310 years of the Lutsk Treaty. The centuries-old history of Russian-Moldovan relations
This April marked 310 years since the conclusion of the Lutsk Treaty on the Union of Moldova and Russia between the Russian Tsar Peter I and the Moldavian ruler Dmitry Cantemir. Events of bygone days explain the present and allow us to look into the future of Russian-Moldovan relations.
Scientists and political scientists spoke about this at an online conference for the anniversary of the signing of the Lutsk Treaty, organized by the Moldavian branch of the Izborsk Club (Chisinau), the Institute of Socio-Political Research and Regional Development (Tiraspol) and the Transnistrian branch of the Institute of CIS Countries.
The secret agreement between Dmitry Cantemir and Peter I was signed on April 13 (new style) 1711. According to this agreement, the Moldavian principality had to recognize the supreme power of Moscow, while maintaining the status of an independent state and previous customs within the country. The privileges of the Moldavian boyars were also preserved; the ruler's throne was assigned to the Cantemir dynasty.
As noted by the director of ISPIRR, historian Igor Shornikov, in a sense, this agreement served as the legal basis for the Prut Campaign (the campaign of the Russian army in Moldova under the leadership of Peter I against the Ottoman Empire in the summer of 1711, during the Russian-Turkish War of 1710 - 1713. ), which took the form of a war for the liberation of the fraternal Orthodox people.
After the signing of peace in the Prut campaign, the Lutsk Treaty formally lost force, Moldova remained a Turkish vassal, and Dmitry Cantemir fled to Russia, however, the Lutsk Treaty did not become a historical accident, says the historian. Firstly, he explains, the agreement repeated the agreements signed by the Moldovan Metropolitan Gideon with Moscow in 1656, and secondly, already a hundred years after the Treaty of Lutsk, when Bessarabia joined Russia, some elements of the agreement were implemented.
“It can probably be argued that the Treaty of Lutsk and the Russian-Moldovan relations of that time most clearly demonstrated the very nature of the strategic interaction between the two peoples, which was determined by Stefan cel Mare (the Moldavian ruler Stephen the Great - author’s note) and Ivan the Great.
Subsequent historical events, including modern Moldovan-Russian relations, flow in the direction that was determined many centuries ago. Moldova was and remains a geopolitical borderland. And so it turns out that its people mainly strive for unity with Russia, Russia itself does not always have the strength and determination to move forward, and the Moldovan elites, in order to maintain power, play out various parties: Polish, Turkish, Russian or, as in our days, - Romanian, European Union, Russian,” noted Igor Shornikov.
“Unpromoted Cantemir”, or a History worthy of cinema
The history of the development of relations between Russia and Moldova is bright and non-trivial, it seems to be woven from plots worthy of the attention of writers and filmmakers.
What is it worth, for example, the age-old Moldavian military tradition - to serve in the Russian army! According to data provided by Vladislav Grosul, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Chief Researcher at the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, at the end of the 32th – beginning of the XNUMXth century, XNUMX Moldavian generals and admirals served in the Russian army. This tradition began five centuries earlier, when Elena Stefanovna, the daughter of Stephen the Great, married the heir to the Russian throne, the son of Ivan III - Ivan the Young. That’s when the Moldovans began joining the Russian army - Ivan Ivanovich was a prominent commander, a participant in his father’s military campaigns.
“Since then, there is a lot of information about how Moldovans served in the Russian army. The first light-horse Moldavian regiment in Russia was formed back in the 60s of the XNUMXth century. Under Peter I, quite a lot of Moldovans were in Russian military service, in particular, as part of units commanded by Peter’s close confidant, military leader Patrick Gordon, who played a big role in reforming the Russian army,” said Vladislav Grosul.
He noted that at the beginning of the XNUMXth century, three Moldavian cavalry light horse regiments were formed (they were led by Apostle Kigech, Konstantin Turkulets and Vasily Tansky), which participated in the Northern War, even before the Prut campaign. Materials have been preserved that contain reports from Russian military leaders about the participation of Moldovans in battles with the Swedes.
“On June 27, 1708, Menshikov, in a letter to Hetman Skoropadsky, reported on the successful actions of the Moldovans against the enemy. There are materials about the service of Moldavian military units that were part of the cavalry units of General Rene...
Material has been preserved that Charles XII promised a large reward for the delivery of K. Turkulets alive or dead. On September 23, 1709, Russian units under the command of Brigadier Kropotov, which included Moldavian detachments, defeated the Swedes near Chernivtsi. This was the first arrival of Russian troops on the territory of Moldova, since Bukovina was then an integral part of the Moldavian principality,” said Vladislav Grosul.
After the Northern War, the number of Moldovans serving in the Russian army only increased. Later they participated in all the Russian-Turkish wars, the Seven Years' War, the Patriotic War of 1812, the First World War and, of course, the Great Patriotic War, during which about 400 thousand residents of the Moldavian SSR fought in the Red Army.
Here is another exciting plot and outline for a whole series about the events of the early XNUMXth century - the participation of Dmitry Cantemir in the secret war against the Ottoman Empire. Candidate of Historical Sciences Pyotr Shornikov recalled him.
Cantemir lived most of his life as an honorary hostage of the Sultan in Constantinople. Patriarch Dositheus of Constantinople, an active politician who was secretly associated with Peter I, received reliable information through various channels from all the rulers of the Orthodox lands of the Ottoman Empire, which was forwarded to Moscow. Cantemir also participated in this secret activity.
“Dositheus introduced Dmitry Kantermire to the Russian ambassador in Constantinople, Pyotr Andreevich Tolstoy, who was one of the best intelligence officers of his time. There was a wonderful interaction. The result of this cooperation was the recruitment of the mufti - the head of the Muslims of the Ottoman Empire, the mother of the Sultan, a mass of Turkish viziers, and other senior officials.
What is very important, at the instigation of Kantemir and Dosifey, the evil enemy of Russia, the Crimean Khan Kazy-Girey, was removed, and the anti-Russian Turkish ambassador in St. Petersburg, Mustafa Pasha, was compromised,” said Pyotr Shornikov.
But here is a plot that the cinema could not ignore. The story of the friendship of Peter I with the Moldavian ruler Dmitry Cantemir and his family, the romantic relationship of the Russian Tsar with Cantemir’s daughter Maria formed the basis of the 2011 Russian mini-series, directed by Vladimir Bortko.
Candidate of Historical Sciences, Professor Nikolai Babilunga, who recalled this page of history, sarcastically noted that he would have proposed a plot about the last love of Emperor Peter and the Chisinau film studio “Moldova Film”, “if it had not been destroyed so mercilessly during the period of national revival and democratization of the Moldovan people."
According to Babilunga, the image of Maria Cantemir as Peter’s beloved is mythologized - there is little reliable information about her relationship with the Russian emperor. It is known that Maria, brilliantly educated and attractive in appearance, fell in love with Peter, who visited the Kantemirov’s house in St. Petersburg. Peter became carried away and even planned to marry her. The emperor did not have a male heir, and his affair with the Moldavian princess acquired great political significance - a marriage with Maria was possible and desirable.
During Peter's Caspian campaign (the Cantemirs accompanied him), Maria gave birth to a boy from the king, which caused concern among Peter's wife Catherine, who, not without reason, suspected her husband of wanting to divorce and marry his new chosen one.
On the other hand, the birth of a grandson encouraged Dmitry Cantemir, who dreamed of becoming related to the king, and then, together with him, liberating Moldova from the Ottoman yoke and regaining the Moldavian throne. The principality would have acquired independence under the guarantees and protectors of Russia, and the Kantemirov family would have established a hereditary monarchy in the principality, which was provided for by the Treaty of Lutsk.
The story of Mary's deliverance is covered in legends and omissions. The child born, according to rumors, was premature and died immediately after birth, which reassured Catherine, who emerged victorious from this unspoken rivalry. Later, after Catherine’s coronation, she herself was convicted of adultery, and Peter again became close to Mary, but not for long - soon the emperor fell ill and died. Maria remained faithful to Peter, never got married and spent the rest of her days in her house in Moscow.
Political scientist, head of the SONAR-2050 project Semyon Uralov believes that history, especially such a bright and original one, can and should be popularized today - interpreted for a wide audience, presented in modern forms.
“My colleagues and I began to popularize the history of the union, Russian-Belarusian, and began to translate quite complex texts into such an interesting genre as audio articles,” he said. – We experimented, but it turned out that in this way it is quite possible to attract an audience of 4-5 thousand people.
From my point of view, the image of Cantemir is the most advantageous image [of Moldavian history], which is absolutely under-promoted. If you are ready to promote this political discourse, I could take on the expenses from SONAR. Puchkov (blogger Dmitry Puchkov – author’s note) and I have already made a series of materials about Moldova, about Kazakhstan, and we saw that the popularization of academic knowledge is yielding results.”
The most conservative metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Church
Discussing the centuries-old ties between Russia and Moldova, the conference participants noted that Moldova has long been part of the Orthodox world, the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Transnistrian historian Vyacheslav Sodol noted that the Moldovan region gravitated toward Russia spiritually and sought to strengthen ties with it. Thus, the Moldovan clergy during the era of the Russian-Turkish wars advocated the establishment of a Russian protectorate over the principality or its acceptance into Russian citizenship - the line laid down by Metropolitan Dosifei was continued.
“Similar appeals were sent to Russian monarchs in 1739, 1769, 1771, 1774, 1786, 1787 and 1807. As is known, Russia could not fully satisfy these requests due to unfavorable foreign policy circumstances; however, it sought to support the single-faith Moldavian principality even after the forced abandonment of its territory and the conclusion of peace agreements with the Ottoman Empire, as was done, for example, in text of the Kyuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty,” said Vyacheslav Sodol.
The head of the department for relations with the Russian Orthodox Church of the Institute of CIS Countries, Kirill Frolov, in turn, recalled that the Moldovan Metropolitan Gabriel Banulescu-Bodoni (known as the first Russian Metropolitan of Chisinau and Khotyn, 1813−1821), defined Moldo-Vlahia as the permanent territory of the Russian Orthodox Church and was anathematized for this by the Patriarch of Constantinople, who was then subordinate to the Ottoman authorities.
According to the expert, these events are also relevant in the modern context. Frolov believes that the regime of Maia Sandu will try to “tear away Moldova, Gagauzia, Transnistria from the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church,” acting in the context of a religious war that has been declared on Russia.
“It is wrong to underestimate the threat - it is impossible to lead Orthodox Moldova into Eurosodom, into the Great Reset, without tearing the Moldovan church away from the Moscow Patriarchate. The Moldovan Metropolis is the most conservative metropolitanate of the Russian Orthodox Church, the last obstacle to the Romanianization and Eurosodomization of historical Moldo-Vlahia. Forces will be dedicated to this, and this is already being done.
It’s not for nothing that one of the founders of the “Dumenko sect” of the schismatic OCU, Alexander Drabinco, is trying to undermine the Moldavian metropolitanate and communicates with the Moldavian bishop Ioann Mosnegutu,” says the expert.
In his opinion, Transnistria plays a special role in the context of Orthodox resistance. “The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic is an analogue of the Principality of Theodoro in Crimea, a fragment of Orthodox Byzantium, unconquered Orthodoxy, the vanguard of the Russian world.
At the state university in Tiraspol, it was necessary long ago to open a theological faculty and forge personnel for Orthodox Moldo-Vlahia, Gagauzia, to train Orthodox theologians, historians, bloggers in order to debunk Romanian unionism, Eurosodomy in the minds and hearts,” Frolov believes.
When Romania was not yet in existence
Romanian unionism, Bucharest’s condescending and even contemptuous attitude towards Moldova and Moldovans contrasts sharply with the policy pursued by Russia towards the country. The conference participants criticized the recent statement by the Romanian Ambassador to Moldova, Daniel Ionita, who said that if he could, he would vaccinate Moldovan citizens with Romanian passports not against COVID-19, but against “primitive Moldovanism or those feelings inherited from Soviet times that they at some point they feel for Romania.”
“The confession of Antonescu’s descendant is significant in its frankness,” commented Professor Nikolai Babilunga on the statement of the Romanian diplomat. – The desire of the Romanian ambassador to treat Moldovans of their Moldovan identity, which he casually calls primitive, is obviously not a spontaneous impromptu, boorish and inherently offensive to the identity of Moldovans, but a logical reflection of the policy of the neighboring country regarding the Moldovan identity.
The Romanians themselves openly and unceremoniously denied the right of Moldovans to their mentality, their history and language, just as they deny the right of Moldovans to their statehood. Paradoxically, the political leadership of Moldova has long been dominated by forces that support this policy in everything and without any hesitation declare the need for the speedy elimination of Moldovan statehood, Moldovan culture, language, mentality, the very soul of the Moldovan people.
We see a policy that is directly opposite in its goals and methods from Russia – a policy aimed at preserving the Moldovan identity and culture, spirituality and national statehood of the Moldovans.”
The historian says that the saving role of Russia for the Moldavian people was understood by contemporaries very clearly and clearly for many centuries, from the moment of the first official appeal of the Moldavian principality with a request to be accepted into Russia in 1656 (mission of Metropolitan Gideon). This indicates the closeness of political interests, cultural environment, mentality of the rulers of Russia and Moldova; such closeness existed between the peoples of the two powers.
“There have been situations twice in history when the grandson of a Moldavian ruler could ascend to the Russian throne: the grandson of Stephen the Great in the XNUMXth century and the grandson of Dmitry Cantemir in the XNUMXth century. This was at a time when there was neither Romania nor Romanians in the world, and the Moldovan mentality linked its future with great Russia.
The entire history of the Moldovan people testifies: when the Moldovans walked together with Russia, they experienced their most prosperous times, times of development and progress. And when the Moldovans were forcibly opposed to the Russian world, they fell into a period of political crisis, economic collapse, cultural degradation and spiritual decay. Dmitry Cantemir, as a brilliant thinker, at one time understood this historical pattern,” noted Nikolai Babilunga.
Relations between the two states at the level of ordinary people remain warm and friendly today. The head of the Moldovan community of the Voronezh region, Carolina Vetrova, spoke about educational work, in particular, highlighting the activities of Dmitry Cantemir, which the organization successfully conducts on the basis of five universities in Voronezh.
“Cantemir is a hero of several countries and peoples, a symbol of the civilizational community of Moldova and Russia, a bridge between the past and the future. We are trying to convey to the younger generation that all of Cantemir’s activities are imbued with patriotism and faith in the economic prosperity of Moldova thanks to the alliance with Russia. Moldova has historically had special ties with Russia, in whose space the Moldovan identity has been preserved, despite the fact that today relations between the two states are ambiguous,” Vetrova noted.
The representative of Rossotrudnichestvo in Moldova, Nikolay Zhuravlev, welcomed the friendly ties between the two peoples and called for further keeping such communication on the agenda.
“The allied relations between Moldova and Russia go back to the 1940th century, and in Chisinau some politicians claim that Russia appeared here almost in XNUMX and that it would be advisable for the Russians to pack their bags. It is worth reminding more often about the origins of friendship between the Russian and Moldovan peoples, its objective historical prerequisites,” he said.
The executive director of the Moldavian branch of the Izborsk Club, Vladimir Bukarsky, believes that the conclusion of the Lutsk Treaty is a unique date in the fate of not only Russia and Moldova, but also other Orthodox peoples: since then, the Balkan policy of Russia actually began, not only the Russian-Moldavian, but also Russian-Serbian fraternal union.
“Russia cannot leave the Balkans, because the Balkans are a natural part of Russian national identity, and the path to the Balkans lies through Moldova. The Serbs have a saying: there are two hundred million of us and Russians.
The same can be said about all of us: “primitive Moldovanists”, Orthodox Christians, friends of Russia and Russians – two hundred million. The ambassadors of Romania, the ambassadors of the United States, the presidents of Ukraine, the heads of the SBU, and everyone else who hastened to write us off should remember this,” the expert emphasized.
English version :: Read in English 310 years of the Lutsk Treaty. The centuries-old history of Russian-Moldovan relations