In the sentimental geography of the cities and villages in our country, some places talk about people and facts from the past. One of them is the Alley of Classics in the Public Garden "Stephen the Great and Saint" in Chisinau. The initiative belonged to the intellectuals of the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic in the late 1950s, especially members of the Writers' Union and was carried out with the help of one of the least known high-ranking foreign officials in the then MSSR Government.
Few know that during the 1960s and 1970s, at the head of the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic, there were, very rarely, native Moldovans, who have some important achievements in various fields of public life. Unfortunately, amid the intensification of the policy of "fighting nationalism" in Soviet Moldova, launched by the First Secretary General of the PCM, Ivan Bodiul, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, many of the natives in leadership positions ended up be removed from office or demoted and "expelled" from public life.
The appearance of the Alley of Classics
In the early 1950s, the Writers' Union, through the voice of its president, Andrei Lupan, proposed the creation of an Alley of Classics of "Moldovan" literature, which, at the time, were still banned in the MSSR. Andrei Lupan, the president of the Union, together with George Meniuc and others, managed, in the same period, to obtain Brezhnev's consent for the study of the classics of Romanian literature in Chisinau as well. They had also obtained the right to use the Romanian literary language (although it was still called Moldovan and Cyrillic spelling was used).
Thus, in 1958, with the help of the Deputy Minister of Culture, Anatolie Corobceanu, in Chisinau was realized the idea launched in the interwar period by the sculptor Alexandru Plămădeală, author of the monument Stephen the Great and Saint in the capital, to create an alley of classics of Romanian literature (called Moldovan at the time).
"It was necessary, the pathetic state of decay of our republic had to be saved, which to some extent compromised the whole country. (...) The proposal from the leadership of the Writers' Union to make a set of monuments of our classics was accepted. This ensemble was to become the central monument in the capital of Moldova. (...) We, the writers, insisted that this monumental ensemble be made on the central street, in front of the “Patria” cinema, on the sidewalk opposite, in a row to be 10-12 monuments of our classics. But this was impossible. There was the monument of Lenin, beyond the monument of Stephen, in front - the monument of Stalin. (...) All the responsibility was on Corobceanu's shoulders. On the one hand suspected, pursued and valued as such, on the other hand - imposed and pressured by our cultural community, he came up with the proposal to make this ensemble on the central alley in the Public Garden. I protested vehemently, and I accusing him of wanting to hide the classics under the trees, under the bushes, just so that no one would see them. But the coincidence and the pressure of this rhythm of our life itself gave this release that I dare to call brilliant ”, the poet Andrei Lupan remembered about this event.
Surprisingly or not, Corobceanu's name was not mentioned in the time press, which reported on the opening of the Alley of Classics. Thus, in the April 30, 1958 issue of the newspaper "Sovetskaia Moldavia" we find the following:
"On April 29 in the central park, in the name of Pushkin, the inauguration of the Alley of Classics of Moldovan Literature took place. Representatives of the city intellectuals, writers, workers, students, painters gathered in front of the fountain.
On behalf of the executive committee of the Chisinau City Council, the rally was opened with a short speech, B.Z. Tanasevski, chairman of the executive committee. He gave the floor to the Minister of Culture of MSSR A.M. Lazarev ... The director of the Institute of Language and Literature of the Moldovan branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences I.C. Varticean, the writer A.P. Lupan, the painter L.P. Grigorașenco, the worker from the “Red Star” knitting factory Liubovi Budaian and others.
The purple ribbon was cut by B.Z. Tanasevski ... ”
Also with Corobceanu's support, Vladimir Curbet was named at the head of the "Joc" Folk Dance Ensemble, Serghei Lunchevici, conductor of the "Fluieraș" Orchestra, and Veronica Garștea, conductor of the "Doina" Choral Chapel. At his disposal, the folk groups in the republic changed the Ukrainian national costume to the traditional Moldovan one. He was also the one who saved Maria Bieșu from expulsion from the Conservatory, because she would have arrears of Leninist Marxism ", allowing her to continue her career.
Accused of passivity in the fight against nationalism and dismissed from office
On November 16, 1970, Corobceanu was accused of passivity in the fight against nationalist demonstrations, along with other charges such as lack of principality but also failure to recognize the existence of two different languages. Then, Ivan Bodiul signed the document, by which Anatol Corobceanu was dismissed from the position of vice-president of the Council of Ministers, being demoted to that of Deputy Minister of Justice.
"The official accusation of nationalism and the reference to work by specialty meant that Anatol Corobceanu was excluded from public life and deprived of the right to deal with the problems of the national spiritual culture. He was sentenced to internal exile ", said the intellectual Leonid Cemortan,
Six years later, on November 16, 1976, following a heart attack, Corobceanu died at the age of only 54. As told by his countless friends, such as Vladimir Beșleagă, Leonid Cemortan or Andrei Lupan, the last six years of Anatol Corobceanu's life were some of the most difficult, being demoted and persecuted for his visions.
The article is written by Cristian Bolotnicov and published on October 23, 2021 on agora.md.
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