Just a Little History

Lets start of with knowing how the Gagauz people came about. First you can find the culture living in Moldova (southern) and in Bulgaria (northeastern). What is very interesting about this culture is that the origins is kind of confusing, some say they are of Turkic nomadic tribes or have a Anatolian- steppe origin. In order to really figure out which origin is the right one, you would have to look about the chromosomes! This is interesting because it just shows how important knowing where you came from really is.

In the beginning of the 19th century, Gagauz people were leaving northeastern Bulgaria to Bessarabia because of political and religious controls that the Ottoman Turks had. Between 1820-1846, Russian Empire gave the Gagauz people land have help with finances to be able settle in Bessarabia which had been vacated by Nogai tribes. This was not the only place that they would be seen settled in, they also were found settled in villages that were belonged to boyars*. Because of where they were located, they were often called Bulgarian, Gagauz people also were found supporting schools and participating the national movement of Bulgarians.

On August 19, 1991, Gagauzia declared itself as independent.

Although in February 1994, President Mircea Snegur did not give the independence the Gaguaz people wanted, he did grant them a region in Moldova. In the same year, Moldova gave Gagauz people the right of self-determination!


* highest member of the feudal Bulgarian people.