Anton Novakov

Anton Novakov or Novacov (Bulgarian: Антон Новаков; died September 1938) was a Bessarabian industrialist and legislator of the Moldavian Democratic Republic, of Bulgarian and Gagauz background. He was originally active in the Russian Empire's Bessarabia Governorate, where he organized credit unions. In late 1917, the co-operative network elected him to the Bessarabian council, or Sfatul Țării, which proclaimed the Moldavian Republic in December. Novakov served on the Commission to Combat Anarchy and helped organize a republican militia. His absence during the vote on Bessarabia's unification with Romania in March 1918 was partly explained by his missions in the field, though allegations later surfaced that he had actively conspired against the union's recognition. He lived the remainder of his life in Romanian Bessarabia, and integrated into the political life of Greater Romania: originally a member of the People's Party, he subsequently became a National Liberal. In the late 1920s, Novakov was involved in a legal battle with the Romanian state, over benefits he claimed were owed to him as a former member of the Sfatul.