Alessandro Vincenzi

Moldova. Comrat, Gagauzia - November 2017

Some workers are setting the signal indicating the entry into the territory of the Autonomous Region Gagauz Yeri. Every year, before the wine day, probably the most famous celebration in Gagauzia, all infra

Moldova. Avdarma, Gagauzia - July 2017

Wedding decoration outside of a traditional style restaurant.

Moldova. Beshalma, Gagauzia - July 2017

Vadim is playing with a german shepherd using a sheepskin. Occasionally Vadim helps adults in several jobs to earn a few cents with which he buys sweets.

Moldova. Beshalma, Gagauzia - July 2017

Typical Gagauzian landscape where cornfields and wheat fields, along with sunflower fields characterize the landscape.

Etulia, Gagauzia. Moldova - Februrary 2018

Train maintenance shed at the Etulia train station, the only one working in all Gagauzia.

Tomai, Gagauzia. Moldova - Februrary 2018

A man waiting under the snow before going to the house of culture of Tomai. Around 500 people attended to the house of culture of Tomai to discuss with local authorities the integrity of Gagauzia inside Mol

Moldova. Comrat, Gagauzia - November 2017

Students of the Boarding Sports School outside of the boxing gymnasium in the first outskirts of Comrat. They train every day and twice a day, one in the morning and one after afternoon classes.

Beshalma, Gagauzia. Moldova - Februrary 2018

Flags of Gagauzia and Moldova are returned to their place at the end of the commemoration day on the memory of those soldiers whos lost their lives during the Afghan war.

Beshalma, Gagauzia. Moldova - Februrary 2018

The community from the village attend at the commemoration in honor of those soldiers who died during the Afghan war. The 25th of February was chosen in honor of the Gagauz soldier who died in the same d

Beshalma, Gagauzia. Moldova - Februrary 2018

Orchard of 36 hectares in which about 17 people work for a month to prune about 45 thousand apple trees. Workers can prune up to a thousand trees a day and about 10 euro cents are paid for each tree.

Beshalma, Gagauzia. Moldova - Februrary 2018

Two of the women's veterans at the common grave where many people where buried as a consequence of the big famine from 1946. The estimation is that almost half of the village's population (2500 people) d

Moldova. Beshalma, Gagauzia - July 2017

Vadim while dries up banknotes after a bath at the lake. On holiday days, men and kids often go to the field to play and spend moments of relax.

Moldova. Ceadir Lunga, Gagauzia - July 2017

Ceadir Lung Aerodrome which was closed 15 years ago following a plain crash. Nicolai, 67, has been working at th eaerodrome for the last 30 years as a guard.

Moldova. Tomay, Gagauzia - July 2017

Taxi driver stoped to check his car along the road Comrat-Ceadir Lunga. In the background the welcome Monument in the region of Ceadir Lunga, at the entrance of the city of Tomay.

Moldova. Comrat, Gagauzia - November 2017

Boxing gymnasium in the first outskirts of Comrat, where during a week several boxing schools coming from all across the country, including Trasnistria and Gagauzia, gather together for special training.

Moldova. Avdarma, Gagauzia - July 2017

Dimitri with some relative from Trasnistria at his place. Relatives arrived in Gagauzia to attend a wedding.

Moldova. Beshalma, Gagauzia - July 2017

What remains of a football field seen from the old dressing rooms, now in ruins. A group of kids before starting a football match. Beshalma is considered as the cultural center of Gagauzia for the presence of

Moldova. Beshalma, Gagauzia - July 2017

A man under heavy rain is tring to direct his geese to their home.

Comrat, Gagauzia. Moldova - Februrary 2018

One of the room at the National Museum of Histoy and Ethnography in Comrat where is represented the fauna which is present in the territory of Gagauzia.

Moldova. Comrat, Gagauzia - November 2017

A tired woman sitting in the cinema of the House of Culture in Comrat, the capital of Gagauzia, while memebers of the staff are setting the projection of the first Gagauz movie in Gagauz language.

The Turkic Wolf

Gagauzia (Gagauz Yeri) is a tiny autonomous region inside the Republic of Moldova. Their identity has been forged out of two apparently opposed elements: the Gagauz are in fact a Christian Orthodox people of Turkic origin with a language that is closely related to all known Turkic idioms.

Although the similarities with Moldovans exceed the differences, in 1991 the Gagauz leaders declared in Comrat (capital city of the region) the independence from Moldova. Gagauzians manage to obtain the autonomy status instead of full sovereignty on one condition: they will have the right to decide their own destiny if Moldova becomes a part of Romania.

After more than 26 years of Moldova’s independence and 23 years of Gagauz Yeri’s autonomy, the state of things and spirits has not changed much. Kremlin’s propaganda is keeping the animosity alive – the Russian TV is by far the most popular and trusted source in Gagauzia. Keen to preserve their identity against Moldovans, the Gagauzians are widely open towards Russian influence: now the majority of Gagauzians would rather prefer the Russian than their native language.

In the recent years, since the Crimea and Donbass events, regions like Gagauzia returned into the world’s press limelight. Despite the increased international attention and twisted geopolitical moves made in the name of Gagauzia, its people, are continuing to live their usual conservative lives. When you arrive in Gagauzia it is surprising to find the same lifestyle as that of our grandfathers, the Europe as it was before the urban civilization. Gagauzia is where Europe could have happened, but didn’t, it is a relic of the Soviet past, a past well-forgotten but not extinct.

Text: Adrian Ciubotaru

Alessandro Vincenzi

Alessandro (Italy, 1973) is a self-trained documentary photographer, which has a special interest for stories in East Europe and Ex-Soviet Union Countries. His career as a photographer started at the end of 2008 after working for almost five years with Medecins Sans Frontieres as a biologist. Photography for Alessandro is the link between those who have a story to tell and those willing to hear it. What he most enjoys about his work is the interaction with people and the countless stories that he comes across.

The Turkic Wolf it’s a journey through the daily life of Gagauzian people, a community with Turkic origins that convert to Christian Orthodox Church. It is a portrait of a very tiny autonomous region where it seems that time has stopped at our post-war period. The Turkic Wolf it’s meant to be the first chapter of a longer project about communities living in countries that are not part of their culture, their origin.

Alessandro’s works have been published in The Guardian, l’OBS, Le Monde, CNN, Mariclaire, D della Repubblica, Vanity Fair, GEO Italy, Revue 21 among others.

Alessandro is based in Barcelona where he lives with his family.