Overview - Moldova is a landlocked country in Europe's East located on the border of the European Union (EU) between Ukraine and Romania. With an area of 33,851 square kilometers (13,069 sq. mi.), Moldova is slightly larger than Belgium. The population is approximately 3.6 million and approximately 75% of the population is ethnic Romanians, with the balance made up of ethnic Russians and Ukrainians and smaller numbers of Gagauz (Turkic-speaking Moldovans) and Roma. Historical Context - The area comprising modern-day Moldova was first consolidated within a larger independent state in the mid-1400s, extending from the Carpathian mountains (modern-day Romania) in the west to the Nistru river in the east. Through the 1700s the area, now a tributary of the Ottoman Empire, was contested by Ottoman, Russian and Austro-Hungarian armies, leading to the annexation by Russia in 1812 of the eastern half of the territory, located on the Black Sea between the Prut and Nistru rivers. This area, known as Bessarabia, remained a part of the Russian empire until 1917 when the Moldovan Democratic Republic declared its independence and voted to unite with Romania.