In 1915, Zarifopol and his family returned to Romania. By then, World War I had broken out, with Romania settled in uneasy neutrality until 1916. For much of that interval, Zarifopol was a literary contributor for Tudor Arghezi's "Cronica", but did not necessarily share the magazine's radical stances, nor its anti-war "Germanophilia". During the campaigns of 1916–1917, Zarifopol and his family remained in Iași; all of southern Romania fell to the Germans. For a while, accepting Ibrăileanu's offer, he returned to his alma mater as a substitute professor, replacing C. Fedeleș (presumed missing in action). Upon Fedeleș's unexpected return, Zarifopol was sacked. In late 1916, the family took refuge in Russia, settling for a while in Moscow, but were driven out by the October Revolution.