The Molotov Ribbentrop pact and the emergence of the “moldovan” nation : reflections after 70 years

Abstract

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact led to the Soviet annexation of Bessarabia from Romania. Immediately after the Soviet occupation, Bessarabia was to be joined to the Moldovan ASSR, and become the Moldovan SSR under control of Moscow and the Soviet Union had created for the Romanians from Bessarabia (intentionally presented as Moldovans) a territorial nation. The present paper aims explicitly to analyze the Moldovan nation building policies during the Soviet period and the complexity of consequences which derived from Soviet occupation for the sense of Romanian identity in Bessarabia.