Gagauzia

The Gagauz began relocation from the Balkan Peninsula to Bessarabia, when the latter became part of the Russian Empire in 1812 . Places of compact residence of the Gagauz and Bulgar were located at the junction of Akkerman , Bender , Izmail and Kagul counties.

On November 11, 1940 , when the districts of the Moldavian SSR were divided into districts, the Gagauz population mainly began to occupy the Congaz , Comrat , Chadyr-Lung and partially Vulcanesti districts .

In the 1990s, against the backdrop of the war in Transnistria, the problems of Gagauzia were solved relatively peacefully, although it also proclaimed independence and the desire to remain in the Union (in the USSR , then in the failed SSG ) and for some time was the unrecognized state of the Republic of Gagauzia .

In December 1994, the Parliament of Moldova adopted the Law on the Special Legal Status of Gagauzia (Gagauz-Yeri), which endowed the region with compact residence of the Gagauzians with autonomy rights. On July 22, 1995, the Vulcanesti, Comrat and Chadyr-Lung districts became the internal regions of Gagauzia, however, the boundaries of the regions changed after the referendum held in the above villages, as well as the neighboring Bessarabian and Taraclia regions .

In 1999 , after an administrative reform, the ATU Gagauzia was finally enshrined in the Constitution of Moldova.

In the 2000s, Turkey provided significant assistance to Gagauzia. Due to the funds received from Turkey, a water supply system was built, which allowed to a large extent remove the problem of providing water to residents of settlements throughout the south of Moldova. A Moldovan-Turkish lyceum was also opened in Chadyr-Lung ^[3] , whose graduates were given the opportunity to continue their studies at Turkish universities.

Since the second half of the 2000s, political tensions between the authorities of Gagauzia and Chisinau have increased.

On February 2, 2014, the authorities of the autonomous republic held a referendum , during which 98% of voters supported integration into the EurAsEC Customs Union and called for a “deferred status of autonomy,” which gives it the right to secede from Moldova if it loses independence. The Moldovan authorities declared the referendum unlawful, and its results were null and void ^[4] .

It consists of 4 enclaves of various sizes, three of which have a common border with Ukraine. ATO is located in the Budzhak steppe, it is part of the south-Moldavian hilly plain, the surface of which is an alternation of plains and ravines. The entire relief of Gagauzia is steppes and small hills. There are 4 rivers drying up in the summer season, the channels of which sink southward ^[5] . Due to the fact that the reserves of fresh water in Gagauzia are very limited, its steppe territory is characterized by a low level of afforestation, and, as a result, the presence of signs of severe soil erosion. Strong and moderate summer droughts (2003, 2007) are also very frequent here ^[6] .

The population of the autonomy according to the 2004 census was 155 646 people. ^[7] .

According to the 2014 census, the population of autonomy was 134,132. ^[8] :

The language situation in Gagauzia is complex and diverse. Gagauzia has three official languages: Gagauzian , Moldavian and Russian . (Correspondence with authorities, enterprises, organizations and institutions located outside of Gagauzia is carried out in Moldavian and Russian languages). National and linguistic preferences of residents of different nationalities often do not coincide and differ in the distribution of bilingualism and trilingualism, which vary depending on many factors and situations. Gagauz language is the native language for the majority of the population. Russian is the lingua franca and for many residents of the autonomy, in particular in the cities of autonomy, Russian is actually the native language ^[9] . Education of children in autonomy is still conducted in Russian (for 2014 ), although the attitude of the official authorities of Moldova to this situation is ambiguous.

Of the 23,293 pupils enrolled in 55 educational institutions of the autonomy in 2008, 22,163 studied in Russian. In Moldovan (or Romanian ) - 707 students, in several languages ​​at once (including Russian) - 423 students. Paperwork in the territory of Gagauzia, including in the system of government bodies, is conducted in Russian. The Russian-language mass media prevail on the territory of the autonomy, while the amount of literature published in the Gagauz language is also increasing. The language policy of Gagauz television provides for an equal share of broadcasting in Russian, along with two other official languages ​​of autonomy - Gagauz and Moldavian ^[10] .

Normative acts defining the fundamentals of the structure of Gagauzia: Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, Law on the special legal status of Gagauzia, Code of Gagauzia.

The highest official is the Head ( Bashkan ) of Gagauzia. Elected for a term of four years. He is a member of the Government of the Republic of Moldova.

The highest representative body - the National Assembly of Gagauzia (Hulk Toplushu), consists of 35 deputies elected for a four-year term.

The supreme executive authority is the Executive Committee of Gagauzia (Bakannyk Committee).

There is no judicial system separate from the judicial system of the Republic of Moldova. The judicial system for the whole Republic of Moldova, including Gagauzia, consists of courts, chambers of appeal (five chambers of appeal - in Chisinau , Balti , Cagul , Comrat , Bender ) and the Supreme Judicial Chamber of the Republic of Moldova.

In administrative terms, Gagauzia is divided into three districts (dolay - dolaya) - Comrat , Chadyr-Lung and Vulcanesti - which include 32 settlements:

• 2 municipalities - Comrat and Chadyr Lunga
• 2 cities - Vulcanesti and Kongaz
• 27 villages, of which 7 are part of three communes : Kirsova , Svetly , Etulia , Upper Kongazchik .
• 2 settlements with the status of a railway station (junction) - Vulcanesti (part of the city of Vulcanesti) and Etulia (part of the commune Etulia )

The administrative center of Gagauzia is the municipality of Comrat.

Geographically ATU Gagauzia is not a single territory and consists of four unrelated parts:

• the main territory of the Comrat and Chadyr-Lung regions,
• Kopchak village (Chadyr-Lungsky district),
• the main territory of the Vulcanesti district,
• Karbalia village (Vulcanesti district).

The Gagauzian economy is traditionally dominated by the agro-industrial sector, which accounts for up to 70% of the region’s GRP . This is facilitated by the favorable climate and topography of the region. The total area of ​​agricultural land reaches 150 thousand hectares, of which 100 thousand are arable land itself, and 26 thousand are orchards and vineyards ^[11] . However, in conditions of market relations and the introduction of modern technologies, the share of agriculture in the labor market is declining ^[6] , although agriculture itself provides jobs for up to 20% of the economically active population of Gagauzia. In 2001-2007, this share fell 2.2 times. At the same time, there is an increase in the share of the services sector and some types of light and food industries, which rely on the agricultural raw materials of the region. 85% of the industry is in the processing sector. The industry is dominated by the production of wines and other alcoholic beverages, providing over 40% of the region's GRP. Of industrial crops, sunflower and tobacco prevail (with a share of 18% of the total Moldavian). Gagauzia collects almost 10% of Moldova's grapes despite the fact that autonomy occupies less than 5% of its area. The most promising expansion of the area allotted for cereals, grapes, orchards and vegetables. The Russian Federation was and remains the main market for Gaguzian exports, which provided Gagauzian producers with preferences to continue access to their market after introducing restrictions on products from the rest of Moldova, in connection with the signing of the latest Euroassociation agreement by the authorities ^[12] . At the same time, the origin of goods exported to the Russian Federation must be strictly Gagauzian: for any attempts to re-export wine to Russia from the neighboring territories of Moldova, the economic partners of Gagauzia face restrictions ^[13] . Given the special status of Gagauzia within Moldova, the public sector plays an important role in the economy of autonomy ^[14] . The private financial sector is mainly represented by a network of banking institutions.

Gagauzia has its own symbolism - the flag , coat of arms (adopted October 31, 1995) and the anthem .

The Gagauz Public Broadcasting Company is the Television and Radio of Gagauzia (Neopr.) (Unavailable link) . Archived January 16, 2015. ( Gag. Gagauziya Radio Televizionu kulesi - GRT), leading its programs in three languages: Gagauz, Russian and Moldavian. In addition to GRT, other television channels broadcast, for example Achik TV ( Acik TV ).

The region has news portals:

• in the Gagauz language: gagauz.in </ref> gagauztv.md ( unopened ) (inaccessible link) . Archived on September 22, 2014. ^[15] , meydangazetasi.com ^[16] , anasozu.com ^[17] and others.
• in Russian: gagauz.md ^[18] , gagauzlar.md (unopened) (inaccessible link) . Archived on September 6, 2014. ^[19] , gagauzinfo.md ^[20] , edingagauz.com ^[21] , gagauzia.md ^[22] , halktoplushu.md ^[23] , fc-saxan.com ^[24] , gagauzdunnesi.md ( unopened ) (unavailable link) . Archived on September 10, 2014. ^[25] , gagauznews.md and others.

Since 1998, the first newspaper in the Gagauz language , Ana Sözü (1988-1994, 1999 - present), has been published. The editorial board of the newspaper is always headed by Fedor Zanet .

The newspapers Hakikatın sesi ^[26] , Meydan ^[16] and the magazines Sabaa yıldızı (1996 - present) and Gagauz dili hem literaturası (2009 - present) are also currently being published in the Gagauz language. )

• List of settlements Gagauzia
• Republic of Gagauzia
• Comrat State University
• Gagauzia National Assembly
• Hike to Gagauzia

• On autonomy (the website of the affiliate of CCI RM in Gagauzia) (neopr.) (Inaccessible link) . Archived on March 22, 2007.
• History of the creation of autonomy (unopened) (inaccessible link) . Archived on April 1, 2007.
• The Law on the Special Legal Status of Gagauzia (Gagauz Yeri)
• Law on the administrative-territorial structure of the Republic of Moldova (Neopr.) (Inaccessible link) . Archived December 7, 2014.
• Code of Gagauzia (Gagauz Yeri)
• Regulation on the flag of Gagauzia (Gagauz Yeri)
• Extract from the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova (on the administrative-territorial structure of the Republic of Moldova)

Official

• Official site of Gagauzia
• Gagauzia National Assembly
• Police Department of ATU Gagauzia (Neopr.) (Inaccessible link) . Archived February 1, 2014.
• CEC ATU Gagauzia

Information

• Elections to the National Assembly of Gagauzia
• GAGAUZ.IN - multimedia portal in the Gagauz and Russian languages.
• Site about Gagauzia and Gagauz. Gagauzia newspaper filings
• “Gagauz corner. People and Autonomy ” - A full-length documentary about the Gagauz, filmed as part of the Ethnoforum International Project
• Gagauzia Internet Resources
• News portal Gagauzinfo.md .