According to petwithsupplies, Chisinau is the largest and capital city of Moldova and is located in the center of the country. It was founded in 1436 and has a population of over 690,000 people. It is a vibrant city with many cultural attractions, parks, monuments, museums, restaurants and bars. The most notable landmark is the Stephen the Great Monument which stands proudly in the center of Chisinau. Other popular attractions include the National Museum of History and Archeology, The Pushkin Museum, The National Opera House and The Triumphal Arch. The second largest city in Moldova is Tiraspol which has a population of around 170,000 people. It is located on the Dniester River and was founded in 1792 by Russian general Alexander Suvorov as a fortress town to protect against Turkish incursions into Russian territory. Today it serves as an important economic center for Moldova as it is home to many factories including food processing plants, metal-working factories and clothing manufacturers. It has some interesting historical sites such as Bendery Fortress which was built on an island in the middle of the river that divides Tiraspol from Bendery (now part of Transnistria). The third largest city in Moldova is Bender which has a population of around 126,000 people. It was founded in 1408 by Stefan cel Mare and today serves as an important industrial hub for Moldova as it has many factories producing steel, chemicals and textiles. Bender also boasts many cultural attractions such as its Old Town where one can find old churches including St Nicholas Cathedral which dates back to 1643. The fourth largest city in Moldova is Bălți which has a population of around 120,000 people. It was founded in 1343 by Prince Alexandru cel Bun and today serves as an important economic center for northern Moldova due to its large industrial sector producing machinery parts for various industries such as automotive production, chemical production and electronics manufacturing among others. There are also plenty of cultural attractions here including Bălți’s main square where one can find old churches like St Nicholas Cathedral or simply enjoy shopping or dining at one of its many restaurants or cafes nearby. Moldova is a small country located in Eastern Europe, situated between Romania and Ukraine. It declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, and since then has been striving to establish its own identity as a sovereign nation. In 2008, Moldova’s geopolitical position was still largely shaped by its past under Soviet rule. The country was deeply divided along ethnic lines between the majority Moldovans and minority ethnic groups such as Russians, Ukrainians, Gagauzians, and Bulgarians. This division was further complicated by the presence of Transnistria, a breakaway region that had declared itself independent from Moldova in 1990. The situation in 2008 was further complicated by the fact that Moldova had yet to join either NATO or the European Union (EU). Though it had signed an Association Agreement with the EU in 1994, it had not yet been fully implemented due to political instability within the country. Furthermore, there were still lingering tensions with Russia over issues such as Transnistria’s status and Russia’s recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states following a brief war between Russia and Georgia in 2008. As a result of this geopolitical climate, Moldova remained largely isolated from major international organizations such as NATO or the EU at this time. At home, public opinion towards joining either organization remained divided amongst both ethnic groups within Moldova as well as between pro-Russian parties who favored closer ties with Moscow and pro-Western parties who sought closer ties with Western nations such as Romania or Germany. This internal divide made it difficult for any one party to gain enough support to push forward any major reforms or initiatives related to foreign policy that could potentially lead to membership into either of these organizations. In 2008, Moldova was thus still very much caught up in its post-Soviet legacy; struggling with internal divisions over foreign policy issues while remaining largely isolated from major international bodies like NATO or the EU due to both internal divisions and external tensions with Russia over Transnistria’s status among other issues. As such it would take more than just political will for Moldova to make any significant progress towards joining either organization; it would require concerted efforts on all sides of the political spectrum if they were ever going to be successful in achieving greater integration into these larger structures. Check payhelpcenter for Moldova in 2008.