Partidele parlamentare şi problema comunismului intern şi extern în Adunarea Deputaţilor (1919-1924)
Parliamentary Parties and the Problem of Domestic and International Communism in the House of Deputies (1919-1924)

Summary/Abstract: After WW I, Romanian diplomacy attempted to resume diplomatic relationships with Soviet Russia, but Moscow was not only the capital of USSR but also the city of the third International – an organization which wanted the communization of Europe and of the whole world. Under the circumstances, each gesture made by Russia was analyzed most carefully by the Romanian MPs. Romanian MPs took different attitudes towards Soviet Russia according to circumstantial political interests or to their particular political allegiances. Although all Romanian Socialists were in favour of a future Socialist Republic of Romania, only the supporters of the extreme. left were willing to obey orders from Moscow and follow the Russian lead. The Social-Democrats, on the contrary, believed that only true reforms and political emancipation could bring about the desired political changes. The Peasants’ Party was another left-wing party during the 1930s. Because its members supported the peasants’ right to property, they felt sympathetic towards USSR’s agricultural policy, hoping this would transform Russia into a agrarian democracy. However, the apparent appreciation of Soviet Russia was mainly an aspect of domestic political strategies. The Peasants’ Party MPs from Bassarabia in particular were reticent towards Russia and warned against its expansionist tendencies. The right-wing parties were hostile towards the Communist ideology and their members witnessed with satisfaction each crisis in Soviet Russia. MPs from the Liberal Party (which governed Romania during most of the period covered by the present article) were eager to point out that Romania had no aggressive intentions against Soviet Russia but would, however, respond firmly against any act of aggression initiated by USSR itself. All this because it was felt that the third International had expansionist ambitions as well as territorial claims (in particular, the territories which had belonged to Romania after 1918). From this point of view, Communism and Russia were seen as one and the same force. The Communist movement in Romania was not strong enough to gain power either by force or by parliamentary elections. Besides, all parliamentary parties were aware that the Romanians were hostile, or at least indifferent, to Marxist ideology. Under the circumstances, the large majority of the politicians believed that a threat could only come from outside the country, in particular from Soviet Russia. As a result, hot parliamentary debates took place about the best measures that could be taken against Communist propaganda. The world “bolşevic” was frequently used at the time, often as an insult without any particular political connotation. The first government of unified Romania (1919) was accused by right-wing politicians of too much tolerance towards the Communists.

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