Etapele mişcării naţionale din Basarabia (1812-1918)
Stages of the national movement in Bessarabia (1812-1918)

Summary/Abstract: This paper presents a general view of the main phases of the national movement of Bessarabian Romanians during 1812-1918. The author relies, for the main part, on his own research, based on unedited documents discovered in archives in the Republic of Moldova, Russia, and Romania. Starting from the “structural phases” that characterize nationalist movements, according to the Czech scholar Miroslav Hroch, the author reviews several stages: 1) 1812 – late 19th century/early 20th century (Phase A); as parts of this long stage, other two periods have qualitative differences: 1) 1812 – late 1850s; 2) early 1860s – late 19th/early 20th century; the union of Romanian Principalities in 1859 and the creation of the national modern Romanian state determined, on one hand, the intensification of the national Romanian feeling among the Bessarabian Moldavian intellectuals and nobles, the apparition of a distinct “Romanianphile” group, and, on the other hand, the paradigm shift in the national policy of the Russian Empire in Bessarabia, the hardening of the Russification policy; 2) late 19th/early 20th century – 1917 (Phase B): the place of activist nobles is taken by middle class national activists, and “cultural noble nationalism” is replaced by “revolutionary” or “national-democratic” nationalism, much more influent and efficient; they request the autonomy of Bessarabia and attempt the creation of political parties; 3) 1917-1918 (Phase C): the fall of Tsarism created the conditions for a nationalist mass movement that led to the creation of national-cultural organizations and of the National Moldavian Party; the autonomy of Bessarabia was declared, later its independence and union with Romania on March 27, 1918.

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