{"id":497,"date":"2020-05-02T00:12:43","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T22:12:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eurominority.eu\/?page_id=497"},"modified":"2020-05-16T23:14:26","modified_gmt":"2020-05-16T21:14:26","slug":"gagauzia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.eurominority.eu\/index.php\/en\/gagauzia\/","title":{"rendered":"Gagauzia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gagauzia, the Christian Turks of Europe<\/h2>
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Gagauzia is a Turkish region of Moldova and the Ukraine. It proclaimed itself the Republic of Gagauzia in 1991, following which the Gagauzians quickly obtained the rights to be a part of Moldova, allowing them to use their language in an autonomous region.<\/p>

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The Gagauz flag is blue upon which is placed the head of a red wolf. The light blue is the traditional colour of the Turks and the Mongols. The head of the wolf recalls the 11th century Cuman Empire, a Turkish-speaking people who originated from the edge of the river Volga and who emigrated to Europe, from whom the Gagauz are descended. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

A Turkish\npeople of the Oghuz tribes, they distinguish themselves from Turks through\ntheir religion. Indeed, Christianised during their settling in Bessarabia\nduring the 19th century, the Gagauzians are Orthodox Christians and speak an\nAltaic language that is quite different from Turkish. The Gagauz are little\npublicised. Alternatively under Moldovan and Russian administration, they\nrevolted when the Soviet Empire collapsed in the 1990s. In 1991, an independent\nleader, Stepan Topal, was elected president of the \u201cGagauz Republic\u201d. After\nproclaiming its independence, at the same time as the Russians of Transnistria,\nMoldova was obliged to find a compromise with the Gagauz to retain its\nsovereignty, while granting a statute of autonomy to the region and making the\nGagauz language official. At the time the republic was created, all the towns\nwhich were populated with more than 50% of Gagauz were included in the\nterritory. Referenda were held in areas that were more disparately populated.<\/p>

Today,\nrelations with the central authorities remain very tense. The results of\nelections are the subject of open conflicts between Moldovans and the Gagauz.\nDumitru Croitor, governor from 1999 to 2002, resigned, having been subject to\nmuch pressure. Despite their relative distance from Turkey, the Gagauz maintain\nlinks with their cousins of Asia Minor. The Turkish government created a\nTurkish cultural centre and a library in Gagauzia.<\/p>

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Identity card<\/h3>
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Name<\/em><\/td>Gagauz-Yeri<\/strong> | Gagauz <\/em>
G\u0103g\u0103uzia <\/em><\/strong>| Romanian\/Moldovan<\/em>
\u0413\u0430\u0433\u0430\u0443\u0437\u0438\u044f\/Gagauziya<\/em><\/strong> | Russian<\/em>
(Gagauzia)<\/td><\/tr>
Population <\/em><\/td> 134,535 inhab.<\/strong> (2014) <\/td><\/tr>
Area<\/em><\/td> 1,832 km<\/strong>\u00b2 <\/td><\/tr>
Languages<\/em><\/td>Gagauz <\/strong>| Gagauz <\/em>
Rom\u00e2n\u0103 <\/em><\/strong>| Romanian\/Moldovan <\/em>
\u0420\u0443\u0441\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439\/Russkiy<\/em><\/strong> | Russian <\/em>(official)<\/td><\/tr>
Number of native speakers<\/em> <\/td> 140,000<\/strong> | Gagauz <\/em> (2009)<\/td><\/tr>
State of guardianship<\/em> <\/td> Moldova<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Official status<\/em> <\/td>Autonomous region of Moldova <\/td><\/tr>
Capital<\/em><\/td>Komrat <\/strong>| Gagauz <\/em>
Comrat <\/em><\/strong>| Romanian\/Moldovan<\/em>
\u041a\u043e\u043c\u0440\u0430\u0442\/Komrat <\/em><\/strong> | Russian <\/em>
(Comrat)<\/td><\/tr>
Historic religion<\/em> <\/td> Russian Orthodox Christian<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Flag<\/em> <\/td>K\u00f6kbayrak<\/strong> | Gagauz <\/em>
(Blue Flag) <\/td><\/tr>
Anthem<\/em> <\/td>Gagauziya Milli Mar\u015f\u0131<\/strong> | Gagauz <\/em>
(Gagauzian National Anthem) <\/td><\/tr>
Motto<\/em> <\/td> None <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>
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Timeline <\/h3>
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