Keyword: «ion antonescu»

The article is concerned with the history of Russian-Romanian relations in the first half of the 20th century, which developed under the decisive influence of the "Bessarabian question" and the changing configuration of the great powers. The author claims that after the collapse of the empires and the annexation of Bessarabia by Romania (1918), relations between the USSR and Romania were severed and remained frozen within the framework of the Versailles system, where Romania relied on an alliance with France, and the USSR sought collective security. The survey focuses on the short-term normalization (1934, the entry of both countries into the League of Nations), which did not resolve the territorial dispute. The author emphasizes that the decisive turning point came after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact (1939), when the Soviet-German conspiracy brought the Bessarabian issue out of the control of European diplomacy. The study suggests a retrospective approach to the adequate treatment of the current Russian-Romanian relations.