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71-768: Two smaller jurisdictions, specifically Codru County and Greceni County, were merged into Cahul County in 1818. Cahul County was part of the Bessarabia Governorate of the Russian Empire (1812–1856), of the Principality of Moldavia (1856–1859), then of the Principality of Romania (1859–1878). In 1878, it was again annexed by the Russians, who merged it with the Ismail County . After the Union of Bessarabia with Romania in 1918,

142-521: A Romanian majority. The Russian rule resulted in important changes in the ethnic structure of Bessarabia, especially due to the Russian policy of immigration from neighbouring provinces and Russification . The immigration was not uniform: in some districts in the northern and southern parts of Bessarabia (for instance Hotin and Akkerman ), the immigration resulted in Ukrainians outnumbering Romanians, while

213-716: A bay of the Black Sea when the sea rose to its present level. A sandy barrier blocked the Danube bay where the river initially built its delta. Upon filling the bay with sediment , the delta advanced outside this barrier-blocked estuary after 3500 BC, building several successive lobes: the St. George I (3500–1600 BC), the Sulina (1600–0 BC), the St. George II (0 BC–present) and the Chilia or Kilia (1600 AD–present). Several other internal lobes were constructed in

284-590: A conquered province. He even started a memorandum against Russia to try to influence the Western governments, denouncing not only the annexation of Southern Bessarabia, but the 1812 annexation of Bessarabia as well. Despite this, none of the European powers wanted to risk a conflict with Russia. According to the Treaty of Berlin (1878) , Romania gained Dobruja as a compensation for the loss of Southern Bessarabia. Despite being

355-477: A larger territory, Romanians considered it an unfair exchange and accepted it reluctantly, because there was no other alternative. As a consequence of Russification policy, Bessarabia was the most backward of the western provinces of the Russian Empire. In 1897, literacy was just 15.4% for the whole Bessarabia, with only 6% of ethnically Moldavians being literate, the main reason behind this being that Russian

426-846: A mixture of reed roots, grass and soil, usually floating or anchored to the riverbed. As a rule, the reed surrounds the lakes and ponds, and slowly invades the water surface. This type of ecosystem is noted for its variety and large population of birds, some of them are very rare. The most important are the tufted duck ( Aythya fuligula ), red-crested pochard ( Netta rufina ), mallard ( Anas platyrhynchos ), greylag goose ( Anser anser ), pygmy cormorant ( Microcarbo pygmeus ), purple heron ( Ardea purpurea ), great white egret ( Egretta alba ), little egret ( Egretta garzetta ), Eurasian spoonbill ( Platalea leucorodia ), great white pelican ( Pelecanus onocrotalus ), Dalmatian pelican ( Pelecanus crispus ), mute swan ( Cygnus olor ), and glossy ibis ( Plegadis falcinellus ). A recent and welcomed newcomer

497-679: A national assembly which proclaimed the Moldavian Democratic Republic in December 1917. The latter united with Romania in April 1918. Around 65% of the territory of the former governorate now belongs to the Republic of Moldova (including the breakaway region of Transnistria ); around 35% belongs to Ukraine . As the Russian Empire noticed the weakening of the Ottoman Empire , it occupied

568-586: A resolution in the zemstvo of the gubernia related to the usage of Romanian in schools. The radicals ( national democrats ), mostly students educated at Russian universities and influenced by socialist revolutionaries, wanted a real national awakening, as well as social justice . They founded a newspaper called Basarabia (first issue on 24 May 1906) led by Constantin Stere , which called for autonomy of Bessarabia and more rights to protect their language and culture, while making clear that they do not want secession from

639-562: A series of works to help navigation. In 1878, following the defeat of Ottoman Empire by Russia and Romania, the border between the two countries was set by the Kilia and Old Stambul Channels. In 1991, the Romanian part of the Danube Delta became part of UNESCO 's list of World Heritage Sites . Around 2,733km of the delta are strictly protected areas. In 1998, under UNESCO's Programme on Man and

710-522: A terrestrial environment is also present on the higher grounds of the continental levees , where xerophile ecosystems have developed. Between the aquatic and terrestrial environments is interposed a swampy, easily flooded strip of original flora and fauna, with means of adaptation to water or land, depending on the season or hydrological regime. At the contact between freshwater and sea water, some special physical, chemical and biological processes take place, which have led biologists to consider this area as

781-488: A very different ecosystem called beforedelta . Musura Gulf, north of Sulina, and Saint George Gulf are considered the most representative of this type of ecosystem. Situated on major migratory routes, and providing adequate conditions for nesting and hatching, the Danube Delta is a magnet for birds from six major ecoregions of the world, including the Mongolian, Arctic and Siberian. There are over 320 species of birds found in

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852-805: A visitor found no Romanian books in the Chişinău public library. The Kishinev pogrom was an anti-Jewish riot that took place in Kishinev , then the capital of the Bessarabia Governorate in the Russian Empire , on April 19 and 20, 1903. A further pogrom erupted in October 1905. In the first wave of violence, which was associated with Easter, 49 Jews were killed, large numbers of Jewish women were raped and 1,500 homes were damaged. American Jews began large-scale organized financial help, and assisted in emigration. The incident focused worldwide negative attention on

923-516: Is in Romania. With the lagoons of Razim–Sinoe (1,015 km or 392 sq mi with 865 km or 334 sq mi water surface), located south of the main delta, the total area of the Danube Delta is 5,165 km (1,994 sq mi). The Razim–Sinoe lagoon complex is geologically and ecologically related to the delta proper; the combined territory is listed as a World Heritage Site . The modern Danube Delta began to form after 4000 BC in

994-558: Is the pheasant ( Phasianus colchicus ). Among the mammals, there is the Eurasian otter ( Lutra lutra ), European mink ( Mustela lutreola ), little ermine ( Mustela erminea aestiva ), wild boar ( Sus scrofa ), and wild cat ( Felis silvestris ), in winter the European hare ( Lepus europaeus ) and, on the brink of disappearing from the delta, the wolf and the fox. During the Middle Ages,

1065-682: Is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta , and is the best preserved on the continent. Occurring where the Danube River empties into the Black Sea , most of the Danube Delta lies in Romania ( Tulcea County ), with a small part located in Ukraine ( Odesa Oblast ). Its approximate surface area is 4,152 square kilometres (1,603 square miles), of which 3,446 km (1,331 sq mi)

1136-555: The Cahul and Ismail counties, with the Bolgrad later split from the second) to Moldavia, which joined Wallachia in 1859 to form Romania . In 1877, the Russian Empire and Romania signed a treaty by the terms of which, Romania and Russia were allies against the Ottoman Empire, while Russia recognized Romania's independence and guaranteed its territorial integrity after the war. However, at

1207-474: The Caspian tiger ( Panthera tigris tigris ) was a resident across the steppes of Ukraine, including Danube Delta, and once, they were hunted to extinction and they're extirpated. The East Asian raccoon dog ( Nyctereutes procyonoides ), bizam/introduced muskrat ( Ondatra zibethica ), and to some extent South American nutria ( Myocastor coypus ), are recent species that have successfully adapted. The firm land of

1278-691: The International Court of Justice . Under the presidency of Kuchma , Ukraine had responded that Romania was only afraid of the competition that the new channel would bring, and continued working on the channel. Under the presidency of Yuschenko , who visited Romania in 2005, both sides agree that professionals should decide the fate of the channel. In the long run, Ukraine plans to build a navigation channel, if not through Bistroe Channel, then through another channel. Carpathians ( peaks ) Plains & Delta Islands Rivers ( Danube ) Lakes Black Sea A series of articles on control of

1349-450: The Pannonian steppe ecosystem of eastern Europe, with Mediterranean influences. As a young region in full process of consolidation, the Danube Delta represents a very favourable place for the development of highly diverse flora and fauna , unique in Europe, with numerous rare species. It hosts 23 natural ecosystems, but due to the extent of wetlands an aquatic environment is prevalent;

1420-454: The Wallachian house of Basarab , which may have ruled it in the 14th century. The Russians used the name "Bessarabia" for the whole region rather than the southern area. Bessarabia had an area of 45,630 km², more than the rest of Moldavia and a population between 240,000 and 360,000, most of them being Romanians . The boyars of Bessarabia protested against the annexation, arguing that

1491-591: The delta , Chilia , Sulina , and Sfântul Gheorghe (Saint George) . The last two branches form the Tulcea channel, which continues as a single body for several kilometers after the separation from the Chilia. At the mouths of each channel gradual formation of new land takes place, as the delta continues to expand. (Saint George) Chilia , in the north, the longest, youngest, and most vigorous, with two secondary internal deltas and one microdelta in full process of formation at its mouth (to Ukraine). Sulina ,

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1562-609: The orthodox church in Bessarabia became an eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church , and after Bănulescu-Bodoni 's death, it became an agent in the state policy of Russification . All the archbishops after 1821 tried to bring the eparchy in conformity with the regulations of the Russian Orthodox Church and because of that, all the high-ranked clerics were brought from Russia, because they were more familiar with

1633-660: The 15th century, the Danube Delta became part of the Ottoman Empire . In 1812, following the Russo-Turkish War , the borders of the Ottoman and Russian Empires were set by the Kilia and Old Stambul Channels of the Danube, and in 1829 by the St George Channel. The Treaty of Paris of 1856 , which ended the Crimean War , assigned the Danube Delta to the Ottoman Empire and established an international commission which undertook

1704-498: The 1880s only 23 schools remained. As a result, the literature and cultural life stagnated, only a few notable literary figures arising from Bessarabia, among them being Alexandru Hasdeu (1811–1872), Constantin Stamati (1786–1869) and Teodor Vârnav (1801–1860). In the second half of the 19th century, all links with Romanian literature were cut and no literary currents or schools of criticism developed in Bessarabia. In fact, in 1899,

1775-640: The Bessarabia Oblast. Before the Russian annexation, the territory had no particular name, Moldavia being traditionally divided into Ţara de Sus (the Upper Lands, the area of the Carpathian Mountains ) and Ţara de Jos (the Lower Lands, the plains which included this territory). Bessarabia was the southern part of this territory (now known as Budjak ); it is believed that the region was named after

1846-579: The Biosphere , the 6,264.03km of the Danube Delta were established as a biosphere reserve , shared by Romania and Ukraine. Historically, in Romania, part of the Danube Delta was marked as a reserve in 1938. In Ukraine, the Danube branch of the Black Sea State Reserve was established in 1973. In 1981, it was reorganized into the Natural Reserve "Danube Fluxes", and in 1998, it was extended into

1917-402: The Danube Delta a place of emigration, or transit at least. Very few of those born in the region stay there through adulthood; at the same time, the origins of its inhabitants vary widely, as people from many parts of Romania can be found in the delta. The total population has remained more or less constant throughout the 20th century; there were 12,000 inhabitants in the 1890s, and 14,000 before

1988-404: The Danube Delta. Vegetation of this ecosystem consists of the common reed ( Phragmites communis ) and, on near river banks, mace reed/cattail ( Typha latifolia , Typha angustifolia ), sedge ( Carex dioica , Carex stricta ), Dutch rush ( Scirpus radicans , Schoenoplectus lacustris ), and brook mint ( Mentha aquatica ). They provide ideal spawning and nesting grounds. The plaur are

2059-452: The Danube biosphere reserve. Large-scale works began in the Danube Delta as early as the second half of the 19th century. First corrections of the Sulina arm began in 1862, and they continued throughout the 20th century. As a result, the length of the Sulina arm was reduced from 92 to 64 km, and its flow more than doubled, thus making it suitable for large-vessel navigation. Correcting the six large meanders on its course thereby reduced

2130-459: The Delta was built in the last 1000 years. Finding that was like a eureka moment. At present, the delta suffers from a large sediment deficit , after the construction of dams on the Danube and its tributaries in the later half of the 20th century. However, construction of a dense network of shallow channels in the delta over the same period, a sedimentation enhancing strategy , attenuated the deficit on

2201-498: The Empire. The Moldavian boyars protested against the reforms, which decreased their own powers, but their protests were not well organized and they were mostly ignored. Some Moldavian boyar families were however integrated in the Russian nobility , but most of the nobles of Bessarabia were foreigners: in 1911, there were 468 noble families in Bessarabia, of which only 138 were Moldavian. In

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2272-632: The 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 . According to Bessarabian historian Ștefan Ciobanu , at the beginning of the 19th century the ethnic Romanians (Moldavians) proportion was approximately 95% (1810), not including the territories formerly under direct Turkish administration ( Budjak and Khotyn ), which also purportedly had

2343-464: The Letea levee, these exotic-looking forests grow especially in the depressions between the sand dunes, in small groves called hasmace . Fauna of this region include the meadow viper ( Vipera ursinii ), osprey ( Pandion haliaetus ), and Eurasian eagle owl ( Bubo bubo ). With an average population density of 2 people per km , the Danube Delta is one of the least inhabited regions of temperate Europe. On

2414-526: The Moldavian traditional laws. In 1818, a special autonomous region was created, which had both Romanian and Russian as languages used in the local administration. Bănulescu-Bodoni also obtained permission for opening a seminary and a printing press, with the Bessarabian church being an eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church. After the death of Bănulescu-Bodoni in 1821, Bessarabia lacked a strong leader and as

2485-571: The Ottoman Empire had no right to cede a territory that was not theirs in the first place (Moldavia being only a vassal , not an Ottoman province), but this did not prevent the Sultan from signing the treaty in May 1812. After the annexation, the local boyars, led by Gavril Bănulescu-Bodoni , the Metropolitan of Chișinău and Hotin , petitioned for self-rule and the establishment of a civil government based on

2556-476: The Romanian side live about 20,000 people, of whom 4,600 live in the port of Sulina . . The rest of the population is scattered among 27 villages, of which only three, all situated marginally, had more than 500 people in 2002. The city of Tulcea , at the western edge of the delta, has a population of 92,000 (in 2002); it represents the node of the region and the gate to the delta. Its acute isolation and harsh conditions of living, based mainly on subsistence, made

2627-486: The Russian Empire or from elsewhere. Most of the Moldavians of Bessarabia were free peasants, of which most being landless, leasing their land from landlords and monasteries, while 12% (in 1861) were răzeşi (" yeomen "). The Emancipation reform of 1861 had little effects in Bessarabia, where there were few serfs : just 12,000 most of which being brought from Russia for non-agricultural activities. The urban population

2698-406: The Russian Empire. Their movement had little success because in 1907, the extreme right won in the elections for the second Duma . In March 1907, the newspaper published Deşteaptă-te, române! ("Wake up, Romanian!"), a Romanian patriotic song, which made Kharuzin, the governor of Bessarabia, to order the closure of the newspaper only nine months after its first issue. Most of the contributors of

2769-421: The Russians feared nationalism, which triggered the anti-Ottoman 1821 Wallachian Revolution in neighbouring Wallachia, the local authorities began a gradual retraction of many of the freedoms. Nicholas I of Russia , crowned in 1825, began a campaign of reforms which had the goal of gaining more control over the western provinces. Autonomy of the region was retracted in 1829, with the new constitution written by

2840-639: The Second World War. Romanians account for approximately 80% of the population, and Ukrainians for 10%. Other people living in the delta include ethnic minorities such as Greeks, Turks and Bulgarians (in 1992). Distinctive to the region, but very rare as an ethnic entity, are the Lipovans , descendants of the Orthodox Old Rite followers who fled from religious persecution in Russia during the 18th century. On

2911-665: The Ukrainian side, located at the northern edge of the delta, the town of Izmail has a population of 85,000, Kiliya a population of 21,800, and Vilkovo , the main center of the Lipovan community, a population of 9,300. Recorded history notes that the Dacians lived in the Danube Delta before it was conquered by the Romans . After later invasion by the Goths , the region changed hands many times. During

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2982-515: The arms and bigger channels of the Danube. On the levees of Letea and Caraorman , mixed forests of oaks ( Quercus robur , and Quercus pedunculiflora ) with various other trees ( Fraxinus pallisiae , Ulmus foliaceae , Populus tremula ), shrubs ( Prunus spinosa , Crataegus monogyna , Rosa canina , and Berberis vulgaris , among others), and vines ( Vitis sylvestris , Hedera helix , Humulus lupulus , Periploca graeca , which reaches up to 25m) grow on sand dune areas. On

3053-513: The beginning of the 20th century, the Jewish population made up to 40% of Chisinau. Romania became independent in 1878, but millions of ethnic Romanians lived outside its borders and as such it had aspirations toward Transylvania , as well as Bessarabia. In 1856, under the terms of the Treaty of Paris , Russia was forced to return a significant territory in Southern Bessarabia (organised as

3124-521: The breeding pattern of fish has been disrupted, and the flows in the main arms have increased, with serious consequences regarding the discharge of alluvia and the erosion of banks. Reed was intensively harvested during the Communist era. The regime had plans to transform the delta into a large agro-industrial zone. Although the first modern agricultural exploitation dates from 1939 (Ostrovul Tãtaru), only after 1960 were large areas drained and converted, to

3195-507: The central and thus the shortest arm, which consequently led to its extensive use for traffic and severe transformation. At its mouth is located the main port and a single settlement with urban characteristics of the Romanian part of the delta. Because of the alluvium deposited at its mouth, a channel gradually advancing into the sea (presently it has 10km) was built in order to protect navigation. Sfântul Gheorghe ( Saint George in English), in

3266-538: The county became a first-order administrative division of the Kingdom of Romania as Cahul County of Romania . The Romanian county was abolished in the 1938 Administrative and Constitutional Reform . In 1940, the area was occupied by the Soviet Union . It was briefly reconstituted as a Romanian county during the 1941 to 1944 Romanian reintegration of Bessarabia as the Bessarabia Governorate , after Operation München , but

3337-536: The delta during summer, of which 166 are hatching species and 159 are migratory. Over one million individual birds (including swans, ducks, and coots ) winter here. This comprises the arms of the Danube, and a series of its more important streamlets and channels. It is an environment rich in plankton , worms, molluscs , grubs , and sponges , with numerous species of fish, such as the carp , pike , pike perch , sheat-fish , and freshwater sturgeons ( sterlet , Vyza and Danube mackerel ). This environment includes

3408-633: The delta plain but increased erosion along the coast The Danube Delta is a low alluvial plain , mostly covered by wetlands and water. It consists of an intricate pattern of marshes, channels, streamlets and lakes. The average altitude is 0.52 m, with 20% of the territory below sea level, and more than half not exceeding one meter in altitude. Dunes on the most extensive strand plains of the delta (Letea and Caraorman strand plains) stand higher (12.4 m and 7 m respectively). The largest lakes are lakes Dranov (21.7km ), Roșu (14.5km ) and Gorgova (13.8km ). The Danube branches into three main distributaries into

3479-435: The delta used to be covered with large groves of willow trees, which have been cut down almost entirely and replaced with Canadian poplars. On the river banks kept in their natural state, small groves of willow trees ( Salix alba , Salix fragilis , Salix purpurea , Salix pentandra , and Salix triandra ) can still be found, mixed with white poplar ( Populus alba ). Occasionally, the willow trees form corridors along

3550-403: The detriment of the wetlands. In 1991, agricultural land in the delta surpassed 100,000 hectares, and more than a third of its surface has been affected by crop cultivation, forest plantation , or pisciculture (fish farming). As a result of these changes, along with the increasing pollution and eutrophication of the waters of the Danube, and decades of exploitation and poor fishing regulations,

3621-509: The eastern half of the autonomous Principality of Moldavia , between the Prut and Dniester rivers. This was followed by six years of warfare, which were concluded by the Treaty of Bucharest (1812) , by which the Ottoman Empire acknowledged the Russian annexation of the province. In 1829, according to the Treaty of Adrianople , Turkey ceded to Russia the Danube Delta , which also became part of

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3692-499: The end of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) , Russia took southern Bessarabia, Alexander Gorchakov justifying this as a "matter of national honour" for Russia and arguing that the territory was ceded in 1856 to Moldavia, not to Romania and that the Russian guarantee of territorial integrity was directed against Turkish claims. The Romanian politicians and public were angered by this action: Romanian politician Mihail Kogălniceanu accused Russia of deception and of treating an ally like

3763-615: The fish population has been visibly reduced. In 2004, Ukraine inaugurated work on the Bistroe Channel that would provide an additional navigable link from the Black Sea to the populous Ukrainian section of the Danube Delta. However, because of the negative impact which this new channel might have on the fragile ecosystem of the delta, the European Union advised Ukraine to shut down the works. Romanian officials threatened to sue Ukraine at

3834-415: The fish, the most important are Tench ( Tinca tinca ), common bream ( Abramis brama ), common rudd ( Scardinius erythropthalmus ), Prussian carp ( Carassius auratus gibelio ), wels catfish ( Silurus glanis ), European perch ( Perca fluviatilis ), and northern pike ( Esox lucius ). Reed plants and floating reed islands (called plaur in Romania ) are the most common and well-known components of

3905-403: The governor of New Russia and Bessarabia, Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov . In 1834, Romanian was banned in schools and government facilities, and soon, books, the press, and churches despite 80% of the population being Romanian. Those who fought the changes could be exiled to Siberia . The constitution no longer made the usage of Romanian compulsory for public announcements and in 1854, Russian

3976-419: The lakes and lagoons bordering the Danube Delta to the north (Chilia I and II) and toward the south (Dunavatz). Much of the alluvium in the delta and major expansion of its surface area in the form of lobes resulted from soil erosion associated with human clearing of forests in the Danube basin during the 1st and 2nd millennium. Geologist Liviu Giosan told The New York Times : Probably 40 percent of

4047-465: The lakes, and various ponds, streamlets and channels. It is characterized by a rich floating and submerse flora ( Myriophyllum , Ceratophyllum , Vallisneria , under the water; Nymphaea alba , Nuphar lutea , Trapa natans , Alisma plantago , floating plants with roots near the lakes' borders; and Salvinia natans , Stratiotes aloides , Spirogyra , floating plants without roots, having negative effect for aquatic bioproductivity ). Of

4118-461: The latter, Cahul County and Ismail County were returned to Moldavia in 1856. There they were known as Southern Bessarabia with three counties because a Bolgrad County was split out of Ismail County. When again annexed by the Russian Empire in 1878, these there were lumped together as one Ismail County, thus from 1878 till 1917, there were 8 counties. Split from the Metropolis of Moldavia ,

4189-478: The length of the Sfântu Gheorghe branch from 108 to 70km, and its flow also increased somewhat. Both these increases were made to the detriment of the Chilia arm, which at present remains the most unspoiled arm of the main three. These corrections, as well as the digging of various secondary channels throughout the body of the delta, have had a serious impact on the ecosystem. Natural environments have been altered,

4260-606: The liturgy. Following the 1905 Russian Revolution , the church decided to allow the usage of Romanian by the village priests and the re-establishment of the eparchy printing press, which would publish religious literature and of a newspaper. 47°01′28″N 28°49′56″E  /  47.02444°N 28.83222°E  / 47.02444; 28.83222 Danube Delta The Danube Delta ( Romanian : Delta Dunării , pronounced [ˈdelta ˈdunərij] ; Ukrainian : Дельта Дунаю , romanized :  Del'ta Dunaju , pronounced [delʲˈtɑ dʊnɐˈju] )

4331-837: The newspaper fled to Iaşi afterwards. When the February Revolution happened in Petrograd in 1917, the governor of Bessarabia Governorate, Mihail Mihail Voronovici , stepped down on 13 March and passed his legal powers to Constantin Mimi , the President of the Gubernial Zemstvo , which was named the Comissar of the Provisional Government in Bessarabia , with Vladimir Criste his deputy. Similar procedures took place in all regions of

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4402-428: The northwest. It roughly corresponds to what is now most of Moldova and some parts of Chernivtsi and Odesa Oblasts of Ukraine. It included the eastern part of the Principality of Moldavia along with the neighboring Ottoman -ruled territories annexed by Russia by the Treaty of Bucharest following the Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812) . The Governorate was disbanded in 1917, with the establishment of Sfatul Țării ,

4473-439: The persecution of Jews in Russia. There was no Moldavian political party or movement in Bessarabia until 1905, when two major groups were founded. The moderates, led by landowner Pavel Dicescu , organized around the Societatea pentru Cultură Naţională ("The Society for National Culture"), argued for the usage of Romanian as a language of instruction in schools, but against social reforms. In 1909, they were successful in passing

4544-461: The rules of the Russian church. Archbishop Irinarh Popov (1844–1858) tried to promote Russian nationalism and loyalty to the tsar and brought clerics from Russia. Archbishop Pavel Lebedev forced Moldavian churches and monasteries to use Russian during the religious service, making knowledge of Russian compulsory for becoming a priest, but despite his attempts, by the end of his rule (1882), there were still 417 churches which used only Romanian in

4615-442: The rural areas of the centre were mostly Romanian . Initially, the purpose of the colonization policy was unrelated to the ethnic makeup, being to increase the population of the rather sparsely populated area, in order to better exploit its resources. It was part of the larger campaign of colonization of Novorossiya , under which Russia appealed to everyone who wanted to work and live under its authority, no matter if they came from

4686-429: The south, is the oldest and most sparsely populated. Its alluvium has led to the creation, beginning in 1897, of the Sacalin Islands , which today measures 19km in length. The Danube Delta is considred to be among Romania's sunniest and driest regions. The mean annual temperature is 11°C (−1°C in January and 22 °C in July), with mean precipitation between 400mm/year and 300mm/year. The Danube Delta falls within

4757-423: Was a province ( guberniya ) of the Russian Empire , with its administrative centre in Kishinev ( Chișinău ). It consisted of an area of 45,632.42 square kilometres (17,618.78 sq mi) and a population of 1,935,412 inhabitants. The Bessarabia Governorate bordered the Podolia Governorate to the north, the Kherson Governorate to the east, the Black Sea to the south, Romania to the west, and Austria to

4828-430: Was made the official language. Also around 1850, Romanian was no longer used in schools and the importation of books from Moldavia and Wallachia was banned. Integration within the Russian Empire continued with the introduction of the zemstva in 1869. Although this system was meant to increase the participation of the locals in civic affairs, it was run by Russians and other non-Moldavian functionaries brought from across

4899-594: Was quite low, amounting just 14.7% in 1912, most of the cities being just local administrative centres and having little industry. Also, few of the urban dwellers were Moldavians, in 1912, 37.2% being Jewish , 24.4% Russian , 15.8% Ukrainian, with just 14.2% Moldavian. From 1812 to 1818, there were 12 counties, which were then merged into 6, afterwards split into 9 counties (ținuturi): Hotin, Soroca, Iași, Orhei, Bender, Hotărniceni, Greceni, Codru, Reni (Ismail). The original terms for county were Romanian : ținut and județ (in Russian : tsynut, uyezd ). Two of

4970-478: Was returned to the Soviet Union after the Romanian armistice was signed. After the independence , the Republic of Moldova established a Moldovan county of the same name in 1999, but disestablished it in 2003. 45°50′N 28°20′E  /  45.833°N 28.333°E  / 45.833; 28.333 This Cahul district location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Bessarabia Governorate The Bessarabia Governorate

5041-444: Was the only language of instruction. As of 1920, an estimated ten percent of men and one percent of women were able to read and write. Alexander II 's reign brought a policy of establishing schools in every parish: 400 rural schools were founded in the 1860s in Bessarabia, but the Orthodox Church insisted everything be taught in Russian, whereas neither priests (who were teachers in most villages) nor pupils were speaking it. Thus, by

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