Culture of Moldova

The culture of Moldova is a combination of Romanian culture and Soviet culture. The traditional Latin origins of Romanian culture reach back to the 2nd century, the period of Roman colonization in Dacia.

During the centuries following the Roman withdrawal in 271, the population of the region was influenced by contact with the Byzantine Empire, neighboring Slavic, Magyar, and other smaller populations, and later by the Ottoman Turks. Beginning in the 19th century, a strong Western 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 population of what once was the Principality of Moldavia (1359–1859) had come to identify itself widely as "Moldovan" by the 14th century, but continued to maintain close cultural links with other Romanian groups. After 1812, the eastern Moldavians, those inhabiting Bessarabia and Transnistria, were also influenced by the Slavic culture during the periods of 1812–1917, and 1940–1989, they were influenced by Russia, respectively by Soviet administrative control, as well as by ethnic Russian or Russian-speaking immigration.

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