Basarabia (newspaper)

"Basarabia" was the first Romanian language newspaper to be published in Bessarabian guberniya of the Russian Empire in 1906-1907. It was written with the Romanian Cyrillic alphabet and published twice weekly. Labeling itself a "national-democratic gazzette", the newspaper asked within its articles for land reform, autonomy and self-government for Bessarabia and the usage of Moldovan in schools and administration. It published articles by Constantin Stere, Ion Inculeţ, Ion Pelivan, Alexei Mateevici, and Pan Halippa.*Charles King, "The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the Politics of Culture", 2000, Hoover Institution Press. ISBN 0-8179-9791-1, p.29]

On March 1 1907, the newspaper published the Romanian patriotic song "Deşteaptă-te, române!" ("Awaken thee, Romanian!"), which prompted the governor, Aleksei Nikolaevich Kharuzin, to order its closure. The Russian noble families and the Russian Orthodox Church began a campaign of purging Romanian nationalists from the church and cultural institutions. Many of the supporters of the newspaper were forced to flee to Iaşi, in Romania, where Stere helped them to become students at University of Iaşi.

A more moderate attempt to continue "Basarabia"'s work began in 1907, a publication named "Viaţa Basarabiei", written in two versions: with Romanian Latin and Cyrillic alphabets, but after just six issues, it also ceased its publication.

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