History of Romanian to be reintroduced in the school curriculum: premier

Prime Minister Vlad Filat announced that his cabinet will reintroduce the History of Romanians in the school curriculum. This discipline was removed from Moldovan schools by the Party of Communists three years ago, and replaced with what was called "Integrated History," which focuses more heavily on arguing that Moldova has had its own state identity for the last 600 years or so.

The History of Romanians tends to be more concerned with asserting the common history and Romanian identity of the people living in Romania and around its borders. The history of Moldova is considered to be part of the history of Romanians.

Scholars, intellectuals, and teachers have accused the Communists of attempting to use the discipline of Integrated History to brainwash Moldovan schoolchildren because it denies the Romanian identity of Moldovans and praises both the Russian tsarist authorities (Moldova was part of imperial Russia since 1812) and the Soviet Union.

Many teachers have also refused to teach the topics required by Integrated History textbooks, which they said ignored important topics like Moldova's unification with Romania in 1918 and the famine of 1948, caused by Soviet authorities in what is today the Republic of Moldova.

The Moldovan national identity is a disputed topic in the country. The Party of Communists has been a strong proponent of the existence of a Moldovan identity that is separate from the Romanian one, while others have said that Moldovans are essentially ethnic Romanians. This argument extends to disputes about whether the language spoken in the country should be called Moldovan or Romanian and what history should be taught in schools.

The ruling Alliance for European Integration, with the possible exception of the Democratic Party, leans more toward the camp that believes in the Romanian identity of Moldovans. The Democrats have often avoided to take a clear position on the matter.

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