The Bessarabian Peasants' Party ( ro, Partidul Țărănesc din Basarabia, PȚB or PȚ-Bas; also ''Partidul Țărănesc Basarabean'', ''Partidul Țărănist Basarabean'') or Moldavian National Democratic Party (''Partidul Național-Democrat Moldovenesc'') was an
agrarian political party, active in 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 ...
and, more specifically, the region of
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 ...
. Comprising various pro-Romanian and regionalist factions that had existed within the
Moldavian Democratic Republic
The Moldavian Democratic Republic (MDR; ro, Republica Democratică Moldovenească, ), also known as the Moldavian Republic, was a state proclaimed on by the ''Sfatul Țării'' (National Council) of Bessarabia, elected in October–Novembe ...
, it was brought together by shared opposition to
Bolshevik Russia
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
and communism. The PȚB, founded in August 1918, was led by
Pan Halippa
Pantelimon "Pan" Halippa (1 August 1883 – 30 April 1979) was a Bessarabian and later Romanian journalist and politician. One of the most important promoters of Romanian nationalism in Bessarabia and of this province's union with Romania, he wa ...
and
Ion Inculeț
Ion Constantin Inculeț (; 5 April 1884, Răzeni, Bessarabia Governorate, Russian Empire, now the Republic of Moldova – 18 November 1940, Bucharest, Romania) was a Bessarabian and Romanian politician, the President of the Country Council of the ...
, originally representing, respectively, its right and left wings;
Ion Pelivan
Ion Gheorghe Pelivan (April 1, 1876 in Răzeni – January 25, 1954 in Sighetu Marmației) was a Romanian politician.
In 1898, Ion Pelivan graduated from the Theological Seminary of Chișinău and in 1903 from the University of Tartu. Then ...
was the co-chair.
Effectively the government party of Bessarabia in the wake of its
formal union with Romania, the PȚB scored a major victory in the
1919 election, when it emerged as the third most popular party in
Greater Romania
The term Greater Romania ( ro, România Mare) usually refers to the borders of the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union. It also refers to a pan-nationalist idea.
As a concept, its main goal is the creation ...
, and an essential partner in government. It was therefore co-opted by the Parliamentary Bloc, formed around the
Romanian National Party
The Romanian National Party ( ro, Partidul Național Român, PNR), initially known as the Romanian National Party in Transylvania and Banat (), was a political party which was initially designed to offer ethnic representation to Romanians in the ...
, until the latter's government was brought down by the
People's Party. Although losing several of its chapters before the
1920 elections, it still won Bessarabia by a significant margin, openly embracing the cause of decentralization and regional autonomy.
Rallied with the national opposition by 1921, the PȚB was effectively split over merging into a caucus formed by
Ion Mihalache
Ion Mihalache (; March 3, 1882 – February 5, 1963) was a Romanian agrarian politician, the founder and leader of the Peasants' Party (PȚ) and a main figure of its successor, the National Peasants' Party (PNȚ).
Early life
A schoolteacher bor ...
's
Peasants' Party and the independent agrarian faction led by
Constantin Stere
Constantin G. Stere or Constantin Sterea (Romanian; russian: Константин Егорович Стере, ''Konstantin Yegorovich Stere'' or Константин Георгиевич Стере, ''Konstantin Georgiyevich Stere''; also known u ...
. Halippa supported such a fusion, and took his supporters out of the PȚB; Inculeț reclaimed for himself the party leadership, and, in 1922, formed an alliance with the governing
National Liberals. Marginally defeating Halippa and Stere in the
election of 1922, the PȚB was again co-opted into government. Inculeț and his supporters entered the National Liberal Party in early 1923, leaving the surviving
rump party
A rump party is a political party that is formed by the remaining body of supporters and leaders who do not support a breakaway group who merge with or form another new party.
The rump party can have the name of the original party, or a new name. ...
to merge with the Romanian National Party in September.
History
Origins
The PȚB was officially founded in
Chișinău
Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the ...
on August 23, 1918, some months after Bessarabia's union with Romania. It was the fusion of two groups that has previously existed in the Moldavian Democratic Republic. Many cadres, including Halippa, had belonged to the "Moldavian Bloc", which represented
Romanian nationalism
Romanian nationalism is the nationalism which asserts that Romanians are a nation and promotes the cultural unity of Romanians. Its extremist variation is the Romanian ultranationalism.Aristotle KallisGenocide and Fascism: The Eliminationist Drive ...
faction within ''
Sfatul Țării
''Sfatul Țării'' ("Council of the Country"; ) was a council that united political, public, cultural, and professional organizations in the greater part of the territory of the Governorate of Bessarabia in the disintegrating Russian Empire, w ...
'', the republican legislature. The Bloc itself was a relic of the
National Moldavian Party
The National Moldavian Party was a political party in Bessarabia.
History
Prior to 1917, Bessarabian intelligentsia was divided between noblemen, conservatives, democrats, and socialists. Vasile Stroescu, a rich but very modest filantrop bo ...
(PNM), which had existed after the
February Revolution
The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and somet ...
—when Bessarabia was still part of the
Russian Republic
The Russian Republic,. referred to as the Russian Democratic Federal Republic. in the Decree on the system of government of Russia (1918), 1918 Constitution, was a short-lived state (polity), state which controlled, ''de jure'', the territ ...
. According to historian Andrei Cemârtan: "The
ȚBmembers themselves made no effort to conceal that only the name had changed, meaning more precisely that the National Moldavian Party had become the Peasants' Party, as circumstances had changed."
[Cemârtan, p. 126]
On its left, the PȚB also incorporated ethnic Romanians who had caucused with ''Sfatul Țării''s "Peasant Faction" (''Fracția Țărănească''). The latter's notable members were Inculeț (its nominal leader),
Pantelimon Erhan
Pantelimon Erhan (1884 – April/May 1971) was a Bessarabian politician and prime minister of the Moldavian Democratic Republic (1917–1918).
Biography
Pantelimon Erhan was born in 1884 in Tănătari, Căușeni District. He died in April or M ...
, and
Vladimir Tsyganko. References to a "Bessarabian Peasants' Party" date back to the era before World War I. A faction of that name existed in the
Russian State Duma
The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...
after the
1907 election. Centered on Dionisy Gulikin, it campaigned for the
recognition of Romanian as a state language of Russia. The same title was later used in common parlance for the Peasants' Faction of ''Sfatul Țării''.
Various Peasant Faction affiliates, like other future PȚB cadres, had belonged to left-wing parties in Russia. Inculeț and
Daniel Ciugureanu
Daniel Ciugureanu (; 9 December 1885 – 19 May 1950) was a Romanian politician from Bessarabia, deputy in Sfatul Țării from Chișinău, Prime Minister of the Moldavian Democratic Republic from –, Minister for Bessarabia in four Romanian Gove ...
had been
Esers
The Socialist Revolutionary Party, or the Party of Socialist-Revolutionaries (the SRs, , or Esers, russian: эсеры, translit=esery, label=none; russian: Партия социалистов-революционеров, ), was a major politi ...
, and had for long maintained links with the
Russian Provisional Government
The Russian Provisional Government ( rus, Временное правительство России, Vremennoye pravitel'stvo Rossii) was a provisional government of the Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately ...
. More to the left,
Ion Buzdugan
Ion Alion Buzdugan ( Romanian Cyrillic and russian: Ион Буздуган, born Ivan Alexandrovici Buzdâga;Onisifor Ghibu, "Trei luni din viața Basarabiei", in '' Societatea de Mâine'', Nr. 13/1924, p. 283Constantin Poenaru, "Viața bucovine ...
and
Gherman Pântea
Gherman Vasile Pântea (; surname also spelled Pîntea; russian: Герман Васильевич Пынтя, translit=German Vasilyevich Pyntya; uk, Герман Васильович Пинтя, translit=Herman Vasylyovich Pyntia; May 13, 1894 ...
had caucused with the
Bolsheviks
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 ...
. In November 1917, almost a year before the PȚB's formal registration, a party of the same name had participated in the
ill-fated election for the
Constituent Assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
. Its list included, among others, Inculeț, Pântea, and Halippa. While the election results "were never fully tabulated", later counts indicated the Peasants' Soviet as one of the most important political players, winning between 35% and 37% of the accounted votes, with strong support from the Romanian-speaking rural population. The results would have allowed the party to hold 5 of the 13 Bessarabian deputy seats, as many as the local Esers; in contrast, the PNM, only gathering 2–3% of the vote, would have failed to win any.
During the same month, Inculeț was elected the
Moldavian Republic's President by his colleagues in ''Sfatul''. According to scholar
Charles Upson Clark
Charles Upson Clark (1875–1960) was a professor of history at Columbia University. He discovered the Barberini Codex, the earliest Aztec writings on herbal medicines extant.
Biography
Clark was born in 1875 to Edward Perkins Clark and Cat ...
, his collaboration with the Moldavian Bloc was purely pragmatic: since the
October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
had toppled the Esers, he switched from supporting Russian federalism to preserving his republic as an independent state, and needed the nationalists' backing. Pelivan was always suspicious of the President's true motivations, and later went on record with allegations that Inculeț was unreliable and not in fact devoted to his country, but "belonged to the Russian nation." Inculeț defended himself against such charges. In his account, he had merely passed himself off for a revolutionary, in hopes of dissuading radicals from toppling his government, and "hide his
atrioticsentiments".
In his tenure as President, Inculeț reluctantly allowed the
Romanian Land Forces
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 ...
to assume effective control of the country, hoping to use them against the Bolshevik insurgents. Urged on by Inculeț, Ciugureanu and Pantelimon Erhan, ''Sfatul'' declared the republic's full independence on January 23, 1918. In March, this was reversed by a new vote on union, with Inculeț and Ciugureanu becoming Ministers for Bessarabia in the Romanian cabinet of
Alexandru Marghiloman
Alexandru Marghiloman (4 July 1854 – 10 May 1925) was a Romanian conservative statesman who served for a short time in 1918 (March–October) as Prime Minister of Romania, and had a decisive role during World War I.
Early career
Born in Buz ...
. Both of them, together with Pelivan, were elected to the
Assembly of Deputies for Romanian colleges in the
summer 1918 race.
Early goals
According to Cemârtan, the new party's creation reflected Bessarabian suspicion of Marghiloman's politics, and in particular their fear that his
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
was against their desired
agrarian reform Agrarian reform can refer either, narrowly, to government-initiated or government-backed redistribution of agricultural land (see land reform) or, broadly, to an overall redirection of the agrarian system of the country, which often includes land re ...
.
In its first session of 1918, the PȚB elected Halippa as Chairman; Pelivan and
Ștefan Holban Ștefan Holban may refer to:
* Ștefan Holban (general) (1869–1939), Romanian general and politician
* (1886–1961), Russian-born Romanian politician, member of the Sfatul Țării
''Sfatul Țării'' ("Council of the Country"; ) was a cou ...
were Vice Presidents. The first-ever Central Committee (CC) included Halippa, Holban, Inculeț, Ciugureanu,
Teofil Ioncu,
Gheorghe Stârcea, and several members of the autonomous Bessarabian Directorate:
Petru Cazacu
Petru Cazacu ( was a politician from Bessarabia (Moldova).
Biography
He served as the prime minister of the Moldavian Democratic Republic
The Moldavian Democratic Republic (MDR; ro, Republica Democratică Moldovenească, ), also known ...
(the
Director-in-Chief),
Nicolae Bivol
Nicolae Bivol (1 June 1882 – after 1941) was a Bessarabian politician, member of the Sfatul Țării between 1917–1918, and Mayor of Chișinău in two terms between 1923–1924 and 1925–1926.
Biography Early life
Bivol was born in Ialove ...
,
Ștefan Ciobanu
Ștefan Ciobanu (born November 11, 1883 – February 28, 1950) was a Romanian historian and academician, author of some important works about ancient Romanian literature, Romanian culture in Basarabia under Russian occupation, Bessarabian de ...
,
Ion Costin.
The new nationalist–agrarian alliance stood for a radical platform, demanding land reform with full expropriation, and the preservation of regional autonomy within
Greater Romania
The term Greater Romania ( ro, România Mare) usually refers to the borders of the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union. It also refers to a pan-nationalist idea.
As a concept, its main goal is the creation ...
. Other main proposals were
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
(including
for women), incentives for
cooperative farming
An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activity.
A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural service cooperativ ...
, and the introduction of free primary education.
[Constantin ''et al.'', p. 162] It chose the name of "Bessarabian Peasants' Party" only at the last minute: Halippa and Ciugureanu had proposed the name of "National Democratic Party", which continued to be used as an alternative for months after the party's establishment. That name had been used by Pelivan and Halippa around 1906, when they first associated with
Constantin Stere
Constantin G. Stere or Constantin Sterea (Romanian; russian: Константин Егорович Стере, ''Konstantin Yegorovich Stere'' or Константин Георгиевич Стере, ''Konstantin Georgiyevich Stere''; also known u ...
and
Emanuil Gavriliță
Emanuil G. Gavriliță (11 August 1847 in Nicorești – 10 June 1910 in Băxani) was a lawyer, journalist and activist from Bessarabia. He was the director of Basarabia, a newspaper from Chișinău. Mircea RusnacRenaşterea cultural-naţion ...
in putting out the newspaper ''
Basarabia
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 ...
''.
In November 1918, various of its ''Sfatul'' deputies—including Tsyganko,
Vladimir Cristi
Vladimir Cristi (1880–1956) was a Romanian publicist and politician who served as State Minister in the Nicolae Iorga government between 16 January and 6 June 1932. Cristi was Mayor of Chișinău between 1938 and 1940.
Biography
Cristi was ...
,
Mihail Minciună and
Teodor Nichitiuc—joined a protest alongside delegates from the Moldavian Bloc, the ethnic minorities, and the trade unions. They demanded the reversal of Romania's
martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Marti ...
and elections for a new regional assembly. The party helped to push through its land reform project during the very last session of the Bessarabian legislature (November 27). By then, however, the PȚB as a whole had switched to a more moderate land reform project (with compensation) and an acceptance of
centralism
Centralisation or centralization (see spelling differences) is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning and decision-making, framing strategy and policies become concentrated within a particu ...
.
[Suveică, p. 67] Ciugureanu served as Minister for Bessarabia in the government team of
Constantin Coandă
Constantin Coandă (4 March 1857 – 30 September 1932) was a Romanian soldier and politician.
Biography
Constantin Coandă was born in Craiova. He reached the rank of general in the Romanian Army, and later became a mathematics profes ...
, and obtained that he and other members of the regional administration be allowed to stand in elections without renouncing their offices. On November 17, the PȚB absorbed the Bessarabian People's League (LPB), which had existed since September. On December 6, former LPB leader
Vasile Bârcă
Vasile Bârcă (born 2 January 1884, Ignăţei, Orhei county - died 14 May 1949, Bucharest) was a Moldovan politician, member of the Moldovan Parliament, mayor of Chișinău and minister during Greater Romania.
Biography
He studied law at the ...
was made PȚB Vice President, alongside Ciobanu, while Holban became the Cashier.
The arrival to power in Romania of a
National Liberal Party (PNL) cabinet maintained PȚB leaders into the ranks of Bessarabia's administration. At a regional level, the PȚB soon found itself confronted by another nationalist group, called "Romanian League". Formed by Cazacu and
Vladimir Herța
Vladimir Herța (May 14, 1868, Chișinău - August 3, 1924, Chișinău) was a Moldovan politician, mayor of Chișinău between 1918 and 1919. He has played an important role in the act of the Union.
Biography
Vladimir Herța was born on May 1 ...
in March 1919, it was explicitly dedicated to tackling the Bessarabian Peasantists' "absolutism and exclusivity". It accused Halippa of having dismantled the old network of administrative autonomy and civil liberties, in particular the ''
zemstva
A ''zemstvo'' ( rus, земство, p=ˈzʲɛmstvə, plural ''zemstva'' – rus, земства) was an institution of local government set up during the great emancipation reform of 1861 carried out in Imperial Russia by Emperor Alexander ...
''. While the PȚB caucused with the PNL at a central level, the League joined up with the opposition
Conservative-Democratic Party
The Conservative-Democratic Party (, PCD) was a political party in Romania. Over the years, it had the following names: the Democratic Party, the Nationalist Conservative Party, or the Unionist Conservative Party.
The Conservative-Democratic Part ...
.
Pelivan, who lobbied for Bessarabia at the
Paris Peace Conference, wrote back to Inculeț complaining that the Romanian administration was being vilified by "the Russians and the Jews". When the Esers' Bessarabian envoy,
Mark Slonim, alleged that the region actually resisted incorporation into Romania, Inculeț called him "idiotic".
The PȚB soon began organizing itself locally. Its first newspaper was ''
Cuvânt Moldovenesc'', the old PNM tribune, which it relaunched in a new edition in 1918.
Other political tribunes appeared only in 1919, with the
Cahul
Cahul (; also known by other alternative names) is a city and municipality in southern Moldova. The city is the administrative center of Cahul District; it also administers one village, Cotihana. As of 2014 census, the city has had a populatio ...
-based weekly ''Cuvântul Țăranului'' (1919). In 1918, Haralambie Vizanti had already set the Peasants' Party of
Cahul County
Cahul County was a county of Bessarabia. In the Middle Ages, its territory belonged to the Fălciu County, but after the annexation of Bessarabia by the Russian Empire in 1812 it became a county by itself.
History
Two smaller, Codru County and ...
, which aimed to be recognized as a PȚB section. This recognition never arrived: in January 1919, the PȚB informed Vizanti and his followers that a team under
Ion Balbărău represented it locally. As a result, Vizanti joined the Romanian League in forming a "conservative nationalist" caucus, directly competing with the PȚB.
There followed several months of campaigning through small-scale "peasant congresses", attended by party eminences. Pântea organized one such meeting for
Cetatea Albă County
Cetatea Albă County was a county (județ) of Romania between 1925 and 1938 and between 1941 and 1944, in Bessarabia, with the capital city at Cetatea Albă. It had an area of and a population of 340,459 as of the 1930 census.
Geography
The cou ...
on February 4, 1919. Over the following weeks and months, this section enlisted members from various cultural backgrounds. These included
Dionisie Erhan, a hierarch of the
Bessarabian Orthodox Metropolis, alongside
Daniel Erdmann and
Andreas Widmer, both of whom were leaders of the
Bessarabian Germans
The Bessarabia Germans (german: Bessarabiendeutsche, ro, Germani basarabeni, uk, Бессарабські німці) were an ethnic group who lived in Bessarabia (today part of the Republic of Moldova and south-western Ukraine) between 1814 ...
; other affiliates were local Ukrainians and
Bulgarians
Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe.
Etymology
Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely understo ...
. Historian Ion Gumenâi also notes that most of those who declared for the PȚB in
Hotin County
Hotin County was a county (ținut is Middle Ages and Early Modern Period, județ after) in the Principality of Moldavia (1359–1812), the Bessarabia Governorate, Governorate of Bessarabia (1812–1917), the Moldavian Democratic Republic (1917–19 ...
during early 1919 were either Slavs or
Bessarabian Jews The history of the Jews in Bessarabia, a historical region in Eastern Europe, dates back hundreds of years.
Early history
Jews are mentioned from very early in the Principality of Moldavia, but they did not represent a significant number. Their m ...
.
On April 27–29, 1919, Halippa, Bârcă and Minciună organized the Peasant Congress, where 130 rural delegates from across Bessarabia were invited to weigh in on the land reform project, and also to read the PȚB program. This defined the party line to be preserved for the
general election of November 1919, which were Romania's first experience of universal male suffrage. There followed an enlargement and reshuffling in April 1919. Bivol, Cazacu, Costin and Stârcea were out; new members of the CC included Buzdugan, P. Erhan, Minciună, Pântea, Pelivan,
Anton Crihan,
Vasile Mândrescu,
Nicolae Secară, and
Nicolae Suruceanu. Crihan and Ciobanu were the two Vice Presidents, while Halippa was reconfirmed as Chairman. The party also selected a political symbol and electoral logo: the scythe and rake, crossed. In the electoral precincts of Hotin County, this symbol was replaced by a sickle.
Parliamentary Bloc
The party registered major gains in the election of November 1919, the first to involve all of Greater Romania. The PȚB was effectively in alliance with the
Democratic Nationalist Party (PND), which was based in Romania-proper, with the
Romanian National Party
The Romanian National Party ( ro, Partidul Național Român, PNR), initially known as the Romanian National Party in Transylvania and Banat (), was a political party which was initially designed to offer ethnic representation to Romanians in the ...
(PNR) of
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
, and the
Democratic Union Party (PDU) of
Bukovina
Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter BergerT ...
. The PND leader,
Nicolae Iorga
Nicolae Iorga (; sometimes Neculai Iorga, Nicolas Jorga, Nicolai Jorga or Nicola Jorga, born Nicu N. Iorga;Iova, p. xxvii. 17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet ...
, ran for the Assembly on a PȚB list at
Orhei
Orhei (; Yiddish ''Uriv'' – אוריװ), also formerly known as Orgeev (russian: Орге́ев), is a city, municipality and the administrative centre of Orhei District in the Moldova, Republic of Moldova, with a population of 21,065. Orhei ...
, alongside
Vasile Stroescu
Vasile Vasilievici Stroescu (russian: Василий Васильевич Строеско, ''Vasily Vasilyevich Stroesko''; November 11, 1845 – April 13, 1926), also known as Vasile de Stroesco,"Vasile de Stroesco" and ""Scrisoarea dlui V. de ...
, who was a doyen of the PNM and the emancipation movement. The PȚB also proposed eligible positions to
Ion Nistor
Ion I. Nistor (August 16, 1876 – November 11, 1962) was a Romanian historian and politician. He was a titular member of the Romanian Academy from 1915 and a professor at the universities of Cernăuți and Bucharest, while also serving as Mini ...
of the PDU and
Iuliu Maniu
Iuliu Maniu (; 8 January 1873 – 5 February 1953) was an Austro-Hungarian-born lawyer and Romanian politician. He was a leader of the National Party of Transylvania and Banat before and after World War I, playing an important role in the Un ...
of the PNR, but they turned down the offer.
Artur Văitoianu
Artur or Arthur Văitoianu (14 April 1864 in Izmail – 17 June 1956) was a Romanian general who served as a Prime Minister of Romania for about two months in 1919 (27 September – 30 November). During his mandate, the first elections of ...
, the nominally independent
Prime Minister of Romania
The prime minister of Romania ( ro, Prim-ministrul României), officially the prime minister of the Government of Romania ( ro, Prim-ministrul Guvernului României, link=no), is the head of the Government of Romania. Initially, the office was s ...
, approached the PȚB to become their candidate in
Ismail County
Ismail County was a county ( județ) of Romania between 1925 and 1938 and between 1941 and 1944, in Bessarabia, with the capital city at Ismail.
Geography
The county was located in the eastern part of Greater Romania, in the south of the histori ...
. Although favored by Halippa, this attempt was rejected by Inculeț, and became the first of several incidents separating the two leaders.
Before this election, the PȚB had incorporated into its ranks an
anticommunist
Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...
group, the Bessarabian League against Bolshevism, whose founder, General Alexandru Anastasiu, ran on Peasantist lists for the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
.
However, according to the Romanian historian (and PNL politico)
Gheorghe Brătianu, the Bessarabian votes were mainly drawn by the party's "far-left", reflecting the Bessarabian's public's rejection of the Romanian establishment. In
Lăpușna County, the PȚB received backing from left-wing Jews, including formal pledges of support by the
General Bund; the old leftist
Zamfir Arbore
Zamfir Constantin Arbore (; born Zamfir Ralli, russian: Земфирий Константинович Арборе-Ралли, ''Zemfiriyi Konstantinovich Arborye-Ralli''; also known as Zamfir Arbure, Zamfir Rally, Zemphiri Ralli and Aivaza;Felea ...
successfully ran on the PȚB list for a Senate seat at Chișinău.
Lastly, members of the PȚB administration were alleged by their political adversaries to have committed fraud and abuse of power, with the election taking place under a
state of siege
A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
. Some consequently boycotted the election altogether. The Romanian League only put up candidates in Cahul County, which it won; it remained the only constituency not fully carried by the Peasantists. The PȚB had virtually no adversaries in Hotin and Ismail, for either the Assembly or the Senate. It was similarly unchallenged for the Assembly seats of
Tighina
Bender (, Moldovan Cyrillic: Бендер) or Bendery (russian: Бендеры, , uk, Бендери), also known as Tighina ( ro, Tighina), is a city within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova under ''de facto'' control of the un ...
. The Bessarabian Peasantists won the majority of regional votes and emerged as the third party nationally, with 72 seats in the Assembly—the PNL had 103, just ahead of its rival, the PNR, which had 99. Stroescu was the Assembly's oldest member, and as such entitled to lead procedures in the absence of an elected
Assembly President; he was also the first Bessarabian to hold that distinction. The PȚB also sent 37 of its members to Senate, almost the totality of Bessarabian delegates to that chamber.
The victory of a unionist party was held in Romania as a democratic reconfirmation of the unification, and effectively a
plebiscite
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
. It was used as evidence of the union's legality by the PȚB itself, against the claims stated by the Bolsheviks, the
White émigré
White Russian émigrés were Russians who emigrated from the territory of the former Russian Empire in the wake of the Russian Revolution (1917) and Russian Civil War (1917–1923), and who were in opposition to the revolutionary Bolshevik commun ...
s, and the
Ukrainian People's Republic
The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), or Ukrainian National Republic (UNR), was a country in Eastern Europe that existed between 1917 and 1920. It was declared following the February Revolution in Russia by the First Universal. In March 1 ...
, all of whom demanded a partition of Bessarabia. Nevertheless, the PȚB also expressed reserves toward Romanian centralism, and, for a while, its leaders contemplated forming a purely regionalistic alliance with other deputies from Bessarabia, Bukovina, Transylvania and the
Banat
Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...
.
[Suveică, pp. 73–74] As summarized by Cemârtan: "The Bessarabian elites and public opinion preferred to avoid the consecrated parties, since
heir regionalextension could bring with it undesirable customs and methods."
The party only found ideological common ground with
Ion Mihalache
Ion Mihalache (; March 3, 1882 – February 5, 1963) was a Romanian agrarian politician, the founder and leader of the Peasants' Party (PȚ) and a main figure of its successor, the National Peasants' Party (PNȚ).
Early life
A schoolteacher bor ...
's
Peasants' Party (PȚ), which had taken fourth place. The two groups agreed on principle to endorse a national platform of peasant rights and representation; delegates such as Bârcă began discussing the possibility of a fusion "sometime in the near future". In the Assembly, the PȚB had a crucial role to play: its deputies were vital to any governing coalition.
On November 25, after intense debates,
the PȚB and the PND agreed to back Parliamentary Bloc and its Prime Minister-designate,
Alexandru Vaida-Voevod
Alexandru Vaida-Voevod or Vaida-Voievod (27 February 1872 – 19 March 1950) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian politician who was a supporter and promoter of the Union of Transylvania with Romania, union of Transylvania (before 1920 part of ...
. The Bloc also comprised the PȚ, the PDU, and remnants of the
Labor Party. Inculeț, Halippa and Pelivan were all appointed to ministerial office in the Vaida cabinet. On December 25,
Alexandru Mîță, as deputy-elect of
Bălți County, reportedly addressed Vaida a letter of protest, which referred to Romanian authorities as engaged in "terrifying crimes" against the Bessarabian populace. That text also argued that Bessarabians had come to resent Romanians as a whole, disparagingly referring to them as "
Gypsies
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
".
Iulian Chifu
Iulian Chifu (born on 28 July 1968) is a Romanian foreign policy analyst and former presidential adviser.
Biography
Iulian Chifu was born on 28 July 1968 in Iași, Romania.
Chifu was an advisor to the former President of Romania Traian Băsescu ...
, "Direcțiile istoriografiei în Republica Moldova independentă", in Mihai Baciu, Silvia Bocancea (eds.), ''Basarabia după 200 de ani. Lucrările Conferinței Internaționale 'Basarabia după 200 de ani'. Iași, 12 mai 2012'', pp. 49–50. Iași: Institutul European, 2012. As noted by academic
Iulian Chifu
Iulian Chifu (born on 28 July 1968) is a Romanian foreign policy analyst and former presidential adviser.
Biography
Iulian Chifu was born on 28 July 1968 in Iași, Romania.
Chifu was an advisor to the former President of Romania Traian Băsescu ...
, Mîță's appeal was much quoted in later autonomist and
Moldovenist
Moldovenism is a political term used to refer to the support and promotion of the Moldovans, Moldovan identity and Culture of Moldova, Moldovan culture primarily by the opponents of such ideas.
Some of its supporters ascribe this identity to the ...
literature, but does not appear at all in parliamentary records.
![PȚB electoral performance](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/P%C8%9AB_electoral_performance.svg)
Despite Iorga's repeated efforts to enact the land reform on the coalition's own terms, the Vaida government was ordered to step down by
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
Ferdinand I, who assigned the premiership to
Alexandru Averescu
Alexandru Averescu (; 9 March 1859 – 2 October 1938) was a Romanian marshal, diplomat and populist politician. A Romanian Armed Forces Commander during World War I, he served as Prime Minister of three separate cabinets (as well as being ''inter ...
(March 1920). Internal divisions caused the PȚB to split weeks before the
May elections. Averescu's
People's Party (PP) extended an offer for merger. Inculeț accepted it, but was threatened by his colleagues with expulsion. On April 21, a PȚB Congress forced him to renounce his position as Minister for Bessarabia, which he had maintained under six consecutive regimes. A small faction, led by
Sergiu Niță
Sergiu T. Niță (1883 in Peresecina – 3 March 1940 in Bucharest) was a politician and lawyer from Romania. He served as Minister for Bessarabia (1920–1921, 1926–1927) in the Averescu cabinets.
Biography
Sergiu Niță was born on March ...
, broke out of the PȚB and joined Averescu. Dissatisfied with work in the opposition, Ciugureanu and his followers also separated and ran as a "Democratic Union Party of Bessarabia", but, failing to win any seats, went over to the PNL. Inculeț later claimed that he had sidelined Ciugureanu, whom he accused of carrying out "personal business" from within the party.
[Iorga, p. 239]
Move toward autonomism
The party, which set up other local newspapers, including ''Viața Basarabiei'' of Chișinău (founded 1921) and ''Secera'' of
Ismail city (1922), adhered to the PȚ-led Federation of National Social Democracy (FDNS), comprising the bulk of opposition forces. Meanwhile, Niță was rewarded with the office of Minister for Bessarabia, and his centralizing campaign pitted him against his former colleagues. Bârcă (himself a former member of the PP), accused Niță of having purged the administration of its PȚB cadres. In another confrontation, Crihan, the PȚB deputy for
Bălți County, expressed his dissatisfaction: "We did not conceive of Bessarabia's union with Romania as where we give it to you for exploitation." The same was argued by Pelivan, according to whom a "truly democratic state" required "full decentralization of the administrative and economic life." In turn, the PP's
Vladimir Chiorescu accused Ciugureanu and Inculeț of having "monopolized" regional power, "pushing out of their way each and all valuable Bessarabian element". He also denied that the PȚB had played any part in securing the union.
The Congress also adopted a new program, comprising radical, "at times socialistic",
[Cemârtan, p. 132] demands, and acquiring "a radical leftist orientation". It restated the need for a universal land reform, while adding new demands: a non-political form of self-government, the
minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...
,
workers' participation in management, and the dismantling of the
Gendarmerie
Wrong info! -->
A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...
—to be replaced with "preferably locally recruited"
peace officer
A law enforcement officer (LEO), or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws. The phrase can include campaign disclosure specialists, local police officers, pro ...
s.
Some of the party's deputies became noted within the FDNS for their radicalism, embracing
separatism
Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seeking greate ...
; the moderates, under Pelivan, were inclined toward the PNL, which promised them limited autonomy. Pelivan was critical of the government's decision to disestablish the regional Directorate, which had handled executive power in Bessarabia, noting that "many
ussiancivil servants are now going hungry", and alleging that a spoils system was being set up by Romanian administrators in "Romania's California". He also pleaded for the reintroduction of the ''zemstva'', and proposed that they be adopted in the
Old Kingdom
In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth ...
as well. An appeasement of the party came in April 1920, when Averescu reintroduced Bessarabian ideas in his own land reform law, reducing the sum owed in compensation to the dispossessed landowners.
The elections themselves were noted for their physical confrontations between government and opposition. Inculeț was arrested while campaigning in
Comrat
Comrat ( ro, Comrat, ; gag, Komrat, Russian and bg, Комрат, Komrat) is a city and municipality in Moldova and the capital of the autonomous region of Gagauzia. It is located in the south of the country, on the Ialpug River. In 2014, Comr ...
; in
Cornești, a Gendarme shot and killed two peasants, trying to quell agitation by a PȚB candidate. As noted in administrative reports of the era, the public itself was voting against centralism, for the party that promised them to disband the Gendarmerie. Despite its weakening splits and the violent incidents on the campaign trail, the PȚB was able to win 23 (or 25) mandates in the Assembly and 6 in the Senate, with a plurality of the regional vote (48%), just ahead of the PP (at 46%). Its fief was a tri-county area comprising Bălți, Tighina and
Soroca
Soroca (russian: link=no, Сороки, Soroki, uk, Сороки, Soroky, pl, Soroki, yi, סאָראָקע ''Soroke'') is a city and municipality in Moldova, situated on the Dniester River about north of Chișinău. It is the administrative ...
, where it won an absolute victory; it lost Ismail County (Avrescu's birthplace), taken by the PP in a landslide.
The PȚB's stand within the opposition became a cause for disputes among the other parties. Beginning in March, its envoys began talks of a fusion with Mihalache's PȚ. This move was resisted by Pelivan especially, who believed that political life also required decentralization. The talks also involved the PND, but Iorga rejected the close alliance between the PȚB and
Constantin Stere
Constantin G. Stere or Constantin Sterea (Romanian; russian: Константин Егорович Стере, ''Konstantin Yegorovich Stere'' or Константин Георгиевич Стере, ''Konstantin Georgiyevich Stere''; also known u ...
, whom Iorga regarded as a wartime traitor. After excluding
Andrei Scobioală, Halippa had managed to have Stere run as a PȚB candidate, but not a PȚB member, in the by-elections of Soroca. During the early months of 1921, the opposition collapsed into factions. Iorga, the Assembly President, refused to validate Stere's deputy mandate—meeting opprobrium from an ad-hoc coalition of PȚB-ists, Laborites and
Socialists
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...
. The issue was taken up by a November 1920 Congress, which voted to continue with the FDNS, but also vetoed any merger.
Halippa and Stere stood together. According to Iorga, Halippa threatened with a parliamentary walkout, while Stere announced (to Inculeț's annoyance) that Bessarabia was ripe for revolution. Moving to the center, Inculeț vetoed Stere's adherence to the PȚB, his stand-off with Halippa almost splitting the party in two. After a new party congress in May 1921, both Halippa and Inculeț dismissed persistent rumors that Stere's "Independent Peasants' Party" had merged into the PȚB, despite Mihalache's interventions in favor of Stere. Halippa's supporters passed a resolution approving of a later union with the PȚ, and also stating their implicit collaboration with "all democratic forces" against "the reactionary tendencies of the oligarchy". Such terminology referred to the PP and the PNL, and alienated the Inculeț group, who were moving closer to an understanding with the National Liberals.
Schisms and dissolution
Over the following month, Stere managed to obtain the PȚ adhesion of seven PȚB deputies, including Halippa and
Ion Codreanu
Ion Codreanu (23 June 1891–8 January 1960) was a Romanian major general during World War II.
Biography
He started his education at the elementary school in Bălăbănești, and then at the Gheorghe Roșca Codreanu High School in Bârlad, ...
. On July 18, Halippa, Stere, and 10 other deputies formally adhered to the PȚ. They "retained some autonomy" within the latter, ensuring an important Bessarabian electoral basis for Mihalache. The core faction of the PȚB, led by Inculeț, assumed control of the party during Halippa's absence, which prevented the merger from being more than a schism. On July 22, the party voted to expel Halippa, Buzdugan, Holban, and Minciună. Inculeț was Chairman, seconded by Pelivan and Bârcă;
Ion Macovei Ion Macovei (August 25, 1885–October 12, 1950) was a Romanian engineer who briefly served in government in 1940.
Born in Nereju, Vrancea County, he attended a polytechnic institute in Germany and became an engineer. Cicerone Ionițoiu"Victime ...
, Mîță, A. Gropa and E. Dumbravă were co-opted on the CC. In fact, several of the latter had already left the party and sided with Halippa. The Inculeț party only represented two Bessarabian constituencies (Lăpușna and
Orhei
Orhei (; Yiddish ''Uriv'' – אוריװ), also formerly known as Orgeev (russian: Орге́ев), is a city, municipality and the administrative centre of Orhei District in the Moldova, Republic of Moldova, with a population of 21,065. Orhei ...
); the rest went over to Halippa or ceased to be.
Inculeț registered the scythe-and-rake symbol as his own, but had to sell his ''
Cuvânt Moldovenesc'' to keep the party from going bankrupt. The party newspapers became ''Glasul Basarabiei'' and Pântea's own ''Basarabia''. The latter attacked Halippa frequently, calling him such epithets as "chauvinistic" and "uncouth". The PȚB quit the FDNS and allied itself to the PNL, but asked in return that the latter party abandon its electoral chapters in Bessarabia.
In early 1922,
Ion I. C. Brătianu formed a National Liberal cabinet, and called in
general elections in March. The Inculeț group, also known locally as the "Peasants' Liberal Party" (''Partidul Țărănesc Liberal'') or "Independent Party of the Bessarabian Peasants",
[Cemârtan, pp. 141–142] only collaborated with the PNL in Ismail and Cetatea Albă counties; elsewhere, it ran as an opposition party.
[Suveică, p. 93] The campaign was primarily fought against Stere and the PȚ, and focused on emphasizing the party's image as the true inheritor of agrarian legitimacy. Such tactics were later excoriated by Stere, who called the PȚB "demagogic" and "anti-national".
The results were mixed. In the early race for the Senate, the gains were very small: Inculeț and his PNL allies had between them 13 seats, while the PȚ had won 11, with Stere personally defeating Inculeț at Bălți. With open and fraudulent support from the PNL government,
Inculeț repeated some his 1919 success in the contest for the Assembly. The PȚB obtained 22 deputy seats and the fourth position nationally, while, in Bessarabia, Halippa's PȚ chapter only won 7 seats (the Averescu party registered less than 2% regionally).
On March 12, the PNL, PȚB and PDU formed a governing coalition supporting Brătianu. Inculeț, having retaken his post of Minister for Bessarabia, set up a new Central Committee, with members such as Pântea and Bârcă, in October 1922. Consequently, Pelivan and Crihan reestablished the old CC, and voted to expel the others, accusing them of sabotage, and to sever all links with the government.
[Cemârtan, pp. 143–144] The Inculeț group joined the PNL on January 20, 1923, and, alongside Ciugureanu's group, established the historically strong National Liberal chapter in Chișinău. The two prominent leaders headed a distinct and marginalized faction within the larger party, often critical of the PNL's selection of cadres.
They also had a long-standing conflict with each other.
A minor PȚB, with Pelivan at its helm, caucused with the PȚ within a "Bessarabian Bloc", which, in March 1923, signed up to a protest against the PNL's "attempt at enslaving an entire people". At the time, there were six PȚB parliamentarians: Bivol, Crihan, Pelivan,
Vladimir Cazacliu,
Porfirie Fală, and
Constantin Morariu. The group only survived independently until September of that year, when Pelivan himself signed up with the opposition PNR.
[Constantin ''et al.'', pp. 162, 166]
Electoral history
Legislative elections
Notes
References
*
Gheorghe Brătianu, ''Basarabia. Drepturi naționale și istorice''. Bucharest: Editura Semne, 1995.
* Andrei Cemârtan, "Le Parti des Paysans de Bessarabie et la rivalité entre Pantelimon Halippa et Ion Inculeț", in ''Codrul Cosminului'', Vol. XVII, Issue 2, 2011, pp. 121–145.
*
Charles Upson Clark
Charles Upson Clark (1875–1960) was a professor of history at Columbia University. He discovered the Barberini Codex, the earliest Aztec writings on herbal medicines extant.
Biography
Clark was born in 1875 to Edward Perkins Clark and Cat ...
, ''Bessarabia. Russia and Roumania on the Black Sea''. New York City:
Dodd, Mead and Company
Dodd, Mead and Company was one of the pioneer publishing houses of the United States, based in New York City. Under several names, the firm operated from 1839 until 1990.
History Origins
In 1839, Moses Woodruff Dodd (1813–1899) and John S. Ta ...
, 1927.
* Ion Constantin, Ion Negrei, Gheorghe Negru, ''Ion Pelivan, părinte al mișcării naționale din Basarabia''. Bucharest: Editura Biblioteca Bucureștilor, 2011.
* Roumen Daskalov, "Agrarian Ideologies and Peasant Movements in the Balkans", in Roumen Daskalov, Diana Mishkova (eds.), ''Entangled Histories of the Balkans, Volume Two: Transfers of Political Ideologies and Institutions'', pp. 281–355. Leiden & Boston:
Brill Publishers
Brill Academic Publishers (known as E. J. Brill, Koninklijke Brill, Brill ()) is a Dutch international academic publisher founded in 1683 in Leiden, Netherlands. With offices in Leiden, Boston, Paderborn and Singapore, Brill today publishes 27 ...
, 2014.
* Ileana-Stanca Desa, Dulciu Morărescu, Ioana Patriche, Adriana Raliade, Iliana Sulică, ''Publicațiile periodice românești (ziare, gazete, reviste). Vol. III: Catalog alfabetic 1919–1924''. Bucharest:
Editura Academiei
The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life.
According to its byl ...
, 1987.
* Armin Heinen, ''Legiunea 'Arhanghelul Mihail': o contribuție la problema fascismului internațional''. Bucharest:
Humanitas
''Humanitas'' is a Latin noun meaning human nature, civilization, and kindness. It has uses in the Enlightenment, which are discussed below.
Classical origins of term
The Latin word ''humanitas'' corresponded to the Greek concepts of '' philanthr ...
, 2006.
*
Nicolae Iorga
Nicolae Iorga (; sometimes Neculai Iorga, Nicolas Jorga, Nicolai Jorga or Nicola Jorga, born Nicu N. Iorga;Iova, p. xxvii. 17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet ...
, ''Memorii. Vol. III: Tristețea și sfârșitul unei domnii''. Bucharest: Editura Națională Ciornei, 1931.
* Dinu Poștarencu ''et al.'', "Basarabia", in
Bogdan Murgescu
Bogdan or Bohdan ( Cyrillic: Богдан) is a Slavic masculine name that appears in all Slavic countries as well as Romania and Moldova. It is derived from the Slavic words '' Bog/Boh'' (Cyrillic: Бог), meaning "god", and ''dan'' (Cyrillic ...
, Andrei Florin Sora (eds.), ''România Mare votează. Alegerile parlamentare din 1919 "la firul ierbii"'', pp. 61–92. Iași:
Polirom
Polirom or Editura Polirom ("Polirom" Publishing House) is a Romanian publishing house with a tradition of publishing classics of international literature and also various titles in the fields of social sciences, such as psychology, sociology and a ...
, 2019.
* Sorin Radu, "Semnele electorale ale partidelor politice în perioada interbelică", in ''Anuarul Apulum'', Vol. XXXIX, 2002, pp. 573–586.
* Svetlana Suveică, ''Basarabia în primul deceniu interbelic (1918–1928): modernizare prin reforme. Monografii ANTIM VII''. Chișinău: Editura Pontos, 2010.
{{Historical Romanian political parties
Political parties established in 1918
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1918 establishments in Romania
1923 disestablishments in Romania
Agrarian parties in Romania
Anti-communist parties
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Left-wing nationalist parties
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Peasants' Party
Political parties of the Russian Revolution