The Moldavian Democratic Republic (MDR; , ), also known as the Moldavian Republic, was a state proclaimed on by the Sfatul Țării (National Council) of Bessarabia, elected in October–November 1917 following the February Revolution and the start of the disintegration of the Russian Empire. The Sfatul Țării was its legislative body, while the "Council of Directors General", renamed the "Council of Ministers" after the Declaration of Independence, was its government. The Republic was proclaimed on 2/15 December 1917, as a result of the Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia. The anthem of the country was Deșteaptă-te, române!. History Summarized The brief history of the 1917-1918 Moldavian Democratic Republic can be divided into three periods: the period of autonomy within Russia, the period of independence, and the period of federation with Romania. On 2/15 December, Moldavia proclaimed itself a constituent republic of the Russian Federative Democratic Republic. On 1/14 January 1918, the Front Section of the Rumcherod Bolsheviks entered Chișinău, the capital of the nascent republic. After the nationalist faction of the Sfatul Țării requested military assistance from Romania, the Romanian Army crossed the republic's border on 10/23 January, taking the capital within days. With the Romanian Army in full control, on 24 January/6 February, the Moldavian Democratic Republic proclaimed its independence. On 27 March/9 April, Moldavia entered a conditioned union (essentially a federation) with the Kingdom of Romania, retaining its provincial autonomy as well as its legislative body (the Sfatul Țării). On 27 November/10 December, after the end of World War I, a secret meeting of Sfatul Țării members renounced all conditions and proclaimed the unconditional union of Bessarabia with Romania, effectively amounting to an annexation by the latter. This was its last act, as it was subsequently dissolved and prominent unionists were invited to Bucharest. During its 1-year existence, the Moldavian Democratic Republic had three Prime Ministers: Pantelimon Erhan, Daniel Ciugureanu and Petru Cazacu. Detailed When the February Revolution occurred in Petrograd in 1917, the governor of the Bessarabia Governorate stepped down and passed his legal powers to Constantin Mimi, the President of the Gubernial Zemstvo, which was named the Commissar of the Provisional Government in Bessarabia, with Vladimir Cristi his deputy. Similar procedures took place in all regions of the Russian Empire: the chiefs of the Tsarist administrations passed their legal powers to the chiefs of the County and Governorate Zemstvos, which were then called