The political parties and significant personalities of the Bessarabian Zemstvo (1869-1917)

This article focuses on some parties and significant personalities who worked in the Bessarabian institution of local self-government – Zemstvo (created in 1869) and contributed to the development of the province. The authors found that some nobles united and formed political parties. Parties of the Zemstvo were groups of persons related to the most influential families from Bessarabia. For some of them the Zemstvo served as a platform on which the nobles could solve their problems. It can be said that the Zemstvo was the “alter ego” of the Bessarabian nobility. As a result, in the political life of Bessarabia two main parties were formed – “Young Bessarabia” (“Molodaya Bessarabiya”) and “Old Greek Party” (Starogrecheskaya”), which succeeded each other at the helm of power. In the early 1880s, the “Old Greek party” finally defeated its rival and gained full power in the Bessarabian Zemstvo administration. Counselors saw in the Bessarabian Zemstvo an important and reliable instrument for committing abuses. For example, the Head of the Orhei Zemstvo Council Cozac embezzled money from the Zemstvo budget. When the fact of the theft was uncovered, and this was written about in the press, Cozac shot himself. Each group of the nobles included not only people related to certain interest in economic and political life of Bessarabia, but also people related by kinship, acting in the family interests. In 1881-1884, 18 of the 52 provincial councelors were relatives: brothers Semigradov (4 people), brothers Krupensky, brothers Sinadino, brothers Dunca, brothers Cotruta (2 people). The Krupensky family was the most influential family in the Bessarabian Zemstvo. The publicist P. Krushevan wrote in this regard that the Krupensky clan usurped all the power in Bessarabia, and the Governor S. Urusov noted their importance in economic and political life of the province. Many members of the Zemstvo left their mark in the economic, political, and spiritual life of Bessarabia. K. Pisarszevsky contributed to the publication of the Bessarabian Zemstvo journal “Vestnik Bessarabskogo Zemstva”. The Lisowski family played the role of opposition to the Krupensky family. Thanks to E. Lisowsky popular education began to develop in the Khotyn District. The representative of the liberal movement Baron A. Stuart played an important role in the creation of the Museum of Zemstvo and a hospital for the mentally ill. A. Cotruta and P. Gore, fighters for national ideals, promoted the idea of introduction of the Romanian language in the political, cultural and social life of Bessarabia.