Alexandru Zub (born October 12, 1934) is a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n historian, biographer, essayist, political activist and academic. A former professor at the

University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia Mih ...

, noted for his contribution to the study of

cultural history Cultural history combines the approaches of anthropology and history to examine popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. It examines the records and narrative descriptions of past matter, encompassing the ...

and

Romanian history This article covers the history and bibliography of Romania and links to specialized articles. Prehistory 34,950-year-old remains of modern humans with a possible Neanderthalian trait were discovered in present-day Romania when the '' Pe� ...

, he is currently head of the A.D. Xenopol Institute of History (an office he has held since 1990).Ovidius University He was elected a full member of the Romanian Academy in 2004 (having been a correspondent member since 1991); currently, he serves as head of the Academy's History Department.Romanian Presidency A

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

during the early years of

Communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the s ...

, and a known

dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established Political system, political or Organized religion, religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and ...

, Zub was selected by

Vladimir Tismăneanu Vladimir Tismăneanu (; born July 4, 1951) is a Romanian American political scientist, political analyst, sociologist, and professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. A specialist in political systems and comparative politics, he is di ...

on the panel of the

Presidential Commission for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Romania The Presidential Commission for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Romania ( ro, Comisia Prezidenţială pentru Analiza Dictaturii Comuniste din România), also known as the Tismăneanu Commission (''Comisia Tismăneanu''), was a commissio ...

, which presented its Final Report to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

on December 18, 2006.

Biography

Zub was born in

Vârfu Câmpului Vârfu Câmpului is a communes of Romania, commune in Botoșani County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of six villages: Dobrinăuți-Hapăi, Ionășeni, Lunca, Maghera, Pustoaia and Vârfu Câmpului. Natives * Emil Bobu * Alexandru Zub ...

Botoșani County Botoșani County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia (encompassing a few villages in neigbhouring Suceava County from Bukovina to the west as well), with the capital town ( ro, Oraș reședință de județ) at Botoșani. De ...

. He attended the School of Pedagogy in

Șendriceni Șendriceni is a commune in Botoșani County, Western Moldavia, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It b ...

, and later completed University studies at the Faculty of History in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

, graduating in 1957. The same year, he took part in a rally commemorating the medieval

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

Stephen the Great Stephen III of Moldavia, most commonly known as Stephen the Great ( ro, Ștefan cel Mare; ; died on 2 July 1504), was Voivode (or Prince) of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He was the son of and co-ruler with Bogdan II, who was murdered in 1451 ...

, which was considered

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

by the Communist regime. Zub was arrested and imprisoned for the following six years (in Iași, and later in

Jilava Jilava is a commune in Ilfov county, Muntenia, Romania, near Bucharest. It is composed of a single village, Jilava. The name derives from a Romanian word of Slavic origin (Bulgarian жилав ''žilav'' (tough), which passed into Romanian as ''j ...

Gherla Gherla (; hu, Szamosújvár; german: Neuschloss) is a municipality in Cluj County, Romania (in the historical region of Transylvania). It is located from Cluj-Napoca on the river Someșul Mic, and has a population of 20,203. Three villages are a ...

, and near

Brăila Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila. According to the 2011 Romanian census there were 180,302 pe ...

).Ovidius University; Romanian Presidency After his release, he took up research in the Central University Library of Iași, and began publishing biographies and studies of

Romanian culture The culture of Romania is an umbrella term used to encapsulate the ideas, customs and social behaviours of the people of Romania that developed due to the country's distinct geopolitical history and evolution. It is theorized and speculated that ...

, which proved to be highly influential during the period of relative

liberalization Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used m ...

at the start of

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He was ...

's regime. He has since notably authored works on major figures of Romanian

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...

(including

Mihail Kogălniceanu Mihail Kogălniceanu (; also known as Mihail Cogâlniceanu, Michel de Kogalnitchan; September 6, 1817 – July 1, 1891) was a Romanian liberal statesman, lawyer, historian and publicist; he became Prime Minister of Romania on October 11, 1863, ...

Vasile Pârvan Vasile Pârvan (; 28 September 1882, Huruiești, Perchiu, Huruiești, Bacău County – 26 June 1927, Bucharest) was a Romanian historian and archaeologist. Biography Vasile Pârvan came from a modest family, being the first child of the teach ...

Alexandru D. Xenopol Alexandru Dimitrie Xenopol (; March 23, 1847, Iaşi – February 27, 1920, Bucharest) was a Romanian historian, philosopher, professor, economist, sociologist, and author. Among his many major accomplishments, he is the Romanian historian credite ...

), as well as ample studies on cultural phenomena. In 1977-1978, he was the recipient of a grant from the

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (german: Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung) is a foundation established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and funded by the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Education and Resear ...

. After the

Romanian Revolution of 1989 The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred i ...

, Zub was awarded full recognition for his contributions to Romanian historiography, and he became a founding member of the Association of Former Political Prisoners. A ''Directeur d'Études'' at the

École Pratique des Hautes Études École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

in 1993 and 2004, Zub became a

Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

in 1995. In 2000, he was decorated Grand Officer of the

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five r ...

. His activity in 1957, occurring in the aftermath of the Hungarian Revolution, earned him the recognition of the Hungarian government; on October 16, 2006, the 50th commemoration of the rebellion, Zub was presented with the commemorative medal ''Hero of Liberty''. As part of the controversial criticism he expressed in regard to the

, the writer

Paul Goma Paul Goma (; October 2, 1935 – March 24, 2020) was a Romanian writer, known for his activities as a dissident and leading opponent of the communist regime before 1989. Forced into exile by the communist authorities, he became a political refug ...

, who had been himself a member of the panel, questioned the Commission's ability to deal with the issue. Goma stated: "as for Al. Zub, he has specialized in Xenopol, in Kogălniceanu, in Pârvan - out of which pecializationhe never did emerge, so he has no idea, for instance, about the «happenings» during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

". This attitude notably drew criticism from

Bedros Horasangian Bedros is a name in Eastern Armenian meaning "rockhard", and is thus a form of the name Peter (name), Peter. Bedrosian (Eastern Armenian Petrosyan), meaning "son of Bedros / Petros" is also a common Armenian name. Religious personalities ;Armenian ...

(who considered Goma's words "banterings" and their effect "void").Horasangian In 1991, Alexandru Zub supervised the

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

candidature of

Sorin Antohi Sorin Antohi (born 20 August 1957) is a Romanian historian, essayist, and journalist. Biography Antohi was born in Târgu Ocna, Bacău County. He received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Iași and a DEA fro ...

, a fellow member of the Commission, member of the staff for the

Central European University Central European University (CEU) is a private research university accredited in Austria, Hungary, and the United States, with campuses in Vienna and Budapest. The university is known for its highly intensive programs in the social sciences and ...

, and Zub's co-author on a 2000 volume published by

Polirom Polirom or Editura Polirom ("Polirom" Publishing House) is a Romanian publishing house with a tradition of publishing classics of international literature and also various titles in the fields of social sciences, such as psychology, sociology and a ...

.Corlățan Antohi failed to complete his degree and was expelled from the program; a 2006 investigation proved that he had been misrepresenting his academic credentials, which caused his withdrawal from his academic position at Central European University. Contacted by journalists, Zub refused to comment, and called on the press not to harass Antohi. In 2007, Zub was involved in a scandal at the Xenopol Institute, after he allegedly had the election of four young history researchers to the Scientific Council of the Institute canceled by

Dan Berindei Dan Berindei (3 November 1923 – 23 December 2021) was a Romanian historian. He was a titular member of the Romanian Academy from 1992 until his death. Biography A descendant of Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu, he was born in Bucharest on 3 Nov ...

, the head of the History Section of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...

and the coordinator of the Institute.Florea The researchers protested against Zub's managership, labeling it "despotic" and asking for his resignation.

Selected works

In Romanian

*''Mihail Kogălniceanu, 1817-1891. Biobibliografie'' ("Mihail Kogălniceanu, 1817-1891. Bio-bibliography"), Editura Enciclopedică/

Editura Militară Editura Militară (Military Publishing House) is a publishing house based in Bucharest, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, S ...

, Bucharest, 1971 *''A. D. Xenopol, 1847-1920. Biobibliografie'' ("A. D. Xenopol, 1847-1920. Bio-bibliography"), 1973 *''Vasile Pîrvan. Efigia cărturarului'' ("Vasile Pîrvan. The Scholar's Effigy"), Editura Enciclopedică/Editura Militară, Bucharest, 1974; second edition, 2003 *''Mihail Kogălniceanu istoric'' ("Mihail Kogălniceanu as a Historian"), Editura Junimea, Iași, 1974 *''Junimea. Implicații istoriografice'' ("''

Junimea ''Junimea'' was a Romanian literary society founded in Iași in 1863, through the initiative of several foreign-educated personalities led by Titu Maiorescu, Petre P. Carp, Vasile Pogor, Theodor Rosetti and Iacob Negruzzi. The foremost personali ...

''.Historiographical Implications"), Editura Junimea, Iași, 1976 *''A scrie și a face istorie. Istoriografia română postpașoptistă'' ("Writing and Making History. Romanian Historiography Post-1848"), Editura Junimea, Iași, 1981 *''Biruit-au gândul. Note despre istorismul românesc'' ("The Thought Has Broken Through. Notes on Romanian

Historicism Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...

"), Editura Junimea, Iași, 1983 *''Pe urmele lui Vasile Pîrvan'' ("On the Footsteps of Vasile Pîrvan"), Editura Sport-Turism, Bucharest, 1983 *''Mihail Kogălniceanu'', Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, Bucharest, 1984; second edition, 2004 *''De la istoria critică la criticism. Istoriografia română la finele secolului XIX și începutul secolului XX'' ("From Critical History to Criticism. Romanian Historiography at the End of the 19th Century and the Start of the 20th Century"),

Editura Academiei The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...

, Bucharest, 1985; second edition, 2000 *''Cunoaștere de sine și integrare'' ("Self-awareness and Integration"), Editura Junimea, Iași, 1986; second edition, 2004 *''Istorie și istorici în România interbelică'' ("History and Historians in Interwar Romania"), Editura Junimea, Iași, 1989; second edition, 2003 *''Istorie și finalitate'' ("History and Finality"), Editura Academiei, Bucharest, 1991; second edition, 2004 *''La sfârșit de ciclu. Despre impactul Revoluției franceze'' ("At the End of a Cycle. On the Impact of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

"), Institutul European, Iași, 1994 *''Eminescu. Glose istorico-culturale'' (

Eminescu Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanian Romantic poet from Moldavia, novelist, and journalist, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active memb ...

. Historical and Cultural Glosses"), Editura Enciclopedică Gheorghe Asachi,

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the ...

, 1994 *''În orizontul istoriei'' ("In History's Horizon"), Institutul European, Iași, 1994 *''Impasul reîntregirii'' ("The Deadlock of Reunion"), Editura Timpul, Iași, 1995 *''Chemarea istoriei. Un an de răspântie în România postcomunistă'' ("The Call of History. A Crucial Year in Post-Communist Romania"), Editura Junimea, Iași, 1997 *''Discurs istoric și tranziție'' ("Historical Discourse and Transition"), Institutul European, Iași, 1998 *''Orizont închis. Istoriografia română sub dictatură'' ("Restricted Horizon. Romanian Historiography under Dictatorship"), Institutul European, Iași, 2000 *with

: ''Oglinzi retrovizoare. Istorie, memorie si morală în România'' ("Rearview Mirrors. History, Memory, and Morals in Romania"),

, Iași, 2000 *''Istoriografia română la vârsta sintezei: A. D. Xenopol'' ("Romanian Historiography at the Age of Synthesis: A. D. Xenopol"), Institutul European, Iași, 2004 *''Mihail Kogălniceanu, architect al României moderne'' ("Mihail Kogălniceanu, the Architect of Modern Romania"), Institutul European, Iași, 2005 *''Clio sub semnul interogației. Idei, sugestii, figuri'' ("

Clio In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; el, Κλειώ), also spelled Kleio, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre playing. Etymology Clio's name is etymologically derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλεί� ...

under the Question Mark. Ideas, Suggestions, Figures"), Polirom, Iași, 2005 *''Romanogermanica. Secvențe istorico-culturale'' ("Romanogermanica. Cultural-Historical Sequences"), Editura Universității Al. I. Cuza, Iași, 2005

In French

*''L'Historiographie roumaine à l'âge de la synthèse: A. D. Xenopol'' ("Romanian Historiography at the Age of Synthesis: A. D. Xenopol"), Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, Bucharest, 1983 *''Les dilemmes d'un historien: Vasile Pîrvan'' ("Vasile Pîrvan: the Dilemmas of a Historian"), Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, 1985

In English

*''Reflections on the Impact of the French Revolution. 1789,

de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his work ...

, and the Romanian Culture'', The Center for Romanian Studies, Iași/Oxford/Portland, 2000

Notes

References

Press release of November 10, 2006: Alexandru Zub is named Doctor Honoris Causa
at the

Ovidius University Ovidius University of Constanța ( ro, Universitatea "Ovidius" din Constanța) is a public higher education institution in Constanța, Romania founded in 1961 as a Pedagogical Institute and transformed into a comprehensive university in 1990. A ...

site
Profile at the Romanian Presidency site

Alexandru Zub at the Polirom site

Mirela Corlățan, "Sorin Antohi, profesor doctor puțin impostor" ("Sorin Antohi, a Professor Doctor Who Is Something of an Impostor")
in ''

Cotidianul image:Cotidianul.png, The logo used between 2003 and 2007 ''Cotidianul'' (meaning ''The Daily'' in English) is a Romanian language newspaper published in Bucharest, Romania. History and profile Founded by Ion Raţiu, ''Cotidianul'' was first ...

'', October 21, 2006 *

"Open Letter Addressed to President Traian Băsescu"
republished in ''

Ziua ''Ziua'' (''The Day'' in Romanian) was a major Romanian daily newspaper published in Bucharest. It was published in Romanian with a fairly sizeable and often informative English section. ''Ziua'' was founded in 1994 by Sorin Roşca Stănescu, eve ...

'', May 8, 2006 *

"Volo, «Volvo» și «Volga»" ("Volo, «Volvo» and the «Volga»)
in ''Ziua'', May 17, 2006 * Raul Florea

in ''

Gândul ''Gândul'' (, "The Thought") is a Romanian online newspaper published in Bucharest. It was founded in May 2005 by Mircea Dinescu, who used to write a daily editorial called "Vorba lu' Dinescu", and Cristian Tudor Popescu, who was also the editor- ...

'', April 20, 2007

External links

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070929043734/http://humboldt-club.infim.ro/MEMBERS/PAGES/zub.htm Profile at the Humboldt Club site
Profile at the Romanian Academy site

Profile at Polirom.ro

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070930041557/http://convorbiri-literare.dntis.ro/ZUBaug5.htm Alexandru Zub, "Memoria ca formă de justiție" ("Memory as a Form of Justice") in ''

Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' ( Romanian: ''Literary Talks'') is a Romanian literary magazine published in Romania. It is among the most important journals of the nineteenth-century Romania. History and profile ''Convorbiri Literare'' was founded by ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Zub, Alexandru 1934 births Titular members of the Romanian Academy Alexandru Ioan Cuza University alumni Academic staff of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Grand Officers of the Order of the Star of Romania Living people People from Botoșani County Romanian activists Romanian biographers Romanian male writers Male biographers Romanian dissidents Romanian essayists 20th-century Romanian historians 21st-century Romanian historians Inmates of Gherla prison Romanian prisoners and detainees Romanian writers in French Male essayists