Stepan Topal
Stepan Topal OR | |
---|---|
President of the Gagauz Republic | |
In office 1 December 1991 – 19 July 1995 | |
Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Gagauz Republic | |
In office 31 October 1990 – 1 December 1991 | |
Succeeded by | Mihail Kendighelean |
Personal details | |
Born | (1938-01-18)18 January 1938 Comrat, Kingdom of Romania |
Died | 29 September 2018(2018-09-29) (aged 80) Comrat, Moldova |
Political party | Communist Party of Moldova (1980-1990) Independent (1990-1995) PSRM (1997-2018) |
Profession | Engineering |
Stepan Mikhailovich Topal (18 January 1938 – 29 September 2018)[citation needed] was a Moldovan politician of Gagauz ancestry. From 1990 to 1995 he served as the only leader and President of the Gagauz Republic; after reintegration into Moldova he served until 1995 as Governor (başkan) of Gagauzia.
Leader of Gagauzia's separatist movement
By training, Topal is a road engineer. He was an activist of the Communist Party of Moldova.
Following the declaration of the Gagauz ASSR in Moldova on 12 November 1989, on 19 August 1990, ethnic Gagauz nationalists proclaimed a Soviet autonomous republic in southern Moldova separate from Moldova, around the city of Comrat, and called it the Gagauz Republic (Gagauz-Yeri in their language). It had previously been declared as an ASSR within Moldova on 12 November 1989. In September 1990, individuals representing the mostly Slavic inhabitants of the Dniester River's east bank proclaimed a separate entity in Transnistria with a capital at Tiraspol.
In 1990, Topal became one of the leaders of the national movement in southern Moldova. On 31 October 1990, he was elected president of the Supreme Soviet of the self-proclaimed Gagauz Republic.
Although the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Moldova immediately declared these proclamations invalid, elections took place in both self-proclaimed republics. On 1 December 1991, Topal was elected president of the Gagauz Republic (90% votes), and from 1991 to 1995 he headed the Supreme Soviet of the Gagauz Republic. That same month, Igor Smirnov was elected president of Transnistria.
Topal supported greater unity among the former Soviet republics.
He also self-declared as an "anti-Romanian".[1]
Political activity after 1995
Gagauz autonomy was enshrined in the July 1994 Constitution of Moldova, in Article 111, which also provides for Transnistria's autonomy. Later, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova adopted an even broader law, which confers a special autonomous status on Gagauzia as of 23 December 1994. It entered into force on 14 January 1995.
After Gagauzia's autonomy was accepted by the Moldovan Parliament, the first round of elections for the post of Governor of Gagauzia took place on 25 May 1995, together with elections for the region's Popular Assembly. None of the four candidates for the governorship (Gheorghe Tabunșcic, Mihail Kendighelean, Dumitru Croitor and Stepan Topal) won the votes needed to be elected in the first round. Topal had not even managed to advance to the second round.
From 1999 to 2002, Topal was the principal adviser to başkan Dumitru Croitor. In the 2001 Moldovan parliamentary election, Topal ran for a seat from Comrat on the lists of the Edinstvo electoral bloc, but the alliance won less than the 5% of the vote needed to secure parliamentary seats, so Topal was not elected. In 2002, he was one of the founders of the social-political movement Za Gagauziu! (For Gagauzia), formed in opposition to the ruling Communists.
When snap elections for Governor of Gagauzia were held again on 6 October 2002, Topal ran again. However, the results were declared invalid, as only 41.43% of voters took part. When the election was repeated two weeks later, the local electoral commission barred Topal from running, citing irregularities in his filing papers.
References
- ^ Bejan, Ștefan (21 August 2017). ""Noi trebuie să ne închinăm rușilor și să uităm de români". Interviu cu primul lider al găgăuzilor din Moldova". moldNova (in Romanian).
External links
- (in Romanian) Background on Topal and Gagauz elections
- (in Romanian) Information about previous Gagauzia Governors' races Archived 2007-01-06 at the Wayback Machine
Preceded by – | President of the Supreme Soviet of the Gagauz SSR 31 October 1990 – 1 December 1991 | Succeeded by – |
Preceded by – | President of the Republic of Gagauzia 1 December 1991 – 19 June 1995 | Succeeded by Gheorghe Tabunșcic (as Governor) |
- v
- t
- e
- Boris Aculov
- Vladimir Agachi
- Nicolae Alexei
- Gheorghe Amihalachioaie
- Nicolae Andronatii
- Nicolae Andronic
- Tudor Angheli
- Victor Arestov
- Sergiu Argatu
- Alexandru Arseni
- Iuri Atamanenko
- Vasile Baboi
- Ananie Badan
- Semion Badrajan
- Vasile Basoc
- Andrei Baștovoi
- Ion Batcu
- Elena Bălan
- Mihai Bejan
- Pavel Bejenuță
- Marin Beleuță
- Gheorghe Beliciuc
- Anatol Belitcenco
- Evgheni Berdnikov
- Victor Berlinschi
- Vladimir Beșleagă
- Iovu Bivol
- Tudor Bobescu
- Zosim Bodiu
- Petru Bodorin
- Stepan Bogacenco
- Constantin Bogdan
- Gheorghe Bogdanov
- Nicolai Bogdanov
- Anatoli Bolșakov
- Vladimir Bondarenco
- Grigore Bordeianu
- Ion Borșevici
- Călin Botica
- Dumitru Brașoveanu
- Petru Brașoveanu
- Ilie Bratu
- Grigore Bratunov
- Nadejda Brânzan
- Boris Brizițchi
- Ion Buga
- Valeriu Bulgari
- Aleksandr Bulîcev
- Valentin Burduja
- Alexandru Buruian
- Alexandru But
- Ion Butnaru
- Andrei Cabac
- Vladimir Capanji
- Constantin Capsamun
- Boris Carandiuc
- Fiodor Carapunarlî
- Petru Carauș
- Vladimir Carauș
- Mihail Catcov
- Petru Caterev
- Gheorghe Cârlan
- Nadejda Cegurco
- Dumitru Cereș
- Dumitru Cernei
- Afanasie Chechiu
- Petru Chimirciuc
- Ivan Chior
- Sergiu Chircă
- Anatol Chiriac
- Ion Chiriac
- Anatol Chișner
- Valeriu Cibotaru
- Valentin Cicikin
- Gheorghe Ciobanu
- Vitalie Ciorap
- Gheorghe Ciorba
- Mihai Ciorici
- Valdemar Cirt
- Ion Ciuntu
- Mihail Codin
- Ion Cojocaru
- Vasile Cojocaru
- Anatol Coleghin
- Vladlen Colesov
- Valentin Colun
- Anatol Conoplin
- Victor Constantinov
- Ion Costaș
- Nicolae Costin
- Vasile Costov
- Ilie Coșanu
- Sergiu Coșceev
- Mihai Coșcodan
- Mihai Cotorobai
- Dumitru Crețu
- Jorj Crisico
- Dumitru Croitor
- Andrei Cubasov
- Constantin Culea
- Valentin Cunev
- Stepan Curoglo
- Stepan Curtev
- Grigore Cușmăunsă
- Grigore Cușnir
- Nicolae Dabija
- Valeriu Daraban
- Vladimir Darie
- Chiril Darmancev
- Anatol Davâdov
- Andrei Diaconu
- Lidia Dicusar
- Mihai Dimitriu
- Victor Diucarev
- Vladimir Dobrea
- Valentin Dolganiuc
- Nicolae Domente
- Vasile Domente
- Mircea Druc
- Mihail Druță
- Pavel Dubălari
- Alexandru Efanov
- Gheorghe Efros
- Valeriu Egorov
- Vladimir Emilianov
- Ion Eremia
- Grigore Evstratii
- Fiodor Evtodiev
- Sergiu Fandofan
- Gavril Frangu
- Mihai Gajiu
- Iurie Gherasimov
- Valerian Gherman
- Gheorghe Ghimpu
- Mihai Ghimpu
- Vitalie Glebov
- Vladimir Goncear
- Mihai Goncearenco
- Alexandru Gorodnicenco
- Vasile Graf
- Petru Griciuc
- Ion Grigoraș
- Dumitru Grosu
- Gheorghe Grosu
- Nicolae Grosu
- Vasile Gudima
- Vladimir Gudumac
- Ilarion Guidea
- Semion Guranda
- Semion Gurghiș
- Gheorghe Gusac
- Pavel Gusac
- Mihai Guslikov
- Dumitru Guțu
- Ion Guțu
- Ion Hadârcă
- Gheorghe Hioară
- Dumitru Holban
- Vasile Iovv
- Lidia Istrati
- Vladimir Iuzvenco
- Anatol Ivanov
- Anatol Ivanov
- Valeriu Jardan
- Grigore Jelihovski
- Mihail Kendighelean
- Valentin Krîlov
- Vladimir Labunski
- Ion Lapaci
- Ludmila Lașcionova
- Mihai Lazăr
- Valeriu Lebedev
- Tudor Lefter
- Valentin Lefter
- Valentin Leșinski
- Anatol Lisețki
- Veaceslav Litvinenco
- Vladlen Lîiurov
- Ion Luca
- Petru Lucinschi
- Petru Lupașcu
- Pavel Lupăcescu
- Teodor Macrinici
- Ion Madan
- Ștefan Maimescu
- Nicolae Malachi
- Sergiu Manea
- Andrey Manoylov
- Fiodor Marinov
- Spiridon Martâniuc
- Danil Matcin
- Valeriu Matei
- Iurie Maxuta
- Gheorghe Mazilu
- Emil Mazureac
- Mihai Mălai
- Ion Mărgineanu
- Valentin Mândâcanu
- Svetlana Mâslițcaia
- Ion Mereuță
- Nicolae Misail
- Ion Mițcul
- Ilie Mocanu
- Tudor Mogâldea
- Andrei Moraru
- Nicolae Moraru
- Victor Morev
- Alexandru Morozov
- Alexandru Moșanu
- Dumitru Moțpan
- Petru Muntean
- Andrei Munteanu
- Ion Munteanu
- Mihai Mușumanschi
- Petru Nastasiuc
- Vasile Năstase
- Ion Neagu
- Gheorghe Nechit
- Vasile Nedelciuc
- Iacob Negru
- Tudor Negru
- Ion Negură
- Vasile Nestor
- Valentin Nicolaenco
- Victor Nikulin
- Fiodor Nirean
- Dumitru Noroc
- Ion Novac
- Constantin Novoderejkin
- Valeriu Obreja
- Valentin Oglindă
- Alexandru Ohotnicov
- Olga Ojoga
- Tudor Olaru
- Nicolae Oleinic
- Vilor Ordin
- Nicolae Ostapenco
- Ion Palii
- Tudor Panțâru
- Vasile Para
- Vasile Pasaniuc
- Piotr Pascari
- Vlad Pascaru
- Victor Pavlic
- Ion Pădureț
- Ion Pălăncica
- Boris Pălărie
- Dumitru Pălărie
- Mihai Patraș
- Pantelei Pârvan
- Eugen Pâslaru
- Mihai Plasiciuc
- Sava Platon
- Stepan Plaținda
- Anatol Plugaru
- Valentina Podgornaia
- Petru Poian
- Mihai Poiată
- Petru Poiată
- Larisa Pokotilova
- Ghimn Pologov
- Ion Popa
- Serghei Popa
- Ion Popov
- Mihai Popovici
- Mihai Popovici
- Anatol Popușoi
- Eugen Popușoi
- Dumitru Gheorghe Postovan
- Dumitru H. Postovan
- Veniamin Potașev
- Ion Prisăcaru
- Vitalie Pritula
- Nicolae Proca
- Vasile Pruteanu
- Dumitru Puntea
- Victor Pușcaș
- Evgheni Pușneac
- Alexandra Raiu
- Gheorghe Răducan
- Victor Reabcici
- Alecu Reniță
- Nicolai Riumin
- Vladimir Rîleakov
- Nicolae Robu
- Anatol Rusanov
- Andrei Rusnac
- Ion Rusu
- Mihai Rusu
- Mircea Rusu
- Mihai Șabarcin
- Anatol Șalaru
- Anatol Șaragov
- Vasile Șevcenco
- Vasile Șoimaru
- Piotr Șornikov
- Vasile Șova
- Andrei Safonov
- Constantin Sahanovschi
- Vasile Sajin
- Anatol Salamandîk
- Petru Sandulachi
- Aurel Saulea
- Mihai Sâromeatnicov
- Ludmila Scalnâi
- Gheorghe Scutaru
- Ion Scutaru
- Mihai Scutaru
- Elisei Secrieru
- Titu Serghei
- Valeriu Serjant
- Ludmila Silicenko
- Anatol Simac
- Gheorghe Siumbeli
- Gheorghe Slabu
- Igor Smirnov
- Alexandru Snegur
- Mircea Snegur
- Vladimir Solonari
- Petru Soltan
- Anton Spânu
- Nicolae Stadinciuc
- Ion Stepanenco
- Mihai Străjescu
- Anatol Țăranu
- Pavel Țîmai
- Ivan Țînnik
- Tudor Țopa
- Constantin Țurcan
- Ion Țurcan
- Leonid Țurcan
- Anatol Țurcanu
- Anatol Țurcanu
- Andrei Țurcanu
- Ion Țurcanu
- Ion Tacu
- Constantin Tampiza
- Ion Tanas
- Constantin Taușanji
- Ion Tăbâică
- Constantin Tănase
- Petru Tărâță
- Anton Terente
- Iurie Timoșenco
- Victor Tocan
- Dumitru Todoroi
- Nicolae Todos
- Stepan Topal
- Gheorghe Trestianu
- Ilia Trombițki
- Victor Uncuță
- Ion Ungureanu
- Ion Ungureanu
- Serafim Urecheanu
- Vasile Ursachi
- Vasile Ursu
- Vitalie Ustroi
- Andrei Vartic
- Vasile Vartic
- Ignat Vasilachi
- Ion Vatamanu
- Vasile Vatamanu
- Vasile Vodă
- Piotr Volkov
- Anna Volkova
- Mihai Volontir
- Mihai Voloșin
- Grigore Volovoi
- Piotr Zalojkov
- Oleg Zapoliski
- Vitalie Zavgorodni
- Anatol Zelenschi
- Iuri Zinoviev
- Fiodor Zlatov
- Vitali Znagovan