THURSSSSSSSSDAY

Today is Romanian Language Day, a public holiday in Moldova. In March 2023, Moldova changed its state language to Romanian, also changing the name of this holiday to Romanian Language Day. Previously known as “Limba noastră” (Our Language), it celebrates the state language of Moldova.

In 1940, Moldova (then known as Bessarabia) had been occupied by the USSR as a result of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. The use of Russian Cyrillic was then imposed as the official alphabet of the newly founded Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (MSSR). The majority of Moldovans had been speaking Romanian and the imposition of Cyrillic was seen as an attempt by the Soviets to drive a wedge between Moldova and Romania, forcing closer ties with Russia.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, Moldova became independent. On August 27th 1989, the Popular Front of Moldova organized a mass demonstration of over 300,000 people in the capital Chişinău. This demonstration became known as the Great National Assembly and helped convince the authorities of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic to adopt a language law. On August 31st 1989, the Supreme Soviet of the MSSR adopted a law that stipulated a return to the Latin alphabet from the Cyrillic script imposed by the USSR after the second world war. The legislation explicitly mentioned the fact that the Moldovan language is identical to the Romanian language. The following year, parliament instituted August 31st as a national holiday celebrating the Romanian language.