LITERATURĂ
Ostap BODYK, Nina KHRYSTYCH
Liminal Semantics in Ukrainian Cultural Texts: from Folk Beliefs to Literary Thresholds
Instituția:
Ostap Bodyk – Conf. dr., Universitatea Catolică Ucraineană din Lvov, Ucraina
Nina Khrystych – Conf. dr., Universitatea „Hryhorii Skovoroda” din Pereiaslav, Ucraina
Email:
Ostap Bodyk -
ostapb74@gmail.com
Nina Khrystych -
ninaxrystych@gmail.com
Cuvinte cheie: liminality; Ukrainian literature; cultural thresholds; symbolic space; semiosphere; folklore and ritual; identity formation.
Abstract
This article offers a theoretical-comparative analysis of liminal semantics in Ukrainian cultural texts, arguing against the dominant interpretation of liminality as a merely transitional or episodic phenomenon. Focusing on canonical works by Hryhorii Kvitka-Osnovianenko, Taras Shevchenko, Lesia Ukrainka, and Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi, the study examines how culturally charged sites – the cemetery, the river, the crossroads, and mythologically saturated landscapes – function as stable zones of meaning rather than as passages toward narrative resolution.
Grounded in Victor Turner's anthropological theory of liminality, Mary Douglas's concept of boundary danger, and Yuri Lotman's model of the semiospheric border, the article introduces a model of cultural liminality as a stable semantic regime embedded in Ukrainian literary imagination. It argues that Ukrainian literature constructs liminal spaces as inhabitable cultural environments through which collective identity is not resolved but continuously negotiated and sustained.
The study demonstrates that Ukrainian cultural identity is constituted through sustained dwelling in liminal spaces rather than through stable belonging or completed transition.
Full text >>>
Anișoara DENIS-CONDRAT
Ideologia și realismul socialist timpuriu în romanul lui Maksim Gorki „Mama”
Instituția: Doctorand, Facultatea de Limbi și Literaturi Străine, Universitatea din București
Email: denisanna@gmail.com
Cuvinte cheie: Maksim Gorki; ideology; early socialist realism; V. I. Lenin; socialism; Soviet literature.
Abstract
The novel Mother occupies a special place in Maksim Gorki's work, being the result of a long process of resemantization, which the author accepted to undertake in support of the political program of the time. After Lenin gave in the status of a "useful book", it could no longer be considered from other positions, and its status was reinforced with the framing of the work as the standard of socialist realism method. The present study analyzes elements of early socialist realism, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, highlights the reasons why the novel proved useful in the formation and development of the revolutionary movement. The analysis takes into account the ideological background of the composition, but also the philosophical, religious one, which is subordinate to the former, emphasizing the socialist realism elements that will become clichés of Soviet literature .
Full text >>>
Caius DOBRESCU
A Literary Spartakiad: Spy Fiction in Soviet Union and Romania
Instituția:
Prof. dr., Facultatea de Litere, Universitatea din București
Email: caius.dobrescu@g.unibuc.ro
Cuvinte cheie: Soviet spy fiction; Soviet propaganda; The Thaw; Stagnation Era; Yulian Semyonov; Romanian spy fiction; Ceaușescu regime.
Abstract
It is generally assumed that the 1966 novel Семнадцать мгновений весны – Seventeen Moments of Spring, by Yulian Semyonov (actually, the third of the 12 volumes of the so-called “Isaev” series), and its eventual 1973 transposition into a twelve-part series by Soviet state television set the template for spy fiction all over the Warsaw Pact. We will challenge this perception by discussing the series against two Romanian genre productions: Incognito, the strange roman-fleuve of Eugen Barbu (though, as we shall see, his authorship is controversial) and the series Pe urmele agentului B-39 /On the Tracks of Agent B-39, by Haralamb Zincă, probably the most prolific Romanian author of spy fiction. This transnational comparison will reveal significant ideological nuances, as well as subtly varied manners of mixing entertainment with different legitimation discourses of nationalist and internationalist, local, global, and glocal Communism.
Full text >>>
Sanja FRANKOVIĆ
Tema neuzvraćene ljubavi u romanu „Dunja u kovčegu” Milana Begovića
Instituția: Lect. dr., Departamentul de Filologie Rusă și Slavă, Facultatea de Limbi și Literaturi Străine, Universitatea din București
Email: sanja.frankovic@gmail.com
Cuvinte cheie: Milan Begović; the theme of unrequited love; a female character; realistic and modern characterisation techniques; the elements of a popular romance novel and the Bildungsroman; lyrical, dramatic and epic elements; irony; tragedy.
Abstract
The paper analyses the theme of unrequited love in the novel A Quince in a Chest (1921) by Milan Begović. The character of Rođena identifies her self-realisation with her never-to-be-forgotten first love, thus preventing her own maturation, which would have allowed her to gain insight into the true nature of her love episode with an experienced suitor. Her predetermination by the expectations of a patriarchal environment belongs to the realistic stereotyping of her character, while her individual characteristics are outlined by modernist elements of psychological turmoil, in which Rođena feels like an outsider in the mentality of her environment. Epistolary sentimentality and love with obstacles as elements of a popular romance novel do not lead to a happy ending, but end with Dušan's escape into an already planned marriage and Rođena's forced marriage. In a chance meeting in Rijeka after five years, Dušan draws her into a passionate episode that she experiences as confirmation of her femininity until she remembers her seriously ill daughter, whom she left with the maid. The complete characterisation of Rođena's character is achieved in contrast to the strong characters of Dušan's mother and his big-city fiancée, Kristina, with whom Dušan does not play. In older criticism, A Quince in a Chest was proclaimed the best Croatian lyrical novel, but the lyricism in the descriptions of nature as an introduction to the psychological states of the characters and in the letters of the two lovers is subverted by the irony of Dušan's seduction and the tragedy of Rođena's unwillingness to face the necessities of life, which is why she betrays her role as wife and mother. The dramatic structure of the novel's episodes prevails over epic narration, and elements of the romance and erotic novel are intertwined with elements of the Bildungsroman, because after a failed love story, the tragic ending is the consequence of the failed maturation of the main female character.
Full text >>>
Constantin GEAMBAȘU
Literatura rusă în viziunea lui Czesław Miłosz
Instituția: Prof. dr., Departamentul de Filologie Rusă și Slavă, Facultatea de Limbi și Literaturi Străine, Universitatea din București
Email: kgeambasu@yahoo.com
Cuvinte cheie: Czesław Miłosz; Russian literature; literature under totalitarianism; captive mind; exile.
Abstract
Artykuł podejmuje analizę odmienn ych postaw przystosowania intelektualisty do struktur systemu totalitarnego w ujęciu Czesława Miłosza, na podstawie twórczości czterech wybitnych pisarzy rosyjskich (B. Pasternaka, O. Mandelsztama, A. Sołżenicyna oraz I. Brodskiego). Poza indywidualnością twórczą tych autorów, Miłosz ujawnia w znacznym stopniu istotę mechanizmu „zniewolonego umysłu” rosyjskiego intelektualisty, osadzając ją w szerokim kontekście historycznym, politycznym i kulturowym.
Full text >>>
Jaroslav VLNKA
Gregor Cút vo svetle zistených faktov
Instituția: Lect. dr., Departamentul de Limbă și Literatură Slovacă, Facultatea de Educație, Universitatea J. Selye, Komárno, Slovacia
Email: vlnkajaroslav@gmail.com
Cuvinte cheie: Gregor Cút; Catholic modernism; nationalism; socialism, narrative; analysis; comparison.
Abstract
This article offers reflections on Gregor Cút's place in Slovak literature based on new bibliographic facts. The literary work of the author, who is traditionally classified in professional reflection as Catholic modernist and was considered to have fallen silent in the post-war period, is confronted in the article with newly discovered artistic literary texts. The article analyses the transformations in the author's postwar work, evaluates new approaches in the 1950s and 1960s, and compares them with the author's literary works and attitudes in the interwar period.
Full text >>>
LINGVISTICĂ
Katalin BALÁZS
Integrarea frazeologismelor în procesul de predare a limbii ruse
Instituția: Lect. dr., Catedra de Limbi și Literaturi Slave, Facultatea de Litere, Universitatea „Babeș-Bolyai”
Email: balazskaty@yahoo.com
Cuvinte cheie: phraseological unit; foreign language; integration; ways of acquisition; linguistic competence; phraseological competence.
Abstract
The main aim of incorporating phraseological units into the foreign language learning process is the development of students' communicative competence, taking into account the fact that phraseological units contain rich linguistic material which allows various aspects of morphology, syntax, and vocabulary to be studied on this basis. In addition to knowledge of native-language phraseology, the acquisition of phraseological units in a foreign language is supported by learners' lexical competence, well-developed linguistic intuition, and cultural competence. All these factors contribute to the development of phraseological competence in a foreign language and facilitate the identification of phraseological correspondences and non-correspondences. In this context, foreign language teaching practice (in our case, Russian) emphasizes the importance of the careful selection of phraseological material, texts, and a process in which the teacher plays a key role, as well as the need to determine the optimal stage for introducing phraseological units into the teaching and learning process.
Full text >>>
Clara CĂPĂȚÎNĂ
Grupuri prepoziţionale cu prepoziţiile cu în română şi s(a) în croată cu regent nominal
Instituția: Lect. dr., Departamentul de Filologie Rusă și Slavă, Facultatea de Limbi și Literaturi Străine, Universitatea din București
Email: clara.capatina@lls.unibuc.ro
Cuvinte cheie: prepositions; instrumental case; accusative case; Croatian language; Romanian language.
Abstract
This paper aims to provide a contrastive analysis of prepositional groups with nominal heads formed with the prepositions cu in Romanian and s(a) in Croatian, in order to identify the contexts in which the two prepositions appear in both languages, as well as the contexts in which their usage differs. The study highlights the semantic variety of Romanian cu and the different morphosyntactic strategies used in Croatian to encode comparable relations, including s(a) with instrumental, the qualitative and partitive genitive, as well as constructions with na with accusative and o with locative.
Full text >>>
Miroslav KAZÍK
Živé osobné mená slobodných osôb v juhozápadnom okolí Trenčína s distribúciou pomenovacích modelov
Instituția: Doctor, Universitatea Matej Bel din Branská Bystrica, Slovacia
Email: miroslaw.kazik@wp.pl
Cuvinte cheie: onomastics; source base; unofficial (living) personal names; naming models; western Slovakia.
Abstract
The article presents a source base of living (unofficial) personal names in the class of unmarried persons in the Southwestern area of Trenčín in western Slovakia. The originally oral source of personal names obtained through field research is recorded and, through assigned naming models, commented on, characterized, and described, because naming models may be used to describe the unofficial anthroponymic system in a village and therefore characterize the anthroponymic microsystem in a single village.
Full text >>>
MENTALITĂȚI
Lidija ČOLEVIĆ
Kulturna diplomatija kinematografija i književnost
Instituția: Conf. dr., Departamentul de Filologie Rusă și Slavă, Facultatea de Limbi și Literaturi Străine, Universitatea din București
Email: lidija.colevic@lls.unibuc.ro
Cuvinte cheie: Serbian cinematography; cultural diplomacy; soft power; smart power; literature; Black Tie Film.
Abstract
Research into Serbian–Romanian relations gains renewed relevance in the context of the expansion of cultural diplomacy within the new Balkan cultural paradigm. In an increasingly competitive world, when “hard power” and traditional foreign policy mechanisms prove insufficient, the effectiveness of “soft power” can be observed through the channels of popular culture and mass media, including films, television series and social networks. The achievements of cultural diplomacy in the first quarter of the twenty-first century in the Balkans and Serbia, realized through cinematography as an instrument of “soft power,” are of considerable political, social, identity-related, and economic significance.
A notable trend in contemporary diplomatic relations is targeted elite cultural diplomacy. Through its application, the cultivation of various aspects of cultural identity can be more effectively encouraged, ultimately contributing to the promotion of national interests. Television narratives, as patterns of “soft power” within cultural diplomacy in Serbian cinematography, represent a trend in the contemporary contexts of the creative industries and geopolitics. On a symbolic level, television narratives shape collective memory and cultural identity. Over the past decade, Serbian television series have gained visibility not only at the regional level but also on a global scale.
Full text >>>
Șerban Gabriel
Șarpele. Între inamic și protector. Ipostaze și avataruri ofidiene în context comparat
Instituția: Doctorand, Universitatea din București
Email: gabriel.serbann@gmail.com
Cuvinte cheie: snake; mythology; zoomythology; animals; symbol.
Abstract
This study explores the multifaceted image of the snake as both enemy and protector, tracing its biological, symbolic, and mythological dimensions within a comparative framework, with particular emphasis on Romanian cultural space. Starting from the observation that the snake is one of the most widespread and enduring figures of the collective imagination, the paper examines how its real ethological traits—such as hibernation, molting, venom, and liminal mobility between surface and underground—have generated a rich spectrum of symbolic meanings across cultures. The snake emerges as a profoundly ambivalent figure, associated simultaneously with fertility, regeneration, hidden knowledge, healing, and primordial chaos, but also with death, danger, and moral corruption. By analyzing terminology, etymology, and zoological classifications alongside mythological representations, the study demonstrates how the concept of the snake expands into a broader symbolic family that includes dragons, basilisks, and other serpentiform beings. A central focus is placed on the Romanian context, where the snake retains a dual status shaped by the interaction between pre-Christian beliefs and Christian reinterpretations. While ecclesiastical and medieval bestiary traditions—especially as reflected in the Romanian versions of the Physiologus —tend to demonize the snake as a figure of sin and evil, popular folklore preserves its role as a protective household spirit, a mediator between worlds, and a bearer of hidden knowledge. Through a comparative reading of literary, religious, and folkloric sources, the paper highlights the coexistence and negotiation of these contrasting symbolic layers. Furthermore, the study situates the European transformation of the snake within a broader epistemological shift from a cosmology of continuity between nature and the sacred to a moralized, transcendent worldview under Christianity. Ultimately, the article argues that the persistence and universality of ophidian imagery result not merely from cultural diffusion, but from shared human responses to the biological and behavioral traits of snakes. As such, the snake functions as a key example of how natural observation is translated into myth, revealing deeper mechanisms by which human cultures construct meaning, negotiate alterity, and reconcile fear with fascination.
Full text >>>
Antoaneta OLTEANU
Povestea unui împrumut. O pagină din relațiile româno-polone în secolele al XIV-lea – al XVI-lea
Instituția: Prof. dr. habil., Deartamentul de Filologie Rusă și Slavă, Facultatea de Limbi și Literaturi Străine, Universitatea din București
Email: antoaneta.olteanu@lls.unibuc.ro
Cuvinte cheie: Petru I Musat; Wladyslaw II Jagiello; historical loan; Pokutia region.
Abstract
The article talks about a historical loan offered by the Moldavian ruler Petru I Mușat to the Polish king Wladyslaw II Jagiello, guaranteed by the Poles by offering for administration, during the loan, the city of Galici and the Pokutia region. For several hundred years, attempts were made to cancel this loan, without it being truly paid off by the debtors, so it often came to arbitration and direct battles between the parties involved.
Full text >>>
Anișoara ȘTEFĂNUCĂ (STEGARU)
Breaza – tradiție și inovație în confecționarea și valorificarea pieselor de port popular
Instituția:
Doctorand, Facultatea de Litere, Universitatea din București
Email: ani_steg@yahoo.com
Cuvinte cheie: popular port; tradition; innovation; upper valley of the Prahova River; Breaza.
Abstract
Taking as a reference the oldest monographic work documented by us, which contains relevant information for understanding the characteristics of the popular port specific to the second half of the 19th century, through the present study we will try to analyze and highlight the stages that marked the evolution of the port in the upper area of the Prahova Valley, especially on the port pieces made in the town of Breaza – recognized in this sense as a strong craft center.
Full text >>>
RECENZII
Camelia DINU
Amprente: o antologie a poetelor poloneze , selecție, note și postfață de Marina Ilie; prefață de Alina Purcaru; traducere din limba polonă de Ioana Diaconu-Mureșan și Marina Ilie
Instituția: Conf. dr. habil., Departamentul de Filologie Rusă și Slavă, Facultatea de Limbi și Literaturi Străine, Universitatea din București
Email:
camelia.dinu@lls.unibuc.ro
Full text >>>
Maria LAȚCHICI
Dușița Ristin, volumul Școli și curente în slavistica europeană: întemeietori și mentori
Instituția: Lect. dr., Departamentul de Filologie Rusă și Slavă, Facultatea de Limbi și Literaturi Străine, Universitatea din București
Email: maria.latchici@lls.unibuc.ro
Full text >>>
Octavia NEDELCU
Anca-Maria Bercaru, Camelia Dinu, Constantin Geambașu, Anca Irina Ionescu, Maria Lațchici, Livia-Maria Nistor, Realismul în literaturile slave din Europa Centrală și de Sud-Est
Instituția: Prof. dr., Departamentul de Filologie Rusă și Slavă, Facultatea de Limbi și Literaturi Străine, Universitatea din București
Email: 
cnedelcu2004@yahoo.com
Full text >>>
Sándor János TÓTH
Patrik Šenkár, Chrestomatia z kultúrneho kontextu dolnozemských Slovákov I.
Instituția: Conf. dr. habil. Departamentul de Limbă Slovacă și Teoria Comunicării, Facultatea de Arte, Universitatea „Comenicus” din Bratislava, Slovacia
Email: sandor.janos.toth@uniba.sk
Full text >>>
