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There are a number of national symbols of Moldova, representing Moldova or its people in either official or unofficial capacities.
| Part of a series on the |
| Culture of Moldova |
|---|
| |
| History |
| People |
| Mythology |
| Festivals |
| Religion |
| Literature |
| Music |
| Sport |
There are a number of national symbols of Moldova, representing Moldova or its people in either official or unofficial capacities.
| Type | Image | Symbol |
|---|---|---|
| National flag |  | The State Flag of the Republic of Moldova (Romanian : Drapelul de Stat al Republicii Moldova) is a rectangular cloth, equally vertically tripartite, starting from the flag pole in blue, yellow and red, similar to the flag of Romania. The difference is the State Emblem of the Republic of Moldova disposed in the midst of the yellow field, constituting 1/5 the length of the flag. [1] |
| National coat of arms |  | The State Emblem of the Republic of Moldova (Romanian : Stema de Stat a Republicii Moldova) is a horizontally divided shield having in the upper part red chromatics, in the lower part – blue, loaded with the head of aurochs having between its horns a star with eight rays. The head of aurochs is flanked on the right by a five-petalled rose, and on the left by a crescent. The aurochs is also present on the coat of arms of Romania. All the elements present on the shield are of golden. The shield is placed on the breast of a natural eagle holding in its beak a golden cross and taking in the right claw a green olive branch, and in the left claw a golden scepter. [2] |
| National anthem | Our language | Limba noastră It was written by Alexei Mateevici in 1917, one year before the union of Bessarabia with Romania. The music for the anthem was composed by Alexandru Cristea. Between 1917–18 and 1991–94, the national anthem of Moldova was Deșteaptă-te, române! , which is also the national anthem of Romania. |
| National holiday |  | Independence Day It commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence from the Soviet Union on 27 August 1991. [3] The act of independence was officially recognized on March 2, 1992, when Moldova gained membership of the United Nations. Being a public holiday most people and employees, also most retail businesses and public institutions are closed on this day. |
| Type | Image | Symbol |
|---|---|---|
| National flower |  | The basil |
 | The dog-rose | |
| National tree |  | The oak |
 | The sour cherry | |
 | The walnut | |
| National animal emblem |  | The Aurochs |
 | The wolf | |
| National bird |  | The white stork |
| National river |  | The Dniester |
 | The Prut It forms the western border of Moldova with Romania. | |
| National holiday |  | The Mărțișor begins on 1 March and lasts 10 days, symbolizing the coming of spring. |
 | Paștele Blajinilor is celebrated the Monday after Thomas Sunday. | |
 | Hora | |
| National monument |  | Monument to Stephen the Great and Holy in Chișinău |
Moldovan, also known historically as Moldavian, is one of the two local names for the Romanian language in Moldova. Moldovan was declared the official language of Moldova in Article 13 of the constitution adopted in 1994, while the 1991 Declaration of Independence of Moldova used the name Romanian. In 2003, the Moldovan parliament adopted a law defining Moldovan and Romanian as glottonyms for the same language. In 2013, the Constitutional Court of Moldova interpreted that Article 13 of the constitution is superseded by the Declaration of Independence, thus giving official status to the name Romanian. The breakaway region of Transnistria continues to recognize Moldovan as one of its official languages, alongside Russian and Ukrainian. Ukraine also continues to make a distinction between Moldovan and Romanian, with one village declaring its language to be Romanian and another declaring it to be Moldovan, though Ukrainian officials have announced an intention to remove the legal status of Moldovan. On 16 March 2023, the Moldovan Parliament approved a law on referring to the national language as Romanian in all legislative texts and the constitution. On 22 March, the president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, promulgated the law.
The president of the Republic of Moldova is the head of state of Moldova. The current president is Maia Sandu, who assumed office on 24 December 2020.
The official state language of Moldova is Romanian which is the native language of 82.2% of the population; it is also spoken as a primary language by other ethnic minorities. Gagauz, Russian, and Ukrainian languages are granted official regional status in Gagauzia and/or Transnistria.
Moldova–Russia relations are the bilateral relations between the Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation, two Eastern European, post-Soviet, ex-communist countries. Russian support for the self-proclaimed Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (Transnistria) and a substantial Russian military presence therein strained Moldovan relations with Russia.
The Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Moldova was a document adopted on 27 August 1991 by the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova following the failure of the August coup attempt.
Ion Madan is a Moldovan politician, who served as member of the Parliament of Moldova.
Ion Buga is a Moldovan politician and history professor.
Gheorghe Amihalachioaie is a Moldovan lawyer and politician who served as member of the Parliament of Moldova from 1990 to 1994, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Moldova.
Ilie Bratu is a Moldovan politician.
The Order of the Republic is Moldova's highest order. It is awarded by the President of Moldova for exceptional merits in all fields which benefit Moldova and humanity as a whole. The order was established in July 1992 and its collar and badge are made from silver.
Demir Dragnev is a historian from the Republic of Moldova.
Ion Druţă, also known as Ion Drutse is a Moldovan writer, poet, playwright and literary historian. He is an honorary member of the Romanian Academy.
Nicolae Andronic is a Moldovan jurist and lawyer. He served as member of Parliament of Moldova between 1990 and 1998 and as Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Moldova in 1994. He headed the extra-parliamentary Republican Popular Party from 2005 to 2015.
The Chișinău Independence Day Parade is one of the events of the Independence Day of Moldova held by the Moldovan National Army. The parade is held in Chișinău, Moldova on August 27 every 5 to 10 years on Great National Assembly Square.
The Presidential Palace is the official residence of the President of Moldova.
The Honor Guard Company of the Moldovan National Army is an honor guard unit of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova. Founded on 22 June 1992, it is part of the National Army's Guard Battalion. To be eligible for the honor guard, one should be at least 185 cm, have strong health, and have a pleasant appearance.
The Moldovan National Army is the senior branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova composed of the Air Force and the Land Forces. The National Army is considered to be the regular duty military force while the other branch of the armed forces, the Trupele de Carabinieri, is focused on paramilitary activities.
The Chief of the General Staff of the Moldovan National Army also known as the Commander of National Army is the professional head of the Moldovan National Army and the larger Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova. The position was established on 26 April 1994, two days after the general staff of the national army was established.
COVID-19 vaccination in Moldova started on 2 March 2021. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Moldova was very reliant on external help from other countries, having received donations of vaccines from Romania, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and China. In fact, Moldova's vaccination campaign started due to a donation from Romania on 27 February 2021 composed of 21,600 Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses, with the first vaccinated person in the country being Alexandru Botizatu. Romania had promised earlier, on 29 December 2020, that it would help Moldova with a collaboration project which would include 200,000 vaccine doses to help Moldova combat the pandemic, but also other matters of the country. Romania subsequently made more donations on 27 March 2021 with 50,400 vaccine units; on 17 April 2021 with 132,000 vaccine doses, fulfilling its promise to Moldova; and on 7 May 2021 with 100,800 vaccine units even though this surpassed the promised 200,000 vaccine doses.