page_title: History of Bălți
section_title: 1989 to present
hierarchical_section_title: History of Bălți / 1989 to present
caption_attribution_description: English: Stamp of Moldova
context_page_description: Bălți is the second largest city in Moldova. It is located in the northern part of the country, within the historical region of Bessarabia, with which the city's own history is closely intertwined.
context_section_description: During 1988 and 1989 – the most effervescent period in Moldova's recent history – Bălți was known as the "quiet city" of Moldova. Few public demonstrations took place in the city during this period, none gathering more than 15,000. Most citizens, including Moldovans, opposed the drive for establishing Romanian as the only official language of the country.
  All local elections were won by the old Soviet apparatus candidates. Municipal activity was conducted in both Russian and Moldovan. The city also actively supported Ukrainian language and culture, with approximately 25,000 citizens being Ukrainians.
  Following Moldova's declaration of independence in 1991, the rise of nationalist sentiments throughout the country and the economic crisis and unemployment caused by the collapse of the USSR resulted in massive emigration which, coupled with a low birth rate, led to a 23% decrease in the population of Bălţi. Russians and Ukrainians were the most affected ethnic groups, losing 45% and 30% of their 1989 numbers respectively, with the Moldovan population decreasing by 15%. Many inhabitants of the city travelled for seasonal work in, and (less often) emigrated to, Europe, Russia, United States and Israel.
  Through all this, Bălţi's tradition of transport-related handiwork was not lost; the city had a number of factories and repair shops for engines and automobiles. The horse's-head coat of arms, though, was replaced with a new one featuring two horses. The city of Bălți entered into a partnership agreement with the French city of Lyons.
  In 1994, Bălți gained the status of a municipality.
caption: Moldovan postage stamp depicting poet and writer Mihai Eminescu.
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