The Problem of the Appurtenance of Dobruja Region, 1913-1940
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The problem of the appurtenance of Dobruja region, 1913-1940: Bulgarian and Romanian methods of claiming rights over the territory By Ana-Teodora Kurkina Submitted to Central European University History Department In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Supervisor: Professor Balazs Trencsenyi Second Reader: Professor Constantin Iordachi CEU eTD Collection Budapest, Hungary 2013 i Copyright of the text of the thesis remains with the Author. Copies by any process, either in full or part, can be made only in accordance with the instructions given by the Author and lodged in the Central European library. Details may be obtained from the librarian. This page should form a part of any such copies made. Further copies made in accordance with these instructions may not be made without the written permission of the Author. CEU eTD Collection ii Abstract The focus of the current thesis is the evaluation of the propaganda strategies employed by the Romanian and the Bulgarian side in justifying their claims over Dobruja region in 1913-1940. The Dobrujan question, first emerging after the signing of the Treaty of Berlin in 1878, became a vital issue in the Romanian-Bulgarian relations once again after the second Balkan war and the Romanian occupation of the Southern part of the region, Cadrilater. A territorial exchange that followed transformed the province into the playground for the Bulgarian and Romanian nationalistic propaganda, featuring the competing state and nation-building projects, modernization programs and legitimization of the territorial rights. In the research, the process of claiming the rights is seen through the texts produced by the participants of the territorial debate from both sides. Their views are explored as important evidence reflecting the Bulgarian and Romanian policies in the region and their interactions with Great Powers. The thesis states that the result of the division of the region depended mostly not on the skills of the participants, but on the external influence that brought the end to Greater Romania and reshaped the political map after the Second World War. CEU eTD Collection iii Acknowledgments My acknowledgements are split and go in seven parts – to the professors and to my colleagues- students, whose personal assistance and written works helped me greatly to accomplish the thesis. I deeply owe to: Professor Balazs Trencsenyi, my supervisor, whose advice and critique guided me through the paths of the Romanian and Bulgarian nationalistic discourses Professor Constantin Iordachi, my second reader, whose works and personal instructions pushed me to improve my thesis Professor Roumen Daskalov, who was always ready to provide me with recommendations, suggestions and help in dealing with my Bulgarian sources and my colleagues, friends and supporters Vedran Bileta, my soul-mate, who spent his last days with me editing my text and sacrificing the time of his life Ana Sekulic, whose encouragement, support and food supplies proved to be very helpful in the writing process Tamas Kisbali, who had patience to read my texts and help me to produce readable translations And last, but not the least Evren Sunnetcioglu, who brought me his computer in the hours of dire need CEU eTD Collection iv Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter I. Theory, propaganda and integration: approaching Dobruja. ................................ 9 1. Concepts and terminology. ................................................................................................................... 9 2. Literature review. ................................................................................................................................ 24 3. General theoretical framework. ........................................................................................................... 30 Chapter II. Romanian and Bulgarian nationalisms, nation-building strategies and their application in Dobruja, 1913-1940. ............................................................................................ 35 1. Contesting culture and transforming identities: Bulgarian and Romanian state projects. .................. 38 2. Shifting ethnical boundaries: homogenization processes in the region. ............................................ 48 Chapter III. The Dobrujan dispute 1913-1940: claiming rights over the territory and creating propaganda. .................................................................................................................. 55 1. Exploring the roles of the participants: the voices of individuals in the making of the dispute .......... 57 2. Conceptualizing the borders of Bulgarian and Romanian nationalism: re-constructing history, national identity, religious boundaries and linguistic ties. ...................................................................... 64 3. Creating images of one another: “The war of caricatures” ................................................................ 77 Chapter IV. Foreign audience and paths to modernization in the public sphere. Conductors or observers? ................................................................................................................................ 83 1. Taking sides: the international reaction and its outcomes. ................................................................. 86 2. Administering Dobruja: foreign policy goals and propagandistic methods applied. ......................... 97 3. Shaping modernity: the results of Romanian and Bulgarian justification of the claims over Dobruja. ............................................................................................................................................................... 103 Conclusions. Dobruja reshaped. .............................................................................................. 106 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 110 CEU eTD Collection v Introduction "Аз съм готов за целта да употребя всичките страшни средства, освен подлостта и лъжата, защото преди всичко трябва да сме човеци, после вече българи и патриоти." Христо Ботев “To reach the aim I am ready to employ all the horrible measures, except for treachery and treason, since we are humans first, and only after that Bulgarians and patriots.” Hristo Botev A relatively narrow strip of land stretching from the Black Sea to the Lower Danube, Dobruja remains a region with its distinct social, geographical and cultural landscape.12 Describing the highly individualized character of the province, Constantin Iordachi points out that “from the 15th century, Dobrogea functioned as a borderland of the Ottoman Empire and one of the most advanced Muslim military bastions in Southeastern Europe. Between 1768 and 1878, the province served as a transit corridor and military battlefield in the long series of Russian-Turkish wars”.3 The author also admits that, probably, the most distinct characteristic of Dobruja was its Ottoman legacy expressed in its multinational character,4 the peculiar feature of the province that would make it an uneasy target for the competing nation-building projects of Romania and Bulgaria from 1878 up to the beginning of the Second World War. The Ottoman control over Dobruja lasted until 1878, when the Great Powers at the congress of Berlin passed the region with the Danube Delta to Romania, the Southern part of the CEU eTD Collection land remaining with the newly established Bulgaria. In return for the new possession, Romania 1 G. Danescu, Dobrogea (La Dobroudja). Étude de Géographie physique et ethnographique, Bucarest, 1903, p.16 2 Even the name of the territory itself is spelled differently in Romanian (Dobrogea), Bulgarian (Добруджа), Turkish (Dobruca), German (Dobrudscha), French (Dobroudja) and English (Dobruja). In order to avoid misinterpretation in this text the English version is used predominantly with the exception of the quoted material. 3 Constantin Iordachi, Citizenship, Nation and State-Building: The Integration of Northern Dobrogea into Romania, Pittsburg, 2002, p. 1. 4 Ibidem 1 had to cede Bessarabia to Russia;5 this requirement, however, aroused great controversy in the circles of the Romanian political elite. Frederick Kellogg notes that Romanian Foreign Minister Mihail Kogalniceanu viewed Dobruja as primarily a boundary that could keep Russia away from the Danube, while Ion Bratianu saw it as a vital region for free navigation on the Danube.6 Comparing the strategic value of Northern Dobruja to that of Southern Bessarabia, Romanian politicians had to consider the bigger territorial gains as well as the mixed character of the population and social and political tensions in the region. After the Treaty of Berlin, the territory held by Bulgaria was reduced, moving the Romanian-Bulgarian frontier to Silistra. Antonina Kuzmanova briefly describes the political situation in the area before 1913, underlining that Romanian foreign policy strategies regarding the newly received province and its population quickly turned from uncertainty and vague positive and negative reactions towards the aggressive attempts of “Romanization” while Bulgaria, especially during the regime of Stambolov (1886-1894)7 tried to reverse the effects of the Berlin treaty, going back to the conditions of the treaty of San-Stefano.8