Imaginarul identității și alterității în mediul nobilimii din Basarabia în secolul al XIX-lea [Articol]

Abstract

The Bessarabian nobility got actively involved in the tsarist administrative system in order to benefit from the rights and privileges of this specific social category, but it also reserved its national identity. This fact is confirmed by the archival data, writings, notes and comments of the domestic and foreign contemporaries. The manifestation of national identity was realized by: keeping the old titulature; the use of signatures in Moldavian paleography; endless conflicts with the representatives of imperial administration and tsarist army; negative attitude towards the allogeneous employment in various social and political fields; the fight for the domestic legislation, the language, Romanian customs and traditions; communication in the Romanian language; listening to the fiddler music etc. So, the nobility had an important role in the process of promotion of national identity and consciousness; the villagers preserved the Romanian ethos but the nobility rose up personalities: who boosted the unity with the motherland Romania, who proved Latin and Romanian character in Bessarabia, that its true language is Romanian and the history is common with the one of Principality of Moldavia before the annexation