Obituary: Vladimir Besleaga (July 25, 1931 – February 25, 2025)

A piece of news like a swallow's cry: Vladimir Besleaga has passed away …

Essayist, journalist, novelist, writer, translator, the epoch-man Vladimir Besleaga has left this world. A world he lived in during times of change, embraced them, and made them his own. From oil lamps to advanced technologies, from Communist censorship to freedom of speech, from the tragedy of the nation to the rebirth of its consciousness—all encapsulated in one human life. And what a life!

Son of Eugenia (née Ciocârlan), a peasant woman, and Vasile Besleaga, an accountant, he graduated from middle school with a gold medal in 1950, in his native village of Malaiesti, left bank of the Dniester.

He pursued his studies at the Faculty of History and Philology at the State University of Chisinau (1950-1955). As of 1955, Besleaga began a doctoral program on the art of the novel of Liviu Rebreanu. His thesis topic was banned, and the flight of a future literary, historical and philosophical researcher was broken by the regime. This moment marks the beginning of the journalistic work of young Vladimir Besleaga. He worked for publications like "Chipăruș," "Cultura Moldovei," "Tinerimea Moldovei," "Nistru/Basarabia," "Destin românesc," among others.

He was a member of the Writers' Union of Moldova, serving as the secretary of its Leadership Committee during 1971-1976. He also held the position of director of the Republican Museum of Literature "D. Cantemir" (1988).

After 2000, Besleaga focused his activities on several fields, the main ones being memoirs, essays, and drama. Simultaneously, he wrote columns for various publications ("Flux," "Jurnal de Chișinău," "Timpul") and actively collaborated with radio and TV stations ("Vocea Basarabiei," "Antena C," "Jurnal TV," and others).

During the full national revival period, Vladimir Besleaga was a deputy in the Parliament of Independence (1990-1994), and later he was member of the governmental commission for studying the period of the Soviet Communist regime.

As an eighth-grader, he published a poem in the district newspaper. In 1956, he published the book "Zbânțuilă," dedicated to children, with his literary debut marked by the collection of short stories "La fântâna Leahului" (1963).

The first novel by writer  Vladimir Beșleagă, "Zbor frânt," (Broken Flight)  reissued numerous times, is recognized as one of the notable works of the post-war period that changed the image of prose from Moldova. He also signed other novels like "Acasă," "Ignat și Ana," "Durere," "Sânge pe zăpadă," "Cumplite vremi," "Viața și moartea nefericitului Filimon," and others. Vladimir Besleaga is the author of several prose books, diaries, and dramatic works: "Dialoguri literare," "Hoții din apartamente," "Țipătul lăstunului," "Centenar Vasile Coroban: 1910-2010: Omul de spirit," "Destine transnistrene," "Misterioase sfere," "Morții cei vii și viii cei morți," "Nunta de aur," "Voci sau dublul suicid din zona lacurilor," among others.

Vladimir Besleaga's work has been translated into several languages, staged and became the subject of films.

For outstanding merits in the field of literature and civic involvement, in 1991 he was awarded the honorary title Writer of the People, and in 1996 0 the Order of the Republic, which he renounced in 2003 as token of protest against the awarding of the same distinction to a former Communist leader. In 2004, he received the Excellence Award of the Writers' Union of Moldova for his entire literary and journalistic work. He holds the Cultural Merit medal in the rank of Commander, awarded by the Romanian State.

In appreciation and gratitude for his great artistic and cultural personality, Vladimir Besleaga was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa of the Alecu Russo State University of Balti (2012) and the Ion Creangă State Pedagogical University of Chisinau (2017).

An accomplished intellectual, Vladimir Besleaga was an active presence in the public space, participating in literary societies, book launches, theater plays and other cultural events, where he spoke about and for people, sharing existential truths, lived dramas and life stories from his steadfast value perspective.

The master hid his serene eyes and enigmatic smile, but he bequeathed us a rich literary legacy, much warmth and kindness, gentle wisdom and the encouragement to keep our spirit free and dignified even in dire times.

May God rest his soul in peace!