MoldovansMoldovans, sometimes referred to as Moldavians (moldoveni moldoˈvenj, Moldovan Cyrillic: молдовень), are a Romanian-speaking ethnic group and the largest ethnic group of the Republic of Moldova (75.1% of the population as of 2014) and a significant minority in Ukraine and Russia. There is an ongoing controversy, in part involving the linguisitic definition of ethnicity, over whether Moldovans' self-identification constitutes an ethnic group distinct and separate from Romanians, or a subset.
BudjakBudjak, also known as Budzhak (Bulgarian and Ukrainian: Буджак, Bugeac, Gagauz and Turkish: Bucak), is a historical region that was part of Bessarabia from 1812 - 1940. Situated along the Black Sea, between the Danube and Dniester rivers, this multi-ethnic region covers an area of and is home to approximately 600,000 people. The majority of the region is now located in Ukraine's Odesa Oblast, while the remaining part is found in the southern districts of Moldova.
Chernivtsi OblastChernivtsi Oblast (Chernivetska oblast), also referred to as Chernivechchyna (Чернівеччина), is an oblast (province) in western Ukraine, consisting of the northern parts of the historical regions of Bukovina and Bessarabia. It has an international border with Romania and Moldova. The region spans . The oblast is the smallest in Ukraine both by area and population. It has a population of and its administrative center is the city of Chernivtsi. In 1408, Chernivtsi was a town in Moldavia and the chief centre of the area known as Bukovina.
Greater RomaniaThe term Greater Romania (România Mare) usually refers to the borders of the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union. It also refers to a pan-nationalist idea. As a concept, its main goal is the creation of a nation-state which would incorporate all Romanian speakers. In 1920, after the incorporation of Transylvania, Bukovina, Bessarabia and parts of Banat, Crișana, and Maramureș, the Romanian state reached its largest peacetime geographical extent ever (295,049 km2).
BukovinaBukovina is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both). The region is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided between Romania and Ukraine. Inhabited by many cultures and peoples, settled by both Ukrainians (Ruthenians) and Romanians (Moldavians), it became part of the Kievan Rus' and Pechenegs' territory early on during the 10th century. The region has been sparsely populated since the Paleolithic.
TransnistriaTransnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised state internationally considered to be part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester river and the Moldovan–Ukrainian border, as well as some land on the other side of the river's bank. Its capital and largest city is Tiraspol. Transnistria has been recognised only by three other unrecognised or partially recognised breakaway states: Abkhazia, Artsakh and South Ossetia.
BessarabiaBessarabia (ˌbɛsəˈreɪbiə; Besarabiya; Basarabia; Bessarabiia) is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Ukrainian Budjak region covering the southern coastal region and part of the Ukrainian Chernivtsi Oblast covering a small area in the north.
RomaniansThe Romanians (români, roˈmɨnj; dated exonym Vlachs) are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2021 Romanian census found that just under 89.3% of Romania's citizens identified themselves as ethnic Romanians. In one interpretation of the 1989 census results in Moldova, the majority of Moldovans were counted as ethnic Romanians in this country as well.