The Bender Uprising was organized by local

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

groups in Bender/Tighina on 27 May 1919, as a protest of the local Russian population against the annexation of Bessarabia by the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

in December 1918 (united in a federation with Romania since April 1918,

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 ...

was

annexed Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

by the latter on 10 December).

Red Guards Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard lead ...

from local factories were organized under the command of , and were supported by 150 troops of the 3rd Brigade of the 5th Division of the

3rd Ukrainian Soviet Army The 3rd Ukrainian Soviet was a field army of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, which existed between April 15, 1919 and June 13, 1919 as part of the Ukrainian Front. Then the troops became part of the newly formed 12th Army of the Wester ...

. Together, the Ukrainian troops and the rebels captured the local railway station, post office and telegraph office. During that evening, however, the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...

together with a unit of French colonial troops arrived at the scene and swiftly suppressed the uprising. Although many rebels fled across the

Dniester River The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...

, at least 150 of them were captured and executed.Wim P. van Meurs, East European Monographs, 1994, ''The Bessarabian question in communist historiography: nationalist and communist politics and history-writing'', p. 77

References

1919 in Romania Aftermath of World War I in Romania Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War Bender, Moldova Communist rebellions Conflicts in 1919 May 1919 events Greater Romania History of Bessarabia Riots and civil disorder in Moldova {{Romania-hist-stub

See also

References