Cheating the Censor: Romanian Writers under Communism

Abstract

The Romanian Communist Party enjoyed considerable success in exploiting literature for its own ends. This article asks why those writers who challenged censorship were few in number, and why, even in the final year of Nicolae Ceau?escu’s rule, the chorus of protest was weak. Most Romanian writers failed to oppose censorship, and were deeply marked by it even when they believed that they were ‘cheating’ the censor. In some ways self-censorship proved to be more damaging to creativity than overt repression. The exceptions nevertheless comprise an important category, deserving examination and recognition. The fall of Communism in Romania has allowed a discussion of these themes to be more fully informed and to this end English translations of open letters from a number of writers are appended. Some of these were passed to the author for dissemination in 1989.     

Tidings from a Faraway East: The Russian Empire and Morocco

In 1898 the Russian Empire opened a consulate in Tangier, its first formal diplomatic mission in Morocco. This article examines the reasons behind Russia's approaches to the Sultanate in the wider context of Russian relations with the Arab Middle East. Russia's policy toward Morocco reflected a desire to build influence in the Arab world through ‘soft’ power - peaceful diplomacy laden with benevolent cultural and economic values. Strikingly, much Russian diplomatic rhetoric emphasized or pretended to cultural commonalities between Russia and the Middle East, focused on shared experiences of Islam, to position Russia as an influential ‘honest broker’ between Morocco and encroaching Western imperialist powers. This did not prevent France's establishment of a protectorate in 1912, but Russian goals in Morocco remained consistent through the First World War and up to the time of the Revolution of 1917, and mirrored efforts elsewhere in the Arab world.     

稿本《徐乃昌日记》的文献价值

一积学斋主人卒年考 <南陵县志>云"光绪癸巳[1893]恩科,徐乃昌,字积余,号随庵,覃恩一品,封典赏戴花翎,二品衔官,淮安知府,特授江南盐巡道监督金陵关."①虽然此书是徐乃昌纂修,但也未记载他的出生年.     

略论宋代御史六察制度--兼与刁忠民同志商榷

宋神宗元丰年间,以监察御史点检三省、枢密院书,创建六察司,以类相分,纠察吏、户、礼、兵、刑、工六部等机构的失职行为;强化对六察官自身的监督机制,在尚书省置御史房,负责弹纠御史六察官的失职行为,且置簿记录其弹纠之多寡当否,御史六察官失察要受到尚书省的弹奏。宋朝御史六察制度投入少收效大,对提高行政效率、整顿吏治等均起到了重要作用。     

The Feasibility of Teaching Scientific and Technical Russian without the Prerequisite of a General Russian Language Course

The plot of the short novel La mano en la trampa (Beatriz Guido, 1961) is about a young woman who becomes a heroine while trying to find out the truth about a family secret known as “El Opa.” Her work as a spy needs to be done in complete secrecy. Her family is behind her and she needs to escape from censorship. Her family story is similar to Argentina's context at that time when many people had to avoid the control and excessive power of Peron's government. Everything seems to be double in this novel: spaces, characters, life stories, ghosts, vampires, haunting and repressive atmospheres. All of these elements contribute to the gothic spirit in La mano en la trampa that I explore in this article.     

《蒋介石日记》的史料价值

蒋介石是中国近代历史的一个颇具争议的人物,他的个人经历、对日政策和个性特征引起海内外学者的关注。保存在斯坦福大学胡佛研究所的蒋介石1917年至1945年日记的公开,为深入分析与之相关的历史事件,得出符合历史逻辑的客观的结论提供了重要的依据。蒋介石日记提供了他早年追随孙中山的一些历史细节,1932年以后的日记中更清晰表露了他挣扎于抗日和妥协之中,他的反共言论则体现了他超于性格缺陷的认识偏差。