Moldova: Information from 1995 to present on the treatment of ethnic Russians
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 April 1997 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | MDA26597.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Moldova: Information from 1995 to present on the treatment of ethnic Russians, 1 April 1997, MDA26597.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab554.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
In telephone interviews on 15 and 18 April l997, a professor in the department of government at Georgetown University in Washington, who specializes in southeastern European politics and government, and who was last in Moldova in August 1996 conducting field research, provided the following information. The professor did not believe that ethnic Russians in Moldova encounter any serious difficulty, apart from economic deprivations resulting from the transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy, or that they are subject to widespread discrimination. However, the professor stated that he would not discount the possibility that there may be instances in which they are subjected to informal discriminatory practices by authorities or employers. The professor added that members of the Russian community in Moldova complain about past and current closures of schools in which Russian was the sole language of instruction.
Current corroborating information on the treatment of ethnic Russians in Moldova could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB.
For information on a requirement to know the Romanian\Moldovan language, please consult the first paragraph of page 1043 of Country Reports 1996, which is available at Regional Documentation Centres.
For less recent information on the Russian minority in Moldova, please consult Responses to Information Requests MDA25774.E of 28 November 1996 and MDA23798.E of 7 May 1996.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Additional Sources Consulted
Amnesty International Report. Yearly.
CSCE Digest [Washington]. Monthly.
DIRB country file on Moldova.
DIRB databases.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports.
Human Rights Watch World Report. Yearly.
Minority Rights Group International Report. Yearly.
Nationalities Papers [Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK]. Quarterly.
News from Helsinki Watch [New York]. Monthly.
Transition [Prague]. Monthly.
Uncaptive Minds [New York]. Quarterly.
On-line search of media sources.
Unsuccessful attempts to contact other oral sources.
