The Process of Massive Russification of the Romanian Population Between the Prut and Dniester. An Overview Through the Activity Reports Drawn Up by the Army Priests, Participants in the Campaign in Bessarabia (1918–1919)

Abstract

The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia (1917), the dissolution of the Tsarist Army and the collapse of the Eastern Front also had an impact on the security in Bessarabia. For this reason, the political authorities in Chisinau requested the Romanian Government to authorize the intervention of the Royal Army in the east of the Prut. During the military operations, the Romanian Army was accompanied by a number of approximately 40 mobilized priests. By fulfilling religious requirements, raising morale, maintaining discipline and promoting brotherly behavior towards the locals, they offered real spiritual guidance to the troops. In the interaction with the native civilian population, the military clergy officiated Orthodox acts of worship, they delivered patriotic and moralizing speeches and explained the national history, carrying out a true apostolic mission. They found on spot that the belonging of the Bessarabians to the Romanian nation had been undermined for more than a century by the policy of denationalization, intensively patronized by the power of the Russian double-headed eagle, often with the help of the Church.