site.btaHistoric Bulgarian Population in Moldova Goes to the Polls in Sunday’s Parliamentary Elections

Parliamentary elections are being held on Sunday, September 28, in Moldova, a country home to a historic Bulgarian population.

According to the most recent census conducted in 2024, Moldova has a total population of just over 2.4 million. Official data from the Moldovan authorities indicates that 1.6% of it identifies as Bulgarian.

Compact Bulgarian communities reside in the Taraclia district in southern Moldova. They are descendants of Bulgarians who migrated from the Bulgarian lands more than 200 years ago during the Russo-Turkish wars.

Bulgarians also live in other parts of Moldova, including the cities of Bender and Tiraspol and the village of Parcani in Transnistria. The territory on the left bank of the Dniester River (Transnistria) declared independence in 1992, a status not recognized by any country in the world, including Russia, which maintains a contingent of around 1,500 troops there.

The town of Taraclia, known as the capital of Bulgarians in Moldova, serves as the administrative centre of the Taraclia district, which comprises 26 settlements. In most of the 24 villages and two towns – Taraclia and Tvardita – ethnic Bulgarians make up 66 percent of the total population. In several localities, such as the town of Tvardita and the villages of Cairaclia, Valea Perjei, and others, Bulgarians represent over 90 percent of residents.

Bulgarians in Moldova have the status of a national minority and are entitled to dual citizenship.

According to the 2024 census, 15.6% of Moldovan citizens hold both Moldovan and another nationality.

In schools across the Taraclia district, students are taught “Bulgarian Language and Literature” and “History and Culture of the Bulgarian People” for several hours each week.

Bulgarian is taught in a total of 10 schools and 10 kindergartens in the Taraclia district, according to Liliana Sarsaman, Acting Head of the Department of Education, Culture, and Tourism at the Taraclia District Council. She stated that nearly 3,000 students – about 80% of all students in the district – are currently learning Bulgarian.

During a visit to Moldova at the end of July, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov announced that the Bulgarian government would propose a programme for children from Taraclia to visit Bulgaria. The aim of the initiative is for 200 to 400 children of Bulgarian descent to travel annually to Bulgaria, where they can learn about Bulgarian traditions and history and improve their communication skills in the Bulgarian language.

On July 27, Prime Ministers Rosen Zhelyazkov of Bulgaria and Dorin Recean of Moldova took part in a ceremony in Taraclia marking the official opening of a branch of Bulgaria’s Ruse University, the first Bulgarian higher education institution established outside Bulgaria. It superseded the former Taraclia State University.

The first academic year of the new branch began on September 1, 2025, and interest has been high. The new student intake includes 260 people, among them Bessarabian Bulgarians from Ukraine.

The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) has a permanent correspondent in Taraclia – Irina Bogoeva. A BTA National Press Club was inaugurated in Taraclia on October 5, 2017, during the 13th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media, held in Chisinau.

A new hall of the BTA National Press Club in Taraclia was officially opened on October 28, 2022, with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev in attendance.

Taraclia is also home to the Youth Multicultural Centre named after Bulgarian national hero Vasil Levski. It was officially inaugurated on November 1, 2023, by Moldovan President Maia Sandu and Bulgarian Vice President Iliana Yotova, as part of her official visit to Moldova.

Vice President Yotova visited Taraclia again on September 19-20, 2025, to present awards from the Bulgarian National Radio’s essay competition for students from the Bulgarian communities in Moldova and Ukraine. She also opened the 24th Ethno-Cultural Festival “Unity Through Diversity” and unveiled a new multifunctional sports ground at High School No. 3, built with funding from the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Bulgarian Development Aid Programme, through the Bulgarian Embassy in Chisinau.