What is identity? Reflections on the Moldovan/Bessarabian Identity(ies) Between 1812 and the Present Day

This article re-evaluates the Republic of Moldova’s identity from its inclusion in the Russian Empire (the territory of Bessarabia) in 1812 and up to the present. Since identity has a volatile nature, both as a concept and a category of practice, in this paper I will approach it in its relationship with ethnicity and nationalism. Drawing on the existing literature in the field, the country’s socio-political realities are scrutinised based on the political culture theory, which points out the interdependence between state identification and individuals’ normative orientations when making their choices – such as historical foci of loyalty and identification shared by members of communities. At the same time, Moldova’s tumultuous evolution represents an opportunity to analyse nationalism “from below” and to consider the “assumptions, hopes, needs, longings and interests of ordinary people.” Such perspective underlines on the one hand the ordinary people’s dynamics and manifestations regarding nationalism; on the other hand, it shows how political culture’s various practices can influence these manifestations. With the ongoing war in Ukraine, Moldova’s identity and its multiethnic society risk new challenges.

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