Spotlight: Alexandru Ioan Cuza Bicentenary cover (Moldova)

The "Alexandru Ioan Cuza Bicentenary" cover that features in this report arrived in Israel from Chișinău, Moldova courtesy of the International Moldovan Philatelic Society. In January of this year, the IMPS held a prize draw in which ten members were selected at random to receive the cover by mail. When the drawing results were announced in March, yours truly was listed among the winners. Just then, however, the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic began sweeping across the globe, and by the time the cover was issued postal authorities in many countries including Moldova had suspended international operations. It took until July for the cover to finally reach its destination.

In a letter accompanying the cover, IMPS President Niall Murphy indicated that only twenty-four "Cuza" stamps were printed. Anticipating that some collectors might be tempted to capitalize on the stamp's rarity and sell it to the highest bidder on Sotheby's or eBay, Murphy expressed a sincere hope that recipients of the cover would cherish it as a personal gift and appreciate it for its unique cultural significance. Murphy's attitude is in perfect alignment with the spirit of this blog, and this report exploring the "Cuza" stamp's historical context and importance to the Moldovan national identity endeavors to pay homage to the philatelic values Murphy and the IMPS espouse.

---

Description

מעטפת יום ההופעה: אלכסנדרו יואן קוזה
Alexandru Ioan Cuza Bicentenary cover
Jerusalem, Israel (29 July 2020)

The "Alexandru Ioan Cuza Bicentenary" cover consists of a single stamp on a cacheted envelope bearing two postmarks, both dated 20 March 2020. One postmark is the standard postmark of the central post office in the Moldovan capital of Chișinău; the other is a special commemorative postmark issued by Poșta Moldovei on the occasion of Cuza's bicentenary. The commemorative postmark was designed by Vitaliu Pogolșa and features Cuza's royal monogram -- the letters "A" and "J" entwined around the numeral "1" with a crown overhead. The monogram is flanked by the numbers "1820" and "1873," corresponding to Cuza's years of birth and death. The phrase 200 DE ANI DE LA NAȘTERE beneath the monogram is Romanian for "200 years since birth."

Depicted in the cachet is the Seal of Alexandru Ioan Cuza from 1859. The upper half of the legend bears the inscription PRINCIPATELE UNITE MOLDOVA SI VALAHIA, "United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia"; the lower half reads, NOI ALECSANDRU JOAN 1 DOMN MOLDOVĬĬ 1859.

The "Alexandru Ioan Cuza Bicentenary" stamp is a personalized stamp commissioned by the IMPS. It features a portrait of Cuza in ceremonial uniform similar to his official portrait by Carol Popp of Szathmari, which is on display at the Museum of National History in Bucharest, Romania. Also featured on the stamp is the 1859 seal depicted in the cachet. The stamp is face valued at 1.75L, corresponding to the postage rate for an unregistered domestic 20-gram letter.

---

Alexandru Ioan Cuza

גליונית מזכרת: אלכסנדרו יואן קוזה
"Alexandru Ioan Cuza" souvenir minisheet
Poșta Moldovei (2008)

Alexandru Ioan Cuza (b. 20 March 1820) is known as Romania's second unifier, Michael the Brave having briefly unified the provinces of Transylvania, Wallachia and Moldavia circa 1600. Cuza, who was a colonel in the Moldavian army, rose to prominence during the Moldavian Revolution of 1848 but was exiled to a prison in Vienna when the revolution failed. With the British pulling some strings on his behalf, Cuza managed to return to his homeland and was appointed Minister of War under Prince Grigore in 1858. Cuza consummated his political ascendancy in 1859 on the heels of the 1856 Treaty of Paris, which ended the Crimean War between Russia and an Ottoman-British-French-Sardinian alliance. That treaty forced the Russian Empire to cede Moldavia and Wallachia to the Ottomans but also compelled the Ottomans to grant the two territories greater independence. Despite Ottoman opposition to a unified Moldavia-Wallachia, when Moldavia elected Cuza as prince in 1859 and Wallachia cunningly did the same shortly after, unification was made a de-facto reality.

In addition to lobbying for international recognition of a unified Romania, in which campaign he was eventually successful, Cuza moved ahead with modernization reforms initiated by his predecessor and introduced numerous of his own. Among these reforms were the transfer of tax-exempt Church estates to state ownership, the abolition of feudalism and allocation of land to peasants, the adoption of the metric system, and the establishment of a free and compulsory public education system. Cuza also laid the foundation for Romania's first universities: the University of Iași, which today bears his name, and the University of Bucharest. Of note to postal historians, Cuza developed Moldavia's and Wallachia's post, telegraph and customs systems with a mind to increasing the efficiency of communication between the two principalities' militaries as a precursor to their future unification.

In his final years as prince, Cuza became an increasingly authoritarian and polarizing figure, a process that ultimately led to his downfall. In an interview with Radio Romania International from March 30th, historian Alin Ciupală described the series of events that culminated in Cuza's fall from grace:

At the same time, Cuza's rule has a dark chapter. At a certain point Alexandru Ioan Cuza decided to oversee the modernisation process himself. After the coup of May 2, 1864, Cuza becomes isolated, all alone. He distances himself from all his associates, first and foremost 1848 revolutionaries, who had gone to great lengths to have him elected as ruling prince. His entire administration can be seen in balance -- we have to acknowledge Cuza's achievements while at the same time recognise his failures. His removal from the throne was supported by the entire political class, for Cuza had gradually turned from a moderniser into an obstacle to modernisation. Cuza's political mistake was that he did not understand that modernisation was not possible without liberalism.

In February 1866 Cuza was overthrown and for a second time forced into exile, where he remained until his death in 1873.

---

Cuza and the Jews

תפילה למען אלכסנדרו יואן קוזה
Jewish prayer for Alexandru Ioan Cuza
by Meyr Leybush Malbim
Bucharest, Romania (1862)
The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life
UC Berkley (Direct link)

That chroniclers of Jewish history have had little to say about Alexandru Ioan Cuza is to the prince's credit: the legacies of Cuza's successors tend to have been analyzed both more extensively and less favorably. As with similar revolutions elsewhere in Europe the same year, Jews were actively involved in the 1848 revolution in Moldavia that catapulted Cuza to prominence and that set in motion the gears of Romanian unification. Historian Constantin Iordachi observed that the language being invoked at the time of the revolution in Wallachia was decidedly inclusive with regard to the territory's Jews:

In addition to the political reorganization of the country, the Islaz Proclamation put forward an inclusive revolutionary definition of state citizenship. It appealed to the mobilization of all inhabitants of Wallachia, including "priests, boyars, soldiers, merchants, and craftsman irrespective of rank, ethnicity (nație), or religion." All permanent inhabitants of the country were recognized as equal citizens, including "Greeks, Serbs, Bulgarians, Germans, Armenians, and Jews (Israeliți)": "The motherland is ours and yours. You enjoy living here and it welcomes you. The old system did not call for you at the common table. From today on, we have a single table, a feast of brotherhood is offered to us, and we all enjoy equal rights." To this end, Article 21 proclaimed "the emancipation of Israelites and political equality of all citizens irrespective of their religion."

The dilemma facing Cuza, as leader of the United Principalities seeking to modernize Romanian society, stemmed from the reality that the Jews he had fought alongside in the revolution were not representative of Romanian Jewry broadly speaking. No single emancipatory formula could apply to all Jews since, rather than constituting a monolithic entity, they were situated at all points on the acculturation spectrum. A 2004 study published by Yad Vashem captured the effort on Cuza's part to move away from persecution and toward integration, even if on a more limited scale than what the Islaz Proclamation advocated:

Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza took important steps in this direction during his six years on the throne of the United Principalities. Article 26 of the Communal Law of May 31, 1864, granted certain rights, including the right to vote in municipal elections, to certain categories of Jews who fulfilled specific conditions. The Civil Code he proposed in 1864, which came into effect a year later, allowed for granting citizenship to Jews under certain very limited conditions.

"Mihail Kogălniceanu" stamp (Poșta Moldovei, 2017)

It is worthwhile in this context to consider the influence that Mihail Kogălniceanu had on Cuza's policy toward Romania's Jews. A lifelong friend and political right-hand man, Kogălniceanu's views are sometimes characterized as antisemitic. Closer scrutiny suggests that while he was aggressive in his demand for Jewish assimilation into Romanian society, he drew a sharp distinction between Romanian-born Jews, whom he considered fundamentally Romanian and reformable, and foreign-born Jews, whom he saw as incorrigibly ignorant. One thing is certain: Cuza's banishment from the throne marked a clear turn for the worse. Keeping in mind that the ruler was ousted in February 1866, by June of that year the climate had already started becoming increasingly hostile.

In 1866, however, Cuza was obliged to resign owing to the "excessive" rights he was granting to Romanian serfs and peasants. He was replaced by Charles von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, who retook the project of a constitution. The draft stated that religion was no obstacle to citizenship but foresaw the publication of a special law with regards to the Jews and their naturalization. [...]

But the people were not favourable to Jewish naturalization and expressed their resentment on June 30, 1866, when the Bucharest Synagogue was assaulted and many Jews were beaten and robbed. A new text was prepared and the art. VII of the 1866 constitution finally decreed that "only such aliens as are of the Christian faith may obtain citizenship" (numai străinii de rit creștin pot dobĭndi naturalizarea).

It is reasonable to suppose that had Cuza and Kogălniceanu remained in power, they would have acted as a moderating force, a levee against the tide of violence that surged the moment they vacated the stage.

---

In gratitude and solidarity

At the time these lines are being written, Moldovan philately is struggling through an unprecedented crisis. It is not the place of an Israeli blog to stick its nose into other countries' internal affairs, but suffice it to say that what could once be attributed to the coronavirus pandemic is gradually being exposed as a case of ongoing and outrageous dereliction of duty on the part of Moldova's political establishment. The fact is that while other countries have long since gotten their 2020 stamp programs back on track, Moldova has not issued an official stamp since January 27th. Even war-torn Syria and Libya have issued stamps more recently.

"IMPS Services Are Suspended in Protest"
(https://www.moldovastamps.org/info-services-suspended.asp)

When runners look back on their first steps in the sport, they often talk about mentors who guided their development and inspired them to elevate their craft. For this blog, the IMPS has been such a mentor. Literally from the moment Israel Stamp Reviews went live, IMPS President Niall Murphy has been a beacon of guidance and inspiration both personally through direct correspondence and professionally through his monthly newsletters. Readers unfamiliar with the IMPS are encouraged to visit the first two links below and witness first hand the scope and quality of the content regularly produced by the Society. That the IMPS is motivated purely out of a passion for Moldovan philately but has been helpless to stop Moldova's philatelic ship from sinking makes the current situation all the more agonizing to watch.

---

Resources

• IMPS Newsletter -- January 2020
https://www.moldovastamps.org/pdf/IMPS_Newsletter_January_2020_0301.pdf

• IMPS Newsletter -- March 2020
https://www.moldovastamps.org/pdf/IMPS_Newsletter_March_2020_0303.pdf

• Mário Paiva, O Filatelista -- "O Príncipe Alexandru Ioan Cuza"
https://o-filatelista.blogspot.com/2020/07/o-principe-alexandru-ioan-cuza.html

• Hubert de Vries, National Arms and Emblems -- "Moldavia"
http://www.hubert-herald.nl/RomMoldov1.htm

• CAPODOPERE 2019 -- Official Portrait of Alexandru Ioan Cuza
http://www.capodopere2019.ro/the-official-portrait-of-alexandru-ioan-cuza.html

• Steliu Lambru, "200 years since the birth of Alexandru Ioan Cuza"
https://www.rri.ro/en_gb/200_years_since_the_birth_of_alexandru_ioan_cuza-2614367

• Constantin Iordachi, Liberalism, Constitutional Nationalism, and Minorities
https://books.google.com/books?id=esuiDwAAQBAJ

• Background and Precursors to the Holocaust: Roots of Romanian Antisemitism
https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/pdf-drupal/en/report/english/1.1_Roots_of_Romanian_Antisemitism.pdf

• Giuseppe Motta, "Nationalism and Anti-Semitism in an Independent Romania"
http://archive.sciendo.com/AJIS/ajis.2019.8.issue-2/ajis-2019-0012/ajis-2019-0012.pdf