Before 1989, the Moldovan people have been a single nation, sharing a single, common
identity. Now the situation has changed. Some of them consider that they are Romanians,
but, due to the Soviet period, they have no possibility to feel the Romanian identity;
others consider that they represent a distinct Moldovan nation, which is quite different
from the Romanians; for some others, they know that have common ties with Romanians
but, because the different evolution of the situation in the two countries, they consider
that, today, they represent an independent nation; there are some, especially the residents
of Transnistria, who consider that they have nothing to do with Romanians, even with
Moldovans, because they represent a new people, distinct from Moldovans, or they
consider themselves Russians. And all this is happening in the same country, the
Republic of Moldova.
Actually, the purpose of this thesis is the fact that on the European border there is a
complex phenomenon, a “frozen” conflict, which lasted for more than eighteen years,
and, still, a real and certain solution for its settlement does not exist. The conflict creates
a security dilemma at the European border, because the Republic of Moldova is a border
line between Latin and Slavic culture, between Europe and Russia; that is why it involves
more attention from the international actors. As Williams A. shows “Moldova stands as a
constant reminder that, even within Europe itself, there are places that are potentially not
only economic and political disaster areas but, also, real threats to the wider security of
the continent”[Williams 2004: 346]. In general, the states deal with the question of identity and belonging, but the new created
Transnistrian identity deals with statelessness. That is why there is a direct relation
between the new created political identities and the conflict settlement in the Republic of
Moldova and its separatist region, Transnistria. That is why the present situation
represents a critical problem for the future redrawing of the national and international
borders. For the Republic of Moldova, Transnistrian separatist region remains the main
security problem, which has negative repercussions to Moldova’s state independence and
sovereignty, on economic, political and social level, as well as for all kind of
international relations.
The Republic of Moldova still remains the poorest country in Europe, being affected by
the Russian crisis in 1998 and, now, being affecting by the global crisis, and would be
difficult to redress its situation under these circumstances. If Moldova would choose the
European path, it could mean losing Transnistria and losing the Russian market and
cooperation. If it would choose the Slavic path, it could lose the democratization process,
the country’s development and nobody could guaranty that the Transnistrian conflict will
be settled. In other words, Moldova’s decision regarding its future is a very difficult
issue.