Nichita Smochină
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Nichita Smochină (;
Moldovan Cyrillic The Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet is a Cyrillic alphabets, Cyrillic alphabet designed for the Romanian language spoken in the Soviet Union (Moldovan language, Moldovan) and was in official use from 1924 to 1932 and 1938 to 1989 (and still in use ...
: Никита Смокинэ,
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
: Никита Парфеньевич Смокина, ''Nikita Parfenievich Smokina''; also known as Mihai Florin; 14 March 1894 – 14 December 1980) was an
ethnic Romanian Romanians (, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a common culture and ancestry, they speak the Romanian language and live primarily in Roma ...
activist, scholar, and political figure from what is now
Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...
. He is especially noted for campaigning on behalf of Romanians in 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 ...
. He was first active in the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, serving with distinction in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. He turned to
Romanian nationalism Romanian nationalism is a form of nationalism that asserts that Romanians are a nation and promotes the identity and cultural unity of Romanians. Its extremist variation is Romanian ultranationalism. History Antecedents The predecessors of ...
in 1917 when he was serving as an officer in
Russian Transcaucasia The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...
. Smochină met
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
leader
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
, recording Lenin's then-tolerant views on Romanian emancipation. Smochină was then active in the
Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, as a result of the February Revolution, ...
, where he led the general caucus formed by Romanians in
Tiraspol Tiraspol (, ; also /; , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Transnistria, a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the third-largest city. The city is located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River. Tiraspol is a regional hub of cul ...
. He was also part of the Central Council, and earned his reputation as a champion of Transnistrian Romanian interests. An anti-communist, Smochină narrowly escaped the Bolsheviks. In late 1919, together with his surviving family, he crossed into
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 ...
, making it their second home. As a protégé of historian
Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet and playwright. Co-founder (in 1910) of the Democratic Nationalist Party (PND), he served as a member of Parliament ...
, he earned his academic credentials and made himself internationally known as an expert on
minority rights Minority rights are the normal individual rights as applied to members of racial, ethnic, class, religious, linguistic or gender and sexual minorities, and also the collective rights accorded to any minority group. Civil-rights movements oft ...
. At the start of the 1920s, he contributed to historical research,
ethnography Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...
and
folkloristics Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...
, as well as
jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...
. He became noted as an expert on Transnistria, which, under Soviet Ukrainian rule, formed a "
Moldavian ASSR The Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, shortened to Moldavian ASSR, was an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics, autonomous republic of the Ukrainian SSR between 12 October 1924 and 2 August 1940, encompassing the modern territory ...
". His books covered the region's
Russification Russification (), Russianisation or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians adopt Russian culture and Russian language either voluntarily or as a result of a deliberate state policy. Russification was at times ...
and the introduction of irreligion, being singled out as a dangerous element by official representatives of 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 ...
. Smochină's interwar activism also extended into humanitarian efforts, including the welcoming of refugees in Romania fleeing the Great Ukrainian Famine. His scientific work included a recovery of pre-Bolshevik or
anti-Russian Anti-Russian sentiment or Russophobia is the dislike or fear of Russia, Russian people, or Russian culture. The opposite of Russophobia is Russophilia. Historically, Russophobia has included state-sponsored and grassroots mistreatment and di ...
Romanian folklore The folklore of Romania is the collection of traditions of the Romanians. A feature of Romanian culture is the special relationship between folklore and the learned culture, determined by two factors. First, the rural character of the Romania ...
in Transnistria and beyond. During most of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Smochină initially backed the authoritarian regime of
Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and Mareșal (Romania), marshal who presided over two successive Romania during World War II, wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister and ''Conduc ...
and paid service to
Gheorghe Alexianu Gheorghe Alexianu (January 1, 1897 – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian lawyer, high school teacher and associate professor who served as governor of Transnistria between 1941 and 1944. In 1946, he was accused and convicted of war crimes, crim ...
's
Transnistria Governorate The Transnistria Governorate () was a Romanian-administered territory between the Dniester and Southern Bug, conquered by the Axis Powers from the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa. A Romanian civilian administration governed the territo ...
. He later criticized the antisemitic surge, as embodied in the Odessa massacre. By 1942, he had become noted for his involvement in a conflict with Alexianu and Ștefan Bulat, but found renewed backing from the Antonescu government. He eventually left the region, alongside 10,000 Romanian refugees, during the Soviet counter-offensive of 1944. His activities as a folklorist, along with his exposure of Soviet brutality, made him a wanted man once the
communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...
took over Romania. This meant Smochină had to live under assumed names until the mid 1950s. He was eventually captured, sent to prison, and stripped of his academic honors. Partly reinstated during
national communism National communism is a term describing various forms in which Marxism–Leninism and socialism has been adopted and/or implemented by leaders in different countries using aspects of nationalism or national identity to form a policy independent ...
in the late 1960s, he spent his final decades encouraging the second-generation communist authorities to take a firmer stance against controversial Soviet policies such as "
Moldovenism Moldovenism is the political support and promotion of a Moldovan identity and culture, including a Moldovan language, independent from those of any other ethnic group, the Romanians' in particular. No group or movement ever identified itself a ...
".


Biography


Origins and early life

Nichita Smochină was born on the confines of historical
Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
and
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 ...
. The entire area between the
Dniester The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Uk ...
and the
Southern Bug The Southern Bug, also called Southern Buh (; ; ; or just ), and sometimes Boh River (; ),
("Transnistria" in the largest definition) was at the time part of the Russian
Kherson Governorate Kherson Governorate, known until 1803 as Nikolayev Governorate, was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Kherson. It encompassed in area and had a population of 2,733,612 inhabitants. At t ...
. As he later recounted, the bountiful eastern bank of the Dniester was home to a thriving Romanian community; or, as he put it, a veritable "Romanian
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
". His later research traced the first Romanian presence in that area to the Dark Ages, and revived by the
Cossack Hetmanate The Cossack Hetmanate (; Cossack Hetmanate#Name, see other names), officially the Zaporozhian Host (; ), was a Ukrainian Cossacks, Cossack state. Its territory was located mostly in central Ukraine, as well as in parts of Belarus and southwest ...
's border policy, particularly in the 1650s. Alex. N. Smochină
"Moldova de dincolo de Nistru"
in ''Dacia'', Issue 5/1941, p. 2 (digitized by the
Babeș-Bolyai University The Babeș-Bolyai University ( , , commonly known as UBB) is a public research university located in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Established in 1581 as Academia Claudiopolitana, it underwent several reorganizations over the centuries, eventually taking ...
br>Transsylvanica Online Library
According to him, there were two main stages in the migration and resettlement of Moldavian peasants to what became his homeland. The first was under Moldavian Prince
George Ducas George Ducas ( – 31 March 1685) was the prince (List of monarchs of Moldavia, voivode) of Moldavia (1665–1666, 1668–1672, 1678–1684) and the List of Wallachian rulers, prince of Wallachia (1674–1678). He also served as the hetman of ...
(late 17th century), and the second under Russian Empress
Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...
.Băieșu, p. 104 Smochină spoke in detail about the Romanian colonies of 18th-century " New Russia", that reached as far east as
Oleksandriia Oleksandriia (, ) is a city in Kirovohrad Oblast, central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Oleksandriia Raion and . Oleksandriia is located within the Kryvyi Rih metropolitan area. In 2001, it had a population of 93,357, a ...
. The Smochinăs were descendants of Romanian yeomen (''răzeși''), originally from Moldavia,Constantin (2010), p. 237 and reportedly spoke an archaic variant of the
Romanian language Romanian (obsolete spelling: Roumanian; , or , ) is the official and main language of Romania and Moldova. Romanian is part of the Eastern Romance languages, Eastern Romance sub-branch of Romance languages, a linguistic group that evolved fr ...
. The literary historian Al. Husar, who met Smochină in the 1940s, recalled that his use of the eastern dialect had the "scent of ages" and "seemed to be a wonder of the Romanian language." Vasile Iancu
"Al. Husar: 'Caracterul dă autoritate sacerdoțiului critic' "
in ''
România Literară ''România Literară'' is a cultural and literary magazine from Romania. In its original edition, it was founded on 1 January 1855 by Vasile Alecsandri and published in Iași until 3 December 1855, when it was suppressed. The new series appeared ...
'', Issue 24/2005
Smochină's place of birth was
Mahala is an Arabic word variously translated as district, quarter, ward, or neighborhood in many parts of the Arab world, the Balkans, Western Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and nearby nations. History Historically, mahallas were autonomous social ins ...
village, on the eastern, non-Bessarabian, shore of the Dniester. Adrian Neculau
"Un român de peste Nistru"
in ''
Ziarul de Iași ''Ziarul'' was a daily newspaper in Romania, published in Bucharest. It was founded in 2002 by Eugen Arnăutu, a PSD deputy. It was later taken over by Cristian Burca, former owner of the station Prima TV Prima TV () is a Romanian commercial T ...
'', March 26, 2011
His father, Parfeni, was the village ''
Starosta Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...
'' for about 20 years. Nichita's mother, Ana Mircea, used the term "Romanian" to mean "male person".Brăiescu, p. 91 The couple had another four children.Colesnic, pp. 105–106 Primarily known to his family as "Vlaicu", Smochină learned Russian at the
Orthodox Church Orthodox Church may refer to: * Eastern Orthodox Church, the second-largest Christian church in the world * Oriental Orthodox Churches, a branch of Eastern Christianity * Orthodox Presbyterian Church, a confessional Presbyterian denomination loc ...
school in Mahala, where he was colleagues with the future activists Arhip Ciurea and Mircea Carp. He then completed his secondary education in
Dubăsari Dubăsari (; mo-Cyrl, Дубэсарь) or Dubossary (; ; ) is a city in Transnistria, with a population of 23,650. Claimed by both the Republic of Moldova and the Transnistria, Transnistrian Moldavian Republic, the city is under the latter's ad ...
(''Dubossary''), earning a gold medal for his academic excellence.Brăiescu, p. 92 Afterwards, Smochină went to a Russian Cadet school in
Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
, and, reportedly, worked as a clerk for Dubăsari Tribunal. Mihai Tașcă
"Vezi cine a fost transnistreanul care 'a românizat moldovenii' "
in ''
Adevărul Moldova ''Adevărul'' (; meaning "The Truth") is a Moldovan daily newspaper, based in Chișinău founded in December 2010.Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic ( ) is the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language and the oldest extant written Slavonic language attested in literary sources. It belongs to the South Slavic languages, South Slavic subgroup of the ...
.Constantin (2010), p. 238 When World War I erupted, he was serving in the
Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...
, and fought throughout the
Caucasus campaign The Caucasus campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, later including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus, the German Empire, the Central Caspian Dict ...
. His services were rewarded with the
Order of St. George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...
, and thus he joined the ranks of
Russian nobility The Russian nobility or ''dvoryanstvo'' () arose in the Middle Ages. In 1914, it consisted of approximately 1,900,000 members, out of a total population of 138,200,000. Up until the February Revolution of 1917, the Russian noble estates staffed ...
. He was by then married to Agafia (or Agaphia), who gave birth to their first son, Alexandru Nichita on June 28, 1915 in Mahala.Datcu (2017), p. 121 Despite receiving Russian accolades, Smochină was becoming increasingly hostile to
Tsarist autocracy Tsarist autocracy (), also called Tsarism, was an autocracy, a form of absolute monarchy in the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire. In it, the Tsar possessed in principle authority an ...
and building up "unrestrained hatred" for Russian soldiers who mistreated their "Moldavian" comrades. The
February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...
caught him behind the lines in
Tiflis Governorate Tiflis Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire with its administrative centre in Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi). In 1897, it constituted in area and had a population of 1,051,032 inhabitants. ...
. He was appointed military delegate by a Congress of non-Russian Peoples, organized under the
Special Transcaucasian Committee The Special Transcaucasian Committee ( Russian: Особый Закавказский Комитет ''Osobyi Zakavkazskii Komitet'' (OZaKom, Ozakom or OZAKOM)) was established on March 9, 1917, after the February Revolution, with Member of the ...
in
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...
(May 1917), where he demanded Romanian-language education for the Moldavian diaspora. The Congress sent him over to
Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
for negotiations with the Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies (summer 1917).Chelaru ''et al.'', p. 16 As he later noted, he happened to hear a speech given by
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
, leader of the ultra-revolutionary Bolshevik faction, who was working to topple the
Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government was a provisional government of the Russian Empire and Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately after the abdication of Nicholas II on 2 March, O.S. New_Style.html" ;"title="5 ...
. Smochină was intrigued by Lenin's promise of
self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...
for all of Russia's minorities: "As a Moldavian, I found this issue to be one of greatest interest". Smochină was interested in finding out Lenin's level of commitment in this respect, and was invited for an interview (as he recalled, this was only made possible because one of Lenin's bodyguards was originally from Mahala). According to Smochină's own rendition of the encounter, when asked about his vision on the Moldavian question, Lenin began by stating: "You Moldavians have no interest in fighting on the side of Russia, who for centuries now has been enslaving your kind. Culturally, Moldavians are far more advanced than Russians." Lenin stated that what must be done was for Moldavians to take up arms and fight against the two "oppressors": Russia and "landowners' Romania". According to Smochină, Lenin openly agreed that Moldavians, Bessarabians, and Romanians were in essence the same demonym: "Take inspiration from your Romanian blood brothers, but, again, beware of falling into the claws of Romanian
boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...
exploiters. ..all Moldavians are Romanians". The Bolshevik theorist appears to have incited the Transnistrians and Bessarabians to spread the flame of revolution into "boyar Romania", to "drown the hell out of the Romanian king and set up a Soviet Romania". Reportedly, Lenin also urged the Transnistrian delegate to personally sabotage the war effort on the Caucasus Front, fraternize with the
Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...
, and demand " peace without annexations or indemnities". As some Romanian historians have noted, "Lenin was not about to curb nation's independence but did not specify in sufficiently clear terms what would happen if they should want to achieve self-determination in any social order other than communism."


Ukrainian deputy and Romanian refugee

Smochină returned to his place of origin, which was being progressively included in the newly emancipated
Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, as a result of the February Revolution, ...
(UNR), and began defending the interests of local Romanians. As head of the Mahala ''
Zemstvo A zemstvo (, , , ''zemstva'') was an institution of local government set up in consequence of the emancipation reform of 1861 of Imperial Russia by Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Nikolay Milyutin elaborated the idea of the zemstvo, and the fi ...
'', he tried to prevent the breakdown of social and military order, and narrowly escaped with his life after being pursued by the Bolshevik committees. In December 1917, after a pro-Romanian
Moldavian Democratic Republic The Moldavian Democratic Republic (MDR; , ), also known as the Moldavian Republic or Moldavian People's Republic, was a state proclaimed on by the ''Sfatul Țării'' (National Council) of Bessarabia, elected in October–November 1917 foll ...
had taken root in Bessarabia, he and Gheorghe Mare were involved with the
separatist Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, regional, governmental, or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seekin ...
Congress of Transnistrian Moldavians in
Tiraspol Tiraspol (, ; also /; , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Transnistria, a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the third-largest city. The city is located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River. Tiraspol is a regional hub of cul ...
, where they flew the Romanian tricolor. Nicolae Dabija
"''Trei culori...''"
in ''
Literatura și Arta ''Literatura şi Arta'' (Romanian for "Literature and Art") is a weekly newspaper from Chişinău, Moldova. History The first edition was printed in 1977. The first editor in chief was Victor Teleucă Victor Teleucă (19 January 1933 – ...
'', October 27, 2011
Smochină stated: "We love our country so much that even our
icons An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, and Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, saints, and angels. Although especially ...
look to Romania." By 1918, he had become Prefect of Tiraspol, then envoy for Tyraspil County to the Central Council of
Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
, capital of the new
Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, as a result of the February Revolution, ...
. During this period, Smochină became noted for his efforts to prevent Bessarabia from being absorbed into the UNR, openly criticizing
Volodymyr Vynnychenko Volodymyr Kyrylovych Vynnychenko (; – March 6, 1951) was a Ukrainian statesman, political activist, writer, playwright and artist who served as the first List of prime ministers of Ukraine, prime minister of the Ukrainian People's Republic.< ...
's government for expressing such annexionist wishes. Just west of the Dniester, 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 ...
was effected in late 1918. Transnistria itself was caught up in the
Ukrainian–Soviet War The Ukrainian–Soviet War () is the term commonly used in post-Soviet Ukraine for the events taking place between 1917 and 1921, nowadays regarded essentially as a war between the Ukrainian People's Republic and the Bolsheviks (Russian SFSR a ...
and was taken by the Bolshevik
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...
, forming the "Moldavian Autonomous Oblast". Smochină's experience of Bolshevik rule was painful, and he described
war communism War communism or military communism (, ''Vojenný kommunizm'') was the economic and political system that existed in Soviet Russia during the Russian Civil War from 1918 to 1921. War communism began in June 1918, enforced by the Supreme Economi ...
as a trauma: "Entire properties were taken away, omanians in Transnistriawere left naked, downtrodden, worse off than during slavery".Datcu (2010), p. 17 Just as he was preparing to emigrate, he saw Moldavian peasants raiding his estate. He finally escaped Soviet Ukraine on December 25, 1919, and crossed the Dniester into
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 ...
, settling in the former Moldavian capital of
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 ...
. Historian Oleg Galushchenko notes that he was only successful on his second attempt, since for unknown reasons, the Romanian border guards initially had him deported back to the Ukrainian shore. Smochină "miraculously survived". According to Smochină, he had been sentenced to death by the Ukrainian communist government, and his relatives were exposed to violent Bolshevik reprisals. His father and his female cousin were shot, and almost all other Smochinăs were deported to
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
. Smochină also reports that his eldest brother was drowned after managing to escape internment at Solovki, while his mother, detained in a tank half-filled with cold water, suffered from the fatal injuries. His wife Agafia escaped with him, but Alexandru was left behind. He joined them in 1922, when a courier commissioned by the father took him over to Iași. In Romania, the couple had another daughter, baptized as Claudia, Ilie Gulca, Vlad Galin-Corini
"Cine se teme de Nichita Smochină?"
in ''
Jurnal de Chișinău ''Jurnal de Chișinău'' was a Moldovan newspaper, founded in 1999. It went defunct at the end of 2019. Overview Its head was Val Butnaru, the Jurnal Trust Media president. The Trust comprises also Jurnal TV, newspapers ECOnomist, Apropo ...
'', July 8, 2012
as well as a son, known in sources as either Constantin or Nicolae. His 1980 obituary mentions another daughter, Antoaneta."Decese", in ''
România Liberă Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to the east, and the Black Sea t ...
'', December 17, 1980, p. 4
While in Iași, Smochină met with jurist Ioan Teodorescu, who helped him enroll at the
Iași University The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in , Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former was converted to a university, the University of , as it was named ...
Department of Philosophy and Law. He graduated in 1924 having by then also studied Psychology with Constantin Fedeleș. Smochină joined other Transnistrian refugee students during his college term and militated for increased awareness of their situation. However, he was also a critic of all Romanians arriving from Russia, noting that the Russian education system left them poorly trained and superficial. He first began associating with a circle of Bessarabian Romanians, and became friends with
Bessarabian Peasants' Party The Bessarabian Peasants' Party (, 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 ...
founder
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 w ...
, heralding humanitarian projects to feed and integrate refugee children.Brăiescu, p. 93 This phase coincided with Soviet Transnistria's elevation in administrative status—that is, the establishment of a
Moldavian ASSR The Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, shortened to Moldavian ASSR, was an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics, autonomous republic of the Ukrainian SSR between 12 October 1924 and 2 August 1940, encompassing the modern territory ...
on Oblast territory, in the newly proclaimed
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 ...
. Although refugees were convinced that the Soviet Union was a " prison of the peoples", Smochină and some of his colleagues gave positive review to the move, seeing it as an implicit recognition of Moldavian (and therefore Romanian) self-rule.King, p. 181 It was during those years that Nichita Smochină befriended the senior historian and nationalist politician
Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet and playwright. Co-founder (in 1910) of the Democratic Nationalist Party (PND), he served as a member of Parliament ...
, a professor at the
University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...
. As early as 1922, he was invited by Iorga's
Cultural League for the Unity of All Romanians Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, attitudes, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
to attend their
Curtea de Argeș Curtea de Argeș () is a municipiu, city in Romania on the left bank of the river Argeș (river), Argeș, where it flows through a valley of the Southern Carpathians (the Făgăraș Mountains), on the railway from Pitești to the Turnu Roșu Pass ...
Congress and speak about Transnistrian grievances. Nichita Smochină also joined the Romanian Freemasonry (the "
Vasile Alecsandri Vasile Alecsandri (; 21 July 182122 August 1890) was a Romanian patriot, poet, dramatist, politician and diplomat. He was one of the key figures during the 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachia. He fought for the unification of the Roma ...
" Lodge), and, according to his own recollections, lectured other Masons on the plight of Transnistrians. Smochină met famous novelist
Mihail Sadoveanu Mihail Sadoveanu (; occasionally referred to as Mihai Sadoveanu; 5 November 1880 – 19 October 1961) was a Romanian novelist, short story writer, journalist and political figure, who twice served as acting President of Romania, head of st ...
, who was later the Grand Master of a Freemasonry branch. There was mutual dislike between the two: Smochină accused Sadoveanu of trafficking Freemasonry's services, of not being moved by the fate of Transnistria, and of ultimately destroying other Masons who crossed his path. The Transnistrian activist despised two other figures from Romania's left-wing Poporanist camp, Alexandru Mîță and fellow Mason Gheorghe Stere, both of whom he depicted as unprincipled agents of Bolshevism.


Academic debut and Parisian studies

During the early and mid 1920s, Smochină's overviews of Transnistrian Romanian life were published with regularity in Iorga's ''
Ramuri ''Ramuri'' ("Twigs" or "Branches") is a Romanian literary magazine put out from Craiova, the regional center of Oltenia region. Its first edition appeared from December 1905, and was closely tied to Nicolae Iorga's ''Sămănătorul'', published i ...
'' and '' Drum Drept'' magazines.Datcu (2010), p. 15 In 1924, the former published his contributions to the ethnography of Romanian communities located between the Dniester and the
Taurida Governorate Taurida Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. It included the territory of the Crimean Peninsula and the mainland between the lower Dnieper River with the coasts of the Black Sea and Sea o ...
. He was also a contributor to the
Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
n review '' Societatea de Mâine'', with a 1925 article on Christmas customs as preserved over the Dniester. He was later a manager of ''Tribuna Românilor Transnistrieni'' ("Tribune of the Romanian Transnistrians"), published from 1927 to 1928 in the Bessarabian city of
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 ...
. The review had contributions from various Bessarabian Romanian activists (Halippa, Ștefan Bulat) and reported on new cases of human rights abuse in the Moldavian ASSR, such as the forceful relocation of Romanians away from the Dniester. Romanian researcher Petre Popescu Gogan describes Smochină as: "a man of The Law, with a calling for human rights and the rights of peoples .. Asked for his say on the issue of
Minority Rights Minority rights are the normal individual rights as applied to members of racial, ethnic, class, religious, linguistic or gender and sexual minorities, and also the collective rights accorded to any minority group. Civil-rights movements oft ...
, eworked in the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
and took part in international congresses on the matter." Petre Popescu Gogan
"Memento!"
in ''Memoria. Revista Gândirii Arestate'', Issue 28
From 1930 to 1935, the Transnistrian scholar was in France, where he furthered his studies. He was sponsored by Iorga, who awarded him a scholarship to help him enroll in the Romanian School of
Fontenay-aux-Roses Fontenay-aux-Roses () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. In 1880, a girls school was opened in the town. It was one of the most prestigious of Paris and even of whole France in t ...
, and received additional financial assistance from Halippa. He still remained plagued by financial difficulties throughout his time in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. Journalist
Nicolae Carandino Nicolae Carandino (19 July 1905 – 16 February 1996) was a Romanian journalist, pamphleteer, translator, dramatist, and politician. He was born in Brăila into a family of intellectuals, the son of a Romanian mother and Greek father. After co ...
, who met both Iorga and Smochină in Paris, found the latter to be a contrasting image to the former's flamboyance: "Smochină ..seemed to embody the millennial synthesis of an all-too-tolerant, too kind, people." Carandino recounts that M. Calognomu, a failed and near-suicidal lawyer, found pleasure in "tormenting" Smochină—publicly suggesting that Smochină was an alcoholic, or that his academic work was useless. Smochină focused his research on recovering old texts from sources such as the ''
Bibliothèque Nationale A library is a collection of books, and possibly other materials and media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or digital (soft copies) materials, and may be a p ...
'' and '' Musée Slave''. Various reports suggest that he earned a Ph.D. in History from the
University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...
, with
Ferdinand Lot Ferdinand Victor Henri Lot ( Le Plessis Piquet, 20 September 1866 – Fontenay-aux-Roses, 20 July 1952) was a French historian and medievalist. His masterpiece, ''The End of the Ancient World and the Beginnings of the Middle Ages'' (1927), ...
as his
doctoral advisor A doctoral advisor (also dissertation director, dissertation advisor; or doctoral supervisor) is a member of a university faculty whose role is to guide graduate students who are candidates for a doctorate, helping them select coursework, as well ...
; historian
Vladimir Solonari Vladimir Solonari (born 20 October 1959, in Chișinău, Moldavian SSR, USSR) is a Moldovan-American historian, university professor, and former politician. Biography Solonari was born in a family of ethnic Ukrainians in Moldova, Ukrainian speak ...
contradicts these sources: "he failed to obtain a doctorate there, utmanaged to collect rich materials on the history of the Transnistrian Mold vins, some of which he later published in Romania."Solonari, p. 116 He also began teaching Romanian at ''Société pour la Propagation des Langues Etrangères'', a
learned society A learned society ( ; also scholarly, intellectual, or academic society) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences. Membership may be open to al ...
funded by the
University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...
. R. R.
"Chronique des livres. N. P. Smochina. ''Les émigrés roumains a Paris (1850–1856)''"
in '' Revue des Questions Historiques'', Issues 4–5/1935, p. 288 (digitized by the
Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...
br>''Gallica'' digital library
At the time, Smochină's first account of the 1917 Lenin interview was published by ''Le Prométhée'', the propaganda outlet for the Georgian Government in Exile. He also built contacts with 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 com ...
cells, meeting with philosopher
Nikolai Berdyaev Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev (; ;  – 24 March 1948) was a Russian Empire, Russian philosopher, theologian, and Christian existentialism, Christian existentialist who emphasized the existentialism, existential spiritual significance of Pe ...
. Concentrating on informing the world decision-makers about the Transnistrian question, Nichita Smochină was, in 1930, a delegate to International Congress of National Minorities (a
League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
partnership). While in Paris, he also set up the Aid Committee for Moldavian Transnistrian Refugees, and campaigned for the international condemnation of reported Soviet mass murders in Transnistria (1932). He was a guest of the League's Sixth Commission on Minorities, which, after hearing his report, recognized that 2 million Romanians were still located outside Greater Romania's borders. According to his own statements, his positions on the matter were not fully welcomed by the President of the League, Romania's own
Nicolae Titulescu Nicolae Titulescu (; 4 March 1882 – 17 March 1941) was a Romanian politician and diplomat, at various times ambassador, finance minister, and foreign minister, and for two terms served as president of the General Assembly of the League of Nati ...
, who asked Smochină to tone down his
anti-Soviet Anti-Sovietism or anti-Soviet sentiment are activities that were actually or allegedly aimed against the Soviet Union or government power within the Soviet Union. Three common uses of the term include the following: * Anti-Sovietism in inter ...
discourse—though he still invited him to continue lecturing for the League. As part of his efforts to champion the cause, he awarded Titulescu a map of the Moldavian ASSR, which was drawn in his own hand; it showed Romanians living as a compact community in Transnistria, including as a "semicircle" around
Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
. As he soon discovered, Titulescu's reluctant position was endorsed by
Ion Mihalache Ion Mihalache (; March 3, 1882 – February 5, 1963) was a Romanian Agrarianism, agrarian politician, the founder and leader of the Peasants' Party (Romania), Peasants' Party (PȚ) and a main figure of its successor, the National Peasants' Party ( ...
, who was chairing the governing
National Peasants' Party The National Peasants' Party (also known as the National Peasant Party or National Farmers' Party; , or ''Partidul Național-Țărănist'', PNȚ) was an Agrarianism, agrarian political party in the Kingdom of Romania. It was formed in 1926 throu ...
(PNȚ). Smochină was disheartened to learn that Mihalache believed only in persuading the Soviet Union to recognize Bessarabia's union with Romania—his approach required a complete renunciation of territorial ambitions in Transnistria. In a 1941 retrospective, Smochină also noted feeling let down by the League of Nations, and especially by its Nansen Office. As he put it, these institutions, working under "mysterious influences", had made special effort to bury his complaints at a meeting in December 1933. Some of Smochină's other work in Paris was focused on relief for Transnistrian refugees fleeing the Great Ukrainian Famine of 1932–1933.Guzun (2011), p. 240 As a member of the Committee of Moldavian Refugees, in December 1933 he spoke about the trend which curbed Romanian liberties in the Soviet Union. In this context, he argued that the Moldavian ASSR was being run by non-Romanians, and especially by
Soviet Jews The history of the Jews in the Soviet Union is inextricably linked to much earlier expansionist policies of the Russian Empire conquering and ruling the eastern half of the European continent already before the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. "Fo ...
, with only one Romanian, the peasant Negruță, as a token minister.Brăiescu, p. 94 He offered commentary on the Soviet propaganda techniques as related to the renewed anti-religious campaign, noting that Tiraspol's radio station was specifically conceived to draw Moldavians away from the church. Abroad, his pro-Romania group was being challenged by the Soviet-funded Association of Bessarabian Émigrés, whose platform was the whole absorption of Bessarabia into the Moldavian ASSR. Smochină's scholarly work included a biographical sketch on Danylo (Dănilă) Apostol, the 18th-century Moldavian ''
Hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...
'' of
Left-bank Ukraine The Left-bank Ukraine is a historic name of the part of Ukraine on the left (east) bank of the Dnieper River, comprising the modern-day oblasts of Chernihiv, Poltava and Sumy as well as the eastern parts of Kyiv and Cherkasy. Left-bank Ukrain ...
. It saw print in Romania in 1930, together with his monograph on Moldavian mercenaries fighting on either side of the
Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...
. The Apostol book was then reprinted in the
popular history Popular history, also called pop history, is a broad genre of historiography that takes a popular approach, aims at a wide readership, and usually emphasizes narrative, personality and vivid detail over scholarly analysis. The term is used in con ...
collection ''Cunoștințe utile'' ("Useful Knowledge"). In 1933, Paris' ''Librairie Universitaire J. Gamber'' published his monograph on
Ion Brătianu An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...
, the founder of Romanian liberalism, focusing on Brătianu's trial for sedition in 1850s France. The work was reviewed by '' Revue des Questions Historiques'', which noted that Smochină's style lacked "order" and "clarity", and could prove chronologically inaccurate. Around that time, the Transnistrian researcher announced that he was also preparing an overview of the Freemasonry's contribution to the first union of Romania (1859).


''Moldova Nouă'' and 1930s research

In January 1935, Smochină launched a new periodical, titled ''Moldova Nouă'' ("New Moldavia"). Its opening manifesto, expressing a program of the Cultural Association of Transnistrians, promised to provide the Romanian public with a "generic culture" on the Moldavian life in Soviet lands, and to follow the principles of "objectivity, scientific truth ndthe national idea"."Dări de seamă. Reviste și buletine"
in ''Țara Bârsei'', Issue 4/1935, pp. 414–415 (digitized by the
Babeș-Bolyai University The Babeș-Bolyai University ( , , commonly known as UBB) is a public research university located in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Established in 1581 as Academia Claudiopolitana, it underwent several reorganizations over the centuries, eventually taking ...
br>Transsylvanica Online Library
This multilingual review, put out by an editorial headquarters in Iași and the Brawo printing press of
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 ...
, only survived until 1936. Before closing down, the review had featured his essay ''Republica Moldovenească a Sovietelor'' ("The Moldavian Republic of Soviets"), republished in 1938 as a volume by
Cartea Românească Cartea Românească ("The Romanian Book") is a publishing house in Bucharest, Romania, founded in 1919. Disestablished by the communist regime in 1948, it was restored under later communism, in 1970, when it functioned as the official imprint of t ...
. In 1935, also with ''Moldova Nouă'', Smochină released his
French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...
study ''Les Moldaves de Russie Soviétique'' ("The Moldavians of Soviet Russia"), illustrated with samples of
Romanian folklore The folklore of Romania is the collection of traditions of the Romanians. A feature of Romanian culture is the special relationship between folklore and the learned culture, determined by two factors. First, the rural character of the Romania ...
from the region—songs about cultural isolation and the impact of
Russification Russification (), Russianisation or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians adopt Russian culture and Russian language either voluntarily or as a result of a deliberate state policy. Russification was at times ...
. The following year, the magazine hosted his son Alexandru with an overview of literature from the Moldavian ASSR—it concluded that: "on top of an erroneous political thinking, on top of socialist misdirection, the Romanian soul shines through in this activity of Romanians under foreign occupation." Smochină Sr was also contributing to Iorga's academic journal, ''Revue Historique du Sud-Est Européen''. His essays there included the 1936 review of the Moldavian ASSR's standard
primer Primer may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Primer'' (film), a 2004 feature film written and directed by Shane Carruth * ''Primer'' (video), a documentary about the funk band Living Colour Literature * Primer (textbook), a te ...
''Kuvyntu nostru'', evidencing the
agitprop Agitprop (; from , portmanteau of ''agitatsiya'', "agitation" and ''propaganda'', "propaganda") refers to an intentional, vigorous promulgation of ideas. The term originated in the Soviet Union where it referred to popular media, such as literatu ...
aspect of Soviet education, the vilifying of "''
kulak Kulak ( ; rus, кула́к, r=kulák, p=kʊˈɫak, a=Ru-кулак.ogg; plural: кулаки́, ''kulakí'', 'fist' or 'tight-fisted'), also kurkul () or golchomag (, plural: ), was the term which was used to describe peasants who owned over ...
''" elements in Transnistrian society, and the plagiarizing of Romanian textbooks. Some two years later, Smochină, using the pseudonym ''Mihai Florin'', began contributing to the Poporanist review ''Însemnări Ieșene'', where he reviewed the work of Bessarabian folklorist Tatiana Gălușcă-Crâșmaru. Smochină followed up in 1939 with ''Din literatura populară a românilor de peste Nistru'' ("Samples of Romanian Folk Literature in Areas over the Dniester"), a communication for the
Cluj Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
-based scientific review ''Anuarul Arhivei de Folclor''. It notably samples Transnistrian mournful lyrics about forced recruitment during the
Russo-Turkish Wars The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...
. The work provided Romanians with glimpses into the research carried out by P. Chior among the Romanians of
Novoukrainka Novoukrainka (, ) is a city in Kirovohrad Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Novoukrainka Raion. It hosts the administration of Novoukrainka urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: History The terr ...
, the
Donbas The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...
, and the Caucasus; it also informed them of a possible connection between composer David Gershfeld and Transnistrian poet-folklorist Culai Neniu. Also in 1939, Smochină carried out his own ethnographic interviews within the Romanian Transnistrian exile community, on behalf of the
Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) 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 bylaws, the academy's ma ...
. As argued by ethnographer Constantin Eretescu, such contributions made him "the most significant researcher of folk culture in that area." Constantin Eretescu
"Miscellanea ethnologica"
in ''Cultura'', Issue 308, January 2011
From 1938, under the
National Renaissance Front The National Renaissance Front (, FRN; also translated as ''Front of National Regeneration'', ''Front of National Rebirth'', ''Front of National Resurrection'', or ''Front of National Renaissance'') was a Romanian political party created by King Ca ...
regime, Smochină was in Bucharest, assigned to a clerical office in the Ministry of Minorities. His main activity in advancing the cause of Transnistrians was creating the Association of Transnistrian Romanians. It was designed to give further support to the Romanian refugees from that region, who were estimated at 20,000. Smochină himself estimated that there were in all some 1,200,000 Romanians living in the Moldavian ASSR, forming 80% of the native population—this remains the highest such estimate, significantly ahead of the number advanced in the 1910s by activist Alexis Nour. By the late 1930s, Smochină was contributing to Iorga's summer school program in
Vălenii de Munte Vălenii de Munte () is a town in Prahova County, southern Romania (the historical region of Muntenia), with a population of 12,044 as of 2021. It lies In the Teleajen river valley, north of the county seat of Ploiești. The town's sister cities ...
town. Physician G. Brătescu, who attended these conferences as an adolescent, notes that Smochină gave "frightening accounts" of life in Transnistria. Brătescu, who was also being introduced to
Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ; PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave an ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that would replace the social system ...
propaganda, also recalled that local communists dismissed Smochină's discourse as "fabrications by a provocateur, a bitter enemy of communism." In February 1939, a Soviet diplomatic mission to Bucharest presented
Alexandru Cretzianu Alexandru is the Romanian form of the name Alexander. Common diminutives are Alecu, Alex, and Sandu. Origin Etymologically, the name is derived from the Greek "Αλέξανδρος" (Aléxandros), meaning "defending men" or "protector of men" ...
of the Romanian Foreign Ministry staff with a list of grievances prompted by Smochină's scholarly findings. Cretzianu reported at the time that each new writing by Smochină resulted in him receiving notes of protest from the Soviet Ambassador, Mikhail Ostrovsky. Smochină's political and scientific activities were affected by the 1940
Soviet occupation of Bessarabia Between 28 June and 3 July 1940, the Soviet Union occupied Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, following an ultimatum made to Romania on 26 June 1940 that threatened the use of force. Those regions, with a total area of and a population of 3,776, ...
. He claims to have obtained an audience Romanian King
Carol II Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930, until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. As the eldest son of Ferdinand I of Romania, King Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I, ...
, whom he tried to persuade that Bessarabia needed to be defended at the risk of war with the Soviets. He had escaped Chișinău in time, but his research material was left behind. The
Stalinist Stalinism (, ) is the totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism in ...
regime declared him a ''
persona non grata In diplomacy, a ' (PNG) is a foreign diplomat that is asked by the host country to be recalled to their home country. If the person is not recalled as requested, the host state may refuse to recognize the person concerned as a member of the diplo ...
'', and Soviet censorship repossessed and banned all of his published volumes. Smochină was to accuse the Soviet authorities of vandalizing the Chișinău printing press where he was publishing a voluminous scientific work, reportedly lost in the process.Datcu (2010), p. 18 As a representative of the Transnistrian community, Smochină attached himself the Bessarabian Circle of Bucharest, presided over by
Gherman Pântea Gherman Vasile Pântea (; surname also spelled Pîntea; ; ; May 13, 1894 – February 1, 1968) was a Bessarabian-born soldier, civil servant and political figure, active in the Russian Empire and Romania. As an officer of the Imperial Russian Army ...
. Also escaping the occupation, Claudia joined her father in Bucharest, where she married the Bessarabian-born linguist Diomid Strungaru. The family was in Bucharest in 1940, when the loss of
Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania (, ) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920-1946), Kingdom ...
plunged Romania into a political crisis. Smochină deeply admired
Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and Mareșal (Romania), marshal who presided over two successive Romania during World War II, wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister and ''Conduc ...
, who deposed Carol II and became Romania's dictatorial ruler, or ''
Conducător ''Conducător'' (, meaning 'Leader') was the title used officially by Romanian dictator Ion Antonescu during World War II, also occasionally used in official discourse to refer to Carol II and Nicolae Ceaușescu. History The word is derived from ...
'', between September 1940 and August 1944. The Transnistrian ethnographer preserved Antonescu's image as a "great lover of the nation" and an "honest man", particularly since Antonescu promised to revisit the Bessarabian-Transnistrian issue "with an axe". He claims to have assisted Antonescu in his conflict with the
Iron Guard The Iron Guard () was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Clerical fascism, religious fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel M ...
, and that, following the civil war of January 1941, he published documents "meant to discredit" the Guardists. Also according to his memoirs, Smochină accompanied the ''Conducător'' on all of his visits to
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
, where Antonescu reportedly imposed respect on German dictator
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
; he also joined Antonescu on trips to
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and German-occupied Ukraine. At that time, Romania formalized its alliance with the
Axis Powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...
and, in summer 1941, joined Germany's sudden attack on the Soviet Union. During the early stages of war, the Romanian leader appointed Smochină his personal adviser on all things Transnistrian. Smochină's 1941 works include the brochure ''Masacrele de la Nistru'' ("Massacres on the Dniester"), which accuse the Soviets of various crimes against the Romanian populace. ''Moldova Nouă'' was also reestablished, with the subtitle ''Revistă de studii și cercetări transnistriene'' ("Review of Transnistrian Studies and Research"), publishing Smochină's
German-language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It is a ...
work ''Die Rumänen zwischen Dnjestr und Bug'' ("The Romanians between the Dniester and the Bug"), detailing the activities of Romanian boyars in "New Russia". The magazine went out of print in 1942, but was replaced with the synonymously titled ''Transnistria'', published by Smochină until 1944. His first-born son Alexandru N. Smochină also had contributions to the wartime press, writing for
Octavian Tăslăuanu Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
's nationalist review ''Dacia''. He graduated from Iași Law School in 1940, while also completing officer training. The scholar's other son trained and worked as an engineer.


In the Governorate

Following the reconquest of Bessarabia and the crossing of the Dniester, the Antonescu regime created a
Transnistria Governorate The Transnistria Governorate () was a Romanian-administered territory between the Dniester and Southern Bug, conquered by the Axis Powers from the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa. A Romanian civilian administration governed the territo ...
, which was stretched to include the former Moldavian ASSR and
Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
. As noted by Smochină, this move created tensions between the various interest groups backing Antonescu. He reports his tense meeting with
Gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or 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" (). In France and so ...
commander Constantin Vasiliu, which took place at
Tighina Bender (, ) or Bendery (, ; ), also known as Tighina ( mo-Cyrl, Тигина, links=no), is a city within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova under ''de facto'' control of the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (Transn ...
in August 1941. Vasiliu informed him: "I barely stand up to the hreat posed bycommunists and Soviet agents in the country, while Antonescu wants to extend our administration up to the
Dnieper River The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...
. Under no circumstances can this be done." That same month, at Tiraspol, Smochină and Mayor Petru Torpan presided over the delegation of notables which welcomed there Antonescu and the new Romanian King,
Michael I Michael I may refer to: * Pope Michael I of Alexandria, Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark in 743–767 * Michael I Rangabe, Byzantine Emperor (died in 844) * Michael I Cerularius, Patriarch Michael I of Constantinop ...
. As the "representative of Romanian Transnistrians", he noted that "thanks to the armies of Michael I, in their unparalleled bravery, so gallantly led by Marshal Antonescu, the Dniester shall no longer mark a border between brothers." Smochină was allegedly considered by the ''Conducător'' for the position of Transnistrian Governor. Some reports have it that he refused this appointment, and asked that the position go to another academic,
Gheorghe Alexianu Gheorghe Alexianu (January 1, 1897 – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian lawyer, high school teacher and associate professor who served as governor of Transnistria between 1941 and 1944. In 1946, he was accused and convicted of war crimes, crim ...
; Smochină himself noted that he refused an executive office because he wanted to act as a legislator and jurist, ensuring that Transnistria and Romania were united with each other under the terms of international law. Such claims are partly contradicted by Solonari, who describes Smochină as always resentful of Alexianu, "whom he saw as unduly awarded the post that should have rightfully belonged to him". Also then, Gherman Pântea became the Mayor of Odessa, which ensured his "permanent collaboration" with Smochină. Smochină also took an active part in appointing the other members of Transnistria's administration, including Alexandru Smochină, who was taken off active duty and made Second Prefect of Transnistria's Berezovca County. As Solonari writes, the appointment showed that "Smochină himself was not immune to the allure of rent"; "he was reported to have received 'gifts' from ransnistria'sDepartment of Culture .. consisting of art objects looted from Odessa museums."Solonari, p. 118 Smochină Sr accepted less formal appointments, which included his selection as President of the National Moldavian Council, on December 15, 1941. He oversaw efforts to make Transnistrians re-learn Romanian, and also participated in negotiations for the release of Romanian prisoners of war. His conflicts with other activists pushed him to present his resignation from the Cultural Association of Transnistrians, but Romania's Vice Premier,
Mihai Antonescu Mihai Antonescu (18 November 1904 – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister during World War II, executed in 1946 as a war criminal. Early career Born in Nucet, Dâmbovița County, he ...
, refused to accept it. He "still considered him as the only authorized representative of the Transnistrian Romanian refugees." In January 1942, the Vice Premier formed a "Peace Bureau"—namely, a body of experts tasked with presenting the Romanian case at the envisaged peace congress. Smochină sat on two subsections: one from press and propaganda, and the other for ethnic, biological and statistical data. Smochină soon found himself ill at ease with the Governorate's military and civilian administration, noting instances where Alexianu and Vasiliu derided their Bessarabian subordinates. Alexianu in particular felt irritated when the National Moldavian Council pressed him for appointments in the new administration: "upset by what he understandably considered its members' impudence, eput the Council on hold." The governor reportedly tried to gain control of the National Moldavian Council by advancing Ștefan Bulat for the chairmanship, on grounds that "Smochină spent most of his time in Bucharest." This attempt was blocked by Romania's Mihai Antonescu, who made sure that Smochină was present for the election, and that he emerged as winner. Alexianu was forced to retaliate by making Bulat head of the Scientific Institute of Transnistria, which was specifically created to overshadow Smochină's Council. Alexandru was welcomed by the new body, serving as its branch director in Tiraspol. He also founded the Moldavian Circle, which disseminated propaganda and popularized Romanian historiography.


Antonescu's downfall

A disappointed Nichita Smochină left detailed notes on the corrupt activities of other Tansnistrian officials, including Bulat. He recounts that Bulat profited from the deportation of Jews, including by forcing a Jewish girl to become his concubine. Smochină describes the
1941 Odessa massacre The Odessa massacre was the mass murder of the Jewish population of Odessa and surrounding towns in the Transnistria Governorate during the autumn of 1941 and the winter of 1942 while it was under Romanian control. It was one of the worst mass ...
, ordered by Ion Antonescu in retaliation for a supposed Jewish plot against the Romanian command, as a grave error on the Romanians' part: as he noted, both he and Pântea had been informed that the building supposedly bombed by Jewish activists had in fact been mined by the retreating Soviets. Smochină also claimed that Antonescu saw Hitler's war on the "three occult forces" (Jews, Freemasons and the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
) as a "great mistake" which could lose Germany the war. In Smochină's account, the ''Conducător'' had gone on to state: " itlercould have easily lured the Jewry on his side, and after the war he'd have been able to wrestle with it, but not in this destructive manner, that one is not humane." In June 1943, he was present for the ''Conducător''s official visit to the newly acquired territories. As he reported in his memoirs, this occasion showed that Alexianu had engineered a " Potemkeniad", with fields that had been plowed only alongside the roads, and with a nursing home that existed "solely for inspection." On July 2, 1942, Smochină was made an honorary member of the Romanian Academy. He was at the time working under anthropologist Traian Herseni, involved in a large
interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...
effort to collect and systematize the folkloric creation of Transnistrian Romanians; his contribution was featured in Gheorghe Pavelescu's 1943 monograph ''Aspecte din spiritualitatea românilor transnistrieni: Credințe și obiceiuri'' ("Aspects of Romanian Transnistrian Spirituality: Beliefs and Customs"). The investigation also aimed to react against decades of anti-religious campaigning, and consciously excluded all folklore which showed Soviet-era influences. According to Solonari, the sociological teams which were sent into Transnistria were toning down the Smochinăs' "wild claims" about Romanian identity east of the Dniester; one member of the sociological teams, Paul Mihăilescu, noted that the Romanian-speakers of Valea Hoțului regarded "differentiation based on ethnicity ..as irrelevant". As supervisor of the social survey, Anton Golopenția left "especially incisive" comments regarding Smochină's count of Romanians on the Dniester, noting his "flagrant arithmetical errors." Also in 1943, Smochină Sr curated for print ''Cartea moldovanului'' ("The Moldavian's Book"), which featured Ion Antonescu's address to "our beloved Transnistrians".
Vladimir Beșleagă Vladimir Beșleagă (25 July 1931 – 25 February 2025) was a Moldovan writer and politician. Life and career Vladimir Beșleagă was born to Eugenia and Vasile Beșleagă on 25 July 1931 in Mălăiești. Vladimir Beşleagă graduated from M ...
, "Destine Trans(i)nistr(i)ene", in Ofelia Ichim, Florin-Teodor Olariu (eds.), ''Limba și literatura română în spațiul etnocultural dacoromânesc și în diaspora'', p. 299. Iași:
Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) 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 bylaws, the academy's ma ...
& Editura Trinitas, 2003.
For a while, he was in the
Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
, helping Romanian historian Gheorghe I. Brătianu to recover the letters addressed by his ancestor, Ion Brătianu, to
Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...
. The two scholars met at
Livadia Palace Livadia Palace (; ) is a former summer retreat of the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, and his family in Livadiya, Crimea. The Yalta Conference was held there in 1945, when the palace housed the apartments of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and othe ...
, outside
Yalta Yalta (: ) is a resort town, resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crime ...
.Brăiescu, p. 95 Smochină Sr also enjoyed friendly contacts with the Ukrainian exile community, represented by Hnat Porokhivskyi. At the time, Germany did not wish to see these groups returning into Ukraine; according to Porokhivskyi, the Germans expected most of Ukrainian territory to be divided between the Axis states. As reported by the ''
Siguranța ''Siguranța'' was the generic name for the successive secret police services in the Kingdom of Romania. The official title of the organization changed throughout its history, with names including Directorate of the Police and General Safety () ...
'', in August 1942 Porokhivskyi addressed Smochină, "the leader of Transnistrians in our country, to obtain repatriation or to be sent as workers and clerks in Transnistria." Similarly, Smochină maintained contacts with local Russians, and helped anti-communist surgeon Pavel Chasovnikov (Ceasovnicov) in receiving Romanian citizenship rights. In his native area of Dubăsari, the scholar played host to Romanian students coming in from Bucharest and from Odessa's
Romanian Cultural Institute The Romanian Cultural Institute (, ICR), headquartered in Bucharest, was established in 2004 on the older institutional framework provided by the Romanian Cultural Foundation and before 1989 by the Institute for the Cultural Relations Abroad. ...
. By the end of World War II he had received the
Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the Preside ...
, the Order of the Crown, '' Meritul Cultural'', and the
Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
's Benemerenti medal. By early 1944, the Axis had been dealt major defeats on the Eastern Front, and the Soviets began their menacing Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive. As ordered by Antonescu, Smochină and his rival Golopenția oversaw the evacuation of some 10,000 Transnistrian Romanians into Romanian-held
southern Bessarabia Southern Bessarabia or South Bessarabia is a territory of Bessarabia which, as a result of the Crimean War, was returned to the Moldavian Principality in 1856. As a result of the unification of the latter with Wallachia, these lands became par ...
; Smochină proposed to the ''Conducător'' "that all Moldavians n Transnistriashould be crossed over the Dniester for fear of Soviet retaliation." The change of fortunes alarmed Bessarabian and Transnistrian activists: Smochină, Halippa and Boldur joined others in a diplomatic effort to convince the
Western Allies Western Allies was a political and geographic grouping among the Allied Powers of the Second World War. It primarily refers to the leading Anglo-American Allied powers, namely the United States and the United Kingdom, although the term has also be ...
that Bessarabia needed to be part of Romania, but the military situation prevented them from ever leaving Romania. The subsequent Battle of Romania evacuated Romanian administration from Transnistria, Bessarabia, and even parts of Moldavia-proper. In August 1944,
King Michael's Coup King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by ...
toppled Antonescu and took Romania out of the Axis. Smochină claimed to have personally been helping Antonescu in negotiating a
separate peace A separate peace is a nation's agreement to cease military hostilities with another even though the former country had previously entered into a military alliance with other states that remain at war with the latter country. For example, at the ...
with the Allied Powers, days before the regime fell. After Antonescu's arrest, the former Transnistria adviser lived a secluded life, and focused on writing his works of history.


Communist repression

In June 1945, the
Allied Commission Following the termination of hostilities in World War II, the Allies were in control of the defeated Axis countries. Anticipating the defeat of Germany, Italy and Japan, they had already set up the European Advisory Commission and a proposed Far ...
in Bucharest issued a selective ban on Smochină's writings, including ''Republica Moldovenească a Sovietelor'' and ''Masacrele de la Nistru''. Singled out for retribution by the Soviet occupation forces, he was shielded by his Academy colleagues, who gave him a false name and employed him as an estate administrator in Titulești. When a Romanian communist regime came into existence, all his works were officially censored, and the remaining copies were tracked down and confiscated. According to Popescu Gogan, he was especially sought after for his ''Masacrele de la Nistru''. Soviet occupiers picked up Smochină Jr, who was at the time living in Romania with his wife and daughter, and working as an attorney. According to one account, this was case of clerical error: they deported Alexandru to the
Gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...
only because they mistook him for his father. The story was contradicted by more detailed research into the period. It surfaced that Alexandru was interrogated for his wartime activities in Berezovca and Tiraspol. He was thus formally accused of promoting
Romanianization Romanianization is the series of policies aimed toward ethnic assimilation implemented by the Romanian authorities during the 20th and 21st century. The most noteworthy policies were those aimed at the Hungarian minority in Romania, Jews and as ...
, of spying against the Soviet state, and of causing some 964 million
roubles The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are su ...
of damage to Transnistria. Found guilty, he was given 25 years of hard labor, to be served in
Amur Oblast Amur Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya rivers in the Russian Far East. The oblast borders Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the south. The administrati ...
. He was in fact taken farther north, to the
Sevvostlag Sevvostlag (, North-Eastern Corrective Labor Camps) was a system of forced labor camps set up to satisfy the workforce requirements of the '' Dalstroy'' construction trust in the Kolyma region in April 1932. Organizationally being part of ''Dal ...
in
Kolyma Kolyma (, ) or Kolyma Krai () is a historical region in the Russian Far East that includes the basin of Kolyma River and the northern shores of the Sea of Okhotsk, as well as the Kolyma Mountains (the watershed of the two). It is bounded to ...
, where he worked on the coal mines. Smochină Sr went into hiding with assistance from the PNȚ leader,
Iuliu Maniu Iuliu Maniu (; 8 January 1873 – 5 February 1953) was a Romanian lawyer and 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 Union of Transylvania wi ...
; hoping that their target would return, from 1954 the Soviets had a soldier on guard on Nicolae Golescu Street, Bucharest, which has been his last known residence.Guzun (2011), p. 243 Smochină still used aliases, including "Gheorghe Ionescu", and tried to make himself lost in the
Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...
(specifically, the Banatian ranges). Answering to a request made by Antonescu, he buried his Transnistrian documents in a pit at an undisclosed location near
Caransebeș Caransebeș (; ; , Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a city in Caraș-Severin County, part of the Banat region in southwestern Romania. One village, Jupa (), is administered by the city. The city is located at the confluence of the Timiș River with ...
. Smochină ended up in prison, and, as he recalled, was subjected to numerous beatings. His academician's title, his pension and his right of attending the
Romanian Academy Library The Romanian Academy ( ) 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 bylaws, the academy's mai ...
were all removed from him (''see
List of purged members of the Romanian Academy In 1948, the new Romanian Communist regime undertook a political purge of the members of the Romanian Academy. In all, 113 members were removed that June, representing over two-thirds of the total membership at the beginning of the year. Fifty-fiv ...
''). His son-in-law, Diomid Strungaru, was stripped of all positions in academia, and had to work at a
clothes iron A clothes iron (also flatiron, smoothing iron, dry iron, steam iron or simply iron) is a small appliance that, when heated, is used to press Clothing, clothes to remove Wrinkle, wrinkles and unwanted creases. Domestic irons generally range in o ...
factory. By 1955, with
Destalinization De-Stalinization () comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and the thaw brought about by ascension of Nikita Khrushchev to power, and his 1956 secret speech "On t ...
in full swing, both Smochinăs were unceremoniously released. Alexandru was picked up from his place of exile, and dropped back to Romania as a released
prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
, with no papers on him. Since this rendered him effectively a nonperson, he was forced to support himself by menial labor despite his health being compromised by
silicosis Silicosis is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust. It is marked by inflammation and scarring in the form of Nodule (medicine), nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs. It is a type of pneum ...
. In 1956, his father also returned to Bucharest. In April of that year, an anonymous informant wrote to the Soviet Embassy that "a mortal enemy of the communist regime" had returned to Matei Golescu Street; this resulted in his being tracked down by the repressive apparatus, which opened a dossier on Smochină Sr in March 1957. In 1957–1958, the regime's secret police, or
Securitate The Department of State Security (), commonly known as the Securitate (, ), was the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was founded on 30 August 1948 from the '' Siguranța'' with help and direction from the Soviet MG ...
, proceeded to tail Smochină, in order to determine his importance to the revival of pan-Romanianism. His circle was infiltrated by informants—including an employee of the Academy Library, who allowed him to use the facility while spying on his work and his contacts. Securitate reports summarized his career in nationalist politics: "before the year 1944 he edited and managed various publications with anti-Soviet content, drafted and printed a significant number of anti-Soviet books and generated large-scale propaganda efforts to support the Antonescu war through conferences, lectures and by other means." Himself a former prisoner, Pântea was being pressured into becoming a Securitate informant on Transnistrian activities in Bucharest. In August 1958, the Securitate arrested Constantin N. Tomescu. Tomescu had been singled out for his nationalist poem, ''Dor de Basarabia'', which he had read out publicly at his wife's funeral, where Nichita Smochină was a guest. This allowed the authorities to detain and interrogate Smochină on February 6–7, 1959. In December, Securitate agents intimidated Smochină from attending the funeral of former Bessarabian dignitary Grigore Cazacliu, but, during interrogations, he denied knowledge (or feigned unawareness) of a plot to enthrone Tomescu as Bessarabian Metropolitan. Securitate sources claimed that the Bessarabian-and-Transnistrian underground was planning a set of measures to occur after the future "liberation of Bessarabia", and that Smochină was discussing a return to Chișinău. According to other such reports, Smochină was always fully aware of being followed around by Securitate operatives, and tried to protect his friends by avoiding contact with them. By 1961, the authorities were closing in for his prosecution, but eventually settled on intimidating him, noting that he was old, sickly, and psychologically affected by personal loss—the latter referred to the accidental death of Constantin Smochină, seen by Nichita as a disguised assassination.


Under national communism

In early 1962, the official history magazine, ''Studii'', published a review by Dan Simonescu, informing the public that "Slavist N. Smochină" owned a copy of laws passed in the early 15th century, under by
Alexander I of Moldavia Alexander I, commonly known as Alexander the Good (; – 1 January 1432) was Voivode of Moldavia between 1400 and 1432. He was the son of Roman I and succeeded Iuga to the throne. As ruler he initiated a series of reforms while consolidating ...
: "he has studied the manuscript and promises o publisha study for its authentication". Notes left by Smochină himself suggest that he had a personal experience of the Romanian–Soviet hostilities, which began in February 1963: though still followed around by the Securitate, his thoughts on the Romanian claims in Bessarabia were no longer perceived as criminal. Allegedly, he found more understanding from Romania's new national communist leader,
Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( ; ;  – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian politician who was the second and last Communism, communist leader of Socialist Romania, Romania, serving as the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 u ...
, who took power in 1965. He claimed that, already that year, Ceaușescu asked him to retrieve those documents which showed Antonescu's move to a separate peace; driven by a Securitate guard to Caransebeș, Smochină only recovered three empty crates. According to his own report, Smochină discussed these issues with a communist researcher, Ion Popescu-Puțuri, who informed him that the Soviets had confiscated all they could find of the Antonescu–Smochină letters, and would only send some photocopies to Bucharest, for the Securitate to hold as evidence against the scholar. The Securitate's failure to review such documents in time had unwittingly spared Smochină's life at the height of 1950s repressions. The Communist Party made an effort to collect, preserve and research Smochină's documents, including those that had been part of his Securitate file during the previous years.Guzun (2011), p. 254 Reportedly, Popescu-Puțuri told Smochină that the Romanian state would resume propaganda efforts among the Soviet Romanians: "We have kept informed and are aware of the Russian injustices against Bessarabian and Transnistrian Romanians, of the forceful removal of locals and of how Russians are brought in to take their place. However, we are waiting for the right moment to raise that issue with a chance at success. To regain our lost provinces." Smochină remained skeptical regarding this objective—in his view, only a Chinese–Soviet hot war could effect a regime change that would benefit Romanians in those regions. At that junction, Ceaușescu allowed his Transnistrian acquaintance to receive a new pension, but he was denied reintegration into the Academy, with the suggestion that such a move would dampen
Romania–Russia relations Romania–Russia relations are the foreign relations between Romania and Russia. Romania has an embassy in Moscow and a consulate-general in Saint Petersburg. Russia has an embassy in Bucharest and a consulate-general in Constanța. Historical re ...
. These were openly tested by the Bessarabian community in February 1967, when Halippa presented Ceaușescu's
Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...
with reports on the existence of oppressed Soviet Romanians. These included a polemical note by Smochină, who condemned the Soviet-endorsed delimitation of a "
Moldovan people Moldovans, sometimes referred to as Moldavians (, , ), are an ethnic group native to Moldova, who mostly speak the Romanian language, also referred to locally as Moldovan. Moldovans form significant communities in Romania, Italy, Ukraine and R ...
" in Bessarabia, and in general the ideology of "
Moldovenism Moldovenism is the political support and promotion of a Moldovan identity and culture, including a Moldovan language, independent from those of any other ethnic group, the Romanians' in particular. No group or movement ever identified itself a ...
". A month later, Halippa advanced Smochină's name among those of Bessarabians who could serve as specialists for the Romanian Communist Party's ISISP foundation of social science. Smochină's health was affected by a stroke in 1968,Brăiescu, p. 96 by 1971 he was using a crutch for the "little walking that I do".Guzun (2011), p. 255 He remained "paralyzed in half of his body after an outrage, uttaught himself to write again, and never dropped his pen down to the moment of his death." He was recovered by the Romanian and Soviet schools of
Slavistics Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics, is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic peoples, languages, literature, history, and culture. Originally, a Slavist or Slavicist was ...
, commissioned for translations from Slavonic documents which were published by either the Romanian Academy or the Moscow Academy of Sciences. He was allowed back at the Academy Library, but still banned from authoring contributing original books of his own. Two of Smochină's new articles saw print in the new popular history review, ''
Magazin Istoric ''Magazin Istoric'' () is a Romanian monthly magazine. Overview ''Magazin Istoric'' was started in 1967. The first issue appeared in April 1967. The headquarters is in Bucharest. The monthly magazine contains articles and pictures about Romanian ...
''; one of them, published in April 1970, claimed that the fragmentary 12th-century Gospel preserved in
Râșnov Râșnov (; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect: ''Ruusenåå''; Latin: ''Rosnovia'') is a town in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 15,920 as of 2021. It is located at about southwest of the city of Brașov and about the s ...
was an original contribution by a Romanian, and mixed Romanian words in with the basic Slavonic text. This claim was reviewed and debunked by linguist Gheorghe Mihăilă, who reported that Smochină was misreading Slavonic terms as Latin derivations. In the 1970s, Smochină also published articles in a specialized magazine based in
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
,
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, and donated his documents and manuscripts to the
National Archives of Romania The National Archives of Romania (), until 1996 the State Archives (''Arhivele Statului''), are the national archives of Romania, headquartered in Bucharest. It is subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Romania), Ministry of Internal ...
. Strungaru was also allowed back to work in universities, and Smochină moved in with him and Claudia.


Final years

Securitate surveillance of the Bessarabian colony was reactivated in March 1969, when Halippa attempted to commemorate the 1918 union by setting up a private foundation for the study of Moldavian history—which threatened the communist monopoly on historical memory. By then, the secret police had been informed that Halippa was conspiring with Alexandru Usatiuc-Bulgăr to set up a National Patriotic Liberation Fund, whose very existence risked bringing Romania into a major conflict with "certain states", "that which contradicts our policies of party and state." Smochină's name was brought up in the investigation, as he had been proposed for co-leadership of Halippa's organization. Exiled Bessarabians could still profit from the relative tolerance of Romania's national communist system, and began organizing themselves into advocacy groups, even establishing links in the West. Smochină himself tried to mediate between the two competing factions: one represented by Ion Păscăluță (and supported by Halippa); the other headed by Anton Crihan. By 1973, Halippa was mounting a continuous petitioning campaign, asking Ceaușescu to honor his commitments toward Romanians living in the Soviet Union, as well as toward the exile community. As part of this, he insisted that government take note of Smochină's "deplorable situation". That year, the Securitate, having bugged Halippa's home, noted with satisfaction that their
gaslighting Gaslighting is the manipulation of someone into questioning their perception of reality. The term derives from the 1944 film ''Gaslight (1944 film), Gaslight'' and became popular in the mid-2010s. Some mental health experts have expressed c ...
campaign had worked: both he and Smochină had agreed that all relevant historical documents needed to be "handed down to the authorities"; Halippa ensured that Smochină continued to transmit parts of his own archives to be sealed by the regime. In his letters to Crihan, Smochină insisted on the importance of "internationalizing the Bessarabian cause"—noting that he himself was no longer physically capable of mounting such a campaign. He is the likely instigator of a defiant gesture, which took place when the Bessarabians rallied in Cernica to bury the remains of Ion Pelivan—one of the wreaths was marked "from the friends of Transnistria". This irritated Securitate men, one of whom informed Halippa that they had been receiving complaints from "a certain embassy, which took offense at what the inscription said". At that late stage, Smochină's research was mainly focused on proving that, traditionally, the Russians had regarded Transnistria as a legally distinct, Romanian-governed, part of "New Russia". In April 1978, he informed Crihan that he was working on an article for the ''
Slavic Review The ''Slavic Review'' is a major peer-reviewed academic journal publishing scholarly studies, book and film reviews, and review essays in all disciplines concerned with "Eastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, past and present". ...
'', wherein he theorized that the '' Reims Gospel'' was the work of a Romanian, "with some Romanian words thrown in there".Colesnic, p. 106 He never published such a work, but communicated his thoughts to a historian, Constantin C. Giurescu, who embraced Smochină's views and popularized them in one of his own final texts. According to Mihăilă, the entire argument lacked scientific grounding; Smochină, he notes, misidentified Romanian words by improperly sectioning the ''Gospel'' continuous writing. In an April 1979 article, George Muntean deplored Smochină's absence from the newly-published dictionary of Romanian historians. With the death of many friends, Smochină only still received visits from Elefterie Sinicliu; as he informed Crihan: "I fear that now it is my turn and that I shall not see my dreamed-of hope coming to bear fruit, for the disease is getting to me." The final entries in his private diary show that he remained unpersuaded by Ceaușescu, "the dictator", whom he viewed as an incompetent manager of Romania's economy, while also reacting against his
cult of personality A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader,Cas Mudde, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create ...
. Smochină died in Bucharest, on the morning of December 14, 1980, and was buried three days later at Reînvierea, in Colentina. This came as his last ever paper was being reviewed for publication by the Greek Institute for Balkan Studies.


Legacy

Smochină's entire work and life were again in public focus after the December 1989 Revolution overthrew Ceaușescu. On July 3, 1990, he was posthumously reinstated honorary Academy member. Another sign of this recovery came in 1993, when philologist Iordan Datcu published an article detailing Smochină's ethnographic work. This project saw Datcu establishing a connection with Alexandru Smochină, who had retired from his job at the Academy Library: "A man of pallid complexion, very sad and extremely uncommunicative. ..Later I found out that he was wearing a
pacemaker A pacemaker, also known as an artificial cardiac pacemaker, is an implanted medical device that generates electrical pulses delivered by electrodes to one or more of the chambers of the heart. Each pulse causes the targeted chamber(s) to co ...
." Before his death in 2002, he had completed his own book of prison memoirs, titled ''Care Patrie?'' ("What Motherland?"). Nichita Smochină's main ethnographic research was featured in the 1996 anthology ''Românitatea transnistriană'' ("Transnistrian Romanianness"), published in Bucharest by Editura Semne. Smochină is also remembered by the authorities 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. ...
, the Bessarabian state created by the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...
, where Alexandru Smochină was formally rehabilitated in 1996. Moldovan President
Mihai Ghimpu Mihai Ghimpu (born 19 November 1951) is a Moldovan politician who served as Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament, President of the Moldovan Parliament and President of Moldova#Republic of Moldova (1991–present), Acting President of Moldova from 2 ...
awarded Smochină Sr posthumous Order of Honor insignia in April 2010. Smochină is not honored in Transnistria-proper, which is ruled by a breakaway pro-Russian regime. Reportedly, Alexandru Smochină tried to visit his ancestral home in Mahala (where a "Smokine" family still lives), but was prevented from entering the premises by a group of local Russians. ''Cartea moldovanului'' was reportedly expunged from public records by Soviet authorities. Only one copy survived to the post-Soviet era, having been kept by a woman living somewhere near Odessa. Nichita Smochină's memoirs (or ''Memorii'') were published, care of Editura Academiei, in 2009, followed in 2012 by ''Pagini din însemnările unui rebel'', at Editura Samia of Iași. The editor is Vlad Galin-Corini, son-in-law of Diomid Strungaru. Commentators have described the former book as a revelation, in particular for its detail on the various public figures whom the Transnistrian ethnologist had met before 1944. According to Galin-Corini, these works were also rejected by editors in Moldova, because they make brazen statements about Bessarabians who collaborated with the Soviets. In June 2012, they were positively reviewed as part of a Smochină symposium at the Moldovan Academy of Sciences. Two years later, Alexandru Smochină's ''Care Patrie?'' was published, alongside a memoir of his father—''Nichita Smochină. Vox clamantis in deserto''. Both works had Vadim Guzun as editor. In 2015, Datcu issued a new edition of ''Din literatura populară''.Cirimpei, ''passim''; Datcu (2017), p. 120


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smochina, Nichita 1894 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Romanian translators 20th-century Romanian essayists 20th-century memoirists 20th-century Romanian historians 20th-century Romanian diarists Moldovan ethnographers Moldovan folklorists 20th-century Moldovan historians Moldovan jurists Moldovan human rights activists Moldovan politicians Moldovan essayists Moldovan magazine editors Moldovan magazine founders Moldovan memoirists Moldovan translators Romanian ethnographers Romanian folklorists Romanian anthologists Romanian cartographers Romanian jurists Romanian human rights activists 20th-century Romanian civil servants Ukrainian civil servants Romanian dissidents Romanian literary historians Romanian writers in French Romanian magazine editors Romanian magazine founders Romanian book publishers (people) Romanian memoirists Slavists Historians of Russia Historians of Ukraine Academic journal editors Honorary members of the Romanian Academy Moldovan anti-communists Romanian anti-communists Romanian nationalists Separatists Minority rights activists Moldovan propagandists Romanian propagandists People from Tiraspolsky Uyezd People from Corjova, Dubăsari Members of the Russian Orthodox Church Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church Romanian Freemasons Russian people of Romanian descent Ukrainian people of Romanian descent Russian military personnel of World War I Nobility from the Russian Empire People of the Russian Revolution Members of the Central Council of Ukraine Ukrainian people of the Ukrainian–Soviet War People from the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Romania Russian refugees Refugees in Romania Naturalised citizens of Romania Alexandru Ioan Cuza University alumni University of Paris alumni League of Nations people Holodomor Political office-holders in Transnistria Governorate People detained by the Securitate Romanian prisoners and detainees Moldovan people with disabilities Romanian writers with disabilities Activists with disabilities Scholars and academics with disabilities Recipients of the Order of St. George Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Recipients of the Order of the Star of Romania Recipients of the Order of Honour (Moldova)