Moldovan-Ukrainian relations

Although the latest official interstate relations between Ukraine and Moldova were launched in 1992, they are based on 600-year-old cultural, church and scientific ties between Ukrainians (Ruthenians) and Moldavians. The history of Ukrainian-Moldavian unions goes back to the second half of the 16th century, when in 1563 an unsuccessful attempt to take the throne by the ruler of Moldova was made by Dmitry Vishnevetsky . In 1577, Ivan Podkova became the ruler of the Moldavian Principality. During the Ukrainian war against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1652, Bogdan Khmelnitsky forced the Moldovan master Vasily Lupul to agree to the marriage of his daughter Rozanda Lupul to the son of the Ukrainian hetman Timofey Khmelnitsky - after which Moldova became an ally of Ukraine in its struggle with Poland. Bogdan Khmelnitsky for several years unsuccessfully tried to implement a large-scale “Moldovan project”: it included the establishment of kinship with the royal families of Europe through the marriage of the son of Khmelnitsky with the daughter of the sovereign of Moldova, rapprochement in relations with Semigorod and Wallachia, the persuasion of Janusz Radziwill, the actual ruler of the Great Principality of Lithuania, who was married to another daughter of Vasily Lupul - Mary. The "Moldavian project" by B. Khmelnitsky ceased to be relevant after the death of Timofei in 1653 in the battle of Suceava. Hetman (holder) of Right-Bank Ukraine in 1681-1683 the Turkish sultan Mehmed IV was appointed Greek by origin, the owner of the Moldavian principality George Duka (it was during his reign in the Northern Black Sea region that Moldovan settlers appeared). Some Romanian sources ^[3] also call the four other hosts of Moldova - John Voda February ( rum. Ioan Vodă cel Cumplit ), Stefan Moghilou ( rum. Ftefan Movilă ), Dumitrasco Cantacuzina ( rum. Dumitraşcu Cantacuzino and Mihai Rakov’s ) and Mihai Rakov, ) aacow custaculosina (Mihai Dumitraşcu Cantacuzino ) and Mihai Rakov, and Miharekow, he and Chahrakow, he is a man in the family of Moldova, Johan Vodă cel Cumplit ( Dumitraşcu Cantacuzino ) ; ) - owners of Ukrainian lands, although this is not confirmed by Ukrainian sources.

On the territory of modern Moldova , namely in the city of Bender , on April 5 (16), 1710, the first Ukrainian constitution “Covenants and Constitutions of Rights and Liberties of the Zaporizhzhya Army” was adopted ( lat. Pacta et Constitutiones legum libertatumque exercitus zaporoviensis ).

A separate page in relations between the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the Moldavian Democratic Republic was 1917-1918, when, contrary to the distribution of the population at that time and despite the decision of the Ukrainian communities ^[4] (for example, the Bukovinian People’s Council on November 3, 1918 on the reunification of Northern Bukovina with the UPR ; The Peasant Congress of Akkerman Uyezd in Bessarabia on January 10, 1918 on joining the uyezd to Ukraine, the decision of Zemstvo assemblies in March-April 1918, of five of the eight counties of Bessarabia - Akkerman, Bender, Izmail whom, Sorotsky and Khotinsky - on joining Ukraine), the entire territory of Bessarabia , as well as Northern Bukovina, were occupied by Romania and included in it ( Ukrainians compactly lived in Northern Bukovina , Northern Bessarabia and in Southern Bessarabia or in Budzhak ). Bulgarians who compactly lived in Southern Bessarabia also wanted to join the UNR .

Ukraine recognized the independence of the Republic of Moldova on December 21, 1991. Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine were established on March 10, 1992. The first official visit of the President of Ukraine L. Kravchuk to Moldova took place on October 23, 1992. During the visit, the “Agreement on good neighborliness, friendship and cooperation between Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova” was signed.

The ambassador of Ukraine to Moldova is Ivan Gnatishin. The border between Moldova and Ukraine is 985 km long. Ukrainians are the second largest ethnic group in Moldova after Moldavians (442.346 people, which make up 11.2% of the total population). Moldavians are the fourth largest national minority in Ukraine (as of 2001, there were 258.600 Moldovans in Ukraine, that is, 0.5% of the total population of the country).

Since the founding of the Principality of Moldova , today many Moldovans have lived in Ukraine , and Ukrainians in Moldova. The famous Moldovan who lived in Kiev and made an extremely important contribution to Ukrainian culture was Peter Mogila (1596–1647). In the years 1870-1885 in Suceava (Northern Moldova - Southern Bukovina ) lived Nikolai Ustiyanovich, a Ukrainian poet and public figure, the organizer of the Council of Russian Scientists, the author of the words “Verkhovyna, you are our light”. In the city of Guragumora (Northern Moldova - Southern Bukovina ) Olga Kobylyanskaya was born.

Of the contemporaries in Moldova, Sergey Tigipko (Sinzhereysky district) ^[5] , Anatoly Kinakh (Edinets district) and Kira Muratova ( Soroki city) were born. Citizens of Ukraine - ethnic Moldovans from the Chernivtsi region are Sofia Rotaru, Ivo Bobul and Lilia Sandules. Moldavians are associated with the terrain in Odessa “Moldavanka” and in Kiev “Bessarabka”. The citizen of Romania, an ethnic Ukrainian (born in the territory of historical Northern Moldova - Southern Bukovina ) is the famous Romanian impressionist painter Vasily Hutopila. Ethnic Ukrainian (there were also Russians and Moldavians in the family) is the famous modern Romanian singer Anna Lesko ( roman. Anna Lesko ), who was born and lived until 17 years old in Chisinau in the Republic of Moldova. The ethnic Ukrainian from Odessa (Markovka village), who lives in the Republic of Moldova, is the famous Moldavian, Soviet and Russian football player and coach of the Moldova national football team in 2006-2009. Igor Dobrovolsky ^[6] .

Ukrainian-Moldavian Relations in the Mid-17th Century

A significant part of the territory of the modern Republic of Moldova in the 14th century was inhabited by Ukrainians (Rusyns) and was part of Kievan Rus and the Galicia-Volyn Principality . In the " Tale of Bygone Years " there is information about the population of the Dniester-Prut interfluve in the 9th - 13th centuries . Slavic tribes ( Tivertsy , as well as streets and white Croats ), which later became part of the Ukrainian nation.

The territory of the modern Republic of Moldova was inhabited by Romanian-speaking immigrants from Transylvania in the XIV century (after 1359 or 1352 , when Romanian-speaking immigrants from Maramures founded the first settlements near the city of Suceava in Southern Bukovina ), when a separate Moldavian principality arose ^[7] . The Russian population was largely assimilated (this was facilitated by the common religion - Orthodox Christianity ), although there is evidence that at the beginning of the history of the Moldavian princedom of Ukraine made up at least a third of the country's population.

In the period of the XIV - XVII centuries , an original culture of the Ukrainian and Moldavian peoples was formed ^[8] . A number of common features in book culture can be noted, to which religion had a great influence. Orthodoxy, as the dominant religion of both Moldavians and Ukrainians, was a unifying factor for the two peoples. In the Moldavian church, as well as in the Ukrainian, worship and writing used the Old Slavonic language in the Ukrainian (Kiev) code, until the end of the 16th century the Ukrainian and Moldavian churches depended on the Patriarch of Constantinople . Relations continued to develop: the exchange of church articles, books continued; church leaders came for a time or forever from Ukraine to Moldova or from Moldova to Ukraine. The exchange contributed to the formation of numerous common features both in art and in the education of Moldova and Ukraine.

One of the most famous church leaders in Moldova and Ukraine in the 15th century was a Bulgarian by birth Gregory Tsamblak . He spent most of his life in Moldova, living in the monastery of Neamt ( roman. Mănăstirea Neamţ ). He continued church and literary activity in Ukraine, becoming the Kiev Metropolitan ( 1414 - 1418 ). During the years of Turkish rule, Moldavian culture fell into decay. So, in the XVII century, when there was a need for experienced artists, they began to search outside Moldova, including Ukraine.

Close cultural contacts were noted between Moldova and some Ukrainian cities of Galicia , Volyn and Podillia . In many of them back in the XV century. at the cathedrals Orthodox brotherhoods were organized. Since the end of the XVI century. they began to carry out educational work. At the border of the XVI - XVII centuries, the leading role belonged to the Lviv fraternity .

Close ties with the Ukrainian fraternities contributed to the development of Moldavian culture. The ties between Moldova and Lviv were old. Books were brought from Lviv to Moldova, while the Lviv Brotherhood from Moldova received financial assistance for the construction of churches and for the needs of a printing house. In 1628 , when the Lviv printing house burned down, the leader of Moldova Miron Barnovsky-Mogila ( Roman Miron Barnovschi-Movilă ) allocated a large sum of money for its restoration.

Sometimes Moldavian boyars and wealthy townspeople sent their children to Ukrainian schools to Volyn and Podolia to receive an education. In turn, teachers from Ukraine were invited to the few schools in Moldova.

A special role in the development of Moldavian culture was played by Kiev , where teachers and architects came from. A great contribution to the strengthening of cultural ties between Moldova and Ukraine was made by the brother of the Moldovan ruler, the Kiev Metropolitan Petro Mogila . At the beginning of the XVII century. He moved to Ukraine, then, becoming the Metropolitan of Kiev , launched a wide spiritual, cultural and educational activity. The organization of the Kiev-Mohyla Academy and the printing house in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is associated with his name. Caring for the development of culture and education in Moldova, in 1640 Peter Mogila sends his associate Sofroni Pochaski to Iasi . With his participation in Iasi, following the example of the Kiev Academy, the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy was founded and the first Moldavian printing house was created ( 1641 ), where the first book was published - “Kazania” (a collection of church teachings) of the Moldavian Metropolitan Varlaam.

One of the Slavic originals, “Kazania,” from which Barlaam made the translation, was probably delivered to him from Ukraine. There are 55 engravings in it, of which 17 were made by the then-famous Ukrainian engraver Ilya, a monk of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra . Thus, the same printed boards with decorations for church books were used in printing houses both in the Ukrainian lands and in the Principality of Moldova, the artists placed the same drawings in the books.

Moldavian Project by Bogdan Khmelnitsky

The period of the Ukrainian-Polish war led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky became the time of development of Ukrainian Cossack diplomacy. The main goal of relations with foreign powers was to search for potential allies in the struggle for obtaining and upholding Cossack privileges. If with most of the countries with which Bogdan Khmelnitsky maintained international relations, the Zaporizhzhya Army “flirted”, then some, formerly the Principality of Moldova , tried to dictate their conditions.

Moldova, which was a vassal of the Ottoman Empire , directly bordered on the newly formed state of Bohdan Khmelnitsky , and therefore could be a potential ally or enemy. To ensure the necessary “line of conduct”, Bogdan Khmelnitsky made four trips to the territory of the principality, which went down in history under the name “Moldavian”.

Such a development of relations has been controversially examined by domestic and foreign historians. Some saw them as simply predatory attacks, others saw attempts to get a loyal ally, others saw the goal - by means of a dynastic marriage, to raise the authority of the Cossack state, fourth - a step towards establishing a monarchy by establishing family ties with the Moldavian sovereign (formally “ monarch ”). With accuracy, it can only be argued that the Principality of Moldova was a separate project in the plans of Bogdan Khmelnitsky.

Modernity

On January 12, 2017, the Prime Minister of Moldova, Pavel Filip, had a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart, Vladimir Groysman . During the talks, Pavel Filip confirmed that Moldova supports the actions of Ukraine in the eastern part of the country, and also supports the preservation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Ukrainian state ^[9] .

There are problems associated with the use of transboundary water resources. For example, due to the construction and commissioning of the Dniester hydroelectric station and hydroelectric power station-2 in Ukraine, the Dniester River , the main waterway of Moldavia, located downstream, has become shallow since the late 1990s, fish stocks have sharply decreased and water quality has deteriorated ^{[10 ] [11]} . The situation may be aggravated by the construction of new stages of Ukrainian hydroelectric power stations on the Dniester, which threatens Chisinau with a shortage of fresh water ^{[12] [13] [14] [15] [16]} .

In 2015, the volume of trade between countries amounted to 636.8 million US dollars ^[17] .

• Embassy of Ukraine in Chisinau (Ukrainian)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (Ukrainian)
• Congress of National Communities of Ukraine (Ukrainian)
• Ethnic communities in the Chernivtsi region (Ukrainian)
• Ukraine-Moldova: problems and prospects of bilateral relations (90s of the XXth - beginning of the 21st centuries) . Galina Melnichuk, Ph.D. (Hist.), Associate professor of the Department of History, Political Science and Public Administration, Bukovinian State Financial Academy. (in Ukrainian)
• The project "Pridnistrovskaya problem: a glance from Ukraine . " (in Ukrainian)