Bessarabia's Annexation: Impact and Legacy of USSR Ultimatum
Today marks 84 years since Bessarabia was annexed by the former USSR. On June 26, 1940, the Soviet Union issued an ultimatum to Romania, demanding the evacuation of civilian administration and the Romanian army from the territory between the Prut and Dniester rivers, known as Bessarabia.
On June 28, 1940, the Red Army occupied Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and the Hertsa region. This occurred less than a year after the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between the former USSR and Nazi Germany, which included secret clauses dividing Eastern Europe's spheres of influence. The Soviet Union claimed Bessarabia due to its annexation by the former Russian Empire in 1812 and reunification with Romania in 1918.
Aurelia Felea, a historian from the National Archives Agency, recounted for Moldova 1 that these events were tragic for our people.
"Efrosenia Kersnovskaia, a renowned memoirist, informed us that she learned about the Soviet claims via radio on June 26 and found Soviet soldiers in her own household on June 28, without a transition period, without a real opportunity for civilised evacuation. One of the tragic consequences of these events was the breakup of families; some remained in Bessarabia, while others had to leave, and these separations sometimes lasted for decades," Aurelia Felea recounted.
After the Romanian administration withdrew from the territory between the Prut and Dniester rivers, the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was established here. However, the southern part of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina were annexed to the Ukrainian SSR. In return, the new Soviet republic was allocated a narrow strip of territory on the left bank of the Dniester, known today as the Transnistrian region. Less than a year later, Stalinist deportations began here, and on June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany, along with the Romanian army, attacked the former USSR. The territory of the Republic of Moldova reverted to Romania's composition for nearly three years, after which it became part of the USSR until its dissolution in 1991, when it gained independence.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
