Lăpușna County was a county () in the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

between 1925 and 1938 and between 1941 and 1944.

Geography

The county was located in the eastern part of

Greater Romania Greater Romania () is the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union or the related pan-nationalist ideal of a nation-state which would incorporate all Romanian speakers.Irina LivezeanuCultural Politics in Greate ...

, in the center of the historical region of

Bessarabia Bessarabia () 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 Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

. Currently, the territory of the county is entirely part of the

Republic of Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised ...

. The county was bordered by the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

to the east, the counties of

Orhei Orhei (), also formerly known as Orgeev (), is a city, municipality and the administrative centre of Orhei District in the Moldova, Republic of Moldova, with a population of 21,065. Orhei is approximately north of the capital, Chișinău. Hist ...

to the north,

Bălți Bălți () is a city in Moldova. It is the second-largest city in terms of population, area and economic importance, after Chișinău. The city holds the status of municipiu. Sometimes called "the northern capital", it is a major industrial, cu ...

to the north-west,

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

and Fălciu to the west,

Cahul Cahul (; also known by 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 a population of 30,0 ...

to the south-west and Tighina to the south.

Administration

The county consisted of five districts ('' plăși''):Portretul României Interbelice - Județul Lăpușna
/ref> #Plasa Călărași, headquartered at

Călărași Călărași (), the capital of Călărași County in the Muntenia region, is situated in south-east Romania, on the banks of the Danube's Borcea branch, at about from the Bulgarian border and from Bucharest. It is one of six Romanian county se ...

#Plasa Chișinău, headquartered at

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

#Plasa Hâncești, headquartered at Hâncești #Plasa Nisporeni, headquartered at Nisporeni #Plasa Vorniceni, headquartered at Vorniceni The county contained two urban localities: Chişinău (the county seat, with the status of the municipality, the second largest city of

after

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

) and Călărași-Târg (with the status of urban commune or town).

History

After the

Union of Bessarabia with Romania The union of Bessarabia with Romania was proclaimed on by Sfatul Țării, the legislative body of the Moldavian Democratic Republic. This state had the same borders of the region of Bessarabia, which was annexed by the Russian Empire following t ...

in 1918, the county belonged to Romania, which set up the county formally in 1925. After the 1938 ''Administrative and Constitutional Reform'', this county merged with the counties of Tighina, Cetatea Albă and

to form

Ținutul Nistru Ținutul Nistru was one of the ten ''ținuturi'' ("lands") of Romania, founded in 1938 after King of Romania, King Carol II of Romania, Carol II, initiated an institutional reform by modifying the 1923 Constitution of Romania, 1923 Constitution and ...

. The area county of the county was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940 and became part of the

Moldavian SSR The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic or Moldavian SSR (, mo-Cyrl, Република Советикэ Сочиалистэ Молдовеняскэ), also known as the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldovan SSR, Soviet Moldavia, Sovie ...

. The area returned to Romanian administration as the

Bessarabia Governorate The Bessarabia Governorate was a province (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its administrative centre in Kishinev (Chișinău). It consisted of an area of and a population of 1,935,412 inhabitants. The Bessarabia Governorate bordered t ...

following the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in July 1941. A military administration was established and the region's Jewish population was either executed on the spot or deported to Transnistria, where further numbers were killed. As the Soviet Union's offensive pushed the Axis powers back, the area again was under Soviet control. On September 12, 1944, Romania signed the Moscow Armistice with the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

. The Armistice, as well as the subsequent peace treaty of 1947, confirmed the Soviet-Romanian border as it was on January 1, 1941.

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

. Foreign relations of the United States, 1946
Paris Peace Conference: documents Volume IV (1946)
/ref> The area of the county, along with the rest of the Moldavian SSR, became part of the independent country of

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

Population

According to the census data of 1930, the county's population was 419,621, of which 77.8% were ethnic Romanians, 11.9% Jews, 7.1% Russians, as well as other minorities.Recensământul general al populației României din 29 decemvrie 1930, Vol. II, pag. 268-269 From the religious point of view 86.1% of the population was Eastern Orthodox, 12.1% Jewish, as well as other minorities.

Urban population

In the year 1930, the county's urban population was 119,672, of which 41.2% were ethnic Romanians, 37.3% Jews, 16.6% Russians, 1.2% Poles, as well as other minorities. From a religious point of view, the urban population consisted of 58.4% Eastern Orthodox, 37.7% Jewish, 1.5% Roman Catholic, as well as other minorities.

References

External links

*
Lăpușna County on memoria.ro
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapusna County Former counties of Romania Counties of Bessarabia 1925 establishments in Romania 1938 disestablishments in Romania 1941 establishments in Romania 1944 disestablishments in Romania States and territories established in 1925 States and territories disestablished in 1938 States and territories established in 1941 States and territories disestablished in 1944