http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2015/0525/In-tiny-Moldova-hints-of-a-federalized-Ukraine-s-future

In tiny Moldova, hints of a 'federalized' Ukraine's future

Gagauzia, an autonomous region in southern Moldova, looks to Moscow before the West, much as Ukraine's restive east does. And the poor, agricultural region could show the problems a federalized Donbass might face.

By Kit Gillet, Correspondent   |  May 25, 2015  | The Christian Science Monitor

Comrat, Moldova — There are few issues more contentious in Ukraine than the possibility of "federalizing" its rebellious eastern provinces into autonomous republics.
The government in Kiev sees changing the status of Luhansk and Donetsk as a way for rebels to free themselves from greater Ukraine. The rebels view it as a leash preventing them from achieving the full independence and alignment with Russia that they crave.
What often goes unmentioned is the rough example of such a region just next door. Just across Ukraine's southwestern border in Moldova lies Gagauzia, a semi-autonomous, poor, agricultural region whose profile could rise as tensions in the region deepen.
Like Ukraine, Moldova – a former part of the Soviet Union – has uneasy relations with Russia. Many observers are worried that Russia may use Gagauzia to further destabilize Moldova, which is already struggling with economic and political uncertainty. But Gagauzia might also provide a hint of what a federalized, autonomous eastern Ukraine could look like in the future.http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2015/0525/In-tiny-Moldova-hints-of-a-federalized-Ukraine-s-future