The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the Politics of Culture (Studies of Nationalities)

The first English-language book to present a complete picture of this intriguing East European borderland, The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the Politics of Culture, illuminates the perennial problems of identity politics and cultural change that the country has endured. Throughout the past two centuries, Moldova was the object of a variety of culture-building efforts from Russian, Romanian, and Soviet influences before emerging as an independent state in 1991. The author Highlights the political uses of culture—the ways in which language, history, and identity can be manipulated by political elites Examines why some attempts to mold identity succeed where others fail Reveals why, in the case of Moldova, a project of identity construction succeeded in creating a state but failed to make an independent nation "Thoroughly researched, engagingly written, and completely up to date, this is a definitive book that will long serve as the best study of Moldova in any language . . . . Its strategic and precarious location between the Balkans and the former Soviet Union and its complex ethnic composition make Moldova a fragile new nation well worth knowing about." Daniel Chirot, Professor of International StudiesJackson School of International StudiesUniversity of Washington "An erudite and perceptive book. Required reading for all those who want to fathom the relationship between national identity, nation-building, political traditions, and cultural yearnings in one of eastern Europe's least known and understood countries. King uses historical, political, economic, and cultural approaches to challenge old stereotypes and to propose a novel, original perspective on the peoples of Bessarabia and Transnistria." Vladimir Tismaneanu, Professor of Government and Politics University of Maryland (College Park) "The first English-language book to present a complete picture of this intriguing east European borderland, The Moldovans illuminates the perennial problems of identity politics and cultural change that the country has endured. Throughout the past two centuries, Moldova was the object of a variety of culture-building efforts from Russian, Romanian, and Soviet influences before emerging as an independent state in 1991. The author highlights the political uses of culture--the ways in which language, history, and identity can be manipulated by political elites--and examines why some attempts to mold idnetity succeed where others fail. He also reveals why, in the case of Moldova, a project of identity construction succeeded in creating a state but failed to make an independent nation. Book jacket."--BOOK JACKET "Based on extensive field research and archival findings that no other Western researcher has seen, this book is the first comprehensive account of the history and contemporary politics of the Republic of Moldova. Charles King traces the major events that have shaped what is perhaps the least known of the former Soviet Union's successor states, from its rise as an autonomous principality in the fourteenth century to the traumatic territorial changes of more recent times."--Jacket