New political conditions being the result of introducing the glasnost policy in 1986 to support perestroika by Mikhail Gorbachev led to formation of a Democratic Movement of Moldova. In 1989 it became known as the nationalist Popular Front of Moldova. (FPM; Romanian: Frontul Popular din Moldova)
As wel as other communist Soviet republics from 1988 took actions to become independent, Moldova had the same wish. On August 27, 1989 a mass demonstration was organized by the FPM in Chişinău. It forced the authorities of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic to adopt a language law on August 31, 1989. It declared the Moldovan language written in the Latin script to be the state language of the MSSR. Its identity with the Romanian language was also established.
In February and March 1991 the first independent elections for the local parliament were held. Mircea Snegur was elected as speaker of the parliament and Mircea Druc as prime minister. On June 23, 1990, the parliament adopted the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Soviet Socialist Republic Moldova. It declared the supremacy of Moldovan laws over those of the Soviet Union.
On August 27, 1991 after the failure of the Soviet coup d’état attempt Moldova declared its independence. On December 21, 1991 Moldova together with most former Soviet republics formed the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Moldova decided not to be a member of the military organization within CIS becoming a neutral state.
On December 25,1991 Moldova became fully independent from the Soviet Union. The following day the Soviet Union ceased to exist. On March 2, 1992 Moldova was formally recognized as an independent state by the United Nations. In 1994, Moldova became a member of NATO’s Partnership for Peace program and also a member of the Council of Europe on June 29, 1995.
Sources: Britannica, Wikipedia
