Founded 1919 | Official languages Russian, Ukrainian | |
The Bessarabian Soviet Socialist Republic or Bessarabian SSR (Russian: Бессарабская Советская Социалистическая Республика, Бессарабская ССР) was a government formed by Bolsheviks as part of their plans to establish control over Bessarabia, which was united with Romania in the course of events after the Russian Revolution of 1917. The state with this name never came into existence, apart from a brief rebellion in September 1924.
History
The BeSSR was proclaimed on May 5, 1919 in Odessa as a "Provisional Workers' and Peasants' Government in exile" and established on May 11, 1919 in Tiraspol as an autonomous part of Russian SFSR. Neither Odessa not Tiraspol were part of historical Bessarabia. The planned territories included Tiraspol uyezd of Kherson Governorate and Balta and Olgopol uyezds of Podolia Governorate. The self-proclaimed government of the Bessarabian SSR never managed to control any part of Bessarabia, which on 9 April 1918 united with Romania. The Union of Bessarabia with Romania was not recognized by Soviet authorities and the proclamation of the Bessarabian SSR was a political measure aimed at preparing a future invasion of Bessarabia by the Red Army.
This "government" had talks with the French military authorities over the military and political settlement but was disbanded in September 1919 after Denikin's army took control of the Odessa region.
The Western European powers recognised the union of Bessarabia and Romania by the Treaty of Paris (1920). However, the United States refused to sign the Treaty on the grounds that Russia was not represented at the Conference. This aided the Soviet Union in its continued desire to retake Bessarabia, which it succeeded in doing twenty years later.