Bessarabian Borderlands: one , two states, multiple ethnicities Deema Kaneff, Monica Heintz

To cite this version:

Deema Kaneff, Monica Heintz. Bessarabian Borderlands: one region, two states, multiple ethnicities. Anthropology of East Review, 2006, State borders and local boundaries: the case of , 1 (24), pp. 6-16. ￿hal-02895561￿

HAL Id: hal-02895561 https://hal.parisnanterre.fr//hal-02895561 Submitted on 25 Aug 2020

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Introduction

BESSARABIAN BORDERLANDS: ONE REGION, TWO STATES, MULTIPLE ETHNICITIES D. Kaneff Max Planck Jnstitute for Social Anthropology, Halle, & M. Heintz University of Paris X- Nanterre

In May 2003, the Governor from , between and Union was relaxed after accompanied by an entourage of other officiais, 1989, but is being reinforced again, in preparation for visited a •village situated in the most southern part of the admittance of Romania to the European Union Odessa province, near the district capital of Reni on due to take place in 2007. While the rise of new the river, Uhaine. The occasion for the borders and nation-states are changes to be reckoned gathering of officiais was the opening of the gas with in the region, this collection of articles also pipeline in the district. The Governor began his considers other boundaries that prove equally speech in Russian with the statement 'People ask significant: boundaries of a historical, ethnie or where is the Reniiski raion. And the answer is - at economic nature, which delineate the area aJong the end of , almost in Romania!'. He then different configurations. The crosscutting of political briefly paused and as an afterthought added 'sorry, borders and ethnie and economic boundaries results shall I speak in Russian or Ukrainian?'. The loud in a shifting map of spaces and identities. While in chorus from the largely village audience confirmed some contexts the historically denoted region of that he should continue in Russian, while one man, Bessarabia is the significant unit, on other occasions leaned over to his neighbour and in good humour the smaller unit of 'village' is the point of reference ridiculed the futility of giving the speech in any other (be it a Moldovan, Bulgarian, Gagauz or ethnically language. mixed village). On other occasions, citizenship in the new nation-state is of central importance. 1 In these opening moments of the speech public acknowledgement was made of the geo­ In this paper we consider borders in the most administrative periphery of this southernmost tip of broad sense, that is, as both literai (ie actual geographical) l,orders anèi conceptual (socio-culturaJ) Ukraine. Language too was highlighted as a sensitive 2 issue - a bone of particular contention in the boundaries . Bessarabia is� site of multiple borders traditionally Russian speaking Odessa region where and boundaries which 'delimit what is to be included inhabitants feel marginalised in the new Ukraine state and excluded' (Rosier & Wendl 1999: 2). Thus that has failed to acknowledge Russian as the 'borderlands represent a juncture between the literai nation's second official language. The audience and conceptual' borders (Rosier & Wendl: 226). In (ethnie , , Gagauz, fact an important theme of the papers in this and ), perhaps more than the officiais, collection is that in order to understand this particular appreciated Russian as the only common Ianguage borderland region, we need to look at literai borders between them in this ethnically mixed region. and conceptual boundaries as complementary processes that sometimes reinforce each other, Political and economic reform across eastern sometimes subvert each other. Underlying this focus Eurçpe and the former was on the complementary relationship between litera) accompanied by the dismantling/establishing of borders and conceptual boundaries is the recognition borders and the emergence of new nation states. that such places are always areas of contested power Bessarabia, the region we are looking at in this (Wilson & Donnan 1998: I O & 26), a point volume, was until recently a part of the Soviet Union, highlighted by the changing · configuration of both with an interna) border extending across two states - borders and boundaries in Bessarabia. While it is the Ukraiqian SSR and the Moldovan SSR. This clear that literai borders have changed over time, as internai border became an international border after various powers exerting influence over the area have I 991, following proclamations of independence by either expanded or contracted their spheres of · the two Republics. At the same time, the strictly influence, conceptual boundaries, based on ethnicity regulated border in the west established in 1944 and shared history, have remained more constant (although they too have changed). What is required is periphery in the case of Ukraine), it is necessary to an exploration of how the construction and highlight a number of historical moments in the dismantling of state borders intersects with the locality's past. formation· and dissolving of conceptual boundaries The Bessarabian region lies between the (Pelkmans, in press; Berdahl 1999). The aim of this , the Danube and the Nistru rivers, covering the collection is more modest: the papers that follow vast part of what is now as well as the suggest that both boundaries and borders are being southwestern most part of Ukraine (south of Odessa­ re-valued and used as a resource, particularly at such 3 to the Romanian border - see map below). The times of économie uncertainty. regional name 'Bessarabia' began its geopolitical This volume consists of a collection of existence in 1812, with the incorporation of the essays that were originally presented at a workshop eastern part of the Romanian of Moldova convened in March 2005 at the Max Planck Institute into the following the Russian­ 4 for Social Anthropology in Halle . Many of the Turkish War of 1806-12. Previously the term had participant,s were local scholars working on the been used to designate only the southern part of region from, a variety of academic backgrounds: Bessarabia that had belonged to the Romanian history, sociology. and ethnology. But in every case principality of in the (hence the authors look at bourldaries or borders in the the name 'Bessarabia', which is derived from context of the new nation-states and economic 'Besarab', the name of the ruling dynasty of hardship. The first paper takes a historical Wallachia). Bessarabia was the target of large perspective of economic relations in the region population influx from the mid-18th century onwards. (Samkhvalov & Samkhvalov) while the second Before this it was sparselr settled by and focuses on one type of economic activity - cross - from the end of the 17 1 century - also by Russian border trading (Polese). Migration based on escaping religious persecution in other ethnic/historical is presented as a response parts of the Russian Empire). As part of the Russian to present difficulties (Ganchev and Demirdirek), Empire, the zone became the home to different while other authors (Anastasova and Boneva) groups: Bulgarians escaping repression from the identify the reverse process - an inward retreat by , Gagauz, , and . locals that rejects the integrating nationalising The new settlers were encouraged to settle by the policies of the new states. granting of freeland allotments (Gitelman, 1995). In the following section we look at the history of Bessarabia. Our intention is not to give a detailed or exhaustive record of the region's past, but to highlight the main borders and boundaries that exist in present day Bessarabia and identify their historical source. This allows us, in the section after, to look at how locals negotiate daily with these differentborders and boundaries, calling on them in a variety of enterprising ways and using them to their advantage in the difficult economic situations. In the Conclusion we return to our wider concern: boundaries and borders as a strategic resource which varies in different contexts, where sometimes the nation-state, sometimes the region and sometimes the local village provide the guiding framework forlocal activities.5 State borders and local boundaries Bessarabia can be thought of as an 'institutionalised' borderland, in the sense that it has always been located in a peripheral position with respect to centres of political and often also economjc power.· In understanding the present position of Bessarabia as both a local 'centre' (for people living in· the area) and a periphery (econorrucally and politically, also an administrative/geographical Precisely because of the peripheral character particularly difficult position. One local response was of the region - located at the margins of the Ottoman to play up Soviet citizenship rather than nationality. and Russian Empires, it was a crossroad and The presence of internai borders didn't hinder travel frequently a battlefield - the place attracted those across the Soviet Union for work, education or seeking religious and ethnie freedoms. In 1856, in leisure activities. For example, during the 1980s, it the aftermath of the , lost the was not uncommon for rural inhabitants from two most southern districts of Bessarabia to the Bessarabia - often entire families - to move to prinçipality of Moldova, which united three years Kazakstan or other Central Asian republics for work 7 later with the principality of Wallachia to form the migration . Others in the region fondly recall their . But such an was holidays in or other more distant locations in relatively short lived with the Russian Empire the USSR. or their five years spent in one or another regaining the lost territory following the Russian­ city while gaining a tertiary education. Of course Turkish war in 1878. It remained a Russian gubernia travel across international borders, for example to (province) until 1918 when the en tire Bessarabian sorne of the historical homelands (especially those area became once more subsumed by the Romanian countries not part of the socialist block), was much kingdorrl. This was confirmed by the more difficult. in 1919, but hever offücially recognised by the USSR In the same way that national identity was (Livezeanu, 1995; King, 2000; Fruntasu, 2003). In th always ultimately subsumed to a Soviet one, so the the 20 century, the region was passed back and forth USSR was farmore than a collection of nation-states. a number of times between the USSR and Romania. Soviet national republics were ultimately valued as In 1940 the USSR used the guarantees given by the parts of a larger political, economic and Ribbentrop-Molotov pact of non-aggression with admini trative whole. The region was incorporated Germany to occupy the region. In 1941, Romania through a set of overarching economic, social and used its new alliance with Germany to take it back. cultural policies, which transformed the area in Finally in 1944, the USSR used its victory over fondamental ways. It enabled the continuation of Germany to incorporate the region into the Soviet exchange. lndeed, in many respects it increased Empire where it remained for almost 50 years. exchange, for example educational and economic Romania renounced further claims to the region. exchanges across the inner 'border' between the Bessarabia was thus incorporated relatively Moldovan and Ukrainian parts of the Soviet Union. late into the USSR, in 1944. It missed out on the It al o opened up the region to the far reaches of the benefits of industrialisation that other parts of the Empire (especially at the Port sites, see Samkhvalov USSR experienced after , and the region & Sarnkhvalov). Economie integration became entered the Soviet Union devastated by war and evident through common policies that resulted in the particularly underdeveloped. Severe famine (1946- speciali ation of production and division of labour. 47) and Stalin's (several waves between This shaped the development of economic activities 1941 and 1949) further disseminated the area. not only between the two republics but across the Further, entry into the USSR split the territory into USSR, drawing ail Soviet republics into relations of two: the southern part was incorporated into the mutual dependency. existing Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, the After 199 l a process of devolution meant northern and central parts, together with a strip of the dismantling of the USSR, which had been a land situation between Nistru and Nipru (the region centralised Union with a cornmon language, a of ), made up the Moldovian Soviet common monetary currency, and integrated Socialist Republic. economic/political policies. This dismantling was This split between the two new Soviet essentially the reverse of the supranationalism being republics was nominal in the sense that the border built up as the EU. The region, once well integrated between them was internai (and not physically into the USSR, is now divided between two intrusive). But the incorporation of the region into independent states - Moldova and Ukraine. Two the Soviet Union had far reaching implications. As new capitals, Chisinau and Kiev, are trying to replace new Soviet citizens, the inhabitants received as national centres of political and passports which recorded, amongst other information, administrative power. Previously 'internai' their membership in an official nationality6. movement within the USSR has now been Safeguard mechanisms were established to protect 'internationalized' (Brubaker 1992:269). The degree national minorities through administrative subunits of economic integration of the region into the USSR (Hirsch 2005: 160), but immediately after the war, became abundantly clear after 1991, when the 'enemy-nationals', such as the Bulgarians, were in a economic dependency of the two new republics on Moscow, on each, and on other republics, posed a most important Moldovan businesses are not situated significant hurdle to independence. As we note in Moldova, but in Russia; in the fact that the below, both republics, but especially Moldova, embassies of most foreign states on which many remain intricarely dependent on areas now outside the Moldovans depend are not situated in Chisinau, but new nation-state. in (an estimated 15-20% of the population are engaged in migration); and in the fact that the The newly established republics of Ukraine vast majority of the new Moldovan elites have been and Moldova promoted their titular nations through a formed in Romania in the past fifteen years. variety of legi�lative acts, including the declaration of Ukrainian and (firstly Romanian and then) Moldovan New citizenship rights are also a factor to respectively as their only state languages. At the consider. During the Soviet period, citizenship was sarne time, they introduced policies that promoted granted to ail residents on Soviet territory. The other ethnie groups as minorities. Despite moves to national identity of each individual was recognised independence and the official replacement of the and featured in the Soviet passport - there was no in administrative activities, Russian differentiation in this respect between nationals from remains the 1language of everyday interethnic the titular nation of any Soviet republic and its co­ communication ih Bessarabia. Further, the path resident nationals. However, declarations of towards Moldovan inllependence was less smooth independence have been followed by different than for Ukraine (although the latter also has its policies for defining citizenship belonging. Unlike problems). Claims to independence by Moldovans, the situation in Estonia, where citizenship was who are Romanian speakers, triggered anxiety initially granted exclusively to ethnie Estonians and amongst other ethnie groups. The response, the large Russian minority became stateless, in the sometimes involving outright conflict, included Republic of Moldova ail residents were entitled to claims to autonomy by Gagauz (in the Gagauz Moldovan citizenship, regardless of their ethnie Autonomous region - see Dernirdirek) and in belonging, length of stay in the country or knowledge Transnistria. As two separate countries belonging to of Moldovan/Romanian (Kolsto, 2002). A similar the Commonwealth of Independent States, Ukraine situation exists in Ukraine. Nevertheless, the and Moldova legally uphold free exchange relations imposition of a new state language and the and facilities for the movement of people within the enforcement of a new project has left limits of international regulations. However, there non-titular ethnie groups in both countries suddenly has been some flux. For example, the western and marginalized. This has increased- to echo the 9 southern border between the newly dissected movement of titular nations - their ethnie awareness. Bessarabia and Romania, which was well guarded Language remains a key issue in this context. For during Soviet times, was relaxed in 1990. It has been example, in Moldova e.,thnic min,prities have not, to reinforced more recently with the anticipated date, adopted the state ·Janguage, despite the state' s extenson of the EU frontier, due to Romania's offer of free classes and an initial 8 imminent ascension to the European Union . ruling that state employees must learn the language Although both new independent states have within five years (an obligation never enforced). The ambitions to join the EU, this is unlikely to take place 'rninorities', who form 22% of Moldova's in the near future and for now they remain outside population, prefer to use Russian in the public 'Europe'. sphere.10 Bessarabia remains a peripheral and At the same time, minority status grants marginal region. With respect to the Ukrainian part, Bulgarians, Gagauz, Moldovans in Ukraine, and the region is geographically as well as politically and Ukrainians in Moldova ·special access and claims to administratively distant from Kiev- a fact openly their historical 'homelands'. Here we find it useful to acknowledged by officiais, as evident in the anecdote draw on Brubaker (1996), who identifies three with which ;,e began this Introduction. Bessarabian important factors at play in eastern European Ukraine is also an economic periphery; the region has : the 'nationalizing state' (which has the spiralled into decline, having received little support project of building a nation state and state loyalties), from Kiev in its bid to maintain the international 'national rninont1es populations' · (which are activities of its Ports. Moldovan Bessarabia is also a historically situated on the territory of the periphery, due to its_ continued economic and political nationalizing state but do not belong to the majority dependency on Moscow (to a lesser extent this is also ethnie group) and 'national homelands' evident in Ukraine and in many of the other former (neighbouring countries to which national minorities Soviet republics). Moldovan marginality is indicated, could refer as 'their' nation state). The dynamics for example, in the fact that the headquarters of the between these three factors determine the shape of most nationalist manifestations in . He Bulgarian sister and family in what is now a town further suggests that national minorities can across the border in Moldova. In turn the 'alleviate' the pressure (for example, of linguistic 'Moldovan' (Bulgarian) nephews spend the en tire homogenisation) coming from the nationalising state summer holidays with their aunt and grandmother in by maintaining their links with their homeland Nagorna. Birthdays, and New Year and a ( 1996). What is particular to Bessarabia is that most variety of other occasions bring the extended family minority groups have not been created by a shift of together. Educational connections, based on people borders, but by voluntary settlers who corne from knowing each other during the Soviet period when countries that do not share borders with Ukraine and they studied together (many in Ukraine Bessarabia Moldova. In turn, this means that present migration obtained their university educations in Chisinau and special access claims take on a particular form. rather than the more geographically distant Odessa) For example, Gagauz Ukraines choose to migrate to provide close alliances between people now living Turkf!Y rather than any other country, because they 'across the border'. At the same time there has been say that their language skills make these places easier an increased population flow for reasons of tracte when se�kin� employment abroad. (see, for example, Polese). In many cases, such cross­ border connections render the new nation-states Such relations with their historical 'irrelevant' through the of shared 'homeland' (in some cases dormant for many histories that temporally refer to pre-1991 times and decades) are now being activated, partly as a strategic the common use of the Russian language. Everyday response to Bessarabian marginality and econornic border activities take place in Russian, the only decline. An example is from the ethnie Bulgarian common language across the two nations and village of Nagorna (7 km from the Moldovan border between the different ethnie groups. The new state in Ukraine): Kaneff learnt that the family of one of border is not undermined deliberately; rather there is the Nagorna school teachers, who has worked and a practical necessity for communication between kin lives in Moldova since the 1980s, was applying for a and economic traders across the border. Exchanges Bulgarian passport. The family did not intend to live based on shared history and economic activity often in ; they simply reàlized that access to a bypass the new international border. Bulgarian passport would open doors in terms of migration and work in Europe (Bulgaria is due to Both new states try to re-focus their become an EU member in 2007). Similarly, Heintz minority populations through educational policies conducted a survey in the Moldovan village of Satu that ·attempt to mould a new generation of citizens Vechi 11 and found that from a sample of JOO who can speak Moldovan or Ukrainian. Also, through households, five contained members who held a a variety of state sponsored ceremonies (such as . Of those, two spontaneously national ho'lidays) which help to draw the periphery claimed that they needed the passport only for away from the border and refocus citizens inward to travelling to the EU for the purposes of car the centres of power. To some extent the legacies of trafficking and not for asserting their Romanian Soviet policy, which designated the Moldovan part of identity. Two of the papers in this collection look Bessarabia agricultural, while encouraging industry precisely at how different ethnie groups in Bessarabia in the Ukrainian sector (largely because of the are using their minority status and links with another location of the ports of Reni and Ismaiil) also 'homeland' in order to alleviate their. economic strengthen new divisions in the area (see situations. Such migration enables educational Samkhvalov& Samkhvalov) between the countries. A advantages ( in Bulgaria - see trip to southern Odessa province through the border Ganchev) or work opportunities (Moldovan Gagauz - zone, attests to assymetrical tendencies: the poorer . see Demirdirek). Moldovans sel! agriculturaJ produce on the roadside to passing (Ukrainian) motorists. Marginalisation through the attribution of 'ethnie minority' status gives non-titular ethnie Ethnicity in the region occurs in a distinct groups minority status 'at home' and an opportunity way, and many villages remain predorninantly to connect with the original/historical homeland. monoethnic. Regional_ mix, however, is evident This serves to strengthen regionaJ, Bessarabian links, when considering a set of villages. For example, the despite the fact that the area is now divided by an district of Reni in Ukraine comprises 7 villages: one international border. Ties based on marriage, kinship ethnically Bulgarian, one Gagauz and five Moldovan. and the practice of common rituals means that ethnie This arrangement of predominantly monoethnic groups maintain links across the border. The villages in districts made up of villages of various Bulgarian schoolteacher mentioned above, for ethnicities has been retained over the past two example, travels at least once a month to visit her centuries. Various arrangements that maintained the elhnic conlinuity of the villages are discussed by a overall resulting picture is Of local communities that nurnber of authors in this volume (see especially can be temporarily aggregated along different Boneva). For the last 50 years, Russian has served as principles (ethnie, economic, linguistic and history) the common language between ail ethnie groups. to serve the interests of the moment. The papers in Thus. within each village the local ethnie language is the volume encourage us to examine how borders and rnaintained (Bulgarian, Moldovan etc), while Russian boundaries are exploited locally. They provide erves as the language of communication across examples of when exactly borders and boundaries are ethnie boundaries. unifying and when they are fragmenting forces. The picture is further complicated by the Resourceful borders fact that even neighbouring villages, which belong to In this section we look at how the everyday the same ethnie group, display variations in language negotiation of borders and boundaries plays an and ritual practices. This provides a potential source instrumental rote in the way Bessarabians cope with of local differentiation and means that in some the present difficult economic situation in the region. contexts even ethnicity does not serve the purposes of In so doing, we highlight particular themes in the regional unification. Thus while ethnie ties across the papers, which essentially can be grouped into three new border �tween different minority groups are topics: economic trade (Samkhvalov &. Samkhvalov reinforced in some contexts, in others internai and Polese), migration (Ganchev and Demirdirek) differentiation within each ethnie group is prorninent. and retreat to the local (Boneva and Anastassova). In Ukraine, Kaneff noted this at Christmas, which Ail papers focus on either international, regional or was celebrated on different dates and by different village community borders/boundaries. rituals not only by villages of different ethnicities but also by the same ethnicity. In Nagorna, for example, Donnan & Wilson (1999: 87) view borders Christmas was celebrated on the 7th January. In a and their 'unique locational ambiguity' as a neighbouring Moldovan village, it was celebrated on 'resource,' which those living in the vicinity can the 25th December, while in yet another of the exploit. This seems equally true in our extended neighbouring Moldovan villages it was celebrated on understandings of borders that include boundaries. both dates! Therefore, sorne rituals do not subject the The fact that Bessarabians now live in two states, but local population to the state centre as rnuch as one historically defined region, and the multiple maintain local differences between cornmunities in identities to which they have access is based on a the district. long history of changing states and borders. It is also based on the effects of boundaries - minority status, In many respects Bessarabia displays rnany tluency in various languages. Especially in difficult of the characteristics of a 'typical' borderland as both economic loc�I people.. use their multiple peripheral to the state centre and with unique local identities and minority status (and different cultural and shared econornic relations with the other combinations of these identitfos), to develop border cornmunities (Donnan & Wilson 1999: 5). strategies of survival. For exarnple, an ethnie What we have tried to emphasise in this section is the Bulgarian in the Ukraine state may be cornplicated intersection across literai borders and geographically, linguistically and ethnically conceptÙal boundaries. These have a long history in marginalized from Kiev, but has official recognition Bessarabia and are changing ail the time. The present as a member of a national minority group and a 'unity' of the region is based also on this shared historical homeland (Bulgaria). He may have history of resettlernent and migration by different Russian language skills and perhaps also networks of ethnie populations during the l 8th and 19th centuries - friends/family in Moldova (and therefore with people who have lived together in the region since. possible exploitable connections to Romania). Such Under the influence of various powers- Ottoman, connections provide a potential resource in dealings Russian, Romanian, Soviet - these settlers have with the state, in defining identities and negotiating witnessed füe coming and going of rnany state strategies designed to cope with economic hardship. borders, especially in the last century. Local ethnie boundaries based on ·language, religion, rituals and Sorne of these 'resources' corne with official economic exchange cross-eut literai borders: state backing - eg the privileges (and constraints) sometimes reinforcing them, sometimes rendering associated with minority status. Formai recognition is them irrelevant. Yet ethnie boundaries too are achieved through state support of various configured differently in different contexts: programmes that encourage local contacts with the sometimes creating differentiation between members historical homeland and through the provision of of the same ethnie group, sometimes aligning them funding for the establishment of local museums that togethér with respect to another ethnie group. The publicly display ethnic/historical origins. Other resources are founded in informai networks that In this sense, Samkhvalov & Samkhvalov alert us to compete with the state apparatus (eg cross border local-national tensions when attempt to assert trading). As others have noted (eg. Wilson & initiative and a degree of autonomy in trading (see Donnan 1998: 10, 21 ), the mobilization of also Anastassova). connections that traverse state borders are not According to Samkhvalov & Samkhvalov, necessarily about the deliberate subversion of the informai and undocumented small-scale trading is an new !,tates. Nevertheless, this may be a consequence, important form of cross border activity with a Jong for many of these connections transcend the limits of history that still thrives in the region. This is the the state and underline its weak position. central theme of Polese's paper on traders who move When an area is peripheral in geographical daily between Chisinau and Odessa by train. Polese and administrative terms, the citizens in this area are shows how the inequalities in economic conditions often disadvantaged; political and economic between Moldova and Odessa, draws Moldovan resources controlled by the state centre may be harder traders to relatively abundant and cheap goods in to access. Minority groups are often structurally in a Odessa. Polese reminds us that much like the border more distant position to the capital (eg through between Moldova and Ukraine, which is so flexible it language disadvantages), adding to the difficulties of is experienced differently whether onen travels by accessing resources. The situation is even more dire train or car, trade and 'corruption' can also be in a postsocialist context where wide ranging reforms ambiguously interpreted. The boundary between have dismantled previous structures while new illegal and legal activity is frequently unclear. Indeed markets and political stability have yet to be local, petty trading activities benefit not only those guaranteed. directly engaged in the activity; political/economic elite and customs officiais are also beneficeries. For Two of the following papers deal Polese, the big loser is the state, or at least those state specifically with economic activity: Samkhvalov & organs, which suffer income loss through unregulated Samkhvalov take a historical perspective of large trading. When states are unable to provide economic scale economic developments, showing the security for their citizens, undocumented and often tluctuating fortunes of Reni and regional-national illegal cross border trading becomes a local necessity. tensions in local attempts to engage in large scale cross-border trading. Polese focuses on small scale Cross border trading is a response to informai economic activity across the Ukraine­ inequalities and shortages between two sides of the Moldovan border. border. A more permanent response is migration. In his paper, Ganchev reminds us of the importance of Borderlands, Samkhvalov & Samkhvalov minority s,tatus, which opens up possibilities of remind us, need not always be econornically temporary or pe�manent migration through peripheral regions. Indeed, Bessarabia, or more educational opportunities. His focus is on specifically the district of Reni, was a privileged area Bessarabian Bulgarians who exploit their ethnie during the USSR; it was a crucial strategic transport connections in order to continue their higher node connecting Soviet Union to its international education outside Ukraine, in Bulgaria. Ganchev trading partners. In this sense the region was does not look at the economic side of this migration incorporated into the economic complex of the USSR (although we assume it to be an important dimension through strong economic ties that not only provided of students' motivation), but what is clear is that economic wealth and stability, but helped maintain during the period of study, the visitors' identity as regional unity. The collapse of the Soviet Union has 'Bessarabian Bulgarians' (distinct from a Bulgarian brought about a decline in the international identity) was reinforced, even strengthened, through . importance of this region through the running down a variety of practices - for example, speaking Russian of infrastructure and lost business for the Port. The amongst themselves rather than Bulgarian. In this region's present decline in status - from a main way Ganchev shows us how a local Bessarabian international transit site during Soviet times to a rural identity is reasserted in a 'foreign' context. backwater with little international activity - is occurring despite local leadership attempts to boost The theme of the reproduction of a local local. economic developments through cross border Bessarabian identity through interaction with the cooperative ventures. One of the reasons for failure, historical 'homeland' is also the theme of Samkhvalov & Samkhvalov suggest, is the lack of Dernirdirek's paper on Moldovan Gagauz. She looks support for such ventures at the national level. The at the crossing of both literai borders and conceptual newly created independent Ukraine perceives such boundaries (through travel to and entertaining expressions of local unity as a threat to its integrity. Turks in Moldova) as a way in which Gagauz Local and national interests are not always aligned. reformulated their sense of collectivity. Much as in 1111

Ganchev's Bulgarian example, the importance of Anastassova furthers this theme of regional language as the source of collective struggle and autonomy and inward focus. She describes a identity · is highlighted in perpetuating the multiethnic village in Bessarabia (with a majority Bessarabian community with respect to the historical population of Russian Old Believers) at a historical 'homeland'. Also much like the Bulgarian case, moment when appeals to Bessarabian identity were Demirdirek shows how Gagauz, with privileged particularly vocal and strong. Anastassova shows us - access as a 'minority' in Moldova, exploit new how claims to a Bessarabian identity represent both a educational and employment opportunities provided retreat and rejection of outside reforms that were by another state (Turkey). taking place in Ukraine in the 1990s. The 'retreat' to 'Bessarabianness' was a way to create a sanctuary in A reverse strategy that looks 'inward' is the a world perceived as disintegrating and dangerous, theme of the final two papers in the collection. Here, where chaos and disorder reigned as a result of the the question of maintenance and continuity as a gathering moment of postsocialist reforms. The path response to external pressure is addressed. As of local order and economic success was directed by opposed to' the two previous papers which look at the Head of the village cooperative, who refused to emigration and crossing of international borders as a engage in wider reforms, but continued to offer way to deal with prèsent hardships in the region, here villagers al! the benefits of the previous socialist the opposite strategy is evident: turning away from system: protection, welfare, leadership and discipline. the outside (and centres of nation-state power) to His ail pervading authority steered the village to focus inwards. economic stability and social security at a time when Boneva's historical account looks at two other areas experienced