Basarabia e Romania—Bessarabia is Romania! I was to see this slogan several times. Bessarabia—like many places—has a complicated history. In the 20th century it was united with Romania after World War I and became part of Greater Romania only to be taken away as part of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact as Europe headed toward World War II. As one can see, the situation still simmers.