NID: USSR: POTENTIAL FOR UNREST GROWING IN MOLDAVIA

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: The Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe: A 30-Year Legacy
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06826863
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 26, 2019
• Document Release Date: December 10, 2019
• Publication Date: January 30, 1990

Approved for Release: 2019/10/29 C06826863
I I�I 1 II
I
-T5TrStaczet
NR Record
USSR: Potential for Unrest Growing in Moldavia
The influence of events in Romania and the Baltic region and the
explosive issue of possible reunification with Romania are making
Moldavia a growing concern for Soviet leaders. During the past
six months, the Moldavian Popular Front has used a series of
demonstrations to push for greater political and economic autonomy,
official status for the Moldavian language, and more open political
institutions. New language laws have increased Russian residents'
sense of cultural isolation; the Russian-speaking city of Tiraspol
recently voted to become an independent territory rather than be
bound by the new law, and some Russians reportedly are considering
moving out of Moldavia. Moldavian nationalist organizations
report,Aly are setting up shop in Romania, and there has been talk
of a Romanian consulate in the republic capital, Kishinev.
Comment: Moldavians have close contacts with nationalists in the
Baltic republics and appear likely to copy the Baltic pattern; Moscow
appears to be responding in kind, allowing nationalists fairly wide
latitude as long as their activities remain peaceful and stressing the
benefits of a revamped federal structure. The leadership may take
some comfort in the demographics because only some 60 percent of
the republic's population are ethnic Moldavians. The situation in
Romania may also serve as a brake if the emerging political order is
less open and democratic than hoped for.
7
TCS 2724/90
30 January 1990
Approved for Release: 2019/10/29 C06826863