Bessarabia, Romanian land

Romanian nationalist and irredentist slogan

Graffiti writing Basarabia e România ("Bessarabia is Romania") near the Ion I. C. Brătianu Square in Timișoara, Romania Graffiti on a road on the border between Dâmbovița County and Prahova County, in Romania, saying Uniți sub tricolor – Basarabia e România! ("United under the tricolor – Bessarabia is Romania!").

"Bessarabia, Romanian land" (Romanian: Basarabia, pământ românesc), "Bessarabia is Romanian land" (Basarabia e pământ românesc) or "Bessarabia is Romania" (Basarabia e România, also Basarabia este România[1]) is a popular and commonly used[2][3][4][5][6] Romanian nationalist and irredentist slogan posing claims over the geographical region of Bessarabia, today divided between the Republic of Moldova and parts of Ukraine.[5] According to the Romanian newspaper Adevărul, the use of this slogan as a patriotic catchphrase started in 2006 from a group of anonymous young Romanians from Bucharest.[7]

The slogan has been often used in demonstrations and events supporting the unification of Moldova and Romania.[8][9][3][10] It is also seen with frequency in graffiti and stickers on walls and other places throughout Romania,[11][1][5][6] although it is also used in Moldova.[12][13] The phrase has had several notable uses at various times, such as at a protest organized by the Romanian political party Noua Dreaptă ("New Right") against the Bucharest Pride edition of May 2010,[14] in a huge banner during a football match between France and Romania on 5 September 2010 in the Stade de France[15] and for vandalizing a synagogue in Chișinău, the capital of Moldova, along antisemitic and Nazi symbolry.[13] Furthermore, it was used during the Centenary March of 2018.[16]

Notable individuals and entities that have used this slogan include the Romanian activist and politician George Simion[17] and the Romanian politician Rareș Bogdan[18] but also the Romanian party Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), of which Simion is the president.[19] Romanian historian Lucian Boia has shown himself against the use of the phrase, saying that, in his opinion, it is not appropriate to say that "Bessarabia is Romania" because Moldova "has its own history and its own challenges" and because, at the time of his declarations, most Moldovans preferred to remain independent rather than uniting with Romania as indicated by certain polls, although he admitted the similarities between the two countries.[20]

The slogan has also been applied to other former regions of Romania, such as Bukovina by the Romanian historian Georgeta Filitti [ro] in an article for the Romanian radio station Radio România Cultural[21] and Transnistria by the Romanian politician Bogdan Diaconu [ro] in a newspaper article for Adevărul.[22] It has also been used for regions already part of Romania, such as Transylvania by the former Social Democratic Party (PSD) president Victor Ponta[23] and Dobruja for a contest organized for students by the County Council of Tulcea.[24]

## See also

[edit]

* "Kosovo is Serbia"
* "Krymnash"
* Day of the Union of Bessarabia with Romania
* Unification of Moldova and Romania
* Bessarabian question

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Este Basarabia România? Argumente pro și contra". Shtiu (in Romanian). 5 November 2020.
2. ^ Soare, Sorina (2020). "Romania: the challenges of contested identities" (PDF). In Bayó Belenguer, Susana; Brady, Nicola (eds.). Pulling Together or Pulling Apart?: Perspectives on Nationhood, Identity, and Belonging in Europe. Nationalisms Across the Globe. Vol. 21\. Peter Lang. pp. 339–378\. ISBN 9781787073043.
3. ^ a b Humă, Roxana Adina (2013). "Contested borders: representing boundaries within Moldovan museums" (PDF). In Whitehead, Christopher; Eckersley, Susannah; Mason, Rhiannon; Lloyd, Katherine Jane (eds.). "Placing" Europe in the Museum: People(s), Places, Identities. MeLa Books. Vol. 8\. Polytechnic University of Milan. pp. 45–60\. ISBN 9788895194356.
4. ^ Boia, Lucian (2018). "Oldness, unity and continuity: Romanian historical mythology". MemoScapes. Romanian Journal of Memory and Identity Studies. 2 (2): 1–11.
5. ^ a b c Dumitrica, Delia (2019). "The ideological work of the daily visual representations of nations". Nations and Nationalism. 25 (3): 910–934\. doi:10.1111/nana.12520. hdl:1765/117796. S2CID 150661172.
6. ^ a b Hatłas, Jerzy (2018). "Bułgarskie diaspory w Południowo-Wschodniej Europie (Besarabia, Nadazowie, Krym) – uwagi wstępne". Slavica Lodziensia (in Polish). 2: 81–89\. doi:10.18778/2544-1795.02.07. hdl:11089/29505. S2CID 200117065.
7. ^ Ionescu, Sinziana (27 October 2015). "Cine sunt băieții care umplu pereții cu "Basarabia e România". Anonimii care au scris pe ziduri mesajul unirii în toată România și dincolo de Prut". Adevărul (in Romanian).
8. ^ Luca, Ana Maria; Necșuțu, Mădălin (4 September 2018). "Romania-Moldova unification movement grows despite obstacles". Balkan Insight.
9. ^ Țigău, Valentin (28 March 2016). "The Union of Bessarabia with Romania after 98 years" (in Romanian). Radio Romania International.
10. ^ ""Basarabia este România", "Jos hotarul de la Prut". Proteste la Iași, în timpul ședinței comune a guvernelor din România și Moldova". Jurnalul Național (in Romanian). 3 March 2012.
11. ^ Bird, Michael; Bănilă, Nicoleta (27 March 2015). "How realistic is a union between Romania and Moldova?". The Black Sea.
12. ^ Stan, Liviu G. (27 November 2017). "Elevă din Rep. Moldova a Școlii de Poliție din Câmpina: "Basarabia e pământ românesc"". InfoPrut (in Romanian).
13. ^ a b "Synagogue vandalized in Moldovan capital". Haaretz. 15 September 2010.
14. ^ "Miting pentru normalitate al Noii Drepte, la București și Timișoara - GALERIE FOTO". Mediafax (in Romanian). 22 May 2010.
15. ^ Dungaciu, Dan (2014). "The part that wants to become whole: identity discourses in the Republic of Moldova". Romanian Review of Political Sciences and International Relations. 11 (1): 3–14\. S2CID 154364565.
16. ^ "Participanții la Marșul Centenarului au ajuns ieri seară la Cluj-Napoca". români.md (in Romanian). 5 July 2018.
17. ^ "Euronews: Is there a world in which George Simion holds the balance of power or even power in Romania?". DigLogs. 16 October 2021. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022.
18. ^ "Rareș Bogdan: Basarabia ESTE România!". Comisarul (in Romanian). 27 March 2021.
19. ^ Iancu, Petre M. (7 December 2020). "Europa și aiuritorul AUR, acest faur al putinismului românesc". Deutsche Welle (in Romanian).
20. ^ "Lucian Boia: Ambasadorul american la Chișinău a făcut o afirmație corectă: Basarabia nu e România". Digi24 (in Romanian). 3 September 2016.
21. ^ Filitti, Georgeta (8 October 2018). "Bucovina, pământ românesc, de Georgeta Filitti" (in Romanian). Radio România Cultural.
22. ^ Diaconu, Bogdan (6 August 2013). "Transnistria este tot pământ românesc, ca și Basarabia". Adevărul (in Romanian).
23. ^ "Este inacceptabil ca un român să nu se poată angaja în Harghita și Covasna, afirma Victor Ponta, la Forumul Civic al Românilor". HotNews (in Romanian). 20 March 2010.
24. ^ Zagoneanu, Cecilia (12 November 2020). "Concursul "Dobrogea, pământ românesc" și-a desemnat câștigătorii". Ziua de Constanța (in Romanian).

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Bessarabia, Romanian land at Wikimedia Commons

* v
* t
* e

Romanian nationalism

Ideology|

* Dacianism
* Dacology
* Legionarism
* Neo-Legionarism
* National communism
* Poporanism
* Protochronism

Events|

* Revolt of Horea, Cloșca and Crișan
* Moldavian Revolution of 1848
* Wallachian Revolution of 1848
* Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia
* Bridge of Flowers

Unifications|

* Unification of Moldavia and Wallachia
* Union of Bessarabia with Romania
* Union of Bukovina with Romania
* Union of Transylvania with Romania
* Great Union
* Greater Romania

Figures|

* Vlad the Impaler
* Stephen the Great
* Michael the Brave
* Alexandru Ioan Cuza
* Carol I of Romania
* Ferdinand I of Romania

Political parties|

| Current|

* Greater Romania Party
* New Generation Party
* Noua Dreaptă
* People's Movement Party
* National Identity Bloc in Europe
* Alliance for the Union of Romanians
* Romanian Nationhood Party
* Social Democratic Party
* Romanian Socialist Party (2003)
* National Liberal Party
* Alliance for the Homeland
* Romanian Village Party
* S.O.S. Romania
* Party of Young People

|

Former|

* Romanian National Party
* Democratic Nationalist Party
* Bessarabian Peasants' Party
* Democratic Union Party
* National Italo-Romanian Cultural and Economic Movement
* National Romanian Fascio
* National Liberal Party (Romania, 1875)
* Romanian Communist Party
* National Fascist Movement
* National-Christian Defense League
* Iron Guard
* National Liberal Party-Brătianu
* National Socialist Party
* Crusade of Romanianism
* Romanian Front
* Romanian National Unity Party
* Socialist Party of Labour
* Everything For the Country Party
* People's Party – Dan Diaconescu
* United Romania Party

Organizations|

* ASTRA
* Cenaclul Flacăra
* Cîntarea României
* Junimea

Popular culture|

| Songs|

* "Cântă cucu-n Bucovina"
* "Dac-am plecat, Ardealule, din tine"
* "Deșteaptă-te, române!"
* "Doamne, ocrotește-i pe români"
* "Drum bun"
* "Hora Unirii"
* "Pe-al nostru steag e scris Unire"
* "Pui de lei"
* "Treceți, batalioane române, Carpații"
* "Trei culori"

|

Phrases|

* "Bessarabia, Romanian land"

Nationalists|

* Ion Antonescu
* Nicolae Ceaușescu
* Corneliu Zelea Codreanu
* Mihai Eminescu
* Doina
* Nicolae Iorga
* Nicolae Petrescu-Comnen
* Horia Sima
* Corneliu Vadim Tudor

Policies|

* Aromanian question
* Re-latinization of Romanian
* Romanianization

Related topics|

* Anti-Romanian sentiment
* Bessarabian question
* Moldovenism
* Unification of Moldova and Romania

* v
* t
* e

Unification of Moldova and Romania

Background|

* Principality of Moldavia
* Russo-Turkish War of 1806–1812
* Treaty of Bucharest of 1812
* Bessarabian question
* Unification of Moldavia and Wallachia
* Southern Bessarabia
* Russian Revolution
* Sfatul Țării
* Moldavian Democratic Republic
* Union of Bessarabia with Romania
* Great Union
* Greater Romania
* Soviet occupation of Bessarabia
* Moldavian SSR
* National Patriotic Front
* Dissolution of the Soviet Union

Post-Soviet
developments|

* Independence of Moldova
* Controversy over ethnic and linguistic identity in Moldova
* Moldovenism
* 1994 Moldovan referendum
* Romanian accession to NATO
* Romanian accession to the European Union
* April 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election protests
* 2015–2016 protests in Moldova
* Day of the Union of Bessarabia with Romania

Supporters|

| Moldova|

| Parties|

* Alliance for the Union of Romanians
* Antimafia Popular Movement
* Christian-Democratic People's Party
* Democracy at Home Party
* Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova
* Mișcarea Politică Unirea
* Liberal Party
* National Liberal Party
* Romanian Popular Party
* Save Bessarabia Union
* National Unity Party
* Popular Front of Moldova
* Unionist Movement of the Republic of Moldova

|

Figures|

* Vlad Bilețchi
* Dorin Chirtoacă
* Ion Costaș
* Vlad Filat
* Pavel Filip
* Mihai Ghimpu
* Vladimir Plahotniuc
* Maia Sandu
* Mircea Snegur
* Ion Sturza
* Octavian Țîcu

Romania|

| Parties|

* Alliance for the Union of Romanians
* National Identity Bloc in Europe
* Greater Romania Party
* Noua Dreaptă
* United Romania Party
* People's Movement Party
* Romanian Nationhood Party
* S.O.S. Romania

|

Figures|

* Dan Barna
* Traian Băsescu
* Dacian Cioloș
* Klaus Iohannis
* Ludovic Orban
* Victor Ponta
* George Simion
* Eugen Tomac

Opponents|

| Moldova|

| Parties|

* Collective Action Party – Civic Congress
* Electoral Bloc of Communists and Socialists
* Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova
* Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova
* Our Party
* Party of Regions of Moldova
* Șor Party

|

Figures|

* Vlad Batrîncea
* Igor Dodon
* Vadim Krasnoselsky
* Andrei Sangheli
* Ilan Șor
* Vasile Stati
* Irina Vlah
* Vladimir Voronin
* Renato Usatîi

Unionist initiatives|

* Action 2012
* "Bessarabia, Romanian land"
* Centenary of the Great Union
* Alliance for the Centenary
* Centenary March
* 2018 unification declarations
* Youth of Moldova

See also|

* Moldova–European Union relations
* Moldova–NATO relations
* Moldova–Romania relations
* Romanian nationality law
* Transnistria conflict

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