To the Moldovan people, national identity is something that they have been fighting for in recent history. National identity or the portrayal of a countries beliefs, traditions, culture, and language is very important in Moldova, especially since gaining independence in 1991. However, because Moldova is a fairly young country and has only been officially independent for less than thirty years, they do not appear to have a uniqueness to their national identity. Many Moldovan people have split national identity due to the similarities in history, religion, language, and culture with Romania. I believe that Moldova is still currently establishing its own national identity because of their ties to Romania and the different views of the Moldovan people.
As previously stated, I believe that a countries national identity is the portrayal of beliefs, traditions, culture, and language within one's country and throughout the world. I also believe that the national identity of Moldova is currently all over the place and does not have many unique qualities even to consider that their national identity is legit. For example, Moldova has established that they are an independent state, but if we look at the Moldovan flag, we can see striking similarities to the Romanian flag. The Romanian flag has three colors which are blue, yellow, and red in that order. The Moldovan flag is the same as the Romanian flag except for the fact that the Moldovans placed their coat of arms in the center of their flag, however, the Moldovan and Romanian coat of arms are both very similar as well. The Romanian coat of arms is a golden eagle with a cross in its beak, a mace, and sword in its talons and a shield protecting its front (Europe). The Moldovan coat of arms consists of an eagle holding a cross in its beak, as well as a scepter and an olive branch in its talons and the only main difference that is noticeable is that the Moldovan coat of arms has an auroch on it instead of the five sections that represent Romania's historical provinces (Europe). I have no intentions to criticize Moldova, but these common symbols play a factor in Moldova's national identity issues.
Another example that shows us that Moldova is still in the process of establishing their own national identity is their language and religion. The official language in Moldova is Romanian but with slight changes in some of the words and the alphabet in some instances and the official religion in Moldova is Christianity which is also the main religion in Romania. The two countries even believe in the same denomination which is the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Moldovans also share the same traditions and history as the Romanians, and from a global perspective, it is hard to distinguish the differences between the two Eastern European countries. The Romanians and Moldovans identify themselves differently from each other because of the vast similarities in both of their societies. This national identity issue is very confusing for many of the Moldovan people because not everyone accepts their Moldovan identity. Some people would identify as Moldovan while others would identify as Romanian (Ştefan, 2013).
Even the Moldovan people argue about what they identify with. If you were to go and visit Moldova, then you would see many forms of graffiti on the streets that portray the different views that the Moldovan people have about their national identities. A few examples of the graffiti in Moldova are messages that say “Moldova is Romania” or “I am Moldovan and speak the Moldovan language.” These messages can be very problematic for the Moldovan people while establishing their national identities because it divides society into two groups, those that believe that they are Moldovan and those that still want to identify as Romanian even after Moldova's independence. Another example of the opposing views of the Moldovan citizens is what language is supposed to be considered as their main language. Oazu Nantoi, a former Moldovan politician and political analyst, stated that in the Moldovan constitution, the official language is Moldovan. However, in schools, everyone learns the traditional Romanian language and no government officials have considered changing this. When asked about who they believe the Moldovan people are, Vitalia Pavilecenco, the President of the National Liberal Party in Moldova and Ana Gutu have said that the truth is that Moldovans are Romanians because the societies of both countries and the history is the same (Ştefan, 2013). As of right now, Moldova does not have a unique and solid national identity, but I believe that they will establish their own identity in the future as they grow as a country.
I believe that Moldova does have an other and the other is Romania. We can see that the relationship between Moldova and Romania is a love-hate relationship. The views of the Romanians and Moldovans are very mixed, and this is because of the long history that they have and the fact that Moldova wanted to separate from Romania. In Triandafyllidou’s view, Romania is an external other and can be considered as a neighboring nation that is not currently contesting territory (1998). Romania is kind of like a rival for Moldova because they share the same myths, similar symbols, and they have the same ancestry. Romania also threatens Moldovas uniqueness and authenticity at the moment, mainly because Moldova is still a very new country and still needs time to grow and develop. Once we can distinguish Moldovan culture from Romanian culture, we can consider Moldova to have their own national identity.
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Works Consulted
Europe. (2017, April 07). Retrieved January 29, 2019, from https://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/md.htm
Europe. (2017, April 07). Retrieved January 29, 2019, from https://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/romania/roflags.htm
The World Factbook: Moldova. (2018, February 01). Retrieved January 29, 2019, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/md.html
The World Factbook: Romania. (2018, February 01). Retrieved January 29, 2019, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ro.html
Triandafyllidou, A. (1998). National identity and the `other.’. Ethnic & Racial Studies, 21(4), 593. https://doi-org.proxy.seattleu.edu/10.1080/014198798329784
Ştefan, V. (Director). (2013, January 16). The struggle for national identity in the Republic of Moldova [Video file]. Retrieved January 29, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf0KThN4_YI
