Moldova is a small landlocked state in southeastern Europe – one of the most highly populated republics of the former USSR.
To the north, east and south Moldova, is bound by Ukraine; to the west by Romania. The River Prut constitutes the border with
Romania. The country has rich pastures and wooded slopes, ideal for wine-growing.
Government
Republic since 1991. Gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Head of State: President Vladimir Voronin since 2001. Head of Government: Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev since 2001. Recent history: The Communist party came to power in 2001 and were winners again in the most recent parliamentary elections in March 2005.
The Moldovan parliament then returned President Voronin for a second term in April 2005, at which point he said he would focus
on European integration, resolving the ongoing conflict with Transnistria and raising the standard of living.
Language
The Constitution of 1994 described the official language as ‘Moldovan’ although it is considered to be virtually identical
to Romanian. In 1940, after Soviet annexation, the Cyrillic script was introduced and was referred to as Moldavian up until
1989 when the Latin alphabet was reintroduced. Russian is still the most widely spoken language. The ethnic and linguistic
make-up of Moldova is as follows: Moldovans 64.5 per cent, Ukrainians 13.8 per cent, Russians 13 per cent, Gagauz 3.5 per
cent, Bulgarians 1.5 per cent, others 3.7 per cent.
Religion
Mostly Eastern Orthodox Christian and other Christian denominations. A small amount of the population are Jewish.
Electricity
220 volts AC, 50Hz.
SOCIAL CONVENTIONS
Dress should be casual but conservative. For official engagements, men should wear a jacket and tie. The country is famous
for its tradition of folk arts and there are many lively musical groups (Tarafs), which play a variety of rare folk instruments including the tsambal (not unlike a dulcimer), cimpoi (bagpipe), fluier and nai.
Overview 
