Moldavian Democratic Republic

Moldavian Democratic Republic Republica Democratică Moldovenească Молдавская Демократическая Республика
← 1917–1918 →
Flag Coat of arms
The Moldavian Democratic Republic
Capital	Chişinău (Kishinyov)
Language(s)	Romanian, Russian
Government	Republic
President
- 1917-1918	Ion Inculeţ
Legislature	Sfatul Ţării
History
- Established	2 December O.S.* 15 December N.S. 1917
- Independence	24 January O.S. 6 February N.S. 1918
- United with Romania	27 March O.S. 9 April N.S. 1918
Today part of	Moldova  Ukraine
*: see Old Style and New Style dates.

Sfatul Ţării Palace

Sfatul Ţării members in front of the parliament palace

History of Moldova
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Early Modern Era
Phanariots
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Moldavian Democratic Republic
Sfatul Ţării
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Union of Bessarabia with Romania
The Holocaust in Romanian-controlled territories
Moldavian ASSR
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Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina
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The Moldavian Democratic Republic (Romanian: Republica Democratică Moldovenească), a.k.a. Moldavian Republic, was the state proclaimed on December 15 [O.S. December 2] 1917 by Sfatul Ţării (the National Council) of Bessarabia, elected in October-November 1917 in the wake of the February Revolution and disintegration of the political power in the Russian Empire.

Sfatul Ţării was its legislative body, while the Council of Directors General, renamed Council of Ministers after the Declaration of Independence, was its government.

History

When the February Revolution happened in Petrograd in 1917, the governor of the Bessarabia Governorate stepped down and passed his legal powers to Constantin Mimi, the President of the Gubernial Zemstvo, which was named the Commissar of the Provisional Government in Bessarabia, with Vladimir Criste his deputy. Similar procedures took place in all regions of the Russian Empire: the chiefs of the Tsarist administrations passed their legal powers to the chiefs of the County and Governorate Zemstvos, which were then called County/Governorate Commissars.^[1]

The Peasants' Congress, which took place in October 1917, voted Mimi out and Ion Inculeţ in as the new Commissar. This move was planned by Alexander Kerenski, who sent Inculeţ, an associate professor at the University of Petrograd, to Bessarabia to take hold of the situation. As soon as the Peasants' Congress, which had no legal power, voted, Kerenski formally replaced Mimi with Inculeţ. When Inculeţ arrived in Chişinău to take power, he faced the quiet opposition of the nobility, so he agreed to take the position of deputy commissar to Vladimir Criste. When the republic was proclaimed, Criste stepped down and passed his legal powers to Inculeţ.^[1]

The Sfatul Ţării (National Council) of Bessarabia was elected in October-November 1917, and started to work in December 1917. It proclaimed the Moldavian Democratic Republic as a federal subject (autonomous republic) of the Russian Democratic Federative Republic^[2].

In the wake of an unsuccessful Bolshevik takeover attempt on January 18 [O.S. January 5]–January 25 [O.S. January 12] 1918, and prompted by the declaration of independence of Ukraine, which effectively cut Bessarabia off from Russia, the Sfatul Ţării proclaimed the independence of the Moldavian Republic on February 6 [O.S. January 24] 1918.

In the wake of the signing of separate peace armistices by Imperial Germany with Romania, Ukraine, and Bolshevik Russia, and prompted by the strong internal sentiment of the population, on April 9 [O.S. March 27] 1918, the Sfatul Ţării, with 86 votes in favor, 3 against and 36 abstentions, proclaimed the Union of Bessarabia with the Kingdom of Romania, with the condition of local autonomy and the continuation of Bessarabian legislative and executive bodies, legally ending the Moldavian Democratic Republic.

The union was confirmed in the Treaty of Paris (1920). Of the three people who voted against, Arcadie Osmolovschi emigrated to the Soviet Union, Ştefan Balmez became a successful local politician, and Mihail Starenki continued his job as a teacher.^{[citation needed]}

Leadership

Main articles: Pantelimon Erhan Cabinet, Daniel Ciugureanu Cabinet, and Petru Cazacu Cabinet

The leadership of the Moldavian Republic was composed of Ion Inculeţ, the president of Sfatul Ţării and President of the Republic, Pantelimon Erhan, the President of the Council of Directors General, followed when the country declared independence by Daniil Ciugureanu, as President of the Council of Ministers. Sfatul Ţării was initially composed of 120 elected members, a number which was latter increased to 135 and 150. Due to different circumstances, on 9 April, there were 138 legislators, of which 125 took part in the vote, and 13 were absent.

On December 21 [O.S. December 8] 1917, Sfatul Ţării elected the government of the Moldavian Democratic Republic - the Council of Directors General, with nine members, seven Moldavians, one Ukrainian, and one Jew:

• Pantelimon Erhan, President of the Council, and Director General for Agriculture
• Vladimir Criste, Director General for Internal Affairs
• Ştefan Ciobanu, Director General for Education
• Teofil Ioncu, Director General for Finance
• Nicolae N. Codreanu, Director General for Railroads
• major Teodor Cojocaru, Director General for Armed Forces
• Mihail Savenco, Director General for Justice
• E. Grinfeld, Director General for Industry and Trade
• Ion Pelivan, Director General for Foreign Affairs

In his thirst decree, the Council set forward the aim to "introduce order in all the aspects of life of the country, to eliminate anarchy and disaster, to organize all the aspects of state administration". An Executive Clerk Office (Cancelarie) of the Council of Directors General was set, and all state, public and private institutions were required to communicate through the Executive Clerk Office to the corresponding Director General for all questions regarding the government of the country. All acts in the domain of public administration made without the previous consent of the respective Directors General were declared legally void, while the director freed from responsibility for such acts.^[3]

See also

• Sfatul Ţării
• Union of Bessarabia with Romania
• Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina
• Russian Revolution of 1917
• Odessa Soviet Republic
• Iona Yakir

Gallery

• 

  Declaration of the Moldovan People's Republic

• 

  President Ion Inculeţ

• 

  Constantin Stere

• 

  Pan Halippa and Sfatul Ţării Palace

• 

  Ştefan Ciobanu

• 

  Dimitrie Bogos, chief of the General Staff of the Army

• 

  Petru Cazacu

• 

  Teofil Ioncu, Director General for Finance

• 

  Gherman Pântea, Director General for Armed Forces

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Ion Nistor, p. 279
2. ^ "The Republic of Moldavia: from the collapse of the Soviet empire to the restoration of the Russian empire" 1996 http://books.google.com/books?id=7NxoAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA15&img=1&pgis=1&dq=%22Russian+Democratic+Federative+Republic%22&sig=ACfU3U0qy__hLkf_gJJ9sLJEBfaeov-CZA&edge=0 
3. ^ Halipa, Moraru, p.74-75