Vol. XXX, 2017
1. Dan Berindei, De la unire la independenţă (1856-1878): un proces istoric, p. 3-7.
L’article est une présentation synthétique du processus qui s’achemina de l’union de la Valachie et de la Moldavie à l’indépendance du nouvel État roumain. On observe alors les efforts de tous les dirigeants politiques, n’importe duquel parti, pour développer l’économie, la force militaire du pays et pour promouvoir les objectifs nationaux roumains auprès les grands puissances du temps. Il s’agit d’une expérience historique à l’inverse de la situation actuelle, qui pourrait toujours donner une leçon de responsabilité aux leaders d’aujourd’hui.
Winning the state independence, fighting bare hands against the Ottoman redoubts at Plevna, Rahova and Vidin (1877–1878) was an absolutely necessary and natural step on the road to the Great Union of December 1, 1918. In these historical moments, the Corps of the Military Firefighters was in the first line of the great national and social transformations, the affirmation of the Romanian nation and its will for freedom and independence. In the battle for the conquest of the State Independence of Romania, the military firefighters covered themselves in glory and at the same time engraved a unique and unrepeatable page in the history of this weapon. On October 8, 1878, at the Victory Parade in Bucharest, as a sign of respect for the bravery and heroism of the Military Fire Corps on the fronts of the War of Liberation, the cannons captured from the Ottoman troops were presented by the firemen.
L’article est une approche sur la guerre de 1877–1878 en tant que symptôme pour le parcours de la vision et de la sensibilité romantique, imbue d’idéalisme et concentrée sur l’affirmation des droits et principes, vers une manière plus pragmatique de concevoir la politique, à travers les calcules d’opportunité et les rapports de pouvoir. On voit ainsi comment les dirigeants roumains ont argumenté soit l’alliance avec la Russie et la proclamation immédiate de l’indépendance, soit le respect d’une stricte neutralité en considérant surtout les possibilités concrètes et les avantages pratiques d’une certaine option. Il s’agissait d’un processus entamé au début des années 1860, qui consista dans l’avènement de la pensée positive, promue notamment par le biais de l’enseignement public, de la littérature et de l’esprit capitaliste.
Aristocrats, members of illustrious European families, soldiers, diplomats, literates, physicians, professors, artists, reporters and photographers, press correspondents but also “simple tourists” took interest in Romania’s declaration of independence and in the forthcoming war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Being present at the heart of the events, they left more or less detailed written testimonies regarding the entrance of the Russian troops into Romania, the cities they passed through, their appearance and the attitude of the inhabitants, transport means, the organization of the Russian and Romanian armies, their weaponry, soldier and officer uniforms from both sides, the arrival of Tsar Alexander II and his retinue to Ploiești, his visit to Bucharest and the meeting with Prince Charles and Princess Elizabeth, the situation on the frontline: the battles on the Danube (Brăila, Galaţi, Zimnicea, Calafat, Giurgiu, Olteniţa), the Bulgarian campaign and the conquest of the Griviţa, Smârdan and Plevna redoubts, the daily life of the troops and their commanders, portraits of war leaders, different officers and also soldiers.
The Ottoman army was also taken into account, whole pages or just a few lines being dedicated to the physical appearance, uniforms, weaponry, offensive or defensive plans, portraits of several commanders, but also concerning the horrors of war and the consequences of fighting upon the defeated and civil population. Furthermore, they also provided valuable iconographical testimonies (sketches, drawings, oil paintings, etc.).
5. Raluca Tomi, Armata rusă în timpul războiului din 1877–1878: percepţia occidentalilor, p. 47-56.
The article aims to outline the perception of Western press correspondents and military attachés about the Russian army on the Balkan front during the war of 1877–1878, a less treated subject in Romanian historiography. Based on the articles and the memoirs written by journalists, who were direct witnesses of the events, we tried to reveal their opinion about Russian soldiers and officers, about the imperial troops’ behaviour in the campaign. We have noticed the change in Western opinion, especially of the French correspondents, regarding the image of the Russian army, due to the new orientation of the French diplomacy towards Russia after the defeat against Prussia in 1871.
The aim of this article is to investigate the reaction of the Romanian society to the impact of the 1877–1878 war of independence on the contemporary literary life. The relation between writers and readers, though well documented by already published sources (e.g., correspondence), was not scholarly analysed. In order to do so, the article examines three case studies. The best documented reactions are those of the readers of Vasile Alecsandri, widely regarded as the most important poet of the war of independence. The second deals with the most influential literary review of the time, „Convorbiri Literare”. The third investigates the hidden political agenda of Nicolae D. Popescu, who wrote for readers of modest social origin and who were less likely to react, in writing, to his sensational literary works. The main conclusion of this article is that the major social divisions of the 19th Century may well be seen also in the reactions of the public to the work of the writers.
L’article présente la relation entre le projet révolutionnaire des bolcheviques et les traits sociaux et mentaux de la Russie, en comparaison avec les propos faites pars les autres partis du temps. On voit ainsi comment le model social exclusif de la lutte des classes et le gouvernement autoritaire promus par les bolcheviques furent finalement plus proches de la tradition russe, marqué par les disparités sociales et par la confrontation politique violente, éloignées de presque toute l’expérience de concertation civile ou de dialogue institutionnel. En conséquence, le succès des bolcheviques n’apparaisse pas nécessairement comme inévitable, mais pourtant plus vraisemblable face aux objectifs démocratiques de leurs adversaires. C’était aussi un succès qui engendra un fort débat parmi les marxistes européens, concernant le rapport entre la mobilisation des masses et l’initiative révolutionnaire à l’occasion d’une crise de l’État, surtout dans les sociétés moins développés.
The article presents the notes made between the years 1916–1918 by Pia Brătianu, Prime Minister Ion I.C. Brătianu’s mother. Unpublished until now, they recollect the personal experience of living in the German occupied Bucharest, the correspondence with family members who took refuge to Iași and the attitudes of several of the author’s acquaintances. This shapes a subjective image of the events, as viewed by a senior citizen with a rich life experience.
Starting from the communications held at the conference organized by the International Society for Cultural History, regarding the history of senses and emotions, but also from the most relevant works in this domain, this article consists of a brief review of the main areas of interest and methodological issues of this research direction for cultural history. In addition to the traditional methodology concerning cultural history, the analysis of representations and speech, it will also highlight the emphasis on social practices and psychological theories, psychiatry and neurobiology which was a defining element for the history of emotions during the last decades. Thus, through the variety of the approached themes, analysed from different disciplinary perspectives and research traditions, the history of senses and emotions became a well-established cultural history research area, which can provide new theoretical and methodological approaches for the historical analysis.