Tyragetia (Oct 2018)
The legitimacy of the presence of Romanian troops in Bessarabia and the reaction of the native population to it (December 1917 - March 1918)
Abstract
For Bessarabia or, more correctly, for the Moldavian Democratic Republic, 1918, marked by profound political, economic and social contradictions, is a turning point in the fate of the region. The political class in Bessarabia, not always unanimous in desire and awareness of the need for unification, considered three options for implementing this event. The Moldavian Bloc in the persons of Pantelimon Halippa, Daniel Ciugureanu, and Ion Pelivan, representing the Romanian majority in the Country Counsel, pleaded for the immediate and unconditional realization of the union. The second group, centered around Ion Inculeţ and Pantelimon Erhan, represented the largest part of the Peasant faction and pleaded for the unification with the preservation of full autonomy. The other part of the Peasant group and part of the minorities represented by Vladimir Tsyganko accepted this perspective only in a “federative” format, that is, with the preservation of the Moldavian Democratic Republic. In the conditions when external interests, as a rule, did not take into account the will and aspiration of the population and there was a danger of territorial division because of the claims of Ukraine to the southern, and Austria-Hungary to the northern territories, the presence of the Romanian Army meant for the population support and confidence in the future day. The Romanian army brought order, put an end to anarchy and chaos, created the premises for the implementation of those economic reforms and measures that benefited the vast majority of the population. The army has managed to bring confidence and security even those skeptics who originally opposed its arrival in the region. It was the optimal solution adopted and accepted by the majority of the then political leadership.
