Traditional rural culture remains one of the constant elements of Chisinau image starting from the fi rst editions of photographic albums of the city. Despite its important role in the daily life of a major part of urban population it was rendered a somewhat transitional “festive” features specifi cally in the images of Chisinau of Soviet times. Nevertheless, in the editions of the fi rst decade of XXI the traditional culture gradually came to the fore and dag in to its positions in the following albums. Th e symbolic return to the ethnic roots in Chisinau and country in general and popularization of traditional culture became a real trend in a set of branches — from scientifi c events to art and fashion. Globalization played a certain part in this process, stimulating the identity search and actualizing the traditionally rural Moldovan culture, which is being viewed as the origins of nation. Th us, the ethnic rural culture became one of the sources of urban culture, contributing to the identifi cation processes from the one hand, though maintaining rurality of the major part of population in Chisinau, from the other, and thereaft er opposing in some of its aspects to modernization.