Summarized The brief history of the 1917–1918 Moldavian Democratic Republic can be divided into three periods: the period of autonomy within Russia, the period of independence, and the period of federation with Romania. On 2/15 December, Moldavia proclaimed itself a constituent republic of the Russian Federative Democratic Republic. On 1/14 January 1918, the Front Section of the
Rumcherod Bolsheviks entered
Chișinău, the capital of the nascent republic. After the nationalist faction of the
Sfatul Țării requested military assistance from
Romania, the
Romanian Army crossed the republic's border on 10/23 January, taking the capital within days. With the Romanian Army in full control, on 24 January/6 February, the Moldavian Democratic Republic proclaimed its independence. On 27 March/9 April, Moldavia entered a conditioned union (essentially a federation) with the Kingdom of Romania, retaining its provincial autonomy as well as its legislative body (the
Sfatul Țării). On 27 November/10 December, after the end of World War I, a secret meeting of
Sfatul Țării members renounced all conditions and proclaimed the unconditional union of Bessarabia with Romania, effectively amounting to an annexation by the latter. This was its last act, as it was subsequently dissolved and prominent unionists were invited to
Bucharest. During its 1-year existence, the Moldavian Democratic Republic had three Prime Ministers:
Pantelimon Erhan,
Daniel Ciugureanu and
Petru Cazacu.
Detailed When the
February Revolution occurred in
Petrograd in 1917, the governor of the
Bessarabia Governorate stepped down and passed his legal powers to
Constantin Mimi, the President of the
Gubernial Zemstvo, which was named
the Commissar of the Provisional Government in Bessarabia, with
Vladimir Cristi his deputy. Similar procedures took place in all regions of the
Russian Empire: the chiefs of the Tsarist administrations passed their legal powers to the chiefs of the County and Governorate Zemstvos, which were then called
County/Governorate Commissars. The Peasants' Congress, which took place in October 1917, voted Mimi out and
Ion Inculeț in as the new Commissar. This move was planned by
Alexander Kerensky, who sent Inculeț, an associate professor at the
University of Petrograd, to Bessarabia to take hold of the situation. As soon as the Peasants' Congress, which had no legal power, voted, Kerenski formally replaced Mimi with Inculeț. When Inculeț arrived in Chișinău to take power, he faced the quiet opposition of the nobility, so he agreed to take the position of deputy commissar to
Vladimir Cristi. When the republic was proclaimed, Cristi stepped down and passed his legal powers to Inculeț. The
Sfatul Țării voted 86 in favour of proclamation, 6 against, and 36 abstentions. However only within three days, the Bolsheviks seized power in Chișinău. In the context of the
October Revolution, the
Russian Army on the Romanian Front disintegrated. The large number of retreating soldiers increased the level of anarchy in Bessarabia, leaving the National Council with only minimal authority over the territory. To further complicate matters, as the council was delaying a decision on the agrarian question, peasants across the region started to break up the estates of the large landowners and divide them among themselves. As the General Staff of the Romanian Front was unable to send any troops, attempts were made to organize a Moldavian National Guard, but the results were far from expectations. Furthermore, most of the army corps nominally subjected to the National Council came under
Bolshevik influence. However, in mid-January Romanians entered the country, engaged in battles with the Moldavian and Bolshevik troops and within a couple of weeks controlled much of the country. Among the leaders of Moldavian troops that offered resistance were also figures formerly loyal to the National Council, such as captain
Anatolie Popa. Following the signing of separate peace armistices by
Imperial Germany with
Romania, Ukraine and
Bolshevik Russia the
Sfatul Țării, with 86 votes in favour, 3 against and 36 abstentions, proclaimed the
Union of Bessarabia with the Kingdom of Romania on , with the condition of local autonomy and the continuation of Bessarabian legislative and executive bodies, legally ending the Moldavian Democratic Republic. Discouraged by the fact that the Romanian troops were already present in Chișinău, many minority deputies abstained from voting. The union was confirmed in the
Treaty of Paris (1920). == Leadership ==