 Some Romanian historians claimed that a strong sentiment of frustration and resentment to the Russian control had started to appear before the beginning of World War I.World War I brought a rise in political and cultural (national) awareness in the population, as 300,000 Bessarabians enrolled in the Russian Army formed in 1917, within bigger units several "Moldavian Soldiers' Committees".Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, Bessarabia elected its own parliament, "Sfatul Țării" (October–November 1917), which opened on , proclaimed the Moldavian Democratic Republic (), formed its government (), proclaimed independence from Russia ().