Mayor Nikolai Simeonovich Seferiants is proud of his Armenian heritage, and good reason.
His city was built in 1792 by Russian Empress Catherine II for the Armenians who had settled in Moldova early in the 14th century.
A Royal decree named the city Grigoriopol after the patron saint of the Armenian nation, Gregory the Illuminator, or Krikor Lousavoritch, and ordered the local authorities to "help the Armenians set up homes, develop crafts and open factories."
"Help them in everything. Help not only those who have settled in our country, but encourage other Armenians to come and join them here," she wrote.
Thus Grigoriopol was born as an Armenian colony in the southern flanks of the Russian Empire, which then included Moldova along with neighboring Ukraine.
The city had its own coat of arms depicting the twin peaks of Mount Ararat, along with a traditional Armenian eagle and other symbols.
Over the years, Grigoriopol attracted thousands of Armenians from across Moldova. Several churches, schools and other institutions were built as the community grew.
Today, the ancient cemetery, located on the outskirts of Grigoriopol, is the only tangible link with the past. The churches and other institutions are long gone, as is most of Grigoriopol's once thriving Armenian community.
"People tend to move to larger cities," Mayor Seferiants says.
Grigoriopol was part of Moldova when the country was one of the former Soviet Republics, but today it falls within the breakaway so-called Trans-Dniester Republic which claimed independence from Moldova in August 1991 because the region's Russian-speakers feared Moldova would re-seek unification with Romania.
Situated across the left bank of the Dniester River, the break-away region was granted "special status"-at least on paper-within clearly marked boundaries and a separate administration, including its own parliament and president.
Grigoriopol once played an important role in the region's economic development until the early part of the 19th century, but lost its luster as the Armenian merchant class began moving to other commercial centers in the regions like the Ukrainian port city of Odessa on the Black Sea and Chisinau, the capital of present-day Moldova.
Today, Grigoriopol is no longer an exclusively Armenian city, but its history is still strongly linked to the region's early settlers.
"If you spend some time and research the backgrounds of local families, you will find their Armenian roots. Everyone in Grigoriopol has some Armenian blood," Mayor Seferiants says.
Ashkhen Ghazariova (Ghazarian) is one of them.
"By the time I was born in 1926, the city had lost most of its Armenian character. All the Armenian churches were destroyed and the Armenian school was closed after the Soviet Revolution.
"During my childhood, there were about 75 Armenian families still living here. The market place was in the hands of the Armenians, but all that gradually eroded.
"Today there are about 50 Armenian families in Grigoriopol, and Armenian life is slowly coming back to the city," she said in Russian through an interpreter.
When Grigoriopol was built in 1792, Armenians had already been deeply anchored since the 14th century in the territory which today is divided between Moldova, eastern Romania and southern Ukraine.
The early settlers were traders and merchants who used the old port city of Akkerman, which is today's BelgorodDnestrovskiy, southwest of Odessa, as their main center of activity.
A few historians believe that the Armenian presence in the region dates back to sometime between the 10th and 11th centuries, but details of those early years remain scant.
According to ancient historical documents, Armenian churches were built as early as 1350 in Potosani, Akkerman in 1380, Husi in 1395 and a number of others in 1551.
The Armenians were especially powerful in Akkerman, where the merchant and trading class was located. Research indicates that the city was also used by the Armenians as a key center for their financial transactions and trade with other commercial centers.
The early settlements were enhanced in the 15th and 16th centuries by new immigrants from those parts of Armenia which were under Ottoman rule. Later in the 17th century other Armenians moved and settled in Moldova from Poland to escape the Catholic domination of their church.
Moldova had become an adopted country of choice for the Armenians because of its strategic geographic location and the fact that it was on a crossroad between east and west.
Many Armenian families were invited by such local leaders like Prince Alexander Pari, who in 1407 granted Armenian merchants not only special privileges to establish major trading posts in the region, but also gave them permission to set up their own local governments, courts and a supreme council composed of community elders.
Available records indicate that more than 15,000 Armenians had already settled in the various towns, cities and villages of Moldova in the 15th century.
After Alexander Pari, other Moldovan princes maintained special relations with the area's Armenian population. During the reign of Prince Meem (1475-1504) the community continued to flourish.
As much as the Armenian merchant class played an important role, so did the thousands of Armenian artisans, farmers and members of the so-called working class which had their own unions and associations in 1673.
The Armenians of Moldova have also played an active role in the defense of their adopted country, fighting in many of the battles against the invading Ottoman forces.
It was this active participation, that also allowed the Armenians to consolidate their position in the political, economic and social structures of the country.
In the 15th century, the Armenian presence had grown so much that the Armenian Apostolic Church—based in Holy Etchmiadzin, Armenia—established a separate Diocese to look after the spiritual needs of the community.
In the decades that followed, a number of Armenian princes were members of the ruling royalty, including Jon Arme- noul (or Hovhannes Hye), who ruled from 1572 to 1574.
Others included the brothers Kasbar and Aharon who ruled Moldova as late as the 17th century.
There were also Armenian brigades, especially in the southern regions of the Moldova, who spared no effort to fight for their adopted country, especially at times of war against the invading Turkish Ottoman troops.
The Armenian presence in Moldova, along with regions which now fall out of its jurisdiction, had its ups and downs, but no interruptions. Today, few Armenians can trace their roots to those early years, but regardless of when they settled in Moldova, the Armenians remain proud of their heritage—especially in Grigoriopol, where Armenian history is still alive.
