Anii comemorativi, precum 2009 şi 2010, care aniversează evenimente istorice de impact major, generează, inevitabil, tentaţia re-evaluărilor. Revista Vatra nu reprezintă o excepţie în acest sens. Anunţat de ceva vreme pe coperta a doua a revistei, numărul tematic Expertiza comunismului s-a modificat şi s-a abătut, pe parcursul elaborării, destul de mult de la conceptul iniţial. De la un număr care, într-o fază incipientă, îl viza pe Vladimir Tismăneanu şi „expertiza” sa asupra comunismului, la două decenii de la despărţirea de fostul regim, a devenit, din motive pe care nu le mai detaliem, un număr în care comunismul şi postcomunismul – cele două epoci fiind, în fond, faţa şi reversul aceleiaşi medalii – au fost privite din perspectiva a trei domenii: teorie, literatură şi cinematografie/ teatru. Dosarul tripartit al Expertizei comunismului şi-a propus nu atât o revizitare aniversară, după douăzeci de ani, a comunismului şi postcomunismului, cât o re-evaluare, fireşte, fără pretenţii de exhaustivitate sau absolută rigoare academică, a discursului de la noi despre (post)comunism, fie el în domeniul teoretic-epistemologic sau artistic (literar şi cinematografic).
More...Keywords: cultural politics; academic exchanges; student migration; universities; Weimar Republic.
At the end of World War I, Germany was neither politically, nor culturally ”attendable”, for most of the European countries. In this context, one of the main cultural aims of the Weimar Republic will be the resumption of the cultural and academic relations with other countries. The foreign students were invested with a major role in this respect. The Weimar Republic has taken institutional and financial steps in order to intensify the student migration and to repopulate its universities with foreign students, measures that have paid off in the mid 20s. In 1925, the percentage of foreign students in Germany reached again the pre-war level. The groups of foreign students best represented in the German universities were the Romanians, the Bulgarians and the Polish. The paper also takes a look at the evolution of the foreign students in Germany during 1918-1933, focusing on their country of origin, the preferred institutions of higher education and fields of study, as well as on the presence of female students from foreign countries in Germany.
More...no
More...Keywords: European spirit; European integration; intellectuals; Church; post-secularism
The paper provides the ideal-typical narrative of European integration manufactured by Romanian intellectuals and the official national Church (Greek-orthodox), that could be summarized as follows: in the realm of the spirit, Europe would have survived mainly in the East, shepherded by such intellectuals as the Romanian ones and by the spiritual legacy of the Orthodox Church; in political and economic terms, European Union is monitored according to secularist and relativist guidelines by the bureaucracy in Brussels. Whatever the latter, together with their Romanian counterparts, may have realized in the course of European enlargement is of little concern for the former. Both the Church and the mainstream intellectuals are engaged now in an operation that should have defined them long before the fall of state socialism: to boost intellectual non-conformity with respect to the political dominant discourse as a way of refusing the debate by taking it seriously. And they do it by means of the same narrative device that kept them silent under communism: they tell the story of the prevalence of culture and the spiritual over everything political.
More...Keywords: memories from childhood; books of the childhood; childhood in the communist years;
various authors remember their childhood days. Essays, poetry and short stories on this theme.
More...The present paper continues the approach meant to reconstruct the events taking place in Bessarabia in the aftermath of World War I. In the first part, “Highest Grade for Good Behaviour”: Romanian School in Bessarabia in the First Years after the Great Union (part I), we particularly focused on what happened in 1917−1918 and on the gradual coagulation of a national ethos, of some directions of change in the school system in the name of the “nationalization” brought forward by the Moldavian patriots. After the union with the Romanian Kingdom, the same notion acquired new meanings and thus mobilized the school environment in Bessarabia. In order to better understand what happened then, we propound a social and institutional history of the concept of “national” in Bessarabia, analysed from the perspective of the school culture. Our investigation aims at several levels of analysis: the changing of the school syllabuses and textbooks, the winning of the teaching staff’s loyalty, the new curriculum, the civic and national education, the general disciplining of the new teachers and pupils, who had to meet the requirements of the cultural model from the Old Kingdom of Romania.
More...Keywords: marriage between same sexes; ACCEPT; ILGA-Europe; ECSOL; International Commission of Jurists; Civil Code
In 2001, the Netherlands passed the first law recognizing marriage between same sexes. Then increased the number of States that have followed the Dutch example: South Africa, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Iceland, UK, Mexico, Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Uruguay et .a. The greatest impact was international recognition of gay marriages in the United States (by the decision of the Supreme Court) and Ireland (by popular referendum), both in 2015. In Romania, the evolution of world democracies has generated "defense" actions; first by amend the Civil Code, then the recent initiative to amend the constitution using the referendum institution. These political mobilizations have generated and will generate legal battles. To deepen the background theme and content of the legal arguments, we reproduce here three interventions Romanian Constitutional Court: two amicus curiae regarding changing the Constitution submitted by the Association accepted and respected by ILGA-Europe together with Amnesty International, ECSOL and International Commission of Jurists ; demand recognition of the effects of the unconstitutionality of legal marriages concluded abroad for citizens and her husband same-sex spouses made by Relu Adrian Coman and Robert Hamilton Clabourn together with ACCEPT.
More...Keywords: 1906; Bufflo Bill; circus; Colonel William Frederick Cody; European tour; romanians
During his 1906 European tour, Colonel William Frederick Cody, the worldwide famous Buffalo Bill (1846-1917), reached the eastern parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire which were inhabited mainly by Romanians. His performance was hailed as the greatest event of that summer. Indeed, the public had never attended such an interesting show as Buffalo Bill's Wild West. As its founder and owner always stressed, this performance was't only a circus, but also an exhibition meant to educate and entertain. It was a re-enactment of the American West and its history as Buffalo Bill knew it. Actually, Colonel Cody staged only those aspects of western life and those events he himself witnessed or in which he claimed to have taken part such as: the Pony Express, a buffalo hunt, an Indian attack on Deadwood stagecoach, the burning of a pioneer settlement, the battle of Summit Springs, Custer's Last Stand at Little Big Horn and Cody's hand-to-hand fight with Yellow Hand (also known as Yellow Hair), a Cheyenne Indian chieftain. These main dramatic acts were intersperesed with entertainment such as: horsemanship, target shooting, roping steers and bucking mustangs. The Congress of Rough Riders of the World was another attraction. Buffalo Bill's Wild West stopped a day or two in most important cities of Transylvania and Bukovina: Timişoara (Temesvâr in Hungarian, July 9), Arad (July 10-11), Alba Iulia (Gyulafehérvâr in Hungarian, July 12), Sibiu (Hermannstadt in German, Nagyszeben in Hungarian, July 13), Braşov (Kronstadt in German, Brâsso in Hungarian July 14-15), Sighişoara (Schàssburg or Segesvâr, July 16), Târgu Mureş (Maros Vâsârhely, July 17), Cluj (Clausenburg or Kolozsvâr, July 18-19), Oradea (Grosswardein or Nagyvârad, July 20), Satu Mare (Szatmârnéméti, July 21) Sighetul Marmaţiei (Maramér Szigét, July 22) and Cernăuţi (Czemowitz, July 24-25). All the local newspapers advertised this event giving full details about the acts and the stars, about the huge tent and the animals. Major John M. Burke, the company press agent, preceeded the show by a few days in order to take care of the preliminary arrangements, the advertising and posters, the travel and show schedules, the plans for feeding people and animals. He also chose, with the help of the local officials, the place where the large tent and show's camp would be set. The journalists were eager to interview Major Burke. Their press releases were always full of interesting details about the show, its acts and its stars. But sometimes the press coverage was erroneous, due to inaccurate translation. Lacking any knowledge of American history, the editors mistook General Custer's name with one of a fortress. Consequently, they translated "Custer's Last Stand" with "the last siege of Custer", Custer being for them something similar to Plevna or Cars. The advertisments were always illustrated with Colonel Cody's portrait and sometimes with a revealing composition of Indians attacking the stagecoach, cowboys breaking broncs. Arabs or Cossacks on horseback. Transylvanians were most interested by the hugeness of the team. The three trains in which the show travelled and their arrivals on schedule were also matters of amazement. The cars were painted yellow and the company's name was inscribed on each of them: Buffalo Bill Wild West. Of the fifty cars thirteen were sleeping cars equipped with all the conveniences for stars and extras as well. All the cars belonged to the company and were specially equipped to mach the European railways. For eight hundred people and five hundred animals great quantities of food were necessary. Breakfast alone, served almost immediately after the team's arrival, required three hundred eggs. This meal was ample and in accordance with every taste. Besides eggs there were additional dishes such as soup, steak with potatoes, bread and butter, milk, tea, coffee and hot chocolate. Six hundred and sixty two pounds of meat per day were just enough to feed the showmen. For elk, buffalo, deer, cattle and horses there were provided six carloads of hay and an appropriate quantity of oats. The huge tent was set up rapidly. Everybody knew his job and worked hard to complete his task.
More...Keywords: Melchisedec Ștefănescu; unpublished correspondence; Romanian Academy; Revista teologică
The paper presents portions of the unpublished correspondence of Bishop Melchisedec Ștefănescu.
More...Keywords: Apulum; Governor’s Palace/praetorium consularis; Marcus Aurelius; military diploma; imperial statues;
Throughout this article, the authors aim to highlight unpublished pieces of information about archaeological research done by the well-known Roman Dacia experts Al. Popa and I. Berciu, in the spring of 1962. The archaeological excavations started due to the construction of a new building belonging to The Crafts School (currently “Dionisie Pop Marțian” Economical Secondary School), located on 11, Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea Street (currently Octavian Goga Street), in the northern area of the building complex known as Roman Dacia governor’s Palace (praetorium consularis) at Apulum. Done in several stages, the fieldwork concerning governor’s Palace was conducted through systematic or rescue excavations carried out by A. Cserni (1888-1908), I. Berciu and Al. Popa (1943, 1962), V. Rusu-Bolindeț and collaborators (from 1992 until present times), and nevertheless by A. Timofan, R. Ota (2007) and O. Oargă (2019). During the 1962 excavation, the archaeologists discovered in the area located north to A. Cserni’s researches the ruins of a building complex, unearthed on a 575 m2 area. Amongst these, a monumental edifice stands out, consisting of several rooms decorated with polychrome painted plaster, equipped with heating systems and an impressive stairway, having at least two construction phases. The archaeologists have never published either a report or a detailed study regarding this excavation, except for the scientific emphasis on special finds. Therefore, relying on the aforementioned archaeologists’ journal and some documents kept in the Archives of The National Museum of Union from Alba Iulia (MNUAI) (the correspondence between The Regional Museum of Alba Iulia and the people involved — recipient, builder, local administrative representatives and the ones of the Communist Party, Romanian’s Academy Institute of History from Cluj —, briefings regarding the artefacts), the authors tried to bring light on this important part of governor’s Palace from an archaeological and historical perspective. The study focuses on presenting the stages of archaeological research. The examined archive documents revealed that communist authorities did not value either the historical value of the ruins or their cultural and touristic potential. Thereby, although it was decided by everyone to organise the excavation in the span of two weeks (starting on 24th of February 1962), the deadline was exceeded, so that I. Berciu and Al. Popa had investigated the entire area in a period of 5-6 days. In the minutes signed on the 4th of March 1962, the archaeologists announced, on the one hand, that the documentation in connection with the artefacts was finalised and, on the other hand, the agreement to continue both the construction of the building and the archaeological supervision. At the end of the excavations, the archaeologists wished upon public and touristic cherishing of the Roman buildings by restoring and preserving them. As a testimony for this stands a memo written by the museum’s manager Al. Popa, one of the researchers, addressed to municipal and regional authorities requesting funds for both future research and touristic assessment. He used the precedent set by the city of Constanța (Tomis), where “The Edifice with Mosaic”, found in 1959, was well restored shortly after its discovery. He proposed to design the Roman walls on school’s pavement, as well as documenting the ruins found in the school foundations by means of displaying photos accompanied by detailed descriptions. Although the timeframe for researching and documenting the Roman ruins discovered was truly short, the archaeological results were impressive: The sketch drawn in the journal with the general plan regarding the excavation, as well as the information found there allowed us to notice the structures of three possible buildings: Building I, located near the northern extremity of the foundations, parallel to Stahanov Street (currently Lucian Blaga Street), had only one room uncovered, consisting of the walls A and B (Pl. III), both pointing NW-SE, measuring 0.6 m in width and being built in opus mixtum technique. The foundations were built with limestone and sandstone blocks, while the elevation was made out of bricks bound by mortar. Considering the direction of the walls, it is possible that it continues to north and west (inside The Craft School’s yard) as well as to east (towards Stahanov Street, currently Lucian Blaga). Likewise, we do not have any clues if there was an alley/lane for access between this building and the next one (Building II), but the absence of structures points towards this conclusion. Building II is the most important edifice discovered in the centre and south-eastern corner of the future school’s foundations (in the area where the L-shaped sides cross each other) and had five rooms (Pl. III). This is “the building of impressive dimensions” that constantly shows up while the authors describe the excavations, without mentioning other technical details about it (firstly, its dimensions). Taking into account the sketch included in the journal, the NW-SE building had two perimetral walls, named C and H. Out of the discovered rooms, the biggest and the most richly decorated ones are 1 and 4. Room 1 appears to be what the discoverers named “The room with fresco”, because on one of its walls (inside G wall) a polychrome fresco was preserved. The segment has a length between 2.5 and 6 m, while the height measures between 0.65 and 1 m. It was built out of 4 successive plaster layers with different colours: Pompeian red, foncé red, grey and the last one consisting of “several marmoreal colours”. The last one, displayed in square panels that imitated marble, probably had in the upper part figurative representations, as the remaining fragments show. Room 4, referred to as “the room with hypocaust”, had a heating system that was preserved in its NW corner, consisting in five or more pilings rows made out of round bricks, placed on a floor built with big bricks. The sketch for the hypocaust system suggests that there was a channel with the aim of conducting the hot air, bounded by two little walls, having five bricks on width, bound with mortar. In the middle of the channel, there was a row of pilae, placed in the middle of it (Pl. III). On the sketch with the general plan of the preventive excavation from 1962, no possible entrances/doors between the rooms were marked, in order to be able to observe the way of communication between the rooms of Building II, except for the mention of monumental stairs, which connected room 4 (“the room with hypocaust”) and room 1 (“the room with fresco”). Thus, it is mentioned that this staircase consisted of four or five visible steps, made of large blocks (of sandstone), whose height reached almost 1.00 m. Since in the both rooms, floors made of opus signinum were found, under which were heating installations, the respective stairs must have represented an access staircase to a floor, which highlights, even more, the monumental character of the discovered building.Building III (?) is located in the far western corner of the excavated surface; it was defined only by the discovery of a single wall, called J, which was made of quarry stone, bricks and broken tiles tied with mortar. It was a perimeter wall, 0.90 m wide, uncovered up to a depth of -2.50 m. In the space between Building II and Building III, no other constructive elements were discovered. Suppose modern interventions modern interventions did not destroy them, in that case the presence of this space could indicate the existence of an inner courtyard, surrounded by porticos or cryptoporticos, where imperial statues could be placed and the imperial cult could be celebrated (among the artefacts discovered on the site were also the fragments of at least 3 or 4 imperial bronze statues).The site’s stratigraphy is discussed only in the excavation journal (without any drawings or photos), where are described the Roman layers observed on the foundations’ profiles: are mentioned two debris layers separated by a humus/another debris layer with compact traces of charcoal and ash. This stratigraphy, as well as the walls built in different techniques, made the authors initially consider that there were two habitation periods (because of the charcoal and ash traces), the first one dated before the Marcomannic wars, while the latter – after the wars. Subsequently, at the end of the archaeological campaign, they reconsidered these observations and reached the conclusion that the uncovered buildings had a construction phase followed by a repair one. Thus, are attested two Roman habitation phases, but a more careful examination of the preserved structures seems to indicate only one phase, most likely of Severan period. Despite the variations of the walls’ building technique (walls built with stone blocks and elevation made out of bricks bound by mortar vs. walls built with reused stones and building materials bound by mortar), they belong to large-size buildings specific for this period of intensive reconstructions. Only one separating wall – the wall I – seems to belong to a repair phase of room 4, being mentioned that it was more rudimentary than the other walls of Building II. Moreover, neither the journal nor the sketch preserve details regarding the discovery of any previous structure below the living surface of these buildings. This situation is confirmed by the similar discoveries made during the recent excavations (1992-2020) carried out on 15-17, Munteniei street, at about 150 m W of the Crafts School. The Severan buildings have impressive dimensions, floors with bricks or marble pavements, walls decorated with polychrome fresco or marble, and a heating system, therefore similar to the 1962 discoveries. Nevertheless, the stratigraphy, similar to the one discovered by I. Berciu during the 1943 excavations, could indicate the existence of two habitation phases that weren’t investigated in the ground in 1962. Also, a part of the archaeological material discovered – coins issued by Hadrian (2) or Antoninius Pius (1), building materials stamped with the name of legio XIII Gemina (simple or accompanied by the anthroponym Ael(ius) Valens), and the building materials of the well-known producer P(ublius) Ael(ius) Ter(-entius, -entianus) – can stand proof for the dating of the first phase in the 2nd century AD (the second half ?). However, we shall take into account that the coins could have had a long lifespan, in some cases surpassing more than a century, while for the building materials, the stamps of Publius Aelius Terentinus were also found in 3rd century contexts, being imitated by other producers. Finally, the military diploma that belonged to a descendent of Bonio (a veteran of cohors II Hispanorum settled most likely in the canabae of legio XIII Gemina), who was part of the governor’s staff or guard, can also be an argument for an earlier dating of the first phase. In lack of more evident archaeological contexts for the structures and artefacts unearthed, the previous/first phase of the buildings discovered in 1962 cannot be dated more precisely. The next habitation phase, to which the buildings from the 11, Dobrogeanu Gherea pertain, is dated to the Severan period and can also cover the last two quarters of the 3rd century AD, because the last coin discovered was issued by Philippus I (AD 247-248). The artefacts discovered and identified in the MNUAI deposits have an exceptional documentary value. They are represented by: a votive altar dedicated to Minerva Augusta by six exceptores consulares (secretaries of the provincial administration); a fragmentary military diploma (of which have been preserved parts from tabella II intus and tabela II extrinsecus) with the name of Bonio, son of Veranius from cohors II Hispanorum, released on August 14th AD 99 from the army of Upper Moesia; the component parts of bronze statues probably belonging to Roman emperors (two hands, an index finger and 74 fragments of cloak – paludamentum), which attests at least three such statues of dimensions exceeding the human stature; building materials stamped with the name of Legio XIII Gemina (with a simple stamp or accompanied by anthroponyms (Ael(ius) Valens and Annei(us) Saturninus), as well as soldiers or the governor's guard (in the variants p(edites) sin(gulares), ped(ites) s(ingulares), n(umerus) sing(ularium) and singul(ares)), but also of private producers (M(---)I(---)D(---), P(ublius) Ael(ius) Ter(-entius, -entianus)) and Q(uintus) CAE(cilius) M(aximus). Another important discovery is given by the identification of a painted plaster (wall-plaster) in the al fresco technique with a length of 2.50 or 6 m (data from the Archive are contradictory) and a height of 0.65-1 m. Nine painted fragments and 22 stucco fragments were found in the museum's deposits. The painting is displayed in registers and decorative panels in which colours as red, blue, green, brown, or white were used, some in various shades. The presence of the shadow painting technique was also found. A graffito with the anthroponym Aurel[ius] was discovered on this painted wall. It would not be surprising to have to deal with a note of a character who passed by, or even of an official who wanted to leave “an unforgettable memory”. Stuccos are ornamental elements that accompany the painting, enriching the decoration of walls and vaults through decorative panels, friezes, cornices and plinths, with or without decoration. The decorations comprise vegetal motifs (palmettes made in different styles), wild animals running (lioness and gazelle?), ovolos, astragalus and pirouettes. Some of these ornamental elements are found both on various buildings discovered at Apulum (including the Governor's Palace) and on those at Potaissa, in the province of Dacia. Comparing the discoveries of stucco in the “small baths” and the Governor's Palace (from 1890 and 1962) we came to the conclusion that the ornament in braids that formed the motif "in the shape of eyes" was made by the same craftsmen, in a dateable period between the last two or three decades of the 2nd century and the first two decades of the 3rd century AD. The chronological classification is based on the stratigraphy’s reinterpretation of some complexes from the southern sector of the canabae of Legio XIII Gemina/municipium Septimium that was done in a 2009 study .The analysis of the way the statues are made, as well as the techniques of the decorative elements, indicate the presence, even if only for a short time, of some craftsmen specialised in the art of bronze statuary and stucco ornamentation, but also of some talented painters who usee a diverse range of pigments. The decoration of the rooms, but also of the inner courtyards of such a complex that constituted the Governor's Palace, implied the presence of the most capable artists and architects. Highlighting the unpublished documents kept in the MNUAI archive which contain information regarding the rescue excavations carried out in 1962 is very important for a better knowledge of the area associated with the governor’s palace at Apulum. Based on these documents, the general plan of the excavation that has been redrawn and reinterpreted was placed on the satellite image alongside the other areas of the praetorium consularis investigated so far. Moreover, by publishing the archaeological materials discovered in this area, we hope to enrich the general view on this imposing official seat of the Roman provincial administration.
More...Keywords: political anti-Semitism; religious anti-Semitism; popular anti-Semitism; violence; Jewish nationalism;
This paper provides an overview of the political, religious and popular anti-Semitism specific to the mid-19th century Romanian society, as reflected in the novel „Dima’th ashuqym”, written by David Yeshayahu Silberbusch. The novel succeeds in highlighting the tumultuous condition of the Jewish community members, torn apart between the struggle to be formally recognized as Romanian citizens, and their resistance to the discrimination and violence that was widespread among the political-administrative agents – starting with the government and ending with the major of the village – and within the larger society, at a civic level – neighbours, friends, customers and so on.
More...Keywords: historical analysis of abuse of office; abuse of power; abuse of authority; unjust taking; subsidiarity of abuse of office; disappearance of express clause of subsidiarity; subsidiary character;
The abuse of office constitutes a crime with a particular problematic specificity, considering the synthetic way of regulation used by the legislator, revealed by the generic terminology used and by the logical-legal structure of the incrimination norm. The most acute difficulties appear in the delimitation of the crime from other forms of legal liability, aspect that belongs to the field of application of the incrimination norm, as well as in the relation with other crimes, in the situation when they have a vocation of concomitant application. It should not be overlooked that criminal law should become incident only when the general interest is so affected that civil, disciplinary or administrative sanction is not sufficient – an aspect arising from the ancillary, discontinuous nature without a specific area of regulation of this branch of law, elements on which the principle of minimum intervention governing this matter is based. Within this framework, the historical analysis becomes relevant for understanding the evolution of the norm of incrimination over time in the positive law that provides the necessary information for: the historical interpretation of the notions that make up the current incrimination; strengthening the perspective on the legal concept of abuse of office as a whole; better application in judicial practice; delimitation from other forms of legal liability. On the other hand, one cannot omit the way in which in different historical stages the reason of the incrimination has changed, as well as its logical-legal structure as a whole and the different constitutive elements. The historical context in which the incrimination evolved from abuse of power to abuse of office in correlation to the contemporary jurisprudence of the different historical stages can contribute to a better perception on the different solutions of judicial practice, namely on their relevance for the application of the current incrimination norm. For this reason, the study allows itself to suggest the interruption of a certain inertia in retaining the significance and further applicability of certain older jurisprudential solutions. The historical perspective is also significant to determine the relationship of abuse of office in the current regulation with other incriminations in the Criminal Code in force and special criminal law, but also with certain administrative deeds whose active subject is the civil servant. For this reason, it is necessary to establish the landmarks in which the explicit subsidiarity clause appeared, as well as those in which it was removed from the incrimination norm. As such, the analysis aims to establish the effects of this reconfiguration, as well as the issue of tacit maintenance of this clause, which in the current literature is treated as a character related to the essence of criminalizing abuse of office. The disappearance of the express subsidiarity clause for redundancy reasons, respectively the evolution in time of the incrimination norm after the removal of the express clause and the preservation of the conceptual essence of the incrimination until now, brings to attention the transformation of the subsidiarity clause from an express one to a tacit one. At the same time, the study draws some landmarks regarding the traditional conceptual confusion between subsidiarity and specialty, highlighting the doctrinal perspective on the concept of subsidiarity that has customarily incorporated, since the late ’50s, the gender-species relationship with other crimes. In the first Criminal Code of the United Principalities of Moldova and Wallachia there was no single incrimination of abuse of office, and the legislator was inspired at that time by Western criminal law, distinctly regulating abuse of power, abuse of authority and, in a fragmented manner, excess of power. The same perspective crystallized under the auspices of the Criminal Code of Carol II, when the excess of power was provided for in a distinct and synthetic norm of regulation. Subsequently, the communist legislator turned to the eastern space, drawing inspiration from Soviet criminal law, a context in which abuse of office was regulated and systematized in three distinct articles. However, the transition to democracy did not mark significant changes in the incrimination of abuse of office, becoming stringent for the legislature only the need for restructuring the legal texts. The study reflects the close link between current forms of abuse of office and criminal offences in communist-era criminal law. Despite the fact that the article does not deal with the special form of the offence contained in Law No. 78/2000, the analysis is also of significance in this case, as long as Article 132 of that normative act is a rule for reference to abuse of office regulated in the Criminal Code. However, the historical interpretation of the criminal rule is not sufficient to fully clarify the issues raised, and must be correlated with the grammatical, teleological and systematic interpretation of criminalisation in the light of the principle of legality and relevant international documents, of human rights case law, and of the principles of resolving the apparent contest of criminal rules.
More...EUSEBIU DE CEZAREEA, Istoria bisericească, traducere din limba greacă veche, studiu introductiv şi note de Teodor Bodogae, ediţie revizuită de Tudor Teoteoi, Basilica, Bucureşti, 2020, 560 p. (PSB, s.n. 20). Beyond Ambassadors; Consuls, Missionaries, and Spies in Premodern Diplomacy, ed. Maurits Ebben şi Louis Sicking, Leiden, Editura Brill, 2020, 236 p. Carol Iancu, Evreii din Hârlău şi împrejurimi. Istorie şi memorie, Iaşi, Editura Universităţii „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, 2020, 250 p. Victor Taki, Russia on the Danube: Empire, Elites, and Reform in Moldavia and Wallachia 1812-1834, Budapest, Vienna, New York, Central European University Press, 2021. Mirel Bănică, Bafta, Devla şi Haramul. Studii despre cultura şi religia romilor, Iaşi, Editura Polirom, 2019, 472 p. David E. Nye, American Illuminations. Urban Lighting, 1800–1920, Cambridge, The MIT Press, 2018, x + 280 p. Mihai Ştefan Ceauşu, Ion Lihaciu, Autonomia Bucovinei (1848-1861). Studiu şi documente, Iaşi, Editura Universităţii „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, 2021, 374 p. Universitatea din Cluj în perioada interbelică, vol. III, Facultatea de Litere şi Filosofie, coordonator Ana-Maria Stan, editori Ioan-Aurel Pop, Simion Simon, Ioan Bolovan, Cluj-Napoca, Presa Universitară Clujeană, 2019, 364 p. Radu Ioanid, Pogromul de la Iaşi, ediţie îngrijită de Elisabeth Ungureanu, prefaţă de Alexandru Florian, Bucureşti, Editura Institutului Naţional pentru Studierea Holocaustului din România „Elie Wiesel”, Iaşi, Polirom, 2021, 142 p. Michael Shafir, România Comunistă (1948-1985). O analiză politică, economică şi socială, traducere din limba engleză de Mihai-Dan Pavelescu, Bucureşti, Editura Meteor Press, 2020, 432 p. Panorama comunismului în România, ed. de Liliana Corobca, Iaşi, Editura Polirom, 2020, 1150 p.
More...Keywords: the Sarmatians; the Iazyges; lunulae pendants; brooches; earrings; dress appliques; collars; mirrors; graves; the Pannonian Plain; the Roman Empire; the north-west and north-Pontic area;
We analyse here the start period of the Sarmatian Iazyges’ entry and settlement of the Great Hungarian Plain, an issue that has been debated for a long time and for which several chronological frameworks have been suggested. Also, the author resumes the discussion on certain aspects regarding the Sarmatae presence in the Pannonian Plain.Subsequent to the analysis of the archaeological finds, it was concluded they evidence that the Iazygian antiquities from the Pannonian Plain date no earlier than the second half of the 1st century AD and that the finds containing artefacts with a more accurate chronological framing date towards late 1st century AD, and in some cases, even to late 1st century AD and early 2nd century AD. On the basis of the origin, parallels and date of the artefacts in the group of finds ascribed to the so-called “golden horizon”, the author concludes that most features in this horizon date mainly to the chronological span comprised between the last quarter/late 1st century and early 2nd century AD.These archaeological facts, confirmed by the written ancient sources as well, show, according to the author, that the first Iazyges emerged in the northern part of the territory between the Danube and the Tisza likely shortly before AD 50, if not precisely in AD 50, during the events from regnum Vannianum.The author also concludes that the arrival of the first Sarmatae group in the Pannonian Plain was most likely followed, by the end of the 70s – early 80s of the 1st century AD, by other few Sarmatae entry waves in the area between the Danube and the Tisza. Another important aspect noted subsequent to the examination of certain artefact classes is that the settlement of the Sarmatae in the Pannonian Plain occurred only after previous contacts with the new Sarmatae tribes (the Aorsi, the Siraces, the Alans) arrived in the north and north-west Pontic area starting with mid 1st century AD.Last but not least, it was noted they settled, during a first phase, mainly in the northern part of the region between the Danube and the Tisza, as proven by the archaeological finds ascribed to the Sarmatian Iazyges, which clustered in said territory, yet also by the ancient literary sources, which mention these in the respective period in the specified area or in connection with the northern bordering populaces.
More...Keywords: Romania; Bessarabia; Group of Filimon Bodiu; 40s; 50s; anticommunist resistance;
The author recounts the history of a resistance group led by Filimon Bodiu against Soviet occupation in Bessarabia. Soon after the reoccupation of Bessarabia by the Soviet troops, Bodiu was arrested. Succeeding to escape, he initiated a resistance movement against the Soviet regime with an eight to ten member group. The authorities annihilated the group in 1950-1951. Filimon Bodiu was killed in an encounter in November 1950. The survivors, his family members included, were tried in June 1951 and received harsh prison sentences.
More...Keywords: Trial; Arnăuțoiu's Group; 1959; secret police;
The two authors make public the sentence given in the trial of the national resistance group "Haiducii Muscelului" (The Muscel Outlaws) led by captain Toma Arnăuțoiu having operated in the Făgăraș Mountains. The sentence was based on the Securitate investigations and decisions and represented an attempt to discredit the partisans who were accused of having fought against "the popular and democratic state and regime."
More...Keywords: heritage; landscape; utilitarian architecture; conversion; identity;
This article presents the theoretical approach used in the study regarding the transformation of a former artillery shooting range in Versailles into a technological campus for the mobilities of the future. It lays out the reasons for our plea to save the ruins of the military compound by integrating them into the future architectural project. We explain how the materiality, form and use of the space under analysis and its perception in the collective imaginary contribute to the assertion of the identity of a place equally laden with historical significance and expectations for the future. At the same time, the didactic, exemplary character of the approach is presented as a possible starting point for proposals applied to similar contexts. While reviewing the context of the demand for the study, the client’s specifications, the stake of the project for the French Institute of Science and Technology for Transport, Development and Networks (“Institut Français des Sciences et Technologies des Transports, de l’Aménagement et des Reseaux”, abbreviated IFSTTAR) and its relation with the surrounding urban operations, this paper explains the application of the methodological filter proposed by architects and researchers Paul Landauer and Luc Baboulet to justify the heritage value of relatively recent constructions; to this purpose, we refer to the theory of John Brinckerhoff Jackson, pioneer of cultural landscape studies as well as to the sensible approach of architecture historian André Corboz and architect Andrea Felicioni on territory.This work discusses general issues such as the emergence of new districts and their contextual anchoring. The Satory example will be helpful for architects and urban planners wishing to defend the interest of partially preserving the existing structures found on the sites to be developed.
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