Lithuania and Republic of Moldova: from medieval collaboration to European integration
ENAlthough Lithuania and Republic of Moldova left the Soviet empire at the same time as well as they entered there, the destinies of the two countries were different after. Lithuania, with a remarkable effort of democratization, soon became part of the Euro‐Atlantic civilization through integration into NATO and the European Union, while Moldova has chosen Community of Independent States and after being divided into two parts by a war, re‐entered in the Russian sphere of influence. The difference in political and geopolitical options after the disintegration of the Soviet Union makes Lithuania (and Baltic States in extension) often a point of reference in the Republic of Moldova, when explaining the current political situation and its future. When judging this comparison, historians, politicians, public opinion makers, and large segments of Moldovan society usually have in mind some dimensions of community between Lithuanian and Republic of Moldova history. The first dimension of the community is the one of historical beginnings, i.e. from medieval times Lithuania and Moldova were neighbors, they had close and good relations, fought together in different wars, kept dynastic relations (either by marriages or alliances), and maintained commercial and economic ties. The Moldovan king Alexander the Good was married to Rimgailė of Mazovia, the sister of the Polish king Wladyslaw II Jagiello (who was of the Lithuanian origins). He helped the Lithuanians and Polish in two important fights against Teutonic knights– 1410 at Grunwald and 1422 at Marienburg. More than 800 Moldovan archers contributed to the great victory of Polish‐Lithuanian coalition at the Grunwald battle. In 1421, the wife of the Alexander the Good founded the Moldovan town of Bălţi (in Lithuanian means „white”), which presently is the second largest city in the Republic of Moldova.
