THE DEMOGRAPHIC, SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND CONFESSIONAL SITUATION IN BESSARABIA IN THE 1820S

Valentin TOMULEŢ Universitatea de Stat din Moldova

Abstract

Based on unpublished archival sources, found in the funds of the National Archive of the Republic of Moldova and the Historical State Archive of Russia (St. Petersburg), the author analyzes the changes that have occurred in the demo-graphic, social, economic and religious situation of Bessarabia in the first decades after the annexation. Using statistical data collected and systematized by the Spiritual Dicastery of Chisinau, for the years 1819-1829, prepared on the basis of parish registers, and official statistics, for the years 1819-1828, presented by the regional administration to imperial institutions, the author analyzes the size, distribution and composition of population, its social and confessional compo-sition, describes the changes that occurred in the economic life of the province. Keywords: Bessarabia, Russian gubernyas, demography, population statistics, social groups, religious denominations.