Ionică Tăutu Ionică Tăutu ( usual rendition of Ion Tăutu ; 1798 — 1828 ) was a Moldavia n low - ranking boyar , Enlightenment - inspired pamphleteer , and craftsman ( " an engineer by trade " , according to Alecu Russo ) . Constitutional project . The last in a succession of boyars who advanced reforms during the Phanariote rule , Tăutu stood for the interests of a coalition of low - ranking nobility which aimed to protect itself against competition from modern developments , while adopting various liberal and Romanian nationalist principles in order to counter the growing political power of Moldavian princes . The entire group was referred to as " cărvunari " , an antiquated Romanian rendition of the | Italian " carbonari " ( although , unlike the latter , they were not organized as a secret society ) ; the reference was to remain a denominator for radical groups in both Danubian Principalities ( Moldavia and Wallachia ) until the 1848 Wallachian revolution . In 1822 , under the rule of Ioan Sturdza ( the first non - Phanariote prince in Moldavia ) , Ionică Tăutu advanced a thorough constitutional project , which soon became highly controversial . The new law proposed " habeas corpus " , free trade , as well as a radical definition of private ownership which denied confiscation under any circumstances ; at the same time , it called for a reform of the traditional government by the prince and the estates of the realm ( the Boyar Divan ) , which placed virtually all powers with the latter - thus attempting to preserve privilege s obtained by boyars in the previous decades . Nevertheless , Tăutu was a cautious adversary of the French Revolution , which he likened to " the anarchy of crowds " . Given that high - ranking boyars had come to dominate the political landscape ( and an inner - circle of families had effectively blocked several Phanariote reforms ) , Tăutu met stiff opposition from the political class : his reforms also attempted to increase representation for low - ranking boyars - a group otherwise threatened with extinction . The most noted adversary of his project was Mihail Sturdza ( future prince ) , who rejected all decrease in influence for the high - ranking boyars . Ultimately , the [ [ Imperial Russia | Russian consulate in Iaşi , which had progressively gained influence in internal politics between the 1774 [ [ Treaty of Kucuk Kaynarca ] ] and the [ [ Greek War of Independence ] ] , called for the initiative to be stopped , citing previous treaties between the [ [ Ottoman Empire ] ] ( Moldavia ' s suzerain ) and Russia , as well as the will of [ [ List of Russian rulers | Emperor ] ] Alexander I of Russia . Tăutu retreated from public life and died in self - exile in Istanbul . Legacy . His image was held in esteem by radical of later generations , and often offered as an example of nationalist revival . [ [ Alecu Russo ] ] , who wrote his memoirs in the 1850s , described Tăutu as " the revived Romanianness , carried along by all patriotic sentiments , and having the same role as the one [ [ Tudor Vladimirescu | Vladimirescu ] ] [ the leader of the previous [ [ Wallachian uprising of 1821 | Wallachian uprising ] ] ] had with a peasant rifle " . Giving evidence of an ultimately left - wing tradition emerging from low - ranking boyars ( in his criticism of the conservative guidelines advocated by " [ [ Junimea ] ] " ) , the [ [ Poporanism | Poporanist ] ] [ [ Garabet Ibrăileanu ] ] postulated that Ionică Tăutu ' s was a " revolutionary class " and " the representative of all disinherited classes " . References . [ [ Category : 1798 births ] ] [ [ Category : 1828 deaths ] ] [ [ Category : Moldavia ] ] [ [ Category : Romanian nobility ] ]