Culture of Moldova
Although foreign contact was an inevitable consequence of the region's geographical location, their influence only served to enhance a vital and resilient popular culture.
[4] The population of what once was the Principality of Moldavia (1359–1859) had come to identify itself widely as "Moldovan" by the 14th century, but continued to maintain close cultural links with other Romanian groups.
In 1812, the territory of modern Moldova was liberated from Ottoman rule and incorporated into the Bessarabian province of the Russian Empire, which had a great influence on the development of the culture of the region.
With many ethnic Romanian intellectuals, either fleeing, being killed after 1940, or being deported both during and after World War II, Bessarabia's cultural and educational situation changed drastically and became more Russified.
Prominent figures in Moldavia's cultural development include Dosoftei, Grigore Ureche, Miron Costin, metropolitan of Kiev Petru Movilă, scholars Nicolae Milescu-Spãtaru, Dimitrie Cantemir (1673–1723), and Ion Neculce, Gavriil Bănulescu-Bodoni, Alexandru Donici, Constantin Stamati, Costache Negruzzi, historian and philologist Bogdan P. Hasdeu (1836–1907), author Ion Creangă (1837–1889), and poet Mihai Eminescu (1850–1889).
Moldovan cuisine consists mainly of traditional European foods, such as beef, pork, potatoes, cabbage, cheese, and a variety of cereal grains.
Very popular dishes include manti (a type of dumpling filled with meat and vegetables, which is wrapped in a dough wrapper, and served with a spicy sour cream), ciorbă (a sour soup consisting of meat and vegetables, served with sauerkraut, polenta, or rice), pelmeni (another type of dumpling, filled with meat and onions, but sometimes mushrooms, turnips, and sauerkraut are added), borscht (made with beets, tomatoes, and other vegetables to form a stew), and sarma (a dish made with stuffed cabbage rolls, accompanied by sauerkraut and mămăligă).
Other common foods in Moldova include grilled meats, other grains, dairy products, and mămăligă (a type of polenta made with cornmeal, and mashed into a porridge).
