Blog Post 1 National Identity (and the Other)

 The Challenging Identity of Moldova 

What is national identity?

National identity is commonly seen as a county with common culture, understanding of the past, and aspiration for the future that binds a group of people together and fosters a sense of belonging to a nation. However it was also defined as self-awareness, understanding the loss of identity, and the desire to advance one step ahead (Vladimír Baar, Daniel Jakubek, 2017, 68)

The Upbringing of Moldova and its Influences on identity

Moldova has had a hard time acquiring an identity throughout history. With lots of trial and error. Moldova in general has a weak national identity. However they are also strangely unique in some aspects but it is not quite enough for them to stand out. In 1991 Moldova officially gained independence from the soviet union. However before then they were occupied by Russia. This was commonly known as Russification. During this time it was basically an act of making Moldova more like Russia from language to religion and even the government system. Around this time Moldova was also stripped of any kind of Romanian identity. Moldova was essentially a mini Russia. Eventually Moldova fell into the USSR. The USSR focused on differentiating Moldo- vans from Romanians(Grandy, 2017, 78). When you take a look at it, Moldova has no identity of its own. It was forced to partake in Russian control and then shortly after fell into the soviet union. Because of this consistent loop of changing systems moldova never got a chance to become authentic on its own. 

The Moldovan Language is too complexed

Moldovan language is somewhat complex. It's hard to pinpoint exactly how this language gives them an identity that sets them apart from their neighboring countries.this is due to the fact that 

“On March 16, 2023, the Moldovan parliament took the historic step to replace the phrase “Moldovan language” with “Romanian language” in all of the nation’s laws” (William Z, 2023)

However moldovan language is strangle crafted and sets apart from the Romanian language. this is because while Moldova was under Soviet control "Linguists developed an independent Moldovan language, written in the Cyrillic script, drawing on Russian cognates and separate from “bourgeois” Romanian”  (William Z, 2023)

This may set them apart but they still share deep linguistic roots with romania.Moldova’s history of association with Russia and the unique, Soviet-inspired Moldovan identity still affects Moldovans’ cultural attitudes. 

I've noticed that throughout  this all words begin to contradict each other. One makes a point that they are different and unique while the other one is saying that moldava doesn't stand too far in difference from its neighbors.

Religion through Inspiration

Moldovan religion in this day is widely diverse however the main religion is orthodox christian but for the longest time it was russian orthodox religion. This was basically the Romanian religion that was taken and redefined by Moldova while under Russian control. Eventually Moldova was no longer under Russian control and it switched. The change in religious learning was undone in 1918 and then reversed again when the region was occupied by the soviet union. Here the practice of the Russian orthodox church continued. However, Moldova continued to floor the ways of Romania  

“After the fall of communism, the Romanian-led Metropolitan of Bessarabia was resurrected, and the Russian church was reorganized as the Metropolis of Chișinău and All of Moldova. Modern Moldovan Christianity remains divided along these cultural lines'' (William Z, 2023)

Romanian and moldovan religion share many roots today more than in the past. This makes it difficult to determine the identity of Moldova but at the same time it sets them aside in many ways.

Othering within Moldovan borders 

Othering is this idea of identifying people by a characteristic that differs from some perceived normative state when irrelevant. While looking into the history of Moldova it is seen that there has been some form of othering that has taken place. For instance, while Moldova was under soviet command The USSR focused on differentiating Moldo- vans from Romanians. This was done by giving opportunities and privileges to the Russian speakers in Moldova, including access to better social services, careers, and educational opportunities. (Grandy, 2017, 78) There were also incidents such as Russian authorities banning all school books that featured passages referring to a common Romanian nation. Nor could any books be printed in Romanian. Although this was done due to Russian command it did take place within Moldova. Othering could also take into account the idea of discriminating against the language, religion and foundation of something else, the way that soviet Moldova citizens did to those who spoke Romanian.

Closing Thoughts

The concept of national identity can be challenging, it can be even more challenging when one is given the task to decide whether a country or nation acquires a national identity or not. However, through the process of searching deep within Molodan history from language to religion it's hard to pinpoint what their national identity is. Some would say they stand on their own due to their deep heritage roots with Russia and the soviet union. This is what makes them so unique and different. Then there's this idea from others that well maybe they aret so different as they are set out to be. When examining the language roots of both Moldovan and Romanian they're pretty much identical. Not only that it seems as though it was so similar that Moldova decided to drop the term “Moldovan Language” and decided to call it “Romanian Language” just this past year in alliance with Moldova. The same goes with religion; anything that was done by Romania within the church moldova followed and made their own. Now both countries share the same dominant religion. The main components that should make Moldova a unique nation, it all ties to other neighboring counties. However, national identity can also mean self-awareness and understanding the loss of identity, and the desire to advance one step ahead. Then yes Moldova's national identity will fall along the lines of its need to better itself as a nation, but when you think about it more, how much more digging would you have to do to prove that point.

Word Count-1132 

References 

Brittney, G. (2017) "Moldova: To Be or Not to Be Establishing a National Identity Before and After Independence: 1989-1993," Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies: Vol. 34, Article 7. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1262&context=sigma 

Vladimír B, Daniel J. (2017) “Divided National Identity in Moldova,” Journal of Nationalism, Memory & Language Politics: Vol. 11. https://sciendo.com/abstract/journals/jnmlp/11/1/article-p58.xml

William, Z. (2023). Moldova and Romania: A Long and Complicated Relationship. Origins: Current Events In Historic Perspective. https://origins.osu.edu/read/moldova-and-romania-long-and-complicated-relationship?language_content_entity=en