Gagauz Republic

The Gagauz Republic (, ; Republica Găgăuzia, ; Республика Гагаузия, ) was a self-proclaimed unrecognised political entity first declared in 1989 that separated from Moldova in 1990 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union but later peacefully joined Moldova after being de facto independent from 1991 to 1995.

History
The Special Congress of Representatives of the Gagauz people was held on 12 November 1989, in which the Gagauz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in the Moldavian SSR, but on the next day the Presidium of the Supreme Council of Moldavia abolished the Special Congress' decisions, calling them unconstitutional.

The Congress of People's Deputies of the Steppe South of the Moldavian SSR declared itself separate from the Moldavian SSR and the establishment of the Gagauz Republic within the Soviet Union on 19 August 1990. Two days later, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Moldavian SSR held an emergency meeting, and a decision was reached to declare the republic illegal and the congress unconstitutional. A detachment of Moldovan volunteers and police units were sent to Gagauzia to quell the dissidence, but the arrival of SSV soldiers prevented bloodshed.

Initially, the republic was made up of 5 districts: Comrat, Ceadîr-Lunga, Vulcănești, Basarabeasca, Taraclia.

The Gagauz Republic never declared itself formally independent, and only became a de facto independent state following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

On 23 December 1994, on the basis of agreements reached by the Gagauz Republic and the Republic of Moldova, a document on the peaceful reintegration of Gagauzia with autonomous rights was signed. It entered into force on 14 January 1995. The reintegration of Gagauzia was carried out from December 1994 to June 1995, when the Gagauz Republic legally dissolved and became the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia.

Armed forces
As the Gagauzia conflict was developing and tensions between the Gagauz and the central government in Chișinău remained high, the Gagauz localities started establishing paramilitary structures such as the Budjak Battalion (Batalionul Bugeac) for their self-defense.