The Kingdom of Romania was a state that existed in the Balkans. It gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1855, following the Danubian War, and became part of the Russian sphere of influence after the Treaty of San Stefano, and remained close to Russia through World War One. The country remained mostly stable and at peace during the time of Russian domination, with the exception of the short sucession crisis after the death of Alexandru Ioan Cuza, eventually leading to Niko I Dadiani, former Prince of Megrelia, becoming king, sponsored by Russia. In 1896, Russian forces abandoned Romania, and King Niko, hoping to regain his beloved Georgia, cooperated with them, and became Prince of Georgia as well as king of Romania. He continued his policy of alignment with Britain and France during the Russian Civil War, and thus expanded Romania's borders to include Moldova.
