Anarchism in Romania developed in the 1880s
within the larger Romanian socialist movement
and it had a small following throughout all
the existence of the Kingdom of Romania. After
the Romanian Communist Party takeover in 1947,
no other alternative political movement was
allowed, so the anarchist movement faded away.
Since the Romanian Revolution, a number of
small anarchist organizations were created,
but anarchism is still less visible than in
Western Europe.
== Forerunners ==
The earliest known Romanian anarchist was
Zamfir Arbore, a Bukovina-born political activist
who was originally active in the Russian Empire,
before fleeing to Switzerland, where he met
Mikhail Bakunin toward the end of his career.
Nevertheless, Arbore was an isolated case,
he was not part of any active movement in
Romania.Another forerunner of Romanian anarchism
was Paraskev Stoyanov, of Bulgarian origin,
born in 1871 (or 1874) in Giurgiu, where his
father, an active campaigner for national
liberation, had fled Turkish persecution.
Stoyanov had a solid education and became
a surgeon. After primary school in Bucharest,
he adhered to socialist ideas through high
school, then to anarchism after reading Peter
Kropotkin's pamphlet "An Appeal To The Young".
Thus, in high school, he founded book clubs
for students studying socialism and anarchism
and began to spread anarchism among the workers
in Romania, coming to be considered the "father"
of anarchism in the country. He translated
into Romanian Errico Malatesta's numerous
pamphlets, including "For The Voters", "Between
Peasants " and "Anarchy".
== Anarchism in the Old Kingdom ==
Starting with the 1880s, in the Romanian Old
Kingdom, there were socialist movements in
Bucharest and in Iași, with the former being
more radical, having some anarchist tendencies.
Between 1884 and 1890, a social studies circle
named "Drepturile omului" (Human Rights),
discussing the ideas of Bakunin, Élisée
Reclus and Peter Kropotkin, ideas brought
to Romania by people who studied in Western
Europe. A reorganization of the movement by
Ioan Nădejde stopped the anarchist tendencies
which, nevertheless, persisted within the
movement, the main figure being Panait Mușoiu.The
propaganda of the deed of the French anarchists
led to the Romanian socialists such as Constantin
Dobrogeanu-Gherea to write articles in which
they distance themselves from the anarchists.
Muşoiu was eventually purged by Nădejde
and left Bucharest for Galați, where he was
also expelled from the local socialist club.Romania's
secret police, Siguranța, began monitoring
the anarchists, the authorities being concerned
by the rise of this ideology. In 1904, Romania
was among the signers of a secret anti-anarchist
treaty, through which they set up a system
of sharing information on the whereabout of
known anarchists.Together with Panait Zosin,
Mușoiu edited Revista Ideei (Idea's Magazine)
which translated, apart from Classical Greek
philosophers and Socialist works, the works
of anarchists such as Bakunin and Kropotkin,
as well as individualist anarchists such as
Max Stirner, Han Ryner and Henry David Thoreau.
Apart from the circle which met at Mușoiu's
house, there was a faction at meetings of
the socialists in Piața Amzei and in 1907
an anarchist circle in Ploiești called Râvna
("eagerness") and later Cercul Libertar ("Libertarian
Circle").The Siguranța compiled in 1907 two
lists of anarchists: first was a list of 20
anarchist activists and second, a list of
50 public servants who were subscribed to
Revista Ideei. A report of the secret police
argued that the propaganda of the anarchists
contributed to the 1907 Romanian Peasants'
Revolt. As example is given a certain village
teacher, Nicolăescu-Cranta, a friend of Mușoiu,
who contributed to the start of the revolts
through the speeches he gave to the peasants.
In 1909, a railroad worker made an assassination
attempt against Prime Minister Ion I. C. Brătianu,
possibly under the influence of the propaganda
of the deed ideas.
== Anarchism in Interbellum Romania ==
After the First World War, anarchism was no
longer considered the main threat by the Siguranță,
being replaced with another type of revolutionary
threat: Soviet-inspired communism.During this
era, the most influential Romanian anarchist
being Eugen Relgis, who was the founder of
Mișcarea Umanitaristă ("Humanitarian Movement"),
the non-doctrinal pacifist manifest of which
was signed by Relgis together with other six
people, including Muşoiu. The movement's
newspaper Umanitaristul had obvious libertarian
influences, including works of Han Ryner or
Domela Nieuwenhuis. It received a donation
from Émile Armand, Relgis translating one
of his works. Between 1924 and 1932, the movement
had 24 centre of supporters.Also, in the 1930s,
several other libertarian groups were active.
One of these, in Czernowitz, (Bukovina), was
initiated by Naftali Schnapp, promoting revolutionary
syndicalism. In the absence of the possibility
of creating real unions and facing severe
repression, the group of Czernowitz was established
as an "Anarcho-Syndicalist Propaganda Organization",
becoming the Romanian section of the IWA (International
Workers Association). According to the data
about the members of the International, the
organization had around 200 members in 1930.
== Anarchism in contemporary Romania ==
During the 2000s, a number of anarchists began
organizing in Romania for the first time after
the revolution. The anarchists occupied several
squats, they organized a "Food Not Bombs"
campaign (distributing free vegetarian food
in poor neighbourhoods), they spread fliers
against fast-food and ripped neonazi posters
from public places. In a few instances (in
Bucharest and Timișoara), there have been
fights with the Noua Dreaptă neonazis, who
had gone into their underground clubs during
concerts.In November 2006, a number of 100
anarchists participated in the first anti-fascist
march in Bucharest, holding red and black
banners. In June 2007, a group of 20 anarchists
showed up at a march against homosexuality
organized the Neo-Nazi organization Noua Dreaptă,
but they were arrested by the gendarmes for
holding an unauthorized protest.Anarchists
are one of the groups that are monitored by
the Romanian Intelligence Service, including
on online forums.During the 2008 Bucharest
NATO summit, the government prepared a repression
of anarchists who might have protested against
NATO and militarism. Six German anarchists
were disallowed to enter Romania. Anti-globalization
activists rented an industrial hall where
they intended to spray paint banners which
they wanted to use in the protests against
NATO. The police arrested 56 anti-globalization
activists who were later released without
charges. Some of the arrested people complained
that they were beaten up by the police.
== Contemporary groups ==
Currently, in Romania there are several anarchist
organizations, including:
Ravna ("Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative ") based
in Constanța
Biblioteca Alternativă din București ("Alternative
Library of Bucharest"), a cultural centre
promoting anarchist ideas
Grupul pentru Acțiune Socială ("The Group
for Social Action") based in Cluj.
== References ==
== External links ==
(in Romanian) Revista Ideei archives
(in Romanian) Ravna
(in Romanian) Biblioteca Alternativă din
București
(in Romanian) Federația Anarhistă
