Simeon Murafa
| Simeon Gheorghevici Murafa | |
|---|---|
Murafa in Kiev, photograph by Dmitry Markov (June 8, 1907)
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| Born |
May 24, 1887 Cotiujenii Mari |
| Died | August 20, 1917 (aged 30) Chișinău |
| Nationality | Imperial Russian |
| Alma mater | Saint Vladimir (Shevchenko) University |
| Occupation | Activist, composer, editor of Cuvânt Moldovenesc newspaper |
| Political party | Moldavian National Party |
| Spouse(s) | Polina Murafa |
| Children | Silvia Murafa |
Simeon Gheorghevici Murafa (also spelled Simion or Semion Murafa; May 24, 1887 - August 20, 1917) was a Bessarabian politician in the Russian Empire, also known as a publicist and composer. A trained classical singer and a graduate of Saint Vladimir (Shevchenko) University, he was one of the leading activists supporting ethnic Romanian emancipation in Bessarabia and beyond. By 1914, he associated with the revolutionary core of the Romanian nationalist movement, which he represented as director of Cuvânt Moldovenesc newspaper.
An officer of the Imperial Russian Army during World War I, Murafa mainly used his position to advance Romanian nationalism. In early 1917, he helped establish the Moldavian National Party, helping to organize its cells in Bessarabia and Odessa. He was murdered while attending a friend's party, after a group of revolutionary soldiers identified him as a political enemy. His legacy is honored in both Romania and Moldova.
A native of Cotiujenii Mari, at the time part of Russia's Bessarabia Governorate, Simeon G. Murafa was from a family of Moldavian yeomen. He was the nephew of another nationalist activist, the Bessarabian Orthodox priest Andrei Murafa. From an early age, like his uncle, he closely identified with Bessarabia's ethnic Romanian community and its national emancipation ideals. According to Gheorghe V. Madan, his friend and fellow activist, Murafa was "a fiery nationalist". An outstanding choir boy, young Murafa went to the Orthodox seminary in Edineț, graduating in 1903. He was then sent to Kiev, where he graduated from Lyceum No. 2 in 1907, simultaneously enlisting at Kiev Conservatory (to 1910) and the University Law School (to 1912).
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