Secret agreement between Russia and Romania

The British chronology of the war records under 19 September 1914 the conclusion of a secret agreement on mutual support between the governments of Russia and Romania. The agreement, known after its signatories as the Sazonov–Diamandy agreement, was sealed by an exchange of notes in Petrograd. Historians usually date it to 1 October 1914 in the Gregorian calendar, that is 18 September in the Julian calendar, which both Russia and Romania then used. The date in the British chronology therefore probably results from confusing the two calendars, or refers to an earlier stage of the negotiations.

Romania between the blocs

Since 1883 Romania had been bound by a secret alliance with Austria-Hungary and Germany. Its king, Carol I, came from the German Hohenzollern dynasty and wanted the country to stand by the Central Powers. Romanian public opinion, however, thought otherwise. About three million Romanians lived within the borders of Austria-Hungary, above all in Transylvania, and their fate stirred far stronger feelings in Bucharest than the obligations of the alliance.

On 3 August 1914 the Crown Council at Sinaia decided, against the King’s wishes, that Romania would remain neutral. Prime Minister Ion I.C. Brătianu wanted to wait until the course of the war became clear and to obtain the highest possible price for joining one of the sides. Both sides courted him.

Terms of the agreement

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Sazonov and the Romanian minister in Petrograd, Constantin Diamandy, agreed that Russia would oppose any attempt to violate Romania’s borders. Russia also recognised Romania’s right to annex the lands of Austria-Hungary inhabited by Romanians. This meant above all Transylvania, and also part of Bukovina, where the border was to be drawn according to the principle of nationality. Romania could occupy these lands at a moment of its own choosing. Russia undertook to obtain the support of France and Britain for the agreement.

In return Romania undertook to observe benevolent neutrality towards Russia. This meant, among other things, that it would not allow arms for the Central Powers to pass through its territory, and would facilitate the transport of Russian supplies to Serbia. Brătianu insisted that the agreement remain strictly secret.

Russia had strong arguments at the time. Its armies were winning victories in Galicia and had just taken Czernowitz, the capital of Bukovina, reaching the Romanian border.

What followed

On 10 October 1914 King Carol I died. His successor, his nephew Ferdinand I, although also a Hohenzollern, did not oppose rapprochement with the Entente. Romania, however, remained neutral for almost two more years. Brătianu bargained for the best possible terms and waited for the right moment.

It came in the summer of 1916, after the successes of the Russian Brusilov offensive. On 17 August 1916 Romania signed the Treaty of Bucharest with the Entente, which promised it Transylvania, the Banat and Bukovina, and on 27 August it declared war on Austria-Hungary. Its first campaign ended in defeat and the loss of Bucharest, but in 1918 Romania annexed Transylvania and Bukovina, as well as Russian Bessarabia.