Ro
En
Рy
Irina NECHIT,
culture journalist, writer 
In such economic, social and political atmosphere, the products of written culture have no chance to keep afloat. Every print is very expensive, especially after the explosion of prices caused by inflation and numerous political crises. On the other hand, people’s incomes are ridiculous. It is logical to say that in a depopulated, depressed, decultured country it is impossible to have cultural journals. However, despite everything, we still have cultural publications. We can buy them, we can subscribe to them, some of them are free, they breathe, circulate, exist!
As it is widely known, the first places in the Republic of Moldova culture press belong to magazines like “Contrafort” and “Sud-Est Cultural”. These represent a center of gravity for our cultural live. Both established after the Soviet Union collapse – “Sud-Estul Cultural” in 1990 and “Contrafort” in 1994 - these publications are very important for the Republic of Moldova post-communist culture. The intellectual emancipation movement in our country, the Basarabian society Europeanization, had these magazines as landmarks, publications issued regularly due to the support provided by the Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) from Bucharest.
In 2012, the Romanian Cultural Institute was transferred from the Presidency authority to the Romanian Senate, fact that made the former president of ICR, Horia Roman Patapievici, announce the collective resignation of his team. In the same year of 2012, when Andrei Marga was elected president of ICR, the funding of six cultural publications from Moldova like “Contrafort”, “Sud-Est Cultural”, “Semn”, “Destin Romanesc”, “Clipa” and “Limba Română” was discontinued. This is why, in 2013 on the territory between Nistru and Prut, cultural journals were not issued anymore, except for “Literatura și Arta”, supported by the Department for Romanians Everywhere under the Romanian Government.
“The Republic of Moldova literary life, in my opinion, is wilting. Especially in the last year, since the cultural journals funded by ICR are not issued anymore. Their support has been abusively discontinued without a logical explanation from Marga administration - the one with so many scandalous and blunt initiatives, that disturbed the literary world on both banks of Prut river”, Vasile Gîrneț, “Contrafort” director was writing in 2013, answering the questions of an inquiry on the Republic of Moldova cultural press.
One of the most important and long - lasting cultural journals from the Republic of Moldova, “Limba Romana”, will soon mark its 25 years of existence. It is an opportunity to celebrate, but the members of the editorial team are very sad, because they did not receive their salaries for more than two years.
In 2005, “Punkt” journal appeared. The independent publication broke all the records in the number of readers. It had a circulation of 4000 copies. “But we were forced to stop issuing the journal, due to financial problems. Since 2014 the journal is not issued. We plan to apply to the Creative Europe Program of the European Union and we hope to obtain funding for “Punkt”, starting next year”, states Angela Brașoveanu, the publication director.
Unfortunately, some of the Moldovan cultural journals cannot be revived anymore. Journals like ”Semn”, ”Clipa”, ”Stare de urgență” were killed. These publications gathered around them the artistic production and the critical spirit of the generation 2000.
Finally, a painful confession: not even yours truly has a place in the Moldovan cultural press. The page dedicated to culture from Jurnal de Chisinau was closed (Oh, the financial crisis!). The author of the words above was dismissed. There is nothing more to add.
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Elaborarea acestui material este posibilă datorită ajutorului generos al poporului american oferit prin intermediul Agenției SUA pentru Dezvoltare Internațională (USAID). Opiniile exprimate în cadrul materialului aparţin autorilor şi nu reflectă în mod necesar poziţia USAID sau a Guvernului SUA.
