Moldova, officially: Republica Moldova; (The Republic of Moldova) is a landlocked Eastern European country (also known as Moldavia) bounded by Romania and the Ukraine. Its capital and largest city is Chişinău and its official language is Moldovan (a dialect of Rumanian and a Romance language) though Gagauz, Russian and Ukrainian are recognized regional languages. In Antiquity Moldova's territory was inhabited by Dacian tribes. Due to its strategic location on a route between Asia and Europe, Moldova faced several invasions, including those by the Bastarns, Sarmatians, Goths, Huns, Avars, Magyars, Kievan Rus', Pechenegs, Cumans, and the Mongols. The Principality of Moldavia was established in 1359 with the territory including the present-day territory of the Republic of Moldova, the eastern 8 of the 41 counties of Romania (which, like the present-day republic, is known to the locals as Moldova) along with the Chernivtsi oblast and Budjak region of modern Ukraine. In 1538, the principality became a client of the Ottoman Empire, but retained internal and partially external autonomy. In 1812, according to the Treaty of Bucharest between the Ottoman ad Russian Empires the Ottoman Empire ceded the eastern half of the territory of the Principality of Moldavia to the Russians. The western part of Moldavia (which is not a part of present-day Moldova) remained an autonomous principality, and in 1859, united with Wallachia to form the Kingdom of Romania. In 1856, the Treaty of Paris saw two out of nine counties of Bessarabia, Cahul and Ismail, returned to Moldavia, but in 1878, the Treaty of Berlin saw the Kingdom of Romania returning them to the Russian Empire. World War I brought in a rise in political and cultural awareness and the region of Bessarabia, as the Russian part of Moldova was known, declared independence and joined with Romania. After 1918 Bessarabia was under Romanian jurisdiction for the next 22 years. In August 1939, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and its secret Additional Protocal were signed, by which Nazi Germany recognized Bessarabia as being within the Soviet sphere of influence, which led the latter to actively revive its claim to the region. On June 26, 1940, Romania received an ultimatum from the Soviet Union, demanding the evacuation of the Romanian military and administration from Bessarabia and from the northern part of Bukovina, with an implied threat of invasion in the event of non-compliance. Under pressure from Moscow and Berlin, the Romanian administration and the army retreated from these territories and on June 28, 1940 they were occupied by the Soviet Union. The postwar period saw a wide scale migration of ethnic Russians and Ukrainians into the new Soviet republic, especially into urbanized areas, partly to compensate the demographic loss caused by the emigration of Germans in 1940.

In the new political conditions created after 1985 by the glasnost policy introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev, in 1986, to support the perestroika (restructuring), a Democratic Movement of Moldova (Romanian: Mişcarea Democratică din Moldova) was formed, which in 1989 became known as the pro-nationalist Popular Front of Moldova. The first independent elections into the local parliament were held in February and March 1990. Mircea Snegur was elected as Speaker of the Parliament, and Mircea Druc as Prime-Minister. On June 23, 1990, the Parliament adopted the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Soviet Socialist Republic Moldova, which among other things stipulated the supremacy of Moldovan laws over those of the Soviet Union. Relationship between Moldova and Russia deteriorated in November 2003 over a Russian proposal for the solution of the Transnistrian conflict, which Moldovan authorities refused to accept due to political pressure from the West, since it stipulated a 20-year Russian military presence in Moldova. In the wake of the November 2003 deadlock with Russia, a series of shifts in the external policy of Moldova occurred, targeted at rapprochement with the European Union. In the context of the EU's expansion to the east, Moldova wants to sign a Stability an Association Agreement. Currently, it implement its first three-year Action Plan within the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) of the EU.

Moldova is a parliamentary democracy with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. Moldova is a member state of the United Nations, WTO, OSCE, GUAM, CIS, BSEC and other international organizations. Moldova currently aspires to join the European Union, and is implementing a first three-year Action Plan within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).

Moldovan cuisine is a mix of historical influences, with Greek, Mediterranean, Turkish and Russian influenced dishes commonly prepared. Dishes are characterized by the use of cream and light sauces thickened with a little flour. Maize (corn) is a staple and vegetables are an important part of the diet. There are also regional differences between the norhern, western and eastern sides of Modlova, reflecting the strong Russian, Romaninan and Ottoman influences in these regions.