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Matei Donici

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Matei Donici
Donicic. 1870
Born(1847-01-08)8 January 1847
Brănești,Bessarabia Governorate,Russian Empire
Died26 September 1921(1921-09-26)(aged 74)
Tighina,Kingdom of Romania
NationalityRussian (1847–1917)
Romanian (1918–1921)
Occupation(s)Landowner, soldier, poet
Political partyNational Moldavian Party
Moldavian Progressive Party

Matei Donici(Romanian pronunciation:[maˈtejˈdonitʃʲ];Russian:Матвей Степанович Донич,romanized:Matvey Stepanovich Donich;8 January 1847 – 26 September 1921) was aRomanianpoet,Imperial Russian Armygeneral, and politician fromBessarabia.He was born at a time when his native region, as the eastern half ofMoldavia,had been taken over by theRussian Empireand organized into aBessarabia Governorate;his family belonged toMoldavian boyardom,having managed to preserve its estates. Though seeking and obtaining integration within theRussian nobility,the Donicis secretly cultivatedRomanian nationalism,which shaped Matei's own outlook on politics. In the late 1860s, after flunking out of the Russian education system, he spent some time inOdesaand at his Bessarabian manor, composing poetry which spoke ofMoldovansas a subset of the Romanians, and which included an all-out critique ofTsarist autocracy.

Donici tried to shunRussification,but was eventually pushed into a military career, and as such forced to maintain discretion about his nationalist ideals—though he continued to network with members of the emerging Romanian movement, including in particular the landownerVasile Stroescu.Graduating as a cavalry cadet in 1874, Donici saw action with theRoyal Serbian Armyin theSerbian war of independence,and was then drafted for theRusso-Turkish War.Both conflicts also took him to theUnited Principalities(the core state of modern Romania), and allowed him to connect directly with mainstreamRomanian literature.Receiving a head wound and permanent scar in theBattle of Shipka Pass,he continued to advance through the ranks. He was called up as a cavalrycolonelfor theRusso-Japanese War,but was captured by theImperial Japanese Army.In the aftermath, he became a general.

Donici was reactivated politically by the Romanian Bessarabian caucus during theFebruary Revolutionof 1917: already in his seventies, Donici was a founding member of theNational Moldavian Party(PNM) inChișinău,and also affiliated with theMoldavian Progressive Partyin Odesa. The final stages of World War I saw theunion of Bessarabia with Romania;this effort was supported at an international level by his niece, Elena Donici. Donici himself was seen by the PNM ideologueOnisifor Ghibuas a rather incompetent and weak champion of the cause. He lived to see the union, but died shortly after atTighinaas a subject of theRomanian Kingdom.

Origins and childhood

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The Donicis, whose most famous representative was the early-19th-century fabulistAlecu Donici,were a clan of boyars from old Moldavia; they had risen into the aristocracy of the still-independent principality, though, according to scholarPetre V. Haneș,they ultimately originated from Romanian Orthodox parsons of theMoldavian Metropolis.[1]Their first known patriarch, a "son of Done", had already established a presence in the eastern half (future Bessarabia, orMoldova), by marrying a daughter ofOrhei'sPârcălab.On the basis of this and other matrimonial connections, by 1620 the Donicis had acquired major Bessarabian estates, including atClișova,Criuleni,Hrușova,Ișnovăț,Lopatna,Milești,Onișcani,andSlobozia-Dușca.[2]Moldavia was eventuallysegmented in 1812,with the eastern half becoming Russia'sBessarabia Governorate.At the height ofRussification,the family continued to cultivate the Romanian vernacular. As noted by historianȘtefan Ciobanu,Romanian was the language of choice on their tombstones inRîșcanicemetery.[3]

As early as 1814,StolnicMatei Donici, who was the poet's grandfather,[4]had contributed to a letter of protest demanding Bessarabian self-government under aBoyar Divanand theCode of Justinian.[5]After sustained efforts, he managed to obtain recognition for himself and his eight children as also belonging toRussian nobility.[6]Ciobanu sees the Donicis as "one of the few boyar families to have preserved its national characteristics throughout that whole century of foreign dominion."[7]Alecu himself left Bessarabia forWestern Moldavia,which, by the time of his death, hadmerged into a Romanian nation-state,theUnited Principalities.He was therefore a direct contributor toRomanian literature—as Ciobanu assesses, his work therein was specifically Bessarabian, but remained virtually unknown to Bessarabian readers, into the 20th century.[8]

Matei Jr was born on 8 January 1847 (the precise date was published in the 2010s, upon the rediscovery of his birth certificate); he was baptized into theRussian Orthodox Churchon 16 January.[9]His birthplace is known to have been his family's secondary estate inBrănești,Beletsky Uyezd.[10]The son of Ștefan and Ecaterina Donici, who were themselves recognized as Russian nobles only after 1850, he had a two younger brothers, Victor (born November 1850) and Vasile (January 1858), as well as a sister, Ana.[11]Among the historiographers ofRomanian nationalismin Bessarabia,Ion Pelivanargues that the future general must have been nurtured into the nationalist spirit during his early childhood—being a relative of landowners Gheorghe Donici andNicolae Ștefan Casso,both of whom deeply resented Russian rule.[12]

Early biographical records, consulted by Ciobanu, inform that Matei first attended a high school in the regional capital ofChișinău(thenKishinev), but also that he never graduated; he was then sent to avocational schoolinMoscow,but dropped out in 1868.[13]These sources contradict an account by Donici's Romanian friend, Ștefan Dan, who was persuaded that Donici had trained as a lawyer atSaint Petersburg State University,and had planned to set up a practice in Kishinev.[14]Another account, dismissed by historian Gheorghe Bezviconi as "frivolous", contends that in 1863 Casso mandated a sixteen-year-old Donici to make his way into the United Principalities and contact theirDomnitor,Alexandru Ioan Cuza,allegedly to obtain Romanian support for an anti-Russian uprising in Bessarabia.[15]

Poetic output and literary career

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In 1869, Donici was lodging with an uncle inOdesa,before moving back to Brănești.[16]It was at this stage that he met the rich philanthropistVasile Stroescu,who was spearheading the effort to tone down Russification.[17]This interval witnessed Donici's own documented turn toward Romanian nationalism and his debut as a poet. Donici's manuscript works, penned in theLatinate Alpha bet(used in Western Moldavia, as opposed to theRomanian Cyrillic,still favored in Bessarabia), sometimes include self-referential clues that he consciously bravedTsarist autocracyand the risk of being deported toSiberiaif the texts ever fell into the hands of competent authorities.[18]One piece, written at Odesa in August 1869, includes his lament:

At least one work in this succession was meant to be read: it is dedicated to local landowner, Pavel Roseti. Thisidyllrefers to Bessarabian village of Pepenești as inhabited byRomâni vo[i]nici( "stout Romanians" ); it describes the entire Governorate as "the Bessarabian land, whom the Russians have enslaved" (țara Bessarabă, ce[a] de Ruși făcută roabă), and identifies alleastern Moldaviansas "a Christian people, with a Romanian name" (poporul creștinesc [ce] poartă nume românesc).[20]The same work celebrates self-governance, including with its informal institutions, expressing a condescending and nostalgic take on the meetings of village notables at a local pub.[21]Other scattered pieces are more classically idyllic, with melancholy visions of peasant life on theRăutvalley.[22]

Ciobanu argues that, likeAndrei Naccoand the other few Bessarabian poets of his day, Donici was only able to make a minor note of protest against Russification, his own verse remaining unfamiliar to the "wider popular masses". Their literary imprint was a "beautiful deed", an expression of love for the common folk, but of no ultimate consequence.[23]Donici himself pursued a public career in the Russian service. Around 1870, he was accepted by a cavalry school inTver,graduating in 1874.[24]Dan suggests that he was forcefully recruited by theImperial Russian Army,who had been warned about his involvement with the Romanian nationalist movement. In his account, the recruitment appears as a form of punishment and Russification: he notes that Donici spent some seven years inKiev,during which time his ability to speak Romanian declined sharply.[25]

According to Dan, Donici was finally allowed to return to Kishinev, whereupon Stroescu took charge of his education, hiding him in his attic and forcing him to read and reread a text in Romanian, calledVisul Maicii Domnului,thus allowing him to relearn the language.[26]Later that year, Donici volunteered for service inRoyal Serbian Army,and saw action in theSerbian war of independence.[27]He foughtat Aleksinac,after which he recovered in the Romanian capital,Bucharest—where he stirred the curiosity of locals with his language abilities, contrasting his Russian uniform.[28]Dan, who was among those introduced to him at the time, expanded his Romanian reading list, presenting him with works byNicolae Bălcescu,Dimitrie Bolintineanu,andIon Ghica.[29]Donici returned to theBalkansin 1877, when Russia and Romaniafought a waragainst theOttoman Empire(doubling as aRomanian war of independence). He had the rank ofRotmistrin aDragoonsregiment, and took a shrapnel head wound during theBattle of Shipka Pass.By July 1877, he was recovering in Bucharest'sBrâncovenesc Hospital,under V. Ghica's care; he and Dan were reunited, discussing various cultural topics and consulting the poetry ofVasile Alecsandri(Donici kept the latter's book ofRomanian folkloreon his person, making sure that his Russian colleagues would never see it).[30]Before returning to the front, Donici also visited the local art museum and attended premieres at theNational Theater Bucharest,seeing folk dances arranged byGheorghe Moceanu.[31]

Prisoner of Japan and PNM figure

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Advancing through the ranks to that ofColonel,Donici remained marked with a large scar on his forehead.[32]He commanded the 55th Infantry Regiment, based inPodolsk.His final engagements came during theRusso-Japanese Warof 1904–1905: he was captured in theBattle of Mukden,[33]and interned by theImperial Japanese Army.After theTreaty of Portsmouth,he was one of the Russian officers released atVladivostok;[33]he subsequently retired from active duty.[34]By then, his sister Ana, married into theEngalychevfamily, had been found guilty of unspecified crimes and deported into theOlonets Governorate.[35]One of his brothers, Victor, had moved to the newly formedKingdom of Romania.Afflicted byparalytic dementia,in April 1897 he was forcefully committed at a mental institution nearIași.[36]After theFebruary Revolutionof 1917, Matei, who had advanced to the rank of General, reappeared in public life as an affiliate of Pelivan'sNational Moldavian Party(PNM) and attending meetings held organized byCuvânt Moldovenescnewspaper. He struck an unusual figure, being heavily bearded and wearing his general's uniform on the job, and never gave clues that he had been a literary man.[37]

By April 1917, General Donici was presiding over sessions of the PNM Review Board, tasked with drafting a party platform. During these, he personally demanded the "widest autonomy" of Bessarabia with the future Russian state, asked for input from theRomanian Ukrainian community,and voted in favor of organizing a large-scale demonstration by Romanian nationalists in Odesa.[38]The group's ideologue,Onisifor Ghibu,later remarked that Donici had shown up unexpectedly, and had accepted the others' offer to become provisional chairman. The move was ill-advised:

Bun general o fi fost în război bătrânul general Donici, dar ca președinte n-a fost bun. Fără energie, fără știința de conducere a unei adunări, prezența lui era mai mult o piedică pentru decursul ședinței, decât un avantaj. Nu era în stare să conducă nimic, dar suflet avea cinstit, și frumos, și moldovenesc[32] That General Donici might have been a good wartime general, but as a president he failed us. He had no energy, no competence for chairing a meeting, his presence was mostly an obstacle on the meeting's course—not an advantage. He could not preside upon anything whatsoever, but he had an honest soul, a lovely soul, a Moldavian soul

On 5 April 1917, the PNM elected its steering committee, with Stroescu as executive chairman; Donici himself was one of the sixteen regular members of that board.[38]Immediately after his new appointment, Donici announced that he was leaving forTighina (Bender),and from there would cross over into Odesa, to personally organize the nationalists' rally. The news was welcomed by the other PNM activists; Ghibu andPan Halippadrafted the speech that he was supposed to give in support of the Odesa movement.[39]He was in parallel affiliated with theMoldavian Progressive Party,established in Odesa byEmanoil Catelli.[40]

Donici lived to see theunion of Bessarabia with Romaniaand the overall establishment ofGreater Romania,dying on 26 September 1921 at his new home in Tighina.[41]His brother Vasile was still alive in the mid-1920s; Matei had left his papers, including his poetic output, to be published by his niece Elena Donici—she had already spent time in Romania, graduating from theUniversity of Iași—who then handed them to Pelivan.[42]The family was dying out; as one of its final representatives, Elena embraced Romanian nationalism from her place of exile inParis,campaigning for Greater Romania's recognition during theinternational peace conference.[43]A half-Russian relative, the novelist and activistLeon Donici-Dobronravov,also took up similar activities before his death in 1926.[44]

Notes

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  1. ^Haneș, p. 448
  2. ^Gherasim, p. 86
  3. ^Ciobanu, pp. 151, 252–253
  4. ^Ciobanu, p. 254; Gherasim, pp. 87–88
  5. ^Constantinet al.,pp. 86–87, 346–350
  6. ^Gherasim, pp. 86–88
  7. ^Ciobanu, p. 253. See also Gherasim, p. 88
  8. ^Ciobanu, pp. 194–195, 253
  9. ^Gherasim, p. 88
  10. ^Ciobanu, pp. 253–254
  11. ^Gherasim, pp. 87, 88
  12. ^Constantinet al.,p. 119
  13. ^Ciobanu, p. 254
  14. ^Dan, p. 3
  15. ^Gheorghe Bezviconi, "Doi 'Junimiști' din Basarabia", inConvorbiri Literare,Vol. LXXIV, Issues 11–12, November–December 1941, p. 1448. See also Constantinet al.,pp. 274–276
  16. ^Ciobanu, p. 254
  17. ^Dan, p. 3
  18. ^Ciobanu, pp. 255–257
  19. ^Ciobanu, pp. 255–256
  20. ^Ciobanu, p. 258. See also Constantinet al.,p. 120
  21. ^Ciobanu, pp. 258–260
  22. ^Ciobanu, pp. 262–263
  23. ^Ciobanu, p. 263
  24. ^Ciobanu, p. 254
  25. ^Dan, p. 3
  26. ^Dan, pp. 3–4
  27. ^Ciobanu, p. 254; Dan, pp. 3, 4
  28. ^Dan, p. 3
  29. ^Dan, p. 3
  30. ^Dan, pp. 3, 4
  31. ^Dan, p. 4
  32. ^abOnisifor Ghibu,"Documentele continuității. În vîltoarea revoluției rusești (VI)", inVatra,Vol. XXI, Issue 9, September 1991, p. 10
  33. ^ab(in Russian)Проект "Список офицеров и чиновников Российской империи, вернувшихся из плена во Владивосток после подписания русско-японского мира в октябре 1905 г. - январе 1906 г." (два года спустя),published by the Russian State Historical Archive of the Far East, 2022
  34. ^Ciobanu, p. 254
  35. ^Gherasim, p. 88
  36. ^"Ultime informații", inEvenimentul,19 April 1897, p. 3
  37. ^Ciobanu, pp. 253, 254
  38. ^abOnisifor Ghibu,"Trei luni din viața Basarabiei", inSocietatea de Mâine,Vol. 1, Issue 13, July 1924, p. 282
  39. ^Onisifor Ghibu,"Documentele continuității. În vîltoarea revoluției rusești (VI)", inVatra,Vol. XXI, Issue 10, October 1991, p. 11
  40. ^Ioan Răducea, "File de istorie. Românii din Bugeac", inSud-Vest. Almanah Istorico-cultural în Limba Română pentru Cititorii din Sudul Basarabiei,Vol. I, Issue 2, September 2012, p. 3
  41. ^Ciobanu, p. 254
  42. ^Ciobanu, pp. 253, 254–255; Constantinet al.,p. 138
  43. ^Ciobanu, p. 253. See also Constantinet al.,pp. 119, 274–275, 280–281, 397, 406–408
  44. ^Haneș, pp. 448–449

References

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  • Ștefan Ciobanu,Cultura românească în Basarabia sub stăpânirea rusă.Chișinău: Editura Asociației Uniunea Culturală Bisericească, 1923.
  • Ion Constantin, Ion Negrei, Gheorghe Negru,Ioan Pelivan: istoric al mișcării naționale din Basarabia.Bucharest: Editura Biblioteca Bucureștilor, 2012.ISBN978-606-8337-39-5
  • Ștefan Dan, "Din viața lui Vasile Stroescu", inTribuna,Issue 71/1910, pp. 3–4.
  • Cristina Gherasim, "Confirmarea titlurilor nobiliare în Basarabia după anexarea la Imperiul Rus (cazul familiei Donici)", inGheorghe E. Cojocaru(ed.),Consolidarea și dezvoltarea statului de drept în contextul integrării europene. Ediția 5,pp. 84–88. Chișinău: Casa Editorial-Poligrafică Bons Offices, 2011.ISBN978-9975-4078-3-0
  • Petre V. Haneș,Scriitori basarabeni, 1850–1940.Bucharest: Editura Casei Școalelor, 1942.OCLC935507473
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