A distinguished personality in the field of historical science and university pedagogical activity in Moldova during the Soviet period was Elena Martânovna Podgradskaia (1928–?). Slovak nationality, originally from the town. Trnava, participated in the anti-fascist insurrection in Slovakia, being a military radio operator, then marrying a Soviet officer, left in 1945 for Chisinau, where in 1957 he graduated from the Faculty of History and Philology of the Chisinău State University, being assigned to the Institute of History of the Moldovan Branch of the USSR Academy. Here he went from senior laboratory to senior scientific collaborator, and in age 1970 he transferred to the Department of Ancient and Medieval History of the US in Chisinau, completing the functions from lecturer to university professor (1984). In age 1966 he defended his thesis as a candidate (doctor), and in 1982 – as a doctor (habilitated) in history. Connoisseur in addition to Russian, Romanian and English, Polish and Ukrainian, as well as Old Slavic paleography. E. M. Podgradskaia researched in the archives of Lvov and Moscow unpublished old documents, regarding the economic relations of the Country of Moldova with the countries of Eastern Europe and the Balkan territories of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th century XVI–XVII. The research results were presented in three monographs (1966, 1982, 1991), studies and articles (about 80), related to union conferences (Moscow, Lvov, Chisinau, Yerevan, etc.). Some of the documents found, referring to the Romanian-Russian-Ukrainian economic relations from the 15th century XV–XVII included them (in collaboration) in the collection “The historical relations of the peoples of the USSR with Romania” (vol. I-III, Moscow, 1965–1970, Joint Edition of Soviet and Romanian Historians). As a whole, the work of E. M. Podgradskaia made a substantial contribution to determining the role of foreign economic relations in the evolution of medieval Moldovan society from scientific positions.