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48-462: Râmnicu Sărat County covered 3,324 km and was located in central-south-eastern part of Greater Romania , in the northeastern part of the historical region of Muntenia . Currently, the territory that comprised Râmnicu Sărat County is now included in the Brăila , Buzău and Vrancea counties. In the interwar period , the county neighbored Putna and Tecuci counties to the north, Covurlui County to

96-458: A catalyst for various Romanian forces to achieve a single Romanian state. The Romanian revolution in 1848 already carried the seeds of the national dream of a unified and united Romania, though the "idea of unification" had been known from earlier works of Naum Ramniceanu (1802) and Ion Budai-Deleanu (1804). The concept owes its life to Dimitrie Brătianu , who introduced the term "Greater Romania" in 1852. The first step in unifying Romanians

144-509: A geopolitical reality after the First World War . Romania gained control over Bessarabia , Bukovina and Transylvania . The borders established by the treaties concluding the war did not change until 1940. The resulting state, often referred to as "România Mare" or, alternatively, as Romanian : România Întregită (roughly translated in English as "Romania Made Whole," or "Entire Romania"),

192-522: A small part of the eastern area (along the left bank of the Buzău River , until its discharge into the Siret ) passed to Regiunea Galaţi . The northern areas were also passed in their turn in 1960 to Regiunea Galaţi. In 1968, when Romania returned to county organization, Râmnicu Sărat County was not re-established. At the end of the nineteenth century, the county was divided into seven districts ( plăși ): In

240-668: Is commemorated in the Great Union Day , the national day of the country, every 1 December. The centenary of the Great Union on 1 December 2018 was widely celebrated in Romania, with military parades at cities like Alba Iulia or Bucharest to which many people (up to 550,000, 100,000 of them in Alba Iulia alone), including the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis , attended. The centenary

288-564: Is commonly used in Romania, and it poses territorial claims over the region of Bessarabia. It is also used in Moldova. As of 2024 Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) supports the unification of Moldova and Romania . While S.O.S. Romania leader Diana Iovanovici Șoșoacă proposed a law in 2023 for a project on the Romanian Parliament for the annexation by Romania of Northern Bukovina ,

336-563: The Communist regime . The county was disbanded in administrative reforms of Communist Romania 1950, its southern area, including the county seat, was included in Regiunea Buzău , which itself was included after two years into Regiunea Ploiești in which the Râmnicu Sărat rayon was constituted; most of the county's north went to Regiunea Putna and then afterward to Regiunea Bârlad , whilst

384-580: The Hertsa region , Budjak , Northern Maramureș and Snake Island from Ukraine, as they were "historical territories" that belong to Romania as stated in the law project. In retaliation, Ukraine announced it would impose sanctions against Iovanovici Șoșoacă, labeling her as a threat to Ukrainian national security. Great Union In Romanian historiography , the Great Union ( Romanian : Marea Unire ) or Great Union of 1918 ( Marea Unire din 1918 )

432-530: The Ottoman Empire annexed Brăila and its surrounding area, Slam Râmnic County received the rest of the territory previously administered by Brăila. In 1862, with the establishment of the Romanian state, entailing the political unification of Wallachia with Moldavia, the seat of the county was moved to Râmnicu Sărat, because it was a bigger trade centre in the middle of the county and renamed to Râmnicu Sărat, after

480-465: The Russian Revolution . After declaring independence from Russia on 24 January 1918, the "Sfatul Țării" voted for union with Romania on 9 April 1918. Of the 138 deputies in the council, 86 voted for union, 3 against, 36 abstained (mostly the deputies representing minorities, 52% of the population at the time) and 13 were not present. The United Kingdom , France , Italy and Japan recognized

528-513: The (Romanian) unitary national state six and a half decades ago was a brilliant historic victory of the long heroic struggle of the masses for creating the Romanian nation and the coming true of the age old dream of all Romanians to live in unity within the borders of the same country, in one free and independent state. The fall of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union and

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576-573: The 1930s. Bessarabia declared its sovereignty as the Moldavian Democratic Republic in 1917 by the newly formed "Council of the Country" (" Sfatul Țării "). The state was faced with the disorderly retreat through its territory of Russian troops from disbanded units. In January 1918, the "Sfatul Țării" called on Romanian troops to protect the province from the Bolsheviks who were spreading

624-771: The Deputies of the Romanians of Transylvania, and supported one month later by the vote of the Deputies of the Saxons of Transylvania . The Hungarians of Transylvania, about 32% at the time (including the Hungarian-speaking Jewish community), and the Germans of Banat did not elect deputies upon the dissolution of Austria-Hungary , since they were considered represented by the Budapest government of Hungary, nevertheless on 22 December 1918

672-606: The Great Union, such as the unification of Moldavia and Wallachia (also known as the Little Union, Mica Unire ) in 1859 or the independence of the country and the annexation of Northern Dobruja in 1878, and also the occupation of Transylvania and Moldavia by the Prince of Wallachia , Michael the Brave , in 1600. Today, the Great Union has an important meaning in Romania , and it

720-617: The Great has slept for centuries. In our moral energy and our valour lie the means of giving him back his birthright of a great and free Rumania from the Tisza to the Black Sea, and to prosper in peace in accordance with our customs and our hopes and dreams. (...) Part of the proclamation by King Ferdinand, 28 August 1916 Lucian Boia summarised the territorial extent of the nationalist dream as following: The concept of "Greater Romania" materialized as

768-645: The Hungarian General Assembly in Cluj (Kolozsvár) reaffirmed the loyalty of Hungarians from Transylvania to Hungary. In the 1920 Treaty of Trianon , Hungary was forced to give up all claims over Transylvania and the treaty set the new borders between the two countries. In 1940, the Romanian state agreed to cede Bessarabia to the Soviet Union , as provided for by the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between

816-550: The Romanian government violently repressed strikes and riots, notably the 1929 miners' strike in Valea Jiului and the strike in the Grivița railroad workshops . In the mid-1930s, the Romanian economy recovered and the industry grew significantly, although about 80% of Romanians were still employed in agriculture. French economic and political influence was predominant in the early 1920s but then Germany became more dominant, especially in

864-673: The Romanian, German, and Polish deputies unanimously voted for union, the Ukrainian deputies (representing 38% of the population according to the 1910 Austrian census) and Jewish deputies did not attend the council. The unification was ratified in the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye . On 1 December 1918, the Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia proclaimed the union of Transylvania and other territories with Romania in Alba Iulia , adopted by

912-653: The Soviet Union and Germany . It also lost Northern Bukovina and the Hertsa region , which were not mentioned in the pact, to the Soviet Union. It lost Northern Transylvania to Hungary, through the Second Vienna Award , and the Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria by the Treaty of Craiova . In the course of World War II, Romania, which was allied with the Axis Powers , not only re-annexed Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, but also took under administrative control lands to

960-654: The armed conflict in Moldova was due to the Romanian ethnic nationalism, in other words, "the attempt to create a unitary, ethnic state with power concentrated in the hands of ethnic nationalists in what was actually a multiethnic society." Furthermore, Bucharest's behavior toward Ukraine did not change until 1997 when Romanian politicians realized that resolving border disputes was a precondition for NATO membership. Present-day Romanian irredentists (such as members of PRM ) aim to take possession of territories of northern Bukovina and Bessarabia . These regions currently belong to Ukraine and Moldova. The Russian presence and

1008-541: The borders of the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period , achieved after the Great Union . It also refers to a pan-nationalist idea. As a concept, its main goal is the creation of a nation-state which would incorporate all Romanian speakers . In 1920, after the incorporation of Transylvania , Bukovina , Bessarabia and parts of Banat , Crișana , and Maramureș , the Romanian state reached its largest peacetime geographical extent ever (295,049 km ). Today,

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1056-405: The concept of Greater Romania stood behind Romanian foreign policy toward Moldova therefore expressed concerns about possible developments on Dobruja . In 1992, the issue on unification of Moldova and Romania was negotiated between the Romanian and Moldovan governments and they wanted to achieve it by the end of the year. However, the "unionists" lost their dominance in Moldova in the middle of

1104-463: The concept serves as a guiding principle for the unification of Moldova and Romania . The idea is comparable to other similar conceptions such as the Greater Bulgaria , Megali Idea , Greater Yugoslavia , Greater Hungary and Greater Italy . The theme of national identity had been always a key concern for Romanian culture and politics. The Romanian national ideology in the first decades of

1152-466: The contents of the treaty until a general peace was concluded. Romanians! The war which for the last two years has been encircling our frontiers more and more closely has shaken the ancient foundations of Europe to their depths. It has brought the day which has been awaited for centuries by the national conscience, by the founders of the Romanian State, by those who united the principalities in

1200-631: The development of Romanian national consciousness. The Treaty of Bucharest (1916) was signed between Romania and the Entente Powers on 4 ( Old Style )/17 ( New Style ) August 1916 in Bucharest . The treaty stipulated the conditions under which Romania agreed to join the war on the side of the Entente, particularly territorial promises in Austria-Hungary . The signatories bound themselves to keep secret

1248-501: The east of Dniester (parts of recently formed Moldavian SSR , and of Odessa and Vinnytsia oblasts of Ukrainian SSR ), creating Transnistria Governorate . Despite clear Ukrainian majority in the governorate's ethnic composition, demonstrated by a census conducted in December 1941 , Romanian government hoped to annex it eventually as a "compensation" for Northern Transylvania lost to Hungary . These territories were lost again when

1296-455: The east, Brăila County to the southeast, and Buzău County to the southwest. Slam Râmnic County (the old name of Râmnicu Sărat County) dates back to the period of the medieval organization of Wallachia . At first, the county's seat was at Focșanii Munteni , located on the right bank of the Milcov River , separating it from the city of Focșani proper that belonged to Moldavia . In 1542, when

1344-419: The economic downturn accompanying it led to a resurgence of nationalism in the region. Romania and Moldova, state comprising the bulk of Bessarabia which had become independent after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, confronted with their eastern neighbor, Ukraine . Bucharest and Chișinău announced territorial claims on Ukrainian lands (on parts of Chernivtsi and Odessa regions). Bulgaria surmised that

1392-576: The effects of the hundred years of political separation. Due to the inability of the government to solve the problems of the Transylvanian Romanians' integration and the effects of the worldwide and national economic depression , "the population gradually lost its faith in the democratic conception of Greater Romania". The Great Depression in Romania , which started in 1929, destabilised the country. The early 1930s were marked by social unrest, high unemployment, and strikes. In several instances,

1440-482: The heads of the Romanian Communist Party, as writing in his memo of April 1944: "the two parts of Transylvania should be reunited as an independent state." The Romanian Communist politicians' behavior were depicted as nationalist, and this circumstance brought about the concept of National Communism , which amalgamated elements of Stalinism and Fascism . According to Trond Gilberg the regime needed

1488-473: The incorporation of Bessarabia through the Treaty of Paris . The United States and the Soviet Union however refused to do so, the latter maintaining a claim to the territory for the whole interwar period. Furthermore, Japan failed to ratify the treaty, which therefore never entered into force. In Bukovina , after being occupied by the Romanian Army, a National Council voted for union with Romania. While

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1536-455: The interwar and the Communist periods. The union of Michael the Brave , who ruled over the three principalities with Romanian population ( Wallachia , Transylvania and Moldavia ) for a short period of time, was viewed in later periods as the precursor of a modern Romania , a thesis which was argued by Nicolae Bălcescu . This theory became a point of reference for nationalists , as well as

1584-524: The other nations in Transylvania. The concept became a political reality when, in 1881, the Romanian National Party of Transylvania gathered Romanians on a common political platform to fight together for Transylvania's autonomy. According to Livezeanu the creation of Greater Romania with "a unifying concept of nationhood" started to evolve in the late 1910s. World War I played a crucial part in

1632-535: The population was 98.9% Eastern Orthodox, 0.6% Jewish, 0.1% Roman Catholic, as well as other minorities. In 1930, the county's urban population was 15,007 inhabitants, comprising 89.2% Romanians, 6.9% Jews, 1.5% Romanies, 1.0% Hungarians, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the urban population was composed of 91.3% Eastern Orthodox, 6.9% Jewish, 0.8% Roman Catholic, as well as other minorities. Greater Romania The term Greater Romania ( Romanian : România Mare ) usually refers to

1680-753: The problem of "Soviet annexed Bessarabia" . The Romanian organizations ignored the result of the Moldovan referendum on independence because the referendum did not ask Romanians in Romania. Romanian politicians blamed Russia and the Moldovan regime that unification became unreal. According to Edward Ozhiganov (Head of the Division for Ethnopolitical Research at the Analytical Center of the Federation Council in Russia),

1728-453: The role of "spiritual victimization" , turning it into "spiritual police ", was a radical and challenging task for the Romanian intellectuals because they had to entirely revise the national identity and the destiny of the Romanian nation. In accordance with this view, Livezeanu states that the Great Union created a "deeply fragmented" interwar Romania where the determination of national identity met with great difficulties mainly because of

1776-482: The strongly nationalist attitude because of the social, economic and political challenges. After the retreat of the Soviet troops from Romania in 1958, the national ideology was reborn, however it raises questions about its reconcilability with internationalist communism . Nicolae Ceaușescu fancied the idea that the creation of Greater Romania was the fruit of the end of the nation-formation process. The setting up of

1824-536: The tense political situation in Moldova also inflame their demands. Nevertheless, radicals make territorial demands on Hungary too. The Greater Romania Party (Partidul România Mare – PRM) is an emblematic representative of the aforesaid concept, though the conception is fostered also by other right-wing groups (e.g. the organisation of the New Right – Noua Dreaptă ). Today, the phrase " Bessarabia, Romanian land " ( Basarabia, pământ românesc , with several variations)

1872-561: The tide of the war turned. After the war, Romania regained the Transylvanian territories lost to Hungary, but not territory lost to Bulgaria or the Soviet Union. In 1948 a treaty between the Soviet Union and Soviet-occupied Communist Romania also provided for the transfer of four uninhabited islands to the Soviet Union, three in the Danube Delta and Snake Island in the Black Sea . After

1920-510: The town. Focșanii Munteni was also joined with Focșani on the Moldavian side, becoming the seat of Putna County . The buildings in Râmnicu Sărat in which the county institutions functioned were properly purchased and equipped until 1900. In 1938, the county was disestablished and incorporated into the newly formed Ținutul Dunării , but it was re-established in 1940 after the fall of Carol II 's regime - only to be abolished on 6 September 1950 by

1968-477: The twentieth century was a typical example of ethnocentric nationalism. The concept of "Greater Romania" shows similarities to the idea of national state. The Romanian territorial claims were based on "primordial racial modalities" , the essential goal of them was to unify the biologically defined Romanians. The nation-building based on the French model of a unitary nation-state became an all time priority especially in

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2016-468: The war of independence, by those responsible for the national renaissance. It is the day of the union of all branches of our nation. Today we are able to complete the task of our forefathers and to establish forever that which Michael the Great was only able to establish for a moment, namely, a Romanian union on both slopes of the Carpathians. For us the mountains and plains of Bukowina, where Stephen

2064-502: The war, the concept was interpreted as "obsolete" because of the Romanian defeat. However, even the Communist politicians between 1944 and 1947 plainly supported the re-establishment of Greater Romania. Gheorghe Apostol 's reminiscence strengthens the view for the nationalist argument of the Communists at the negotiations with Stalin about the future of Northern Transylvania. In contrast with this view, Romsics quotes Valter Roman , one of

2112-420: The year 1930, the territory of the county was administratively divided into three districts: After the administrative-territorial reorganization of the county in 1938 it contained five districts: According to the 1930 census data, the county population was 184,956 inhabitants, ethnically divided as follows: 96.3% Romanians, 2.7% Romanies, 0.6% Jews, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view,

2160-429: The year. Bucharest admitted the existence of the two Romanian states (Romania and Moldova) and defined priorities in reference to this matter: "the creation of a common cultural space; the creation of an economically integrated zone; and gradual political integration" . The Moldovan Snegur government became more pragmatic and realized that the nationalist propaganda from Bucharest did not help their aims especially on

2208-473: Was seen as the 'true', whole Romanian state, or, as Tom Gallagher states, the " Holy Grail of Romanian nationalism". Its constitution, proclaimed in 1923, "largely ignored the new ethnic and cultural realities". The Romanian ideology changed due to the demographic, cultural and social alterations, however the nationalist desire for a homogeneous Romanian state conflicted with the multiethnic, multicultural truth of Greater Romania. The ideological rewriting of

2256-477: Was the series of political unifications the Kingdom of Romania had with several of the so-called Romanian historical regions , starting with Bessarabia on 27 March 1918 , continuing with Bukovina on 28 November 1918 and finalizing with Transylvania (on its broad meaning) on 1 December 1918 with the declaration of the union of this region with Romania during an assembly at the city of Alba Iulia . Romanians also consider several other events as preludes to

2304-556: Was to establish the United Principalities by uniting Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859, which became known as Romania since the 1866 Constitution and turned into a Kingdom in 1881, after gaining independence from the Ottoman Empire . However, before the Austro-Hungarian Compromise , the elite of the Transylvanian Romanians did not support the concept of "Greater Romania", instead they wanted only equality with

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