The Republic of Moldova is an integral part of Europe being situated at the contact zone between different cultural and historic trends – Carpathian-Balkan, Central-European and Eurasian. During a multi-millennial history the local population assimilated diverse cultural traditions of Proto-Indo-Europeans and archaic Indo-European peoples, including the Thracians, Slavs, Celts, Goths, Huns, etc., thus obtaining specific and unparalleled features.
After the collapse of the USSR and the declaration of its independence on 27 August 1991, the Republic of Moldova passed through a complex stage of democratic reforms and transition to the market economy. The country is a parliamentary republic and democracy with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government.
The total area of the Republic of Moldova is 33,8 thousand square km, with national boundaries length of 1,389 km, including 939 km with Ukraine and 450 km with Romania.
The physical and geographical position of the country has determined the specific features of its natural conditions. Its relief represents a hilly plain sloping from the northwest to the southeast with an average elevation of around 147 m above the sea level. The climate is moderately continental, characterized by a lengthy frost-free period, short mild winters, lengthy hot summers, modest precipitation, and long dry periods in the south. The hydrographic network includes more than 3,000 rivers and rivulets, of which 10 exceed a length of 100 km. There are about 2,200 natural water springs and more than 745 varieties of the soil.
