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Can someone please explain me the fucking difference between Moldova and Moldavia?

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It's well confusing.

― Gatinha (rwillmsen), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 22:23 (twenty years ago)

They're two different places? Why not tell the World you're an ignorant cunt via teh Internets?

― Excelsior Syndrum (noodle vague), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 22:29 (twenty years ago)

Moldova - likes to be tickled, prefers missionary and cuddling
Moldavia - S&M freak, will piss on you when your back is turned

― Dan (You Asked!) Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 22:30 (twenty years ago)

I don't know, could you disambiguate it for me?

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 22:30 (twenty years ago)

Moldavia is somewhere Dynasty scriptwriters thought they'd made up for a ludicrous storyline which ended with nearly everyone being shot at a wedding. Prince Michael of Moldavia was played by Robin of Sherwood.

― ailsa (ailsa), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 22:31 (twenty years ago)

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1585676195.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

― kingfish russian bigamist (kingfish 2.0), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 22:32 (twenty years ago)

LONG LIVE SPACE RACE
LONG LIVE MOLDVANIA!

― GET EQUIPPED WITH BUBBLE LEAD (ex machina), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 22:41 (twenty years ago)

The correct version is Moldova. Moldavia is the old russified version of the country name, as opposed to the original, Romanian/Moldovan pronunciation. Also, Romanian and Moldova are actually the same language.

― Jena (JenaP), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 22:46 (twenty years ago)

I thought Moldova was an ex-Soviet Republic in the USSR and Moldavia was a region in Romania.

― M. White (Miguelito), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 22:50 (twenty years ago)

which country was Victor von Doom the despot of?

― kingfish russian bigamist (kingfish 2.0), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 22:51 (twenty years ago)

The border of Greece and Albania?

― Kiwi, Wednesday, 11 January 2006 22:54 (twenty years ago)

Wait, why is everyone being all jerky and question-avoidy about this?

From what I can tell, Moldavia was the long-running area name for that stretch of land between Romania and the Ukraine. At some point the Soviets created a republic -- Moldavia -- right on that border, even though the traditional Moldavia would have been more on the Romanian side. Then after WWII Romania ceded more land to the Soviets, who folded it in with Moldavia to form what's now Moldova.

Does that seem right? I know next to nothing about any of this.

― nabisco (nabisco), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 22:54 (twenty years ago)

When I was a kid I played some King's Quest-ish pc game that took place in a fake eastern European country called Moldova, or Moldovia, or Morovia, or something. What game was this??? It's killing me.

I think there were little blobby creatures called "antwerps" involved.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 22:55 (twenty years ago)

That was Latveria, Kingfish. Tighten up.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 22:56 (twenty years ago)

Ah, okay, this all sits together. Basically the equivalent of if the U.S. had called Arizona "Sonora" instead, and then later taken over part of Chihuahua and folded it in and called the whole thing "Sonara."

― nabisco (nabisco), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 22:57 (twenty years ago)

All I know is that Kaliningrad is NOT in Moldova. Or Moldavia.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 22:58 (twenty years ago)

x post

Exackly. 2 different geographical/historical areas doesn't = the same thing just cos they got similar name.

― Excelsior Syndrum (noodle vague), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 22:59 (twenty years ago)

This is one of those rare things that google and wikipewdia can't quite handle.

Thanks somebody for introducing me to Zlad!

Apparently Moldavia...is sometimes referred to as Moldova.

― Gatinha (rwillmsen), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 22:59 (twenty years ago)

why is everyone being all jerky and question-avoidy about this?

who's being jerky? i sincerely have no idea!

That was Latveria, Kingfish. Tighten up

my skillz have failed me today. my kung fu is too weak.

― kingfish russian bigamist (kingfish 2.0), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 22:59 (twenty years ago)

But I'm correct in that Dynasty writers made it up and failed to notice it was actually a real place, right?

(people are being jerky and question-avoidy because this is ILE)

― ailsa (ailsa), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 23:02 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, I always figured the Dynasty writers didn't realise it was a real place.

― Excelsior Syndrum (noodle vague), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 23:05 (twenty years ago)

This might shed some (dim)light:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2881291.stm

― andy ---, Wednesday, 11 January 2006 23:06 (twenty years ago)

No Noodle I think you're wrong and oversimplifying! Soviet Moldavia was evidently named that because it was contiguous with and similar to Romanian Moldavia -- you're acting like there's no difference between the political borders and the underlying place-name! E.g. from what I'm reading right now there are contingents in Moldova who support reunification with Romania.

― nabisco (nabisco), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 23:08 (twenty years ago)

I don't think, when I was a teenager watching Dynasty, that I knew it was a real place as well. Whenever I come across it still I think of Dynasty and Michael Praed and wedding-massacres rather than, you know, an actual real place. TV be dumbing people down...

― ailsa (ailsa), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 23:09 (twenty years ago)

The Moldovan National Anthem

― Gatinha (rwillmsen), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 23:11 (twenty years ago)

(I.e. they're not "two different geographical regions" -- you could take it as one large loosely defined geographical region that's been continually reinterpreted and politically split-up and traded back and forth. Plus you would have serious problems on the off off chance that there was somehow some kind of Romanian reunification: "Hello, poorest country in Europe, come unto us!")

― nabisco (nabisco), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 23:11 (twenty years ago)

I'm exaggerating a bit it's true and I can't think of a similar example right now but I figure it's one of those apparently superficial differences that matters a lot to the inhabitants; like Ulster/Northern Ireland kinda thing.

― Excelsior Syndrum (noodle vague), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 23:13 (twenty years ago)

"With per capita income officially put at $420 (£267) a year, Moldova has the unenviable distinction of being the poorest country in Europe..."

It's pretty crazy to think a European country could be that poor!

I always thought of Moldova as the quintessence of all Herge's Eastern European Tinin adventures... like King Ottoman's Sceptre. Though I think he was trying for more of a Balkan feel, like Montenegro or somewheres.

― andy --, Wednesday, 11 January 2006 23:14 (twenty years ago)

I'm becoming really keen on visiting the Transdniester Moldovan Republic:

When independence was declared in 1991, a Russian-speaking majority living in the east of the country formed a breakaway zone - the so-called Transdniester Moldovan Republic.

This entity, recognised by no one but with its own police, border controls and currency, is a haven for smugglers.

Yet it also contains much of what was Moldova's industry, including a steel plant and power-generating facilities.

― Gatinha (rwillmsen), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 23:18 (twenty years ago)

xpost

Yeah yeah dude but it matters the other way round, too! (I.e. there are a lot of people who would like to impress upon you that the northern bit of Ireland is not geographically/culturally separate from the rest of the island.)

But yeah, we're talking different levels of this -- no question that living on the Romanian side of the border means living in a very different place from Moldova. But wondering about the history and relationship there isn't exactly like asking the difference between Slovakia and Slovenia, you know? (More like, yes, sorting out the history of Northern Ireland.)

― nabisco (nabisco), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 23:18 (twenty years ago)

Where was Genosha?

― GET EQUIPPED WITH BUBBLE LEAD (ex machina), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 23:20 (twenty years ago)

x post

Yeah, true dat. (But the point about Ulster/Northern Island isn't about difference - I dunno how familiar you are with the politics there, but they're 2 different geographical areas that are confused by people that want to pretend that Northern Ireland is culturally separate from the rest of the island.)

I shouldn't've started sociogeographical nitpicking tonight tho on account of being slightly drunk.

― Excelsior Syndrum (noodle vague), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 23:29 (twenty years ago)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v345/Chillsmack/map.jpg

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 23:37 (twenty years ago)

Jordan I am deeply curious about the spelling on that map.

― nabisco (nabisco), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 23:38 (twenty years ago)

Don't ask kwestions, Nabizco.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 23:40 (twenty years ago)

Is that NOIZE AFRIKA?!?!

― Excelsior Syndrum (noodle vague), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 23:41 (twenty years ago)

What are you goying to do, Jordan, throw me in the ozean?

― nabisco (nabisco), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 23:41 (twenty years ago)

nabisco OTM about Moldova, all the way, from what I can tell. I'm from there!

― Jena (JenaP), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 23:51 (twenty years ago)

oops. did i just kill this for everyone, all of the sudden?

― Jena (JenaP), Thursday, 12 January 2006 00:04 (twenty years ago)

nah, my mayfly attention span had already transferred.

― Excelsior Syndrum (noodle vague), Thursday, 12 January 2006 00:05 (twenty years ago)

I thought Genosha was in Wizkonsin

― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 12 January 2006 00:07 (twenty years ago)

Jena tell us about your troubled homeland.

― andy ---, Thursday, 12 January 2006 00:13 (twenty years ago)

I thought Genosha was in Wizkonsin

Har Har.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 12 January 2006 00:34 (twenty years ago)

Well, it's a small country with no natural resources or not much of anything going for it. It had the chance to rejoin Romania in the early nineties, which would have improved things, if barely. Once it failed to do so, it remained stuck under Russian economic control and overall influence, I doubt things will improve there anytime soon.

― Jena (JenaP), Thursday, 12 January 2006 00:36 (twenty years ago)

I mean they re-elected the Moldovan Communist Party... TWICE! That's just sad.

I'm stopping right here.

― Jena (JenaP), Thursday, 12 January 2006 00:38 (twenty years ago)

"no natural resources..."

What about the wine?

― andy ---, Thursday, 12 January 2006 00:53 (twenty years ago)

As far as I know, most of that goes to Russia. A lot of wealthy Russian privatized most of the wine enterprises formerly owned by the state and upped the alcohol percentage for enhanced effectiveness. I haven't heard of Moldovan wine being a competitive product in Europe since sometime in the 70's maybe?

― Jena (JenaP), Thursday, 12 January 2006 01:07 (twenty years ago)

I had some cheap Moldovan wine around Halloween a few years ago! It was...awful.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 12 January 2006 01:19 (twenty years ago)

Thank you Jena.

― Gatinha (rwillmsen), Thursday, 12 January 2006 06:05 (twenty years ago)

Cheers ;)

― Jena (JenaP), Thursday, 12 January 2006 06:07 (twenty years ago)

I guess you could compare the situation to the East and West Germanies. Moldova was artifically detached and separated from teh Moldovan region of Romania. Moldova actually has Romanian or a very close dialect as official language. It looked like the country would reunite with Romania in the early 90's but fear of Russian retaliation (who are mainly behind the Transdniester autonomists) scared people off.

― Baaderonixx, born again in Xixax (baaderonixx), Thursday, 12 January 2006 09:12 (twenty years ago)

All this talk of places prefixed Mold- is making me think of stale green furry stuff.

I wish they'd invented penicillin there.

― C J (C J), Thursday, 12 January 2006 09:33 (twenty years ago)

Then there´s Monrovia, of course...

― Gatinha (rwillmsen), Thursday, 12 January 2006 14:54 (twenty years ago)

do Moldovans feel separate from Rumania? I got the impression they were only separate countries because of some kind of shite about not redrawing eastern european borders.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Thursday, 12 January 2006 15:12 (twenty years ago)

My boyfriend's dad grew up in Romania as the child of Moldovan parents, and he has indicated to me that he is "Actually Moldovan, and not Romanian". I met someone else recently who said the exact same thing, so I believe it is important to Moldovans to distinguish themselves as a separate nationality. (Whether or not they are a separate ethnic group, I don't know)

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Thursday, 12 January 2006 15:22 (twenty years ago)

Sadly a lot of people feel that way. I personally feel Romanian, Moldovan is a nationality invented by historians during the Stalin regime, to keep the people in the regions separate. It's sort of like maintaining that you're Bavarian and not German. Moldovans are very confused about their identities.

During the Soviet Union, children were taught that they were different from Romanians, and that Moldovans were actually opressed by Romanians for centuries. That's where a lot of those patterns of 'feeling different' come from.

― Jena (JenaP), Thursday, 12 January 2006 16:13 (twenty years ago)


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