowed to express itself only in folklore or folk art.
Although the folk arts flourished, similarities with Romanian culture were hidden. Music and dance, particularly encouraged by Soviet authorities, were made into a showcase, but were subtly distorted to hide their Romanian origins. An example is the national folk costume, in which the traditional Romanian moccasin (opinca) was replaced by the Russian boot.
Moldova's folk culture is extremely rich, and the ancient folk ballad, the "Mioriţa", plays a central role in the traditional culture. Another old ballad is "Meşterul Manole". Folk traditions, including ceramics and weaving, continue to be practiced in rural areas. The folk culture tradition is promoted at the national level and is represented by, among other groups, the republic's dance company, Joc, and by the folk choir, Doina.
The first Moldovan books (religious texts) appeared in the mid-seventeenth century. Prominent figures in Moldova's cultural development include mitropolitans Varlaam and Dosoftei, Grigore Ureche, Miron Costin, mitropolitan of Kiev Petru Movilă, scholars Nicolae Milescu-Spãtaru, Dimitrie Cantemir (1673-1723), and Ion Neculce, Gavriil Bănulescu-Bodoni, Alexandru Hîjdău, Alexandru Donici, Constantin Stamati, Costache Negruzzi, historian and philologist Bogdan P. Hasdeu (1836-1907), author Ion Creangă (1837-89), and poet Mihai Eminescu (1850-89).
Varlaam published the first books. Dosoftei founded numerous schools and published a lot. Cantemir wrote the first thorough geographical, ethnographical and economic description of the country in Descriptio Moldaviae (Berlin, 1714).
Modern writers include Vladimir Besleagă, Pavel Boţu, Aureliu Busuioc, Nicolae Dabija, Ion Druţă, Victor Teleucă and Grigore Vieru. In 1991, a total of 520 books were published in Moldova, of which 402 were in Romanian, 108 in Russian, eight in Gagauz, and two in Bulgarian.
In the early 1990s, Moldova had twelve professional theaters. All performed in Romanian, except the A.P. Chekhov Russian Drama Theater in Chişinău, and the Russian Drama and Comedy Theater in Tiraspol, both of which performed solely in Russian, and the Licurici Republic Puppet Theater (in Chişinău), which performed in both Romanian and Russian. Although, among those controlled tendencies by Soviets, real artists in music formed real art-bands, such as "Ciocîrlia" led by Serghei Lunchevici (Loonkevich),and "Lăutarii" of Nicolae Botgros. Members of ethnic minorities manage a number of folklore groups and amateur theaters throughout the country.
