This small, landlocked nation sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, is among the poorest in Europe. About 80 percent of the population lives on less than $1 a day.

Once ruled by Romania, it was added to the Soviet Union at the close of World War II. Russian troops remained in Moldova even though it proclaimed its independence in 1991. The soldiers are there to support a Slavic minority, many of them Ukrainians and Russians, who are attempting to establish a “Transnistria” republic along the Ukrainian border.

In 2001, Moldova became the first former Soviet state to elect a communist as its president. In a surprising election, communists were swept back into office after they won 71 of the 101 seats in the country’s Parliament. The communist government has continued with plans for privatizing several state-owned industries.

Moldova occupies what was once known as Bessarabia, a land that provided an historic passageway between Asia and southern Europe. Romans, Greeks, Huns and Bulgars all invaded the area. It was an independent state briefly in the 14^th century, but later fall under the Ottoman Empire in the 16^th century.