Gheorghe I. Brătianu și problematica strâmtorilor Mării Negre (1933-1944) – „Fatalitatea strâmtorilor”

Abstract

The study analyses the position expressed between 1933 and 1944 by Gheorghe I. Brătianu regarding the Black Sea Straits Question. Through the works published during those years, he established himself as one of the greatest Romanian historians, his scientific interests focusing on the evolution of Romanians in the Middle Ages as well as on the role of the Black Sea in all international relations. In this context, as a Professor at the University of Bucharest, between 1941-1943, he taught a course at the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy on The Black Sea Question, in which he extensively developed his concepts. They can be summarized in the phrase according to which Romania has faced the Pontus Euxinus “Straits fatalism” throughout its existence. At the same time, as a politician and party leader, Gheorghe I. Brătianu opposed Nicolae Titulescu’s policy of envisaging a mutual assistance treaty with the Soviet Union, a country that had not recognised the unification of Bessarabia with Romania. As such, he criticized the position adopted by Romania at the Montreux Conference (22 June-21 July 1936), which modified the status of the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits, according to Moscow’s interests. By the Convention signed on 20 July 1936, the access of non-littoral military ships was severely restricted.