 The Romanian proportion of the population decreased from an estimated 86% in 1816, to around 52% in 1905.During this time there were anti-Semitic riots, leading to an exodus of thousands of Jews to the United States.World War I brought in a rise in political and cultural (ethnic) awareness among the inhabitants of the region, as 300,000 Bessarabians were drafted into the Russian Army formed in 1917; within bigger units several "Moldavian Soldiers' Committees" were formed.