Romanian Treasure
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The Romanian Treasure () is a collection of valuable objects and the
gold reserves A gold reserve is the gold held by a national central bank, intended mainly as a guarantee to redeem promises to pay depositors, note holders (e.g. paper money), or trading peers, during the eras of the gold standard, and also as a store of v ...
(~120 tonnes) that the
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
n government sent to Tsarist
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
for safekeeping during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, with the aim of being sheltered from the armies of the Central Powers, which had occupied a significant part of Romania and threatened to occupy the entire national territory. After the
Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Forc ...
entered
Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...
, at the time part of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, in early 1918, the new Soviet government that managed to rule Russia severed all diplomatic relations and confiscated the Romanian Treasure. As of today, only part of the objects and none of the gold reserves have been returned. After the
October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...
and the seizure of power by the Communists under Lenin's leadership, the newly installed
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
power sequestered the treasure and refused its restitution. It was partially returned, in three separate tranches, in 1935, 1956, and 2008, as a gesture of goodwill from the Soviets and later from the Russians. However, the majority of the treasure remained unrestituted, which makes it a sensitive subject in diplomatic relations between Romania and Russia.


Historical background

In August 1916, Romania made the decision to enter the war alongside the Entente. Although the campaign started favorably with Romanian troops advancing into Transylvania, soon after, German, Austro-Hungarian, and Bulgarian forces took the initiative, occupying
Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; or ''Dobrudža''; , or ; ; Dobrujan Tatar: ''Tomrîğa''; Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and ) is a Geography, geographical and historical region in Southeastern Europe that has been divided since the 19th century betw ...
,
Oltenia Oltenia (), also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions – with the alternative Latin names , , and between 1718 and 1739 – is a historical province and geographical region of Romania in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Da ...
, and
Muntenia Muntenia (, also known in English as Greater Wallachia) is a historical region of Romania, part of Wallachia (also, sometimes considered Wallachia proper, as ''Muntenia'', ''Țara Românească'', and the rarely used ''Valahia'' are synonyms in Ro ...
in the fall of the same year. Romania's administration was forced to move the country's capital from
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
to
Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...
and organize resistance against the invaders in
Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
. Against this backdrop, in November, it was decided to relocate the headquarters of the National Bank of Romania, an occasion during which its treasure was also transported to Iași. The main asset included in the treasure was a quantity of 93.4 tons of gold, consisting of 91 tons of historical gold coins and 2.4 tons of gold ingots. According to the conventions applicable at that time, gold served to guarantee the issuance of Romanian lei. The 91 tons of gold coins belonged to private Romanian banks, existing on the Romanian market at that time, private firms, and individuals, while the 2.4 tons of gold ingots belonged exclusively to the National Bank of Romania. The Russians requested that protocols for handover/receipt not be signed with multiple banks, companies, and individuals in Romania, but only one protocol with the
National Bank of Romania The National Bank of Romania (, BNR) is the central bank of Romania and was established in April 1880. Its headquarters are located in the capital city of Bucharest. The National Bank of Romania is responsible for the issue of the Romanian le ...
, with the BNR collecting all these valuables from each Romanian entity separately. At that time, the National Bank of Romania was entirely a private bank, with no involvement from the Romanian state. In early December 1916, the defense front had not yet stabilized, and there was serious consideration of evacuating the government across the
Prut The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , ) is a river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube, and is long. Part of its course forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates on the eas ...
river into Russia. On December 2, the General Council of the BNR approved in principle the possibility of safeguarding the treasure in Russia, a view that, by December 8, was also supported by the government, voiced by Finance Minister Emil Costinescu, who mentioned, among other things, the precedent set by the
Bank of France The Bank of France ( ) is the national central bank for France within the Eurosystem. It was the French central bank between 1800 and 1998, issuing the French franc. It does not translate its name to English, and thus calls itself ''Banque de F ...
(which had decided to transfer its treasure to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
). Costinescu also mentioned the option of transferring the treasure to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
but considered the route too dangerous, given the additional threat posed by German submarines. Therefore, the preferred solution was to deposit the treasure together with the treasure of the
Tsarist Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
at the
Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...
. The decision had to be taken by the Romanian Prime Minister
Ion I. C. Brătianu Ion Ionel Constantin Brătianu (, also known as Ionel Brătianu; 20 August 1864 – 24 November 1927) was a Romanian politician, leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL), Prime Minister of Romania for five terms, and Foreign Minister on seve ...
. Although the banker Mauriciu Blank advised him to send it to London or to a neutral country, such as
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
, Brătianu feared the German submarines of the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
and chose another ally of Romania in World War I, the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, using the argument that "Russia would feel offended if we sent it to England". On December 12, 1916, the Council of Ministers approved the transfer of the treasure to Russia, after the Russian minister in Iași, General A. Mossoloff, communicated on December 11 that he was authorized to sign the protocol regarding the loading of the BNR treasure onto a special train, adding that the imperial Russian government guaranteed its integrity both during transportation and during its stay in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. The protocol, which provided for the handover of the gold treasure to the delegates of the imperial Russian government, was signed in Iași on December 14/27, 1916. The treasure destined for Moscow included three main categories of valuables: 1. Documents, manuscripts, ancient coins, paintings, rare books, treasures from monasteries in Moldavia and Muntenia, archives, deposits, collections of many public and private institutions; 2. Public securities and other valuables (such as stocks, bonds, credit titles, pledges to the Mount of Piety, etc.); 3. A quantity of 93.4 tons of gold (91 tons of historical gold coins, belonging to private individuals, companies, and private banks in Romania, and 2.4 tons of gold bars, belonging to the National Bank of Romania); the value of this metallic stock, never returned. As a side note, during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the valuables of the
National Bank of Romania The National Bank of Romania (, BNR) is the central bank of Romania and was established in April 1880. Its headquarters are located in the capital city of Bucharest. The National Bank of Romania is responsible for the issue of the Romanian le ...
were not transported outside of Romania, but hidden inside a cave near
Tismana Tismana is a town in Gorj County, Oltenia, Romania. It administers ten villages: Celei, Costeni, Gornovița, Isvarna, Pocruia, Racoți, Sohodol, Topești, Vâlcele, and Vânăta. History During the Byzantine period, Tismana was a major center of ...
,
Gorj County Gorj County () is a county () of Romania, in Oltenia, with its capital city at Târgu Jiu. ''Gorj'' comes from the Slavic ''Gornji'' Jiu (“upper Jiu”), in contrast with Dolnji (“lower Jiu”). Demographics At the 2011 census, the count ...
, and from there, they were safely recovered after the war.


The composition of Romania's Treasure

Objects from the National Museum of Antiquities' Heritage The list of exhibits owned by the National Museum of Antiquities, which were taken to Moscow in 1916, is as follows: - Pietroasele Treasure - Treasure from
Turnu Măgurele Turnu Măgurele () is a municipiu, city in Teleorman County, Romania, in the historical region of Muntenia. Developed nearby the site once occupied by the medieval port of Turnu fortress, Turnu, it is situated north-east of the confluence between ...
-
Silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
rhyton A ''rhyton'' (: ''rhytons'' or, following the Greek plural, ''rhyta'') is a roughly conical container from which fluids were intended to be drunk or to be poured in some ceremony such as libation, or merely at table; in other words, a cup. A ...
from Poroina,
Mehedinți County Mehedinți County () is a county () of Romania on the border with Serbia and Bulgaria. It is mostly located in the historical province of Oltenia, with one municipality (Orșova) and three communes (Dubova, Mehedinți, Dubova, Eșelnița, and Svi ...
- Four plates with
barbarian A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...
gold jewelry -
Epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
from
Cozia Monastery Cozia Monastery (Romanian language, Romanian: ''Mănăstirea Cozia'') is one of the most important medieval monastic complexes in Romania, located on the right bank of the Olt (river), Olt River near the town of Călimănești in Vâlcea County. Fo ...
(1396) - Epitaph from
Dobrovăț Dobrovăț is a commune in Iași County, Western Moldavia, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary t ...
Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
(1506) - Epitaph from Slatina Monastery (1556) - Epitaph from
Bistrița Monastery The Bistrița Monastery (, ) is a Romanian Orthodox monastery located 8 km west of Piatra Neamț. It was dedicated in 1402, having as original ctitor the Moldavian Voivode Alexandru cel Bun whose remains are buried here. The church is h ...
(1601) - Epitaph from
Preda Buzescu Preda is a small village within the Swiss municipality of Bergün Filisur (until the end of 2017 Bergün/Bravuogn), district of Albula (district), Albula, Canton Graubünden (Grisons), in the East of Switzerland. The name Preda, like Prada, de ...
, Great Ban of Craiova - Epitaph from 1683 ( Șerban Vodă Cantacuzino) - Carpet from Bistrița Monastery (1514) - Carpet from Bistrița Monastery (16th century) - Carpet from Bistrița Monastery (16th century) - Epitaph from Govora Monastery, Radu the Great's era - Epitaph from Bistrița Monastery, 1521, Barbu, Ban of Craiova - Epitaph from Dobrovăț Monastery, from
Ștefan the Great Stephen III, better known as Stephen the Great (; ; died 2 July 1504), was Voivode (or Prince) of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He was the son of and co-ruler with Bogdan II, who was murdered in 1451 in a conspiracy organized by his brother an ...
- Epitaph from
Constantin Brâncoveanu Constantin Brâncoveanu (; 1654 – August 15, 1714) was List of Wallachian rulers, Prince of Wallachia between 1688 and 1714. Biography Ascension Constantin Brâncoveanu was the son of Pope Brâncoveanu (Matthew) and his wife, Stanca Can ...
's era - Epitaph from Șerban Cantacuzino's era (two pieces) - Rucavițe from
Cotroceni Cotroceni is a neighbourhood in western Bucharest, Romania, located around the Cotroceni hill, in Bucharest's Sector 5. The nearest Metro stations are Eroilor, Academia Militară, and Politehnica. History The Hill of Cotroceni was once cove ...
(a pair) - Rucavițe from Constantin Brâncoveanu's era - Rucavițe from Ștefan the Great's era - Sfita from
Cozia Monastery Cozia Monastery (Romanian language, Romanian: ''Mănăstirea Cozia'') is one of the most important medieval monastic complexes in Romania, located on the right bank of the Olt (river), Olt River near the town of Călimănești in Vâlcea County. Fo ...
, tradition says it belonged to Mircea the Elder's mantle - Silver candlestick from
Tismana Tismana is a town in Gorj County, Oltenia, Romania. It administers ten villages: Celei, Costeni, Gornovița, Isvarna, Pocruia, Racoți, Sohodol, Topești, Vâlcele, and Vânăta. History During the Byzantine period, Tismana was a major center of ...
Monastery (14th century) - Silver candlesticks from Bistrița Monastery (16th century) (two pieces) - Silver candlestick from
Alexandru Lăpușneanu Alexandru IV Lăpușneanu (1499 – 5 May 1568) was ruler of Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory ...
's era - Silver candlestick from the 15th/16th century - Shackle from Bistrița Monastery (16th century) - Shackle from Tismana Monastery - Gilded silver ripples from Cotroceni Monastery, two pieces (1675) - Silver disc from Bistrița Monastery (16th century) - Large silver taler from Tismana Monastery (> 1512) - Gilded silver
engolpion An encolpion (also engolpion, enkolpion; Greek: ἐγκόλπιον, ''enkólpion'', "on the chest"; plural: ἐγκόλπια, ''enkólpia'') is a medallion with an icon in the center worn around the neck by Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic b ...
from Snagov Monastery (1431) - Gilded silver engolpion of the Craiovești brothers from Tismana Monastery - Gilded silver engolpion from Bistrița Monastery (1512) - Gilded silver cauș inlaid with ancient coins from Tismana Monastery (1649) - Gilded silver cauș inlaid with ancient coins from Tismana Monastery, of the clucer Buzinca (1641) - Four gilded silver crosses from Șerban Cantacuzino's era - Large cypress wood cross from Slatina Monastery - Silver disc from the 16th century - Slavonic Gospel, manuscript from 1405 from Tismana Monastery - Slavonic Gospel, manuscript from 1502 - Two Slavonic Gospels, printed


The transfer of the treasure to Russia


The first transport

Between December 12th and 14th, 1916, at the Iași train station, a total of 1,738 boxes were loaded into 17 train cars, containing stored gold in the form of various
ingots An ingot is a piece of relatively pure material, usually metal, that is cast into a shape suitable for further processing. In steelmaking, it is the first step among semi-finished casting products. Ingots usually require a second procedure of sh ...
and
coins A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...
(mostly German
marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...
and Austrian crowns), with a total value of 314,580,456.84 Lei in gold. Additionally, two boxes containing Queen Maria's jewels, valued at 7,000,000 Lei in gold, were added. Upon completion of the loading operations, a Protocol was signed in three copies, one for the Russian side, one for the Romanian Ministry of Finance, and one for the National Bank. The transport departed immediately and arrived in Moscow on December 21st, 1916. Delegated from the National Bank to accompany the transport were director Theodor Capitanovici (who was also tasked with remaining in Moscow and keeping two of the keys to the compartment where the valuables were to be deposited), censor A. Saligny, and central cashier M.Z. Dumitrescu. Romanian and Russian delegates began inventorying the contents of the boxes on January 9th, 1917, an operation that lasted until February 4th, and on February 16th, a final protocol was drafted on this matter, signed by representatives of the Russian Ministry of Finance and Romanian delegates, along with the Romanian consul in Moscow, P. Guerin. The boxes containing the treasure were sealed, and representatives of the National Bank had the right to inspect the compartment where they were stored at any time, with the restitution of the valuables to be carried out by designated National Bank delegates specially appointed for this purpose.


The second transport

At the beginning of 1917, the
Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...
erupted in
Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
, marking the beginning of the major social movements in Russia that year, culminating in the
October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...
and the seizure of power by the
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
. Although the front in
Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...
had been stabilized, Romanian political authorities were still concerned about the possibility of the German armies breaking through the front and the country's ultimate defeat. Evacuating the government to Russia, either to
Poltava Poltava (, ; , ) is a city located on the Vorskla, Vorskla River in Central Ukraine, Central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Poltava Oblast as well as Poltava Raion within the oblast. It also hosts the administration of Po ...
or Herson in
Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
, where preparations were already underway for the installation of the sovereign family and ministers, was being considered. On July 18th, 1917, the Council of Ministers decided, at the proposal of
Nicolae Titulescu Nicolae Titulescu (; 4 March 1882 – 17 March 1941) was a Romanian politician and diplomat, at various times ambassador, finance minister, and foreign minister, and for two terms served as president of the General Assembly of the League of Nati ...
, who was then the Minister of Finance, to relocate the headquarters and assets of the National Bank to
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. Preparations were made for transporting the assets of the National Bank to Russia, as well as those belonging to the
CEC Bank CEC Bank (prior to May 6, 2008 Casa de Economii și Consemnațiuni, but already known then as ''CEC''),Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its bylaws, the academy's ma ...
, many
antique An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...
valuables, such as 3,500-year-old golden jewels found in Romania, ancient
Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ro ...
n jewels, the jewels of the
voivodes Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...
of
Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
and
Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
, as well as the jewels of the Romanian royalty, thousands of paintings, as well as precious religious objects owned by Romanian monasteries, such as 14th century icons and old Romanian manuscripts. The train arrived in Moscow on August 3rd, 1917, with the transport being guarded by the Russian side. Representatives of the following institutions supervised the transport from the Romanian side: the National Bank, the CEC Bank, the Credit Bank, Marmorosch Blank Bank, the Commercial Bank, and the Discount Bank. The assets of the National Bank from the second transport were deposited in the Kremlin, where the metal stock and Queen Maria's jewels, brought with the first transport, had also been deposited, while the CEC Bank's treasure was stored at the premises of the Russian Loan and Deposits House.


The confiscation of the treasure

The Russian revolutionaries quickly gained control of the capital sparked by the economic crisis facing Russia during World War I, as well as the provocations of German agents. On March 15th, 1917,
Tsar Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...
abdicated in favor of his brother
Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...
, who, however, refused the investiture. Power was then taken over by a provisional government, led until July 20th by
Prince Lvov The House of Lvov () is a princely Russian family of Rurikid stock. The family is descended from the princes (''knyazes'') of Yaroslavl where early members of the family are buried.https://russiannobility.org/princes-of-the-russian-empire/ Not ...
, and thereafter by
Kerensky Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky ( – 11 June 1970) was a Russian lawyer and revolutionary who led the Russian Provisional Government and the short-lived Russian Republic for three months from late July to early November 1917 (New Style, N.S.). ...
. On April 17th,
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until his death in 1924, and of ...
returned from Switzerland, transported in a sealed train car; ultimately, on November 7th, Lenin seized power, forcibly removing the provisional government. The unrest spread to Moscow as well; the
Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...
guard tasked with guarding the Romanian treasure sided with the revolution. To ensure the safety of the Romanian valuables stored at the Kremlin, 20 rural gendarmes dressed in civilian clothes were sent, departing from Iași on November 15th, 1917. However, in the absence of permission from the
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
authorities, they were unable to fulfill their mission. Meanwhile, efforts were being made to transfer the treasure to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. However, the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...
could not guarantee the safety of the transport; this was not surprising, given that the treasure would have to traverse the entire
Siberian Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states si ...
region during a period of great social disorder. In the meantime, the situation was also becoming complicated in
Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...
, where the government had taken refuge. The Russian army on Romanian territory was undergoing Bolshevikization, and its commander, General Shcherbachev, no longer had control over it. Near Iași, at Socola, a genuine Bolshevik headquarters had been established with the objective of removing
King Ferdinand I Ferdinand I (10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek: Cetin, grad izbornog sabora Kraljevine Hrv ...
, instituting a Soviet regime in Romania, and assassinating Shcherbachev. An assassination attempt was organized against him on December 21st; failing in its attempt, the Russian commander requested the support of the Romanian army to destroy the Bolshevik center at Socola. After much deliberation, the Council of Ministers approved the request, disarming the Russian soldiers and sending them across the
Prut The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , ) is a river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube, and is long. Part of its course forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates on the eas ...
River. However, this action placed Romania in open conflict with the Bolshevik power established in
Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
, which, in violation of diplomatic rules, arrested Constantin Diamandi, Romania's minister to Petrograd, and held him in detention for three days. However, the problem caused by the Bolshevikization of the army was not resolved. On March 15th, 1917, the Democratic Republic of Moldova was proclaimed in
Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...
, but the disintegrating Russian armies made it impossible to establish order. In these circumstances, the
Sfatul Țării ''Sfatul Țării'' ("Council of the Country"; ) was a council of political, public, cultural, and professional organizations in the guberniya, Governorate of Bessarabia in Russian Empire, Tsarist Russia. This became a legislative body which e ...
(National Council) requested the intervention of the Romanian Army, which crossed the Prut River on January 20th, 1918. On January 26th, Russia, through
Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...
, the Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Romania, and General Shcherbachev was declared an outlaw and an enemy of the people. At the same time, Trotsky declared that "the Romanian funds deposited in Moscow are untouchable for the Romanian
oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or t ...
. The Government of the Soviet Union, Soviet government takes responsibility for keeping these funds and delivering them into the hands of the Romanian people." Following the severance of diplomatic relations, Romania's interests in Russia continued to be temporarily represented by the French Ambassador to Petrograd, Joseph Noulens, Noulens, and by Eirick Labonne, the French Consul in Moscow. The latter took over the archive of the Romanian Consulate General in Moscow on February 2nd, 1918, from the Romanian consul. On the same occasion, Labonne was handed the protocols for depositing the treasure of the National Bank of Romania and the valuables of the CEC Bank at the Kremlin, as well as the keys to the compartments where the National Bank's valuables were stored. The keys remained in the possession of the French consul until August 1918, when he was arrested and expelled. The keys were then handed over to the consul of
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
and subsequently to that of Norway. In September 1918, the last representatives of Romania left Moscow, and from that moment on, nothing certain was known about the fate of the treasure.


Partial return of assets from the Treasure

Very little is known about the Treasure after the October Revolution, but it appears that during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
all the valuables held by the Soviet state (and presumably of the Romanian state) were taken out of Moscow and sent toward the regions which were 'not endangered'. However, it is clear that they were not kept sealed, as the agreement with the Romanian government said, as the chests of the archives which were returned in 1935 had obviously been rummaged through and many objects and documents were missing.


The first partial return in 1935

On the evening of June 16, 1935, at the Obor train station in Bucharest, 17 freight cars arrived, loaded with 1,443 crates, coming from Moscow, upon the order of the USSR government, which decided to return to Romania a large part of the goods that had been stored in the Kremlin. Consuls Nicolau and Popovici supervised the opening of each individual wagon. The crates containing goods were handed over to various representatives of the institutions present at the unloading of the goods. For each unloading and delivery of objects and goods, a handover protocol was drawn up. The documents mentioned the number of crates, their detailed contents, weight, and the serial number from the inventory list that had been drawn up at the time of their loading with the destination Moscow, in December 1916 and/or July - August 1917. The goods and banking assets (property titles, securities, shares, bonds, credit titles, bank guarantees, pledges, mortgages, etc.) were handed over to Inspector I. Ciolac, the head of the Romanian Government Oversight Commission, with the indication that they were to be transmitted to the Ministry of Finance in Bucharest. All inventories jointly conducted by the Russian and Romanian sides, signed by each authorized representative of the Romanian institutions benefiting from these assets from the Treasury, were handed over to the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bucharest. At the request of the Russian side, comparative checks were carried out with the inventory lists issued at the time of the transfer of the goods to Russia, with the current ones from June 1935, containing the goods received by the Romanian side. In the vast majority (1,436 crates), the checks confirmed that the same goods as those listed in the inventory lists at the time of their shipment to Moscow had been handed over. However, 7 crates were found with different goods that were not listed in the initial lists drawn up in 1916. These were handed over to the Romanian Ministry of the Interior, following the same inventory procedure and the drafting of a handover protocol. The entire operation of identification, sorting, and delivery of the 1,443 crates took place between June 19 and June 27, 1935, working effectively from 8:00 to 17:30. The documents made it clear that no crate had the original seal anymore, so it was clear that the crates had been unsealed, and a good part of them was very degraded. The only banknotes returned to the National Bank of Romania were the Romanian ones, totaling 198,000 lei. Several other foreign banknotes were found stacked among the Romanian ones, which were handed over to the Ministry of Finance. This transport marked the first return in the history of Romania's Treasury in Moscow, consisting of old documents, rare books, plans, maps, archives, deeds, manuscripts, church objects, carpets, rugs, deposits, paintings, pictures, sketches, drawings, art collections, and goods belonging to private individuals or state institutions. On June 28, 1935, Romanian delegate G. Paraschivescu signed a report of receipt for these goods, specifying that no quantity of gold, jewelry, or other valuable items were handed over.


The second partial return in 1956

After the communist forces took power in 1945 and the presence of the Red Army in Romania, the issue of the treasury was no longer raised by the Romanian authorities and was almost forgotten. Unexpectedly, on June 12, 1956, newspapers reported that the Romanian treasury in Moscow was to be returned. The official statement asserted that "the Soviet people have carefully preserved all these works of art, which represent great historical and artistic value. The Soviet Union, USSR government and the Soviet people have always viewed these treasures as an inalienable asset of the Romanian people themselves." The list of returned goods included the Pietroasele Treasure, 120 paintings signed by Nicolae Grigorescu (out of a total of 1350 paintings, engravings, and drawings), liturgical vessels made of gold and silver, old books and miniatures, jewelry, 156 icons, 418 tapestries, 495 religious cult objects, etc. In total, the exhibition opened in Bucharest in August 1956 with the items received from the USSR included no less than 39,320 pieces, including 33,068 gold coins and 2,465 medals, 1,350 paintings and drawings, and the remaining approximately 2,500 objects were medieval goldsmithing, liturgical embroideries, icons, and ancient fabrics. The communist literature of the time attributed the return of the treasury to a "spontaneous and friendly" gesture from the USSR and promoted the idea that the entire treasury had been returned, information that could only be more detailed known after the Romanian revolution, Romanian Revolution from December 1989. However, Romania was dissatisfied because the "bulk" of the Treasury, consisting of 93.4 tons of gold, had never been returned.


The third partial return in 2008

After the fall of communism in Romania and Russia, the President of Romania, Ion Iliescu, sent Ambassador Traian Chebeleu to Moscow in the summer of 1994, with the task of requesting the Kremlin to "find a solution to the issue of Romania's Treasure." The new leadership in the Kremlin received the official letter from the Presidential Administration in Bucharest and responded that "for Russia, the so-called issue of the Romanian Treasure deposited in Moscow no longer exists." The situation seemed to have no way out, especially since Moscow sent a delegation to Bucharest in the autumn of 1994, which informed President Ion Iliescu that "the issue of the Treasure, at the official, diplomatic, and political level between the two countries, had been definitively resolved by the Protocol signed in Moscow on September 6, 1956, including all its annexes, by academician Mihai Ralea, Mihail Ralea, the official representative of the Government of the People's Republic of Romania on the issue of Romania's Treasure, a protocol which provided for the restitution of historical goods to the Government of the People's Republic of Romania." However, this protocol was only signed by academician Mihail Ralea, not by the other members of the Romanian delegation, namely: Romania's Ambassador to Moscow, Mihail Dalea, the Deputy Minister of Culture, Constantin Prisnea, the Director of the Art Institute of the Academy of the People's Republic of Romania, academician Gheorghe Oprescu, the academician and poet Tudor Arghezi, academician Andrei Oțetea, and the Director of the National Art Galleries, Marin Bunescu. All these Romanian delegates did not agree to sign that protocol; instead, they let only academician Mihail Ralea sign the official protocol and its annexes, while the other members of the Romanian delegation were only present at the official signing of the protocol and its annexes. The Moscow delegation presented President Ion Iliescu with a solution to solve the problem, by exponentially increasing economic and commercial exchanges between the two countries, offering Romania a package of 32 economic and commercial projects to be carried out through private companies, with project number 32 to be called "the restitution of the component of precious metals to the National Bank of Romania." Ion Iliescu, Iliescu was delighted with the Russians' offer and handed over the problem for resolution to his special advisor, Ioan Talpeș. However, Talpeș remained skeptical about Moscow's offer and requested, as a proof of good faith, that the Russian side hand over to Romania a set of 12 gold coins originating from the first shipment of the Treasure to Moscow, from the first train and the first crate, according to the existing inventory list in the archives. The Russian side complied and immediately sent a delegate to Bucharest in December 1994 with the 12 gold coins requested by Ioan Talpeș, but no Romanian authority wanted to accept them thereafter. It was only on March 6, 2008, with donation act no. 1,272 issued by the Ministry of Culture, registered as donation no. 867/06.03.2008, that these 12 historical gold coins, editions from France and Belgium between 1854 and 1909, with a total weight of 77.09 grams, were finally handed over. The Head of the Numismatic and Historical Treasure Department at the National History Museum of Romania, National Museum of Romanian History, Ernest Oberländer Târnoveanu, signed the acceptance document and certified that "all the presented coins are authentic."


Efforts for the restitution of the treasure


Interwar Period

The issue of the Romanian treasure was raised for the first time internationally by Romania at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference during the session of the Reparations Commission, held on April 8, 1919. Romania requested that Germany and other defeated powers be obliged to return to Romania the sum of 322,154,980 gold lei, representing the value of the metallic (gold) stock deposited in Russia, to which was added the sum of 7,000,000 representing the value of Queen Maria's jewelry, as well as the value of the entire deposit made by Romania in Moscow, namely the sum of 7.5 billion lei. Two reasons were invoked for this request: firstly, it was said that the decision to transfer the treasure to Russia was motivated by German military pressure and that the existing situation in Russia was also attributable to Germany. The Treaty of Versailles, concluded in June 1919, did not mention this issue, but held Germany and its associates responsible for all losses caused to the allied governments. The amount of reparations was to be determined by a Reparations Commission, which, although notified by Romania, rejected its claims for compensation. However, Russia's obligation to return the treasure was confirmed by the resolution of the Genoa Economic and Financial Conference (1922), Genoa Economic and Financial Conference (1922). Efforts were made thereafter to resolve the treasure issue, but this was not successful. In 1936, in the context of a slight warming of relations between Romania and the USSR, some Romanian archives of minor significance relative to the entire ensemble of goods deposited in Moscow were returned. On the same occasion, however, the mortal remains of Dimitrie Cantemir were also repatriated.


Communist Period

Given the fraternal relations between the Romanian Communist Party#General secretaries (1921–1989), communist governments of Romania and the Soviet Union, potentially litigious issues between the two countries were carefully avoided by the Romanian side. One of them was the issue of the full restitution of the treasure, during the communist period, relatively few real efforts were made to discuss the problem with the Soviet side. One of the attempts - probably the most important one - took place in 1965 when Nicolae Ceaușescu made his first visit to the USSR as the General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party. However, the Soviet reaction was brutal; according to Leonid Brezhnev's statement, the then leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the problem was "50 years old", "related to the relations between tsarist Russia and royal Romania" and that the gold had been transported in 1918 to Perm, Russia, Perm, Omsk, Saratov, and Kazan for safekeeping, with information missing from this point. Furthermore, Brezhnev invoked the fact that royal Romania also had debts to Russia amounting to $300,000,000, which would correspond to 274 tons of gold, and the reparations of $300,000,000 that Romania was obliged to pay after World War II were lower than the damages suffered by the USSR. It was concluded that the issue was actually a political one rather than a financial one, so the issue should be considered closed. After this episode, the issue was no longer discussed with the Soviet government.


Current Period

On July 4, 2003, the Treaty on Friendly Relations and Cooperation between Romania and the Russian Federation was concluded. The Russian side refused to settle the treasure issue through the treaty; instead, presidents Ion Iliescu and Vladimir Putin decided to establish a commission of Romanian and Russian historians to study the matter. The commission met for the first time from October 19 to 21, 2004, in Bucharest, with its co-chairs being Professor Ioan Scurtu and Academician Alexandr Oganovich Ciubarian. Nevertheless, the work of the commission has not progressed much to date. The commission met five times through 2019; some progress was made in returning smaller archive materials and minor assets, but the artistic pieces, the gold, and other valuables are still in Russia. As of 2023, the estimated value of the Romanian Treasure (without taking into account its historical significance) is close to Euro sign, €15 billion.


See also

* Baldin Collection * Moscow gold * Nazi gold * Romania–Russia relations


References

* * * {{reflist Foreign relations of Romania Romania–Soviet Union relations Romania–Russia relations Romania in World War I Art and cultural repatriation after World War II Archaeology of Romania