Criuleni District
Criuleni's legendary founding on the Dniester became a customs post for centuries—now 39km from Chișinău but energy-dependent on Transnistria across that same river.
Legend says two lovers—Criu and Lenuța from neighboring towns—drowned themselves in the Dniester when their parents forbade marriage. Their families settled by the river to stay close, naming the place Crio-Lean, which became Criuleni. Whether myth or memory, the story captures a deeper truth: this district exists because the Dniester exists.
Human settlement here dates to the third millennium BC. By the 14th century, the Golden Horde controlled the region before being driven out. In the 16th-18th centuries, Criuleni developed as a peripheral Moldavian customs post on the Dniester—the same function the river performs today. The 1812 Russo-Turkish War brought Russian occupation; the 1918 unification with Romania; the 1940 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact brought Soviet annexation; 1991 brought independence.
Today, Criuleni sits just 39 kilometers from Chișinău—close enough for daily commute, far enough to remain agricultural. Of its 68,000 hectares, 63% is farmland: arable crops, orchards, vineyards, walnut groves. The international Mesterul Manole craftsmen festival draws visitors each August. Distance to the EU border at Leușeni: 84 kilometers. Distance to Odesa: 213 kilometers. But the Dniester—the same river that created the settlement—now carries a different significance. The Moldavskaya GRES power plant in Transnistria, across that river, provides 80% of right-bank Moldova's electricity. By 2026, energy security will test whether geography that once enabled trade now creates dependency.