Alecu Russo și remanențele cenzurii comuniste
Alecu Russo and the Persistences of the Communist Censorship

Summary/Abstract: During the Communist regime, the works of the classical Romanian authors were issued in new critical editions, edited with modern instruments by prestigious scholars of the time. They were printed in tens of thousands of copies, replacing the previous editions of the classical authors. On the other hand, throughout the entire period, all the printed materials were subjected to censorship. Literary works, if approved for publication, were especially purged of inconvenient ideas, phrases or names, irrespective of the authorʼs name, prestige or relevance. Following the fall of the Communist regime, most of these writings were re-issued in new editions. However, it is doubtful whether they reproduce the authors’ original text or the cleansed editions from the Communist period. This study attempts to investigate the issue, focusing on one exemplary case: the 19th century author Alecu Russo. It compares the mildly censored editions of his writings, published throughout the four decades of Communist regime, with the most recent editions, released after 1989. It also confronts the censored editions published in Romania (before and after 1989) with similar editions, in Romanian language, published in Moldavian Soviet Republic and (since 1991) Republic of Moldova, evaluating the various degrees of censorship in the two Communist states and their subsequent effects. The result of the analysis partially confirms our hypothesis: many of the post-1989 editions of Russoʼs works fail to restore the original text, often reproducing the censored versions of the Communist period. Further investigations on other major Romanians authors will probably corroborate our initial assertion: the lack of academic rigor and/or of editorial awareness has allowed the survival of censored and mutilated literary creations long after the disappearance of the regime that created them. Moreover, it shows a systemic failure in restoring the original creation of the major figures in the Romanian literature, while perpetuating their distorted versions.

• Details
• Contents