A Soviet invasion and occupation began in June 1940, but the territory was again occupied by Romania from 1941 to 1944, after the latter joined the Axis powers and helped invade the USSR.

In some, the Gagauz are presented as descendants of Bulgars, Cumans-Kipchaks,[7] or a clan of Seljuk Turks led by the Turkoman dervish Sarı Saltık.

Their Orthodox confession may suggest that their ancestors were already living in the Balkans prior to the Ottoman conquest in the late 14th century.

Between 1812 and 1846, the Russians relocated the Gagauz people from what is today eastern Bulgaria (which was then under the Ottoman Empire) to the orthodox Bessarabia, mainly in the settlements vacated by the Nogai tribes.

But, within several years, villagers moved to live with their own people in the compact area in the south of Bessarabia where their descendants inhabit in the 21st century.

With the exception of a six-day de facto independence in the winter of 1906, when a peasant uprising declared an autonomous Comrat Republic, ethnic Gagauz have always been ruled by other dominant groups: the Russian Empire (1812–1917), the Kingdom of Romania (1918–1940 and 1941–1944), the Soviet Union (1940–41 and 1944–91), and Moldova (1917–18 and 1991 to date).

Gagauz nationalism remained an intellectual movement during the 1980s, but strengthened by the end of the decade, as the Soviet Union began to embrace liberal ideals.

A year later, the Gagauz People held its first assembly; they passed a resolution demanding the creation of an autonomous territory in southern Moldova, with the city of Comrat as its capital.

[10] Many Gagauz supported the Moscow coup attempt in August 1991,[9]: 117  and in September the same year, Transnistria declared its independence, thus further straining relations with the government of Moldova.

[citation needed] The economic dependence of Gagauzia on the rest of Moldova, and the Moldovan army's inability to defeat Transnistria, created reasons for compromise on both sides.

Communes with over 50% ethnic Gagauz held referendums where a simple majority was required to join the autonomous region.

The central authorities of Moldova proved unwilling to accept the results, initiating a lengthy stand-off between the autonomy and Chișinău.

[13] On 2 February 2014, Gagauzia held a referendum with an overwhelming majority of voters opting for closer ties with Russia over EU integration.

[14][15] On 23 March 2015, Irina Vlah of the Party of Socialists was elected as the new governor after a strongly pro-Russian campaign, dominated by the quest for closer ties with the Russian Federation.

Neighbouring Taraclia District had the second-highest opposition, at 92.04%,[23] whereas the country as a whole voted narrowly in favour (50.39%),[23] despite allegations of Russian interference from president Maia Sandu and from the European Union, including Commission President Ursula von der Leyen[24] and evidence of vote buying reported by BBC News.

This includes laws on education, culture, local development, budgetary and taxation issues, social security, and questions of territorial administration.

The governor is elected by popular suffrage for a four-year term, and has power over all public administrative bodies of Gagauzia.

The main export products are wine, sunflower oil, non-alcoholic beverages, wool, leather, and textiles.

However, in 2006 Gagauzia did participate in the ELF Cup, held in North Cyprus, where it competed with teams from other regions around the world which fall short of full national sovereignty.