Romanian language banned in Bessarabia schools and government

Background. The Bessarabia Governorate was a province of the Russian Empire with its administrative center in Kishinev. Following the annexation in 1812, Moldavian was initially established as an official language alongside Russian. However, Russian developed as the language of privilege, while Romanian remained the principal vernacular for the majority of the population.

Policy Implementation. In 1834, authorities banned Romanian in schools and government facilities. According to the source, books, the press, and churches were soon affected as well. The measure formed part of a broader Russification policy; decades later, during Alexander II's reign, the Orthodox Church insisted that everything be taught in Russian in the rural schools founded in the 1860s, even though neither the priests who taught in most villages nor their pupils spoke the language.

Social Impact. As a consequence of Russification policy, of which the 1834 ban was part, Bessarabia was described as the most backward of the western provinces of the Russian Empire. By 1897, literacy stood at only 15.4% for the whole governorate, with just 6% of ethnic Moldavians literate; the main reason given was that Russian was the only language of instruction.