Gagauzia

Gagauzia or Gagauz-Yeri, or ; ro, Găgăuzia; russian: Гагаузия, Gagauziya officially the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia; ro, Unitatea Teritorială Autonomă Găgăuzia, ''UTAG''; russian: Автономное территориальное образование Гагаузия, Avtonomnoye territoriaľnoye obrazovaniye Gagauziya, АТОГ (ATUG), is an autonomous territorial unit of Moldova. Its autonomy is ethnically motivated by the predominance in the region of the Gagauz people, who are primarily Orthodox Turkic-speaking people.

At the end of World War I, all of the territory of Gagauzia became part of the Kingdom of Romania, before being carved up into the Soviet Union in June 1940. From 1941 to 1944 it was again part of Romania, after which it was incorporated into the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic. As the Soviet Union began to disintegrate, Gagauzia declared independence in 1990 as the Gagauz Republic, but was integrated into Moldova in 1994.

''Gagauz Yeri'' literally means "place of the Gagauz".

History

The origin of the Gagauz is obscure. In the beginning of the 20th century, Bulgarian historian M. Dimitrov counted 19 different theories about their origin. A few decades later, the Gagauz ethnologist M. N. Guboglo increased that number to 21. In some of those theories the Gagauz are presented as descendants of the Bulgars, the Cumans- Kipchaks, or a clan of Seljuk Turks led by a Turkoman dervish, Sarı Saltık. The fact that their confession is Eastern Orthodox Christianity may suggest that their ancestors already lived in the Balkans prior to the Ottoman conquest in the late 14th century. Another theory indicates that Gagauz are descendants of Kutrigurs. In the official Gagauz museum, a plaque mentions that one of the two main theories is that they descend from the Bulgars.

Russian Empire

In 1812, Bessarabia, previously the eastern half of the Principality of Moldavia, was annexed by the Russian Empire following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War of 1806–1812 (''see Treaty of Bucharest (1812)''). Nogai tribes who inhabited several villages in south Bessarabia (or Budjak) were forced to leave. Between 1812 and 1846, the Russians relocated the Gagauz people from what is today eastern Bulgaria (which was then under the Ottoman Empire) to the orthodox Bessarabia, mainly in the settlements vacated by the Nogai tribes. They settled there together with Bessarabian Bulgarians in Avdarma, Comrat, Congaz, Tomai, Cișmichioi, and other former Nogai villages. Some Gagauz were also settled in the part of the Principality of Moldavia that did not come under Russian control in 1812. But, within several years, villagers moved to live with their own people in the compact area in the south of Bessarabia where their descendants inhabit in the 21st century.

With the exception of a six-day ''de facto'' independence in the winter of 1906, when a peasant uprising declared an autonomous Comrat Republic, ethnic Gagauz have always been ruled by other dominant groups: the Russian Empire (1812–1917), the Kingdom of Romania (1918–1940 and 1941–1944), the Soviet Union (1940–1941 and 1944–1991), and Moldova (1917–1918 and 1991 to date).

Soviet Union

Gagauz nationalism remained an intellectual movement during the 1980s, but strengthened by the end of the decade, as the Soviet Union began to embrace democratic ideals. In 1988, activists from the local intelligentsia aligned with other ethnic minorities to create a movement known as the Gagauz People. A year later, the Gagauz People held its first assembly; they passed a resolution demanding the creation of an autonomous territory in southern Moldova, with the city of Comrat as its capital.

The Gagauz national movement intensified when Moldovan (Romanian) was accepted as the official language of the Republic of Moldova in August 1989, challenging the then-dominant Russian language which was the official language of the USSR. A part of the multiethnic population of southern Moldova was concerned about the change in official languages. They had a lack of confidence in the central government in Chișinău. The Gagauz were also worried about the implications for them if Moldova reunited with Romania, as seemed likely at the time. In August 1990, Comrat declared itself an autonomous republic, but the Moldovan government annulled the declaration as unconstitutional. At that time, Stepan Topal emerged as the leader of the Gagauz national movement.

Independent Moldova

Support for the Soviet Union remained high in Gagauzia, with a referendum in March 1991 returning an almost unanimous vote in favour of remaining part of the USSR. Many Gagauz supported the Moscow coup attempt in August 1991, and Gagauzia declared itself an independent republic on 19 August 1991. In September Transnistria declared its independence, thus further straining relations with the government of Moldova. But, when the Moldovan parliament voted on independence on 27 August 1991, six of the 12 Gagauz deputies in the Moldovan parliament voted in favour, while the other six abstained. The Moldovan government began to pay more attention to minority rights. The economic dependence of Gagauzia on the rest of Moldova, and the Moldovan army's inability to defeat Transnistria, created reasons for compromise on both sides.

In February 1994, President Mircea Snegur promised autonomy to the Gagauz, but opposed independence. He was also opposed to the suggestion that Moldova become a federal state made up of three republics: Moldova, Gagauzia, and Transnistria.

In 1994, the Parliament of Moldova awarded to "the people of Gagauzia" (through the adoption of the new Constitution of Moldova) the right of "external self-determination". On 23 December 1994, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova accepted the "Law on the Special Legal Status of Gagauzia" (Gagauz: ''Gagauz Yeri''), resolving the dispute peacefully. This date is now a Gagauz holiday. Gagauzia is now a "national-territorial autonomous unit" with three official languages: Romanian, Gagauz, and Russian.

Communes with over 50% ethnic Gagauz held referendums where a simple majority was required to join the autonomous region. Communes with fewer Gagauz could have referendums if they were requested by one-third of the population. Following the 5 March 1995 referendum, three towns and 26 communes were included in the Autonomous Gagauz Territory. Gheorghe Tabunșcic was elected to serve as the Governor (Romanian: ''Guvernator'', Gagauz: ''Başkan'') of Gagauzia for a four-year term, as were the deputies of the local parliament, " The People's Assembly" (Gagauz: "Halk Topluşu"), with Petr Pașalî as chairman.

Dmitrii Croitor won the 1999 governor elections and began to assert the rights granted to the governor by the 1994 agreement. The central authorities of Moldova proved unwilling to accept the results, initiating a lengthy stand-off between the autonomy and Chișinău. Finally, Croitor resigned in 2002 due to the pressure from the Moldovan government, which accused him of abuse of authority, relations with the separatist authorities of Transnistria, and other charges.

The central electoral commission of Gagauzia did not register Croitor as a candidate for the post of the Governor in the subsequent elections, and Gheorgi Tabunshik was elected in what was described as unfair elections. Mihail Formuzal served as the Governor of Gagauzia from 2006 until 2015. That year Irina Vlah was elected to the position, with 51% of the vote.

On 2 February 2014, Gagauzia held a referendum. An overwhelming majority of voters opted for closer ties with Russia over EU integration. They also said they preferred the independence of Gagauzia if Moldova chooses to enter the EU.

On 23 March 2015, Irina Vlah was elected as the new governor after a strongly pro-Russian campaign, dominated by the quest for closer ties with the Russian Federation.

Geography

Gagauzia is divided into three districts. It is also split into four enclaves. The main, central enclave includes the cities Comrat and Ceadîr-Lunga

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