Moscow Archives Revealing the Long History of Russian Power Projection: A Scholarly Review of Ela Cosma (ed.), The Tsarist Military Campaign in the Romanian Principalities, 1848–1850. Military Documents, Vol. III, Komarov & Nepokoitchitsky: Campaign Journal (Cluj-Napoca – Gatineau: Argonaut Publishing – Symphologic Publishing, 2022) / Campania militară țaristă în Țările Române la 1848–1850. Documente militare, vol. III, Komarov & Nepocoicițchi: Jurnal de campanie (Cluj-Napoca – Gatineau: Argonaut Publishing – Symphologic Publishing, 2017); DOI 10.5281/zenodo.17964878

Source:L’Europe Unie United Europe Location: Romania Author(s):Maria Costea Title:Moscow Archives Revealing the Long History of Russian Power Projection: A scholarly Review of Ela Cosma (ed.), The Tsarist Military Campaign in the Romanian Principalities, 1848–1850. Military Documents, Vol. III, Komarov & Nepokoitchitsky: Campaign Moscow Archives Revealing the Long History of Russian Power Projection: A scholarly Review of Ela Cosma (ed.), The Tsarist Military Campaign in the Romanian Principalities, 1848–1850. Military Documents, Vol. III, Komarov & Nepokoitchitsky: Campaign Issue:23/2025 Citation style: Maria Costea. "Moscow Archives Revealing the Long History of Russian Power Projection: A scholarly Review of Ela Cosma (ed.), The Tsarist Military Campaign in the Romanian Principalities, 1848–1850. Military Documents, Vol. III, Komarov & Nepokoitchitsky: Campaign". L’Europe Unie 23:167-168. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=1387793 The Central and Eastern European Online Library The joined archive of hundreds of Central-, Eastand South-East-European publishers, research institutes, and various content providers You have downloaded a document from CEEOL copyright 2025 CEEOL copyright 2025 L’EUROPE UNIE / UNITED EUROPE, no. 23/2025 Print ISSN 0248-2851 • On-line/Linking ISSN 2743-4052 • ISBN 978-630-354-001-6 167 Moscow Archives Revealing the Long History of Russian Power Projection: A scholarly Review of Ela Cosma (ed.), The Tsarist Military Campaign in the Romanian Principalities, 1848–1850. Military Documents, Vol. III, Komarov & Nepokoitchitsky: Campaign Journal (Cluj-Napoca – Gatineau: Argonaut Publishing – Symphologic Publishing, 2022) / Campania militară țaristă în Țările Române la 1848–1850. Documente militare, vol. III, Komarov & Nepocoicițchi: Jurnal de campanie (Cluj-Napoca – Gatineau: Argonaut Publishing – Symphologic Publishing, 2022) 1 DR. MARIA COSTEA 2 ROMANIAN ACADEMY, “GHEORGHE ȘINCAI” INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES AND THE HUMANITIES, TÂRGU-MUREȘ istorian Ela Cosma, an exceptionally rigorous Cluj-based scholar, has achieved a truly remarkable editorial accomplishment by publishing military documents of high historical value retrieved from the Russian State Military Historical Archive in Moscow—sources that are exceptionally rare and difficult (now impossible) to access. Volume III of Documente militare din anii 1848–1850 [Military Documents from the Years 1848–1850], coordinated by Ela Cosma, was published in two major editions: one in Romanian (2017), and a revised and expanded edition in English and Russian (2022). The Romanian edition is titled: Campania militară țaristă în Țările Române la 1848–1850. Documente militare, vol. III Komarov & Nepocoicițchi: Jurnal de campanie [The Tsarist Military Campaign in the Romanian Lands in 1848–1850. Military Documents, Vol. III, Komarov & Nepokoitchitsky: Campaign Journal]. It was coordinated by Ela Cosma (introductory study, regesta, notes, editing of German documents, bibliographical, onomastic and toponymic indexes), with Russian documents edited by Tatiana Onilov, Angela Stîcalin-Colin, and Alexander Stykalin. It was published within the series Biografii istorice transilvane [Transylvanian Historical Biographies], vol. XIII, Argonaut Publishing – Symphologic Publishing, Cluj-Napoca – Gatineau, 2017, 550 pages. The English-Russian edition, The Tsarist Military Campaign in the Romanian Principalities in 1848–1850. Military Documents, Vol. III, Komarov and Nepokoitchitsky’s Campaign Diary, was coordinated again by Ela Cosma (critical edition, introductory study, notes, glossary, references, short biographies, regesta, editing of German documents, indexes of names and places), with contributions by Tatiana Onilov (critical edition, editing of Russian documents), Angela StîcalinColin (editing of Russian documents), and Alexander Stykalin (editing of Russian documents). The English translations were done by Marcela Ganea and Ela Cosma. It was published in 2022 in the same collection, vol. XIV, 578 pages. This third volume continues the scholarly endeavor initiated by Ela Cosma through the publication of Volumes I–II of the same series: • Armatele imperiale austro-ruse şi românii la 1848–1849. Documente militare, vol. I, Descrieri generale şi militare [The Imperial Austro-Russian Armies and the Romanians in 1848– 1 Maria Costea has published a Romanian version of this book review: “Ela Cosma (ed.), Campania militară țaristă în Țările Române la 1848–1850. Documente militare, vol. III, Komarov & Nepocoicițchi: Jurnal de campanie (ClujNapoca–Gatineau: Argonaut Publishing – Symphologic Publishing, 2022),” Anuarul Institutului de Istorie „George Barițiu” din Cluj-Napoca. Series Historica LXIII (2024): 467–480. ISSN 1584-4390 (print); ISSN 2344-2093 (online). 2 Dr. Maria CosteaResearcher, Romanian Academy, “Gheorghe Șincai” Institute for Social Sciences and the Humanities, Târgu-Mureș . ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7201-645X WoS ResearcherID: JWP-2948-2024; Google Scholar Maria Costea – Google Scholar ResearchGate Maria COSTEA H CEEOL copyright 2025 CEEOL copyright 2025 L’EUROPE UNIE / UNITED EUROPE, no. 23/2025 Print ISSN 0248-2851 • On-line/Linking ISSN 2743-4052 • ISBN 978-630-354-213-3 168 1849. Military Documents, Vol. I: General and Military Descriptions], coordinated by Ela Cosma, with Editors Daniela Deteșan, Angela Stîcalin-Colin, Tatiana Onilov, and English translations by Horia Cosma, Argonaut – Symphologic Publishing, Cluj-Napoca – Gatineau, 2012, 286 pages + 22 illustrations; • Armatele imperiale austro-ruse şi românii la 1848–1849. Documente militare, vol. II, Corespondenţă şi rapoarte militare [The Imperial Austro-Russian Armies and the Romanians in 1848–1849. Military Documents, Vol. II: Correspondence and Military Reports], same Editors and publishers, 2013, 356 pages. Volumes I and II brought fundamental scholarly novelty by extensively consulting the Russian State Military Historical Archive (RGVIA) in Moscow, which holds previously unexplored collections crucial for the history of 1848–1849 and for modern Romanian history as a whole. The editorial team also accessed the Archive of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow, the State Archives of the Odessa Oblast, the Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Kyiv, the National Archives of the Republic of Moldova in Chișinău, the Kriegsarchiv in Vienna, and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs Archive in Paris. The texts published reflect the scope of the volumes’ title Armatele imperiale austro-ruse şi românii la 1848–1849 [The Imperial Austro-Russian Armies and the Romanians in 1848–1849], and their subtitles indicate the types of sources: descrieri, rapoarte, corespondență [descriptions, reports, correspondence]. These are highly sophisticated critical editions requiring multilingual palaeographic, linguistic, and editorial expertise (Romanian, Russian, German, French, English). The volumes include critical notes, extended regesta, and extensive indexing, aiming to maximize accessibility and scholarly dissemination. The Romanian edition of Volume III (2017) contains 46 military documents, a biographical index, a glossary of military terms, and name and place indexes. A previously unknown primary source—Jurnalul campaniei țariste [The Tsarist Campaign Diary]—preserved in the Moscow archive, is published in full. The English-Russian edition (2022) is a critical edition of the same 46 military documents, now rendered in Russian (original language) and English (translation), including the campaign diary compiled by colonel Arthur Adamovich Nepokoitchitsky and lieutenant-colonel Alexander Vissarionovich Komarov, under the command of General Alexander Nicolaevich Lüders. The documents are precise reports sent from Moldavia, Wallachia, and Transylvania to the Imperial Army command in Saint Petersburg. Examples include reports from Bârlad (20 July 1848), Buzău (25 September 1848), Bucharest (6 October 1848), and Târgu-Mureș (23 June 1849). The final documents also include pages of memoirs and a biography of Lüders compiled in Saint Petersburg (1874). The scholarly apparatus is solid, the editing standards are high, and the archival novelty is indisputable. The entire collection—published as part of a research grant financed by CNCS– UEFISCDI (2011–2016), titled Armatele imperiale austro-ruse și românii. Mărturii militare secrete din arhivele rusești și austriece (1848–1849) [The Imperial Austro-Russian Armies and the Romanians: Secret Military Testimonies from the Russian and Austrian Archives (1848–1849)]— constitutes a monumental editorial project. In conclusion, the Documente militare collection, and especially Volume III (2017/2022), represents a major scholarly contribution to the understanding of 1848 military history in the Romanian Principalities and of the Russian occupation, hitherto poorly documented. Through rigorous archival work and critical methodology, Ela Cosma and her team have opened up a new comparative and interdisciplinary perspective on international relations in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe during the mid-19th century.