I. C. Frimu
Encyclopedia
Ion Costache Frimu was a Romania
n socialist
militant and politician, a leading member of the Romanian Social Democratic Party
(PSDR) and labor activist. He died after beatings received and contracting an illness in prison, where he was being held for his participation in the typographic workers' demonstration of December 1918.
, Vaslui County
, was a carpenter by trade. He was active in various trade union
s after being appointed cashier
of a fraternal society
, and worked his way up through the hierarchy. On March 31, 1893, the Romanian Social-Democratic Workers' Party (PSDMR) was founded in Bucharest
. Frimu was part of the leadership, as were Ioan Nădejde, Vasile Morţun, Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea
, Mihail Gheorghiu Bujor
, Christian Rakovsky
, Dumitru Marinescu, Gheorghe Cristescu
and Ilie Moscovici.
In December 1896, the Union of Guild Syndicates (USB) was founded, marking a crucial step in the centralization of workers' syndicate organisations. Frimu was elected president of the USB in 1898. In 1899 the PSDMR disbanded when various factions broke away (among them, that led by Morţun). The workers' clubs were also dissolved, with the exception of the Bucharest club, where individuals like Frimu, C. Z. Buzdugan and Rakovsky continued their activity. Around that time, he met the tailor and socialist sympathiser Rozalia (also known as Rozica), a Transylvania
n-born orphan who had settled in Bucharest during her late teens, and whom he married in 1901.
. In March 1905, I. C. Frimu helped establish the Bucharest Carpenters' Union (being elected its president), and, in 1907, joined the leadership of the Socialist Union of Romania — the embryo of the post-1910 PSDR. The Socialist Union's creation came at the same time as the Romanian Peasants' Revolt
— the government's suspicion of the socialist camp resulted in the expulsion of many România Muncitoare contributors, Rakovsky among them; the Frimus maintained contacts with the exiled (including the brothers Hoppe, who had settled in Vienna
). In 1909, I. C. Frimu and the future novelist Panait Istrati
were imprisoned in Văcăreşti prison, after taking part in riots asking the National Liberal
cabinet of Ion I. C. Brătianu
to receive Rakovsky back into Romania.
On January 31, 1910, when the PSDR was founded, Frimu, Rakovsky (who had been allowed to return), Gheorghiu Bujor, Marinescu and Constantin Vasilescu, were elected among its leaders. With Rakovsky, Gheorghiu Bujor, and Ecaterina Arbore
, he gave lectures at the PSDR's propaganda
school. After the outbreak of World War I
, Frimu and the PSDR stood among the socialist internationalist
opponents of war, and Rakovsky played a major part in the Zimmerwald movement
. As Romania entered the war on the side of the Entente Powers
, the PSDR was banned and Rakovsky jailed. When the Central Powers
occupied southern Romania (see Romanian Campaign
), Frimu, who was himself jailed for his anti-war propaganda, followed the authorities into Moldavia
.
In September 1917, I. C. Frimu and Alecu Constantinescu
were the Romanian delegates to the third internationalists' conference against war in Stockholm
. In late December 1918, he joined the Socialist Party of Romania
, created around the PSDR.
On December 6, 1918, typesetters
from the Sfetea and Minerva graphic design studios went on strike demanding better working and living conditions (a pay raise, an eight-hour day
, etc.). As their demands were not met, all the typographers in Bucharest announced that they would strike a week later. On December 13, 1918 (NS
December 26), a large socialist demonstration of Bucharest workers took place. Its principal organisers were Rakovsky, the typographers Iancu Luchwig and Sami Steinberg, the bootmaker Marcus Iancu, the proofreader Marcel Blumenfeld, Ilie Moscovici, Frimu, Gheorghe Cristescu
, D. Pop and others.
That day, the capital's nearly 600 typesetters went on strike and moved toward the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, accompanying the delegation which they had designated to present their grievances. Workers from other Bucharest factories and plants joined the typographers in solidarity. The protesters shouted slogans such as "Down with the army! Down with the King! Long live the Republic!", and expected to end up before the National Theatre
.
As soon as the columns of workers reached the square in front of the National Theatre, they were met by forces of public order, specifically the 9th Vânători de Munte
Regiment, the police
and the gendarmerie
, commanded by police prefect General Ştefănescu and by the head of the Bucharest garrison, General Mărgineanu. These forces had gathered on Ion Câmpineanu Street, in Pasajul Român, and its commanders had stationed themselves in the police station inside the passage. From inside the passage, General Mărgineanu placed a telephone call to Prime Minister
Ion I. C. Brătianu
, asking his authorization to intervene against the demonstrators.
The forces of public order fired into the crowd; in the National Theatre Square 16 were killed and tens wounded from among the workers. Important figures from the cultural, artistic and political realms, such as Ioan Slavici
, Nicolae Tonitza
and Gala Galaction
, harshly condemned the government's repressive action. Hundreds of workers and members of the trade union movement and of the Social Democratic Party were arrested and tortured.
, Constantin Mille
, Radu Rosetti, Toma Dragu and N. D. Cocea
defended the arrested workers at trial. During the trial, the royal commissioner could not produce proof to back up his opening statement and thus the indictments, except against the Communist agitators, whom the Martial Court sentenced to 5 years' imprisonment. The other workers were acquitted in February 1919.
Frimu, who had been accused of instigation, died in a prison hospital. His last days in Văcăreşti prison were recounted by the writer A. de Herz, with whom he shared a cell; according to Herz, the prison was infested with lice
which carried the typhus
bacteria. As a result of beating and torture by police during his arrest, Frimu's liver and kidneys were heavily damaged, as reportedly indicated by the physician Cristodulo (who was the last to consult him). Under heavy guard, Frimu, in agony, was transported to hospital, as a large group of socialist detainees, Cristescu included, sang The Internationale
. Cristodulo himself contracted typhus and died two weeks after his patient. Thousands of workers took part in Frimu's funeral, asking that those responsible for his death be punished.
Ion G. Duca
, who was then in government, writes that "the police arrested all the [strike] movement's leaders and beat them so severely that one of the most important socialists, Frimu, died a few days later due to the wounds he received".
adversaries. The moderate Constantin Titel Petrescu praised Frimu as "that admirable human example of honesty, goodness and kindliness". Rakovsky — who had since affiliated with Leninism
and had taken refuge in Bolshevist Russia
— was himself distressed by the news; in spring 1919, his wife Ileana Pralea wrote to Rozalia Frimu a letter of condolence, in which she said "I am in a position to add that one of my companion's greatest hopes has extinguished with Frimu." As the Socialist Party was split into the moderate groups and the newly-formed Romanian Communist Party
, Frimu's legacy became the topic of dispute — Moscovici, who sided with the former, claimed that Frimu disapproved of the October Revolution
("[...] Frimu, who had seen the Russian Revolution [for] a year and a half of its activity, never did completely agree with its methods"), and, making reference to the communist activist Alecu Constantinescu
, argued that Frimu "could not stand" the latter's "demagogy".
After the Communist regime
was established, Frimu gained official status as a hero of the labor movement in Romania, and he was claimed a precursor. His remains were transferred to the Carol Park Mausoleum
, designed for prominent socialists and communists, buried in the semicircle around the monument. The Sinaia
Plants were given his name, as were a number of streets in Romania's main cities and a quarter of Galaţi
. In 1991, when the mausoleum was deprecated, Frimu's remains were moved to Sfânta Vineri Cemetery, Griviţa
.
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
militant and politician, a leading member of the Romanian Social Democratic Party
Romanian Social Democratic Party (defunct)
The Romanian Social Democratic Party was a social-democratic political party in Romania. It published the magazine România Muncitoare, and later Socialismul, Lumea Nouă, and Libertatea.-Early party:...
(PSDR) and labor activist. He died after beatings received and contracting an illness in prison, where he was being held for his participation in the typographic workers' demonstration of December 1918.
Early life
Frimu, born in BârzeştiStefan cel Mare, Vaslui
Ştefan cel Mare is a commune in Vaslui County, Romania. It is composed of seven villages: Bârzeşti, Brăhăşoaia, Călugăreni, Cănţălăreşti, Mărăşeni, Munteneşti and Ştefan cel Mare....
, Vaslui County
Vaslui County
Vaslui is a county of Romania, in the historical region Moldavia, with the seat at Vaslui.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 455,049 and the population density was 86/km².*Romanians - over 98%*Romas, other-Geography:...
, was a carpenter by trade. He was active in various trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s after being appointed cashier
Cashier
Cashier is an occupation focused on the handling of cash money.- Retail :In a shop, a cashier is a person who scans the goods through a machine called a cash register that the consumer wishes to purchase at the retail store. After all of the goods have been scanned, the cashier then collects...
of a fraternal society
Fraternal and service organizations
A "fraternal organization" or "fraternity" is a brotherhood, though the term usually connotes a distinct or formal organization. Please list college fraternities and sororities at List of social fraternities and sororities.-International:...
, and worked his way up through the hierarchy. On March 31, 1893, the Romanian Social-Democratic Workers' Party (PSDMR) was founded in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
. Frimu was part of the leadership, as were Ioan Nădejde, Vasile Morţun, Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea
Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea
Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea was a Romanian Marxist theorist, politician, sociologist, literary critic, and journalist....
, Mihail Gheorghiu Bujor
Mihail Gheorghiu Bujor
Mihail Gheorghiu Bujor was a Romanian lawyer, journalist and socialist militant. An important figure in the early Romanian labour movement, he embraced communism during World War I and organised Romanian armed detachments in Odessa in support of the October Revolution, hoping to foment a...
, Christian Rakovsky
Christian Rakovsky
Christian Rakovsky was a Bulgarian socialist revolutionary, a Bolshevik politician and Soviet diplomat; he was also noted as a journalist, physician, and essayist...
, Dumitru Marinescu, Gheorghe Cristescu
Gheorghe Cristescu
Gheorghe Cristescu was a Romanian socialist and, for a part of his life, communist militant. Nicknamed "Plăpumarul" , he is also occasionally referred to as "Omul cu lavaliera roşie" , after the most notable of his accessories.-Early activism:Born in Copaciu Gheorghe Cristescu (October 10, 1882...
and Ilie Moscovici.
In December 1896, the Union of Guild Syndicates (USB) was founded, marking a crucial step in the centralization of workers' syndicate organisations. Frimu was elected president of the USB in 1898. In 1899 the PSDMR disbanded when various factions broke away (among them, that led by Morţun). The workers' clubs were also dissolved, with the exception of the Bucharest club, where individuals like Frimu, C. Z. Buzdugan and Rakovsky continued their activity. Around that time, he met the tailor and socialist sympathiser Rozalia (also known as Rozica), a Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
n-born orphan who had settled in Bucharest during her late teens, and whom he married in 1901.
România Muncitoare and PSDR
He founded and took part in the leadership of the newspaper România MuncitoareRomânia Muncitoare
România Muncitoare was a socialist newspaper, published in Bucharest, Romania....
. In March 1905, I. C. Frimu helped establish the Bucharest Carpenters' Union (being elected its president), and, in 1907, joined the leadership of the Socialist Union of Romania — the embryo of the post-1910 PSDR. The Socialist Union's creation came at the same time as the Romanian Peasants' Revolt
1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt
The 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt took place in March 1907 in Moldavia and it quickly spread, reaching Wallachia. The main cause was the discontent of the peasants about the inequity of land ownership, which was in the hands of just a few large landowners....
— the government's suspicion of the socialist camp resulted in the expulsion of many România Muncitoare contributors, Rakovsky among them; the Frimus maintained contacts with the exiled (including the brothers Hoppe, who had settled in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
). In 1909, I. C. Frimu and the future novelist Panait Istrati
Panait Istrati
Panait Istrati was a Romanian writer of French and Romanian expression, nicknamed The Maxim Gorky of the Balkans. Istrati was first noted for the depiction of one homosexual character in his work.-Early life:...
were imprisoned in Văcăreşti prison, after taking part in riots asking the National Liberal
National Liberal Party (Romania)
The National Liberal Party , abbreviated to PNL, is a centre-right liberal party in Romania. It is the third-largest party in the Romanian Parliament, with 53 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 22 in the Senate: behind the centre-right Democratic Liberal Party and the centre-left Social...
cabinet of Ion I. C. Brătianu
Ion I. C. Bratianu
Ion I. C. Brătianu was a Romanian politician, leader of the National Liberal Party , the Prime Minister of Romania for five terms, and Foreign Minister on several occasions; he was the eldest son of statesman and PNL leader Ion Brătianu, the brother of Vintilă and Dinu Brătianu, and the father of...
to receive Rakovsky back into Romania.
On January 31, 1910, when the PSDR was founded, Frimu, Rakovsky (who had been allowed to return), Gheorghiu Bujor, Marinescu and Constantin Vasilescu, were elected among its leaders. With Rakovsky, Gheorghiu Bujor, and Ecaterina Arbore
Ecaterina Arbore
Ecaterina Arbore, Arbore-Ralli or Ralli-Arbore , daughter of Zamfir Arbore , was a Romanian, Soviet and Moldovan communist activist and official.-Early life:She trained towards a medical...
, he gave lectures at the PSDR's propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
school. After the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Frimu and the PSDR stood among the socialist internationalist
Proletarian internationalism
Proletarian internationalism, sometimes referred to as international socialism, is a Marxist social class concept based on the view that capitalism is now a global system, and therefore the working class must act as a global class if it is to defeat it...
opponents of war, and Rakovsky played a major part in the Zimmerwald movement
Zimmerwald Conference
The Zimmerwald Conference was held in Zimmerwald, Switzerland, from September 5 through September 8, 1915. It was an international socialist conference, which saw the beginning of the end of the coalition between revolutionary socialists and reformist socialists in the Second International.-...
. As Romania entered the war on the side of the Entente Powers
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
, the PSDR was banned and Rakovsky jailed. When the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
occupied southern Romania (see Romanian Campaign
Romanian Campaign (World War I)
The Romanian Campaign was part of the Balkan theatre of World War I, with Romania and Russia allied against the armies of the Central Powers. Fighting took place from August 1916 to December 1917, across most of present-day Romania, including Transylvania, which was part of the Austro-Hungarian...
), Frimu, who was himself jailed for his anti-war propaganda, followed the authorities into Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
.
In September 1917, I. C. Frimu and Alecu Constantinescu
Alecu Constantinescu
Alexandru "Alecu" Constantinescu was Romanian trade unionist, journalist and socialist and pacifist militant, one of the major advocates of the transformation of the Romanian socialist movement into a communist one....
were the Romanian delegates to the third internationalists' conference against war in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. In late December 1918, he joined the Socialist Party of Romania
Socialist Party of Romania
The Socialist Party of Romania was a Romanian socialist political party, created on December 11, 1918 by members of the Romanian Social Democratic Party , after the latter emerged from clandestinity...
, created around the PSDR.
December 13, 1918 workers' demonstration
Typesetting
Typesetting is the composition of text by means of types.Typesetting requires the prior process of designing a font and storing it in some manner...
from the Sfetea and Minerva graphic design studios went on strike demanding better working and living conditions (a pay raise, an eight-hour day
Eight-hour day
The eight-hour day movement or 40-hour week movement, also known as the short-time movement, had its origins in the Industrial Revolution in Britain, where industrial production in large factories transformed working life and imposed long hours and poor working conditions. With working conditions...
, etc.). As their demands were not met, all the typographers in Bucharest announced that they would strike a week later. On December 13, 1918 (NS
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
December 26), a large socialist demonstration of Bucharest workers took place. Its principal organisers were Rakovsky, the typographers Iancu Luchwig and Sami Steinberg, the bootmaker Marcus Iancu, the proofreader Marcel Blumenfeld, Ilie Moscovici, Frimu, Gheorghe Cristescu
Gheorghe Cristescu
Gheorghe Cristescu was a Romanian socialist and, for a part of his life, communist militant. Nicknamed "Plăpumarul" , he is also occasionally referred to as "Omul cu lavaliera roşie" , after the most notable of his accessories.-Early activism:Born in Copaciu Gheorghe Cristescu (October 10, 1882...
, D. Pop and others.
That day, the capital's nearly 600 typesetters went on strike and moved toward the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, accompanying the delegation which they had designated to present their grievances. Workers from other Bucharest factories and plants joined the typographers in solidarity. The protesters shouted slogans such as "Down with the army! Down with the King! Long live the Republic!", and expected to end up before the National Theatre
National Theatre Bucharest
The National Theatre Bucharest is one of the national theatres of Romania, located in the capital city of Bucharest.-Founding:It was founded as the Teatrul cel Mare din Bucureşti in 1852, its first director being Costache Caragiale...
.
As soon as the columns of workers reached the square in front of the National Theatre, they were met by forces of public order, specifically the 9th Vânători de Munte
Vânatori de Munte
The vânători de munte |Huntsmen]]) are the elite mountain troops of the Romanian Land Forces. They were first established as an independent Army Corps in 1916 during World War I, and became operational in 1917 under Corpul de Munte designation....
Regiment, the police
Romanian Police
The Romanian Police is the national police force and main civil law enforcement agency in Romania. It is subordinated to the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform.-Duties:The Romanian Police are responsible for:...
and the gendarmerie
Jandarmeria Româna
Jandarmeria Română is the military branch of the two Romanian police forces .The gendarmerie is subordinated to the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform and does not have responsibility for policing the Romanian Armed Forces...
, commanded by police prefect General Ştefănescu and by the head of the Bucharest garrison, General Mărgineanu. These forces had gathered on Ion Câmpineanu Street, in Pasajul Român, and its commanders had stationed themselves in the police station inside the passage. From inside the passage, General Mărgineanu placed a telephone call to Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Romania
The Prime Minister of Romania is the head of the Government of Romania. Initially, the office was styled President of the Council of Ministers , when the term "Government" included more than the Cabinet, and the Cabinet was called The Council of Ministers...
Ion I. C. Brătianu
Ion I. C. Bratianu
Ion I. C. Brătianu was a Romanian politician, leader of the National Liberal Party , the Prime Minister of Romania for five terms, and Foreign Minister on several occasions; he was the eldest son of statesman and PNL leader Ion Brătianu, the brother of Vintilă and Dinu Brătianu, and the father of...
, asking his authorization to intervene against the demonstrators.
The forces of public order fired into the crowd; in the National Theatre Square 16 were killed and tens wounded from among the workers. Important figures from the cultural, artistic and political realms, such as Ioan Slavici
Ioan Slavici
Ioan Slavici was a Transylvanian-born Romanian writer and journalist. He made his debut in Convorbiri literare , with the comedy Fata de birău...
, Nicolae Tonitza
Nicolae Tonitza
Nicolae Tonitza was a Romanian painter, engraver, lithographer, journalist and art critic. Drawing inspiration from Post-impressionism and Expressionism, he had a major role in introducing modernist guidelines to local art.-Biography:...
and Gala Galaction
Gala Galaction
Gala Galaction was a Romanian Orthodox clergyman and theologian, writer, journalist, left-wing activist, as well as a political figure of the People's Republic of Romania...
, harshly condemned the government's repressive action. Hundreds of workers and members of the trade union movement and of the Social Democratic Party were arrested and tortured.
Trial and death
The socialist lawyers Constantin Titel PetrescuConstantin Titel Petrescu
Constantin Titel Petrescu was a Romanian politician and lawyer. He was the leader of the Romanian Social Democratic Party.He was born in Craiova, the son of an employee of the National Bank in Bucharest...
, Constantin Mille
Constantin Mille
Constantin Mille was a Romanian journalist, novelist, poet, lawyer, and socialist militant, as well as a prominent human rights activist...
, Radu Rosetti, Toma Dragu and N. D. Cocea
N. D. Cocea
N. D. Cocea was a Romanian journalist, novelist, critic and left-wing political activist, known as a major but controversial figure in the field of political satire...
defended the arrested workers at trial. During the trial, the royal commissioner could not produce proof to back up his opening statement and thus the indictments, except against the Communist agitators, whom the Martial Court sentenced to 5 years' imprisonment. The other workers were acquitted in February 1919.
Frimu, who had been accused of instigation, died in a prison hospital. His last days in Văcăreşti prison were recounted by the writer A. de Herz, with whom he shared a cell; according to Herz, the prison was infested with lice
Louse
Lice is the common name for over 3,000 species of wingless insects of the order Phthiraptera; three of which are classified as human disease agents...
which carried the typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
bacteria. As a result of beating and torture by police during his arrest, Frimu's liver and kidneys were heavily damaged, as reportedly indicated by the physician Cristodulo (who was the last to consult him). Under heavy guard, Frimu, in agony, was transported to hospital, as a large group of socialist detainees, Cristescu included, sang The Internationale
The Internationale
The Internationale is a famous socialist, communist, social-democratic and anarchist anthem.The Internationale became the anthem of international socialism, and gained particular fame under the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1944, when it was that communist state's de facto central anthem...
. Cristodulo himself contracted typhus and died two weeks after his patient. Thousands of workers took part in Frimu's funeral, asking that those responsible for his death be punished.
Ion G. Duca
Ion G. Duca
Ion Gheorghe Duca was prime minister of Romania from November 14 to December 30, 1933, when he was assassinated for his efforts to suppress the fascist Iron Guard movement.-Life and political career:...
, who was then in government, writes that "the police arrested all the [strike] movement's leaders and beat them so severely that one of the most important socialists, Frimu, died a few days later due to the wounds he received".
Legacy
I. C. Frimu was among the last PSDR figures of his age to be respected by both the Reformist socialists and their communistCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
adversaries. The moderate Constantin Titel Petrescu praised Frimu as "that admirable human example of honesty, goodness and kindliness". Rakovsky — who had since affiliated with Leninism
Leninism
In Marxist philosophy, Leninism is the body of political theory for the democratic organisation of a revolutionary vanguard party, and the achievement of a direct-democracy dictatorship of the proletariat, as political prelude to the establishment of socialism...
and had taken refuge in Bolshevist Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
— was himself distressed by the news; in spring 1919, his wife Ileana Pralea wrote to Rozalia Frimu a letter of condolence, in which she said "I am in a position to add that one of my companion's greatest hopes has extinguished with Frimu." As the Socialist Party was split into the moderate groups and the newly-formed Romanian Communist Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
, Frimu's legacy became the topic of dispute — Moscovici, who sided with the former, claimed that Frimu disapproved of the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
("[...] Frimu, who had seen the Russian Revolution [for] a year and a half of its activity, never did completely agree with its methods"), and, making reference to the communist activist Alecu Constantinescu
Alecu Constantinescu
Alexandru "Alecu" Constantinescu was Romanian trade unionist, journalist and socialist and pacifist militant, one of the major advocates of the transformation of the Romanian socialist movement into a communist one....
, argued that Frimu "could not stand" the latter's "demagogy".
After the Communist regime
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
was established, Frimu gained official status as a hero of the labor movement in Romania, and he was claimed a precursor. His remains were transferred to the Carol Park Mausoleum
Carol Park
Carol Park is a public park in Bucharest, Romania, named after King Carol I of Romania. For the duration of the communist regime, it was called Liberty Park ....
, designed for prominent socialists and communists, buried in the semicircle around the monument. The Sinaia
Sinaia
Sinaia is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. The town was named after Sinaia Monastery, around which it was built; the monastery in turn is named after the Biblical Mount Sinai...
Plants were given his name, as were a number of streets in Romania's main cities and a quarter of Galaţi
Galati
Galați is a city and municipality in Romania, the capital of Galați County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, in the close vicinity of Brăila, Galați is the largest port and sea port on the Danube River and the second largest Romanian port....
. In 1991, when the mausoleum was deprecated, Frimu's remains were moved to Sfânta Vineri Cemetery, Griviţa
Grivita
Griviţa is an area of Bucharest, Romania, centered on the Griviţa Railway Yards , which were and still are an important landmark within the manufacturing landscape of the city...
.