In the context of the disintegration processes that engulfed the former Russian Empire after the February and especially October revolutions, Bessarabia became a field of conflict of interests of various geopolitical actors, especially Romania, which intends to take advantage of the favourable situation and annex this territory. The decisions of the Sfatul Tärii (regional Council), a local legislative body of dubious legitimacy, formed in hot pursuit, were supposed to give "legitimacy" to this action. Nevertheless, the Romanian historiography continues to assert the «volun- tary» accession of Bessarabia to Romania. The article, based on the analysis of the actual course of events, refutes this thesis. It is also stated that Romania would not have been able to carry out its plan independently, without the support of the Western powers, under any circumstances.

To occupy Bessarabia, the Romanian government had to negotiate not only with its allies in the Entente, but also with the opponents-Germany and Austria-Hungary. Without the withdrawal of regular units from the Romanian-German front, it was impossible to think of carrying out a large-scale "Bessarabian" operation. To reinforce its negotiating position with the Germans, the command of the Romanian front initiated in late November 1917 the creation of a United Romanian-Ukrainian front, deployed against the Bolsheviks.

Ultimately, the sanction of the Western powers for the annexation of Bessarabia was Romania's payment for the struggle against the fledgling Soviet Russia, which ultimately gave rise to the notorious «Bessarabian» question. The article reveals that in the" Bessarabian question various vectors of world politics were concentrated at that moment: not only the struggle of the Western powers against the threat of a «world revolution», but also the desire to get a convenient bridgehead to oust Russia from the Balkans, as well as the subordination of the Romanian foreign policy to the interests of the victorious powers in the First World War. Thanks to this, Romania itself managed, taking advantage of the favourable international political situation, to achieve, albeit briefly, significant territorial acquisitions.