May 28, 1812 – the day that changed Bassarabia’s fate and split people across the Prut
On May 28, 1812, the Treaty of Bucharest established peace between the Russian and Ottoman Empires, but it also resulted in the separation of Bassarabia from the Principality of Moldova. Without the consent of the local population, the territory situated between the Prut and the Nistru rivers was annexed to the Russian Empire, forming a province known as Bassarabia. More than two centuries later, historians note that the implications of this decision continue to impact society, which remains divided by the Prut border.