Moldovan population of Ukraine in the light of post-war censuses

Abstract

The article deals with the resettlement and number of the Moldovan population of the USSR in the postwar years according to the census data.

It is mentioned that in the post-war period Moldovans lived in Ukraine in traditional regions of their compact and dispersed resettlement. These were Odesa and Chernivtsi regions.

The most populated region with representatives of the Moldovan nationality in the post-war years was Odesa region. In 1959 their number was 125 thousand people. In Chernivtsi region, according to the latest post-war population censuses, the total number of Moldovans was increasing mainly due to natural growth. In 1959, according to the results of the All-Union Census, there were 71.6 thousand people. In particular, the most populated area with representatives of the Moldovan nationality was Novoseletsky district, namely – 64.7% of the total population of the district.

In general, when the resettlement and number of Moldovans in other regions of Ukraine are considered, it should be noted that their percentage is much smaller than in the above-mentioned areas. According to the statistics the share of Moldovans in the Transcarpathian region was 2% of the total population of the region at the time of the 1959 census.

The number of Moldovans in the USSR as of January 15, 1970, according to the census results was 266 thousand people.

According to the census of 1979, the number of people who identified themselves as Moldovans was 293.5 thousand people. The most populated regions, in accordance with the survey results, were Odesa and Chernivtsi regions with indicators of 143 109 and 85 027 people. However, the specific gravity of the Moldovan population in Chernivtsi region decreased slightly from 9.3% in 1959 to 9.2% in 1979. As far as Odesa region is concerned, similar ethno-demographic processes were also taking place there. In 1979, the Moldovan population was 5.7% or 143.1 thousand people, and mostly lived in its right-bank areas.

At the general republican and regional levels Moldovans remained one of the least urbanized ethnic groups during the 60-80s. In 1970, cities were home to less than 30% of their total, and in the regions of their concentrated residence, and in particular, in Odessa region, – to even less: only 20.3%. It allows, using the existing methods, to attribute Moldovans to predominantly agrarian ethnos. Based on the sources, the statistics are analyzed and presented in the article, the most populated by Moldovans regions of Ukraine are defined and some migration processes of the Moldovan population in Ukraine are highlighted. The perspectives for further research on the topic are given.