GAGAUZIA | Moldova's Next Threat?

In May 2023, Moldova's Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia voted for a new governor - or bashkan. This was won in the second round by Evghenia Gutsal, a pro-Russian candidate representing the Ilan Shor Party - named after a prominent oligarch convicted of embezzlement. However, the central government has contested the result. Amidst claims of electoral fraud, Moldovan police raided the headquarters of the Gagauz Electoral Commission. All this has led to fears that tensions are rising again in a region that once tried to break away from Moldova. But are such concerns justified?

The origins of the Gagauz are shrouded in mystery. Although they speak a language closely related to Turkish, they are predominantly Christian Orthodox. While they were first settled in Bessarabia (now Moldova) in the early nineteenth century by Imperial Russia. However, during Soviet rule, they were deliberately Russified as part of a general effort to keep majority Romanian nationalism in check. This all came to a head in 1990. As the Soviet Union broke apart, Gagauzia, alongside nearby Transnistria, declared independence. But just four years later, it agreed to accept territorial autonomy within Moldova under an agreement that saw it granted its own parliament, government, and governor. Since then, Gagauzia has come to be seen as a rare example of an attempted secession successfully resolved by peaceful reintegration back into the country it broke away from. But over the past decade, tensions have been rising as Moldova pursues EU integration - a process many Gagauz see as an attempt to unite with neighbouring Romania. Meanwhile, against the backdrop of the Ukraine War, the pro-Russian sentiments of the Gagauz have become a growing source of concern as Moldova claims Moscow is interfering in its internal affairs. This has all come to a head with the most recent elections in Gagauzia, which saw all eight candidates adopt pro-Russian positions. So, is Gagauzia becoming a new source of pro-Russian problems for Moldova?

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*VIDEO CHAPTERS*
00:00 Introduction and Titles
00:47 Secession and Reintegration: Moldova and Gagauzia
02:19 Moldova and Gagauzia: Location and Population
03:38 The Origins of Gagauzia
05:54 Gagauzia Declares Independence
07:06 Gagauz Peace Agreement and Autonomy
08:46 Moldova-Gagauzia Relations after the Agreement
10:36 Growing Tensions Between Moldova and Gagauzia
12:56 A New Gagauz Independence Effort?

*SOURCES AND FURTHER READING*
Republic of Moldova
Government of Gagauzia
Law on the Special Status of Gagauzia
EU-Moldova Association Agreement 2005
Gagauz | Minority Rights Group

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- The contents of this video and any views expressed in it were not reviewed in advance nor determined by any outside persons or organisation.
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#Gagauzia #Moldova #Russia

[JamesKerLindsay]

This is such an interesting situation. The Gagauz are a truly fascinating community. Turkic language speaking Christian Orthodox. But they have become heavily Russified. But Turkey is also trying to exert influence. So, is this a growing problem for Moldova? And do you think this will become a separatist conflict again? As ever, I really look forward to your thoughts and comments.

[makelovenotwarnoob]

The paradox in Gagauzia is that Moldova gave them a very high degree of autonomy hoping that the Gagauz people will promote their Gagauz culture, will speak and develop their Gagauz language, will emmbrace their Turkish roots and traditions. But they did almost nothing in this direction. The overwhelming majority of people in Gagauzia speak only Russian. Very few young people in Gagauzia know the Gagauz language. They watch Russian TV, they speak Russian and basically live in the Russian cultural sphere. Moldova even hopes for Turkey to encourage the Gagauz to not lose their culture.

So the high degree of autonomy that Moldova offered them has backfired. Instead of developing the Gagauz culture it turned into a Russian cultural buble and into a population that seem to love Russia more than they love Gagauzia.

[Ricky_Baldy]

Hi Professor,
Your channel is one of the reasons why i value YouTube. Given the standard of your coverage pertaining to countries and scenarios i do know and understand, i feel comfortable trusting your take on pretty much all topics you cover. Having that piece of mind - that you are purely fact driven, sensitive to all groups concerned and above all objective- really makes your channel necessary viewing every Friday. Thank you for starting and maintaining this channel. It is truly valuable.

[vegas]

Greetings from Moldova, and many thanks for your work!

[weepingscorpion]

Thank you, professor, for covering Gagauzia. Often in discussions about the future of Moldova people bring up Transnistria while simulatneously completely glossing over Gagauzia which I feel is oversimplifying a bit despite the small size of the area, in fact, Gagauzia is just slightly larger than my home of the Faroe Islands but it has almost 3 times the population. I also find the fact that they are Christians rather than most other Turkic peoples who mainly are Muslim (I think the Bashkir have a high number of Christians too) very interesting. But for me the most interesting is the Gagauz language and how similar and at the same time how different it is from (Anatolian) Turkish. It has in fact really caught my attention as a linguist but more importantly as a language nerd. I therefore also find it sad to see and hear how the Gagauz seem to be switching to speaking Russian instead but I think I can read between the lines that exposure has a huge say, which is something as I coming from another small language community can absolutely relate to. But again, thanks for this video, this is one where in the worst case we have a forgotten powder keg waiting to go off. I hope it'll never become that serious but the world has taught me that you should never say never.

[peterkops]

And that is where Professor James Ker-Lindsay comes into the picture. I have learned an incredible amount via these videos. It has cultivated a thirst to know more, and for that I thank him for his positive influence. I hope the same applies to many others.

[mitchjervis]

Great video, Professor! Only one mistake: 5:02 - Moldova did not unite with Wallachia in 1881, but in 1859 as the United Principalities, becoming a unitary state in 1862 and turning into a kingdom in 1881.

[faetont]

I really love this channel for its coverage of even the most obscure territories. Not many people before this war heard for Moldova, even less for Transnistria and only handful (including me :-) ) for Gagauzia. Nice of you to cover this topic.
I cannot wait for the episode on Republic of Peščenica :-)

[roddychristodoulou]

As far as international geopolitics is concerned this has to be the best channel available .
This video is particularly fascinating for me as I'd never heard of gauguzia .

[stevekillgore]

My sister-in-law spent near a decade with the OSCE, half of it with the concerns in Moldova. Thanks for bringing this to light.

[EamonCoyle]

The subjects you cover and the content you provide is fantastic James !! Really is a break from the main, even so called independent producers rarely offer anything different to the mainstream when it comes to news and politics. Many thanks for the work you do sir !!

[VanaeCavae]

Thank you for informing us about this. I have only heard about Transnistrian dispute in relation to Moldavia. I did not know about Moldavia having an another potential territorial dispute.

[Todd.B]

I don't think I have ever heard that word before. Many thanks Prof for keeping us informed about what's going on in the world.

[dariagrinic]

Thanks Professor! I was born in Gagauzia and, I'm ashamed to admit, did not know its history too well. Pro-Russian and anti-EU views are indeed strong and not only amongst the elderly.

[hantykje]

Gagauizia? Never heard of the place before! Now I've learned something completely new. Thank you!

[abcMW]

There is plenty of info on recent political events from Gagauzia (Găgăuzia [gəgə'uzija], in Romanian) available in Romanian, on YouTube channels from the Republic of Moldova. They do offer a sophisticated view on what is really happening in this region. Unfortunately, none of them has subtitles in English. As they say, the devil is in the details.

[jonmassey]

At last.... a thorough explanation to this region. I had since Feb 22 wondered what the set up in Moldova was all about.. Many Thanks and SUBBED 👍

[mafteim]

Congratulations.
Gagauz people are not Bulgarian nor Greek origin.
They are of Turkic origin, they preceed the arrival of the Selguck and Ottoman Turks into the Balkans and Black Sea shore areas and as you rightfully said, they are Orthodox Christians.
They actually still exists in Romania and Bulgaria in very small numbers though (many, many decades ago before WWII they lived as compact communities in their villages).
Myself, as a Romanian I am not interested at all in all these minority ethnic troubles left over from the former Soviet Union collapsed system.
I just say that whatever the Government in Chișinău and Moldavian brotherly people decide, we shall back them.
Peace from Romania.🕊🙏

[dfxvoodoocards]

5:15 - the Soviet Union invaded eastern Romania (Bessarabia) in June 1940 ! Not in July 1941.

[michaelhenault]

A Gagauzia economic tie to Russia sounds unlikely. Non-contiguous markets between Russia and an autonomous population of 180, 000 people can't be as prosperous as a connection with a local market.

Unless Russia wants to subsidized such an entity on going.

How likely is that?