Did you know?
... that The "Golden Collection" from the State Enterprise Quality Wines Industrial Complex "Mileştii Mici" was recognized by the Guinness World Records as "the biggest wine collection in the world" on the 19th of August 2005. It contains over 1,5 million bottles of different types of wine – dry wines, dessert and sparkling wines.
...that according to the legend, voivode Dragoş founded Moldova as the result of an aurochs hunt. This is the popular explanation of aurochs head depicted on the coat of arms of Moldova.
...that only five of twelve stanzas of the original poem by Alexei Mateevici are included in the national anthem of Moldova.
...that Moldavian SSR had population density 128.2 people/km² and was the most densely populated republic of the Soviet Union.
...that Christian Orthodox is the predominant religion in Moldova. 98% of believers belong to the Orthodox Church, and its traditions are tightly entwined with the culture and patrimony of the country.
... that 1/4 of Moldova's population are migrant workers in Italy, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Ireland, etc.
... that 1/2 of Moldovan schoolchildren have at least one of their parents as a migrant worker abroad, and do not see him/her/them for months.
... that 1% of Moldova's population are migrant workers in the Italian province of Venice alone. Further 2% are migrant workers in Portugal.
... that 298,500 Moldovans died in 1946-47 as a result of a famine provoked by the Soviet authorities, who enrolled many farmers into the Red army, and imposed high quota of agricultural products that the farms were obliged to deliver to the state.
... that the Soviet authorities deported 29,839 Moldovans to Siberia on June 13, 1941
... that the Soviet authorities deported 35,796 Moldovans to Siberia on July 6, 1949
... that Moldova was once home of 200,000 Jews, 30% of which died in the Holocaust. Nowadays, there are more than 200,000 Jews in Israel who trace at least part of their heritage to Moldova.
... that a small eastern part of Moldova is controlled by a breakaway regime, supported by Russia.
... that the War of Transnistria was the shortest post-Soviet war. It lasted less than 5 months.
... that Russia still has 2,500 troops and 22,000 tons of ammunition in the breakaway eastern region (Transnistria) of Moldova.
... that the Romanian is the official language of Moldova, but there is a bitter controversy whether it should be called Moldovan in some circumstances.
... that between 1940 and 1989, Moldovans were forced to use the cyrillic alphabet for their language.
... that the Soviet Union occupied Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina on June 28, 1940, two weeks after the occupation of the Baltic states, and 4 days after the fall of France to Hitler's Germany.