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Historically a part of Romania, Moldova became part of the Soviet Union at the
close of World War II. Although independent from the USSR since 1991,
Russian forces have remained on Moldovan territory east of the Nistru (Dnister)
River supporting the Slavic majority population, mostly Ukrainians and
Russians, who have proclaimed a "Transnistria" republic infamous
for it's corruption. Although Russia has pledged to remove these forces
they remain there. One of
the poorest nations in Europe with an extremely sluggish economy, in 2001
Moldova became the first former Soviet state to elect a communist as its
president. |
