Alexandru Șoltoianu (24 August 1933 – 13 April 2022) was a

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

n orientalist, activist and a political prisoner in the former

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Biography

He graduated at

Moscow State Institute of International Relations Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) (, also known as MGIMO University) is an higher education, institute of higher education located in Moscow, Russia. The institute is run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia), Russian ...

in 1965 and became a lecturer in

Oriental studies Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern studie ...

at the

Moldova State University Moldova State University (USM; Romanian language, Romanian: ''Universitatea de Stat din Moldova'') is a university located in Chișinău, Moldova. It was founded in 1946, and initially had five faculties, Physics and Mathematics, Geology and Ped ...

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

. In the 1960s and early 1970s, he militated for the union of

Moldavian SSR The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic or Moldavian SSR (, mo-Cyrl, Република Советикэ Сочиалистэ Молдовеняскэ), also known as the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldovan SSR, Soviet Moldavia, Sovie ...

with the

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

. Between 1969 and 1971, he was a founder of a clandestine National Patriotic Front of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, established by several young intellectuals in

, totaling over 100 members, vowing to fight for the establishment of a

Moldavian Democratic Republic The Moldavian Democratic Republic (MDR; , ), also known as the Moldavian Republic or Moldavian People's Republic, was a state proclaimed on by the ''Sfatul Țării'' (National Council) of Bessarabia, elected in October–November 1917 foll ...

, its secession from the

and union with

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. On 13 January 1972, following an informative note from Ion Stănescu, the President of the Romanian Council of State Security, to

Yuri Andropov Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov ( – 9 February 1984) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from late 1982 until his death in 1984. He previously served as the List of Chairmen of t ...

, the chief of KGB, Șoltoianu as well as

Alexandru Usatiuc-Bulgăr Alexandru Usatiuc-Bulgăr (1915–2003) was a Moldovan activist and a political prisoner in the former Soviet Union. Biography Between 1969 and 1971, he was a founder of a clandestine National Patriotic Front of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovin ...

, Valeriu Graur, and

Gheorghe Ghimpu Gheorghe Ghimpu (26 July 1937 – 13 November 2000) was a Moldovans, Moldovan politician and a political prisoner in the former Soviet Union and then in Moldova. Early life Ghimpu was born on 26 July 1937 in Colonița, a village in Bessara ...

were arrested and later sentenced to long prison terms. Şoltoianu was sentenced in 1972 for his activity as leader of the National Patriotic Front. He was incarcerated in a prison camp in

Mordovia Mordovia ( ),; Moksha language, Moksha and officially the Republic of Mordovia,; ; is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia, situated in Eastern Europe. Its capital city, capital is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of S ...

, southeast of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, notorious for its Soviet

Gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

.Patriotul luptător Alexandru Şoltoianu la 75 de ani
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was incarcerated in the same prison camp. Șoltoianu was released only in January 1986, and he returned to his apartment in Moscow, where he continued to live even after 1991, when Moldova became independent. Nonetheless, he remained active in Romanian nationalist politics. He also joined

Mircea Druc Mircea Druc (born 25 July 1941) is a Moldovan and Romanian politician who served as Prime Minister of Moldova between 26 May 1990 and 22 May 1991. He was appointed as Prime Minister after the opposition walked out from the Parliament, as a prote ...

's National Council for Reunification. Șoltoianu died on 13 April 2022.

Legacy

The

Commission for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Moldova The Commission for the Study and Evaluation of the Communist Totalitarian Regime of the Republic of Moldova () was a commission instituted in Moldova by Acting President of Moldova Mihai Ghimpu to investigate the Moldavian SSR, the state which ad ...

will study and analyze the 1940-1991 period of the communist regime.

Works

*Alexandru Șoltoianu: O viaţă sacrificată pentru ţară. 212.p. *Alexandru Șoltoianu: ''Dosar Penal''. În: Memoria-Revista gândirii arestate, numărul 16.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soltoianu, Alexandru 1933 births 2022 deaths Romanian people of Moldovan descent Moldovan independence activists Moscow State Institute of International Relations alumni 20th-century Moldovan historians National Patriotic Front (Moldova) politicians Moldovan anti-communists Romanian orientalists Romanian nationalists Recipients of the Order of the Republic (Moldova) People from Telenești District