In the early 20th century, Bulgarian historian M. Dimitrov enumerated 19 different theories concerning the origin of the Gagauz people. Several decades later, the Gagauz ethnologist M. N. Guboglo listed 21 such theories. In some, the Gagauz are presented as descendants of
Bulgars,
Cumans-
Kipchaks, or a clan of
Seljuk Turks led by the Turkoman dervish
Sarı Saltık. Their
Orthodox confession may suggest that their ancestors were already living in the
Balkans prior to the Ottoman conquest in the late 14th century. Another theory suggests a
Kutrigur descent. In the official Gagauz museum, a plaque mentions that one of the two main theories is that they descend from the Bulgars.
Russian Empire Bessarabia, previously the eastern half of the
Principality of Moldavia, was annexed by the
Russian Empire in 1812 following the defeat of the
Ottoman Empire in the
Russo-Turkish War of 1806–1812 (
see Treaty of Bucharest (1812)).
Nogai tribes who inhabited several villages in south Bessarabia (or
Budjak) were forced to leave. Between 1812 and 1846, the Russians relocated the Gagauz people from what is today eastern Bulgaria (which was then under the Ottoman Empire) to the orthodox Bessarabia, mainly in the settlements vacated by the Nogai tribes. They settled there together with
Bessarabian Bulgarians in
Avdarma,
Comrat,
Congaz,
Tomai,
Cișmichioi, and other former Nogai villages. Some Gagauz were also settled in the part of the Principality of Moldavia that did not come under Russian control in 1812. But, within several years, villagers moved to live with their own people in the compact area in the south of Bessarabia where their descendants inhabit in the 21st century. With the exception of a six-day
de facto independence in the winter of 1906, when a peasant uprising declared an autonomous
Comrat Republic, ethnic Gagauz have always been ruled by other dominant groups: the Russian Empire (1812–1917), the
Kingdom of Romania (1918–1940 and 1941–1944), the Soviet Union (1940–41 and 1944–91), and Moldova (1917–18 and 1991 to date).
Soviet Union Gagauz nationalism remained an intellectual movement during the 1980s, but strengthened by the end of the decade, as the Soviet Union began to embrace liberal ideals. In 1988, activists from the local intelligentsia aligned with other ethnic minorities to create a movement known as the Gagauz People. A year later, the Gagauz People held its first assembly; they passed a resolution demanding the creation of an autonomous territory in southern Moldova, with the city of Comrat as its capital. The Gagauz national movement intensified when Moldovan (Romanian) was accepted as the official language of the Republic of Moldova in August 1989, challenging the then-dominant Russian language which was the official language of the USSR. A part of the multiethnic population of southern Moldova was concerned about the change in official languages. They did not trust the central government in
Chișinău. The Gagauz were also worried about the implications for them if Moldova reunited with Romania, as seemed likely at the time. In November 1989, the Gagauz ASSR was declared within Moldova. In August 1990, Comrat declared itself an autonomous Soviet republic separate from Moldova, Many Gagauz supported the
Moscow coup attempt in August 1991,
Mihail Formuzal served as the governor of Gagauzia from 2006 until 2015. That year
Irina Vlah was elected to the position, with 51% of the vote. On 2 February 2014,
Gagauzia held a referendum with an overwhelming majority of voters opting for closer ties with Russia over EU integration. They also said they preferred Gagauz independence if Moldova were to choose to enter the EU. On 23 March 2015,
Irina Vlah of the
Party of Socialists was elected as the new governor after a strongly pro-Russian campaign, dominated by the quest for closer ties with the Russian Federation. On 19 July 2023, Vlah was succeeded by
Evghenia Guțul of the
Șor Party, a
Eurosceptic and
Russophilic party that was declared unconstitutional and banned by the
Constitutional Court of Moldova exactly 1 month earlier after an investigation was launched in May 2023 into suspected voter bribery during the
2023 Gagauz gubernatorial election. Guțul sits as an
independent as a result of the Moldovan ban of Șor. In the
2024 Moldovan referendum on including the goal of European Union membership in the constitution, Gagauzia voted 94.84% against the wording "Do you support the amendment of the Constitution with a view to the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union?", the highest opposition of any administrative division of Moldova. Neighbouring
Taraclia District had the second-highest opposition, at 92.04%, and evidence of
vote buying reported by
BBC News. == Geography ==