On March 3, 1918 – The Zemstva of Bălți demanded Union with Romania

On March 3, 1918, at a time of profound transformation in Eastern Europe, the Zemstva (County Council) of Bălți unanimously adopted a historic motion: the request for the Union of Bessarabia with the Kingdom of Romania.

This vote preceded by only a few weeks the historic decision of March 27, 1918, of the Sfatul Țării and demonstrates an essential fact: the ideal of the Union was not imposed from above, but democratically expressed from the territory.

After the proclamation of the Moldavian Democratic Republic on December 2, 1917, the space between the Prut and the Dniester, annexed by the Tsarist empire in 1812, was in a context of insecurity generated by the collapse of the Russian Empire.

In this framework, local administrations began to express their position on the future of the region.

The Zemstva of Balti County, born from the regional elections of December 1917, discussed and solemnly voted on a motion demanding the union of Bessarabia with Romania.

The document is clear, well-argued and anchored in democratic principles. The Zemstva of Balti County demanded the Union with Romania

The decision of the Zemstva of Balti County of March 3, 1918 invokes:

• the right of peoples to self-determination
• the historical continuity of Moldova between the Prut and the Dniester
• the forced nature of the annexation of 1812
• security and development within the Romanian state

The text of the decision voted on March 3, 1918 explicitly states that Bessarabia was “ripped off without its consent” in 1812 and that, for centuries, it was one body with Moldova across the Prut.

The Zemstva decision called for the unity of all the assemblies of Bessarabia – from Hotin to Ismail – and for the sending of a delegation to Iași to pay homage to King Ferdinand I of Romania.

The Zemstva decision of Bălți is a democratic act, not a geopolitical myth

The Zemstva decision of Bălți directly contradicts the narrative according to which Bessarabia organically belonged to the Russian space.

The document clearly indicates that:

• the Romanian identity was publicly affirmed
• the union was requested by vote
• the decision was based on a legal and political foundation

It was not an annexation, but a democratic option expressed by local representatives.

In a period when historical propaganda tries to reactivate imperial myths, such documents remain essential for understanding historical truth.

The Balti Zemstva Decision is a Democratic Act, Not a Geopolitical Myth

The Balti Zemstva Decision directly contradicts the narrative according to which Bessarabia organically belonged to the Russian space.

The document clearly indicates that:

• the Romanian identity was publicly affirmed
• the union was requested by vote
• the decision was based on a legal and political foundation

It was not an annexation, but a democratic option expressed by local representatives.

In a period when historical propaganda tries to reactivate imperial myths, such documents remain essential for understanding historical truth.

The decision of the Zemstva of Balti County of March 3, 1918

„The general assembly of the Zemstva of Balti District, born from the regional elections that took place in December 1917 and convened on March 1, 1918, for voting on budgets and other measures necessary for the smooth running of the administration and economic life in this region, finishing its work, before closing the session discussed and voted unanimously on the following motion submitted to the assembly's desk by the members of the Zemstva:

• „Based on the principles proclaimed by the great revolution of the peoples of the former great empire of all the Russians, which first of all, together with the freedom and equality of all individuals before the laws, proclaimed the freedom of nationalities to dispose of their present and future fate and settlements for themselves, the Moldavian people, settled for 20 centuries ago by our Romanian ancestors between the Dniester and Prut, proclaimed on December 2, 1917, Bessarabia an independent and self-sufficient Moldavian Republic;
• Considering that the life and economic prosperity of a people is in relation to the living force and the abilities that God has endowed them, that in unity there is strength and that where there are two, strength increases;
• Considering that for 14 centuries, Bessarabia has always been one body with Moldavia on the right bank of the Prut and that its fate has always been linked to that of the Danubian Principalities, with which it has tasted the same sufferings and the same joys;
• Considering that in 1812, following the bloody turmoil of all European peoples, Bessarabia was torn away without its consent from its ethnographic trunk of its nation of origin, and
• Considering the splendid example that the young Kingdom of Romania has given in the short time since it was recognized as an independent State, attracting today the admiration and love of all the peoples of the world and even the respect of the common enemy;
• We solemnly proclaim today before God and the whole world, that we demand the union of Bessarabia with the Kingdom of Romania, under whose constitutional regime and under the protection of its laws of democratic monarchy we see the security of our national existence and economic and cultural prosperity.
• We appeal to all the assemblies throughout Bessarabia from Hotin to Ismail to unite by their vote to our motion and to ask the Council of the Country in Chisinau to send a delegation with representatives from all the regional and property assemblies to Iași to lay at the feet of the Throne of Romania our homage of devotion and faith to King Ferdinand I, King of all Romanians!”

The sourse: news.ungheni.org.