The National Organization of Bessarabia "Arcașii lui Ștefan" (

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

:''Organizaţia Națională din Basarabia "Arcașii lui Ștefan"'') was one of the organized

anti-Soviet Anti-Sovietism, anti-Soviet sentiment, called by Soviet authorities ''antisovetchina'' (russian: антисоветчина), refers to persons and activities actually or allegedly aimed against the Soviet Union or government power within the ...

groups in

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

right after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Activity

The National Organization of Bessarabia was formed in October 1945, on the territory of the former Soroca County by teachers

Vasile Bătrânac Vasile Bătrânac (born 1925) is a Moldovan former educator and early Soviet dissident who was the head of the Arcașii lui Ștefan group in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic shortly after World War II. Biography Vasile Bătrânac was ...

, Victor Solovei, Nicolae Prăjină, Teodosie Guzun, and Anton Romașcan, as well as a student,

Nichita Brumă Nichita is a Romanian-language masculine given name and surname. Notable persons with that name include: *Nichita Danilov (born 1952), Romanian poet *Nichita Iurașco (born 1999), Moldovan footballer *Nichita Moțpan (born 2001), Moldovan footballe ...

. The organization took the name "Arcașii lui Ștefan" in October 1946; by March 1947, it had more than 140 members. On 23 March 1947, Bătrânac was arrested by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

secret police, who found a detailed list of the organization's members in his possession. Shortly after, all members, including the other leaders of "Arcașii lui Ștefan", were apprehended by the Soviet authorities. On 11 June, Bătrânac was sentenced to 25 years

forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

and sent to a camp in

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

Gallery

Image:Vasile Batranac.jpg,

Bibliography

* Ștefan Tudor, ''Organizația Națională din Basarabia "Arcașii lui Ștefan",'' ''Basarabia'', 1992, nr.9 * Mitru Ghițiu, ''Unele aspecte din mișcarea de rezistență antisovietică în Basarabia postbelică, Analele Sighet 2, Instaurarea comunismului - între rezistență și represiune, Fundația Academia Civică'', 1995 * Ștefan Tudor, ''Vsia jizni v plenu'', în ''Nezavisimaia Moldova'', 1993, 15 septembrie * Ștefan Tudor, ''O.N.B. "Arcașii lui Ștefan"'' în ''Lit. și Arta'', nr. 14, 16, 19, 21, 24, 25, 26 1997, aprilie-iunie * Mihail Ursachi, ''Organizația Națională din Basarabia Arcașii lui Ștefan: Amintiri'', ''Muzeum'' *

Elena Postică Elena Postică (born 2 September 1954, Lăpușna) is a historian from the Republic of Moldova. Biography Elena Postică was born on 2 September 1954 in Lăpușna, a commune in Hîncești District, Moldova. She is a member of the Commission ...

, ''Rezistența antisovietică în Basarabia. 1944–1950'', Chișinău, 1997 * Valeriu Pasat, ''Trudnâe stranițî istorii Moldovî. 1940–1950 ocumente(Pages difficiles d'histoire de la Moldavie)'',

Moscova Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million re ...

, Ed. Terra, 1994

External links

"Moș Ion de la Mândâc" – un basarabean în temniță cu Soljenițîn

I. Bucătaru, ''Specificul sistemului politic moldovenesc în perioada sovietică (1944–1988)''

Notes

Defunct political parties in Moldova Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic Clandestine groups Anti-communist organizations Anti-communism in Moldova Organizations established in 1945 Hîncești District History of Soroca Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina Organizations disestablished in 1947 {{Moldova-stub