Shvydkoi commented on the idea of ​​​​renaming Pushkin Street: “So much the worse for Chisinau”

Pushkin Street is located in the central part of Chisinau, parallel to Stefan the Great and Saint Boulevard, where the country’s parliament is located. Therefore, the idea of ​​renaming is periodically voiced by various politicians. In 2021, they wanted to name the street in honor of the Moldovan writer Nikolai Dabizhi. Shvydkoy then spoke conciliatoryly: Dabizha is a wonderful author, but is there really no other Chisinau street for him? But this time, the candidate for mayor sees Queen Maria of Romania as an alternative to Alexander Sergeevich, that is, this step is clearly pro-Romanian. “Why does Pushkin interfere so much with current Moldovan politicians,” our correspondent asked Shvydkoy with this question:

– I think that it is not Pushkin that interferes, but Russian culture. But for Moldova, such an attitude towards Russians indicates that they have no historical memory. One can assess the periods in relations between Bessarabia/Moldova and Russia differently, but Russia has always supported Moldovan independence. And for the residents of Moldova to have the right to their own culture.

A few weeks before the recent death of the writer Ione Druta, who was 95 years old at the time, I wrote a long article about him. Both Druta and Ion Ungureanu occupied different political positions over the years. However, no one is going to erase them, like other writers, starting with Cantemir, directors, actors of Moldovan origin, from memory, from history and general culture.

I don’t want to compare Druta and Pushkin, although Ion Panteleevich once wrote a wonderful play about Leo Tolstoy (“Return to Square One”), which was performed on the stage of the Maly Theater, and Igor Ilyinsky brilliantly played the role of the Russian classic there. But I can assure you that representatives of Moldovan culture have always been valued in Russia.

– But now is the time for “unfriendly steps”?

– We all understand that the deputy, by proposing this, wants to please the West. But anyone who wants to remain in the memory of his people in this way must realize that it will most likely be the memory of Herostratus, who burned the Temple of Ephesus.

– Officially, he is running for mayor.

– So much the worse for Chisinau. And so much the worse for this person if he is preparing to take such a high position

I’ll say a terrible thing now, but Pushkin will not lose sight of whether a street in the capital of Moldova continues to bear his name. But it will decrease from their capital.

Poetry, unlike hatred, always harmonizes life, but Russophobia did not benefit anyone.

“We are already tired of protesting,” says, in turn, Master of Literature of the Republic of Moldova (this is the official title in force in the country – I.V.), member of the Union of Writers of the Republic of Moldova and the Writers’ Union of Russia Olesya Rudyagina.

The Russian-speaking writer recalled that during the 32 years of Independence, attacks on the memory of Pushkin himself and his monument occurred constantly:

– Now the oldest publicist and poet, in the past – the chief editor of the government newspaper “Nezavisimaya Moldova” Boris Tikhonovich Marian in the 90s even had to sue local opponents of Pushkin. The latest attempt to rename the street arose after the tragic death of the pillar of modern Moldovan (Romanian, Bessarabian) literature Gregory Vieru, whose work is a national treasure. They wanted to call Pushkin Street Vieru Street. However, the poet’s widow, as a person of high intelligence, a living conscience, a loving and believing heart, categorically rejected this proposal.

And this is significant for all of us, the old-timers of Chisinau, whose history is inextricably linked with the name of the Sun of Russian poetry. The former Youth Avenue was eventually named after Vieru.

– What was the reaction of the Moldovan citizens themselves to the initiative of the mayoral candidate?

– The proposal submitted to the scandalous “Program for the Organization of the Capital” by a certain mayoral candidate from the recently revived National Moldavian Party, which existed only a year in the last century (until 1918), caused simply homeric laughter on the networks.

A dentist by training and a blogger, a CSF official, he could not find anything better for Chisinau than to promise de-Sovietization. I fully admit that with the current superficial formation of numerous upstarts in power, he considers Pushkin an ally of Stalin, guilty of the deportations.

In any case, this is, of course, a deliberate Russophobic gesture. This has nothing in common with the aspirations of the Moldovan people, with the will and desires of the people of Chisinau. Look at the percentage of people who voted for this “benefactor”. Chisinau, which for me is the center of the Universe, I believe, will avoid such a mayor. According to the legend

God has allocated a piece of Paradise for the life of a Moldovan. I believe he will not leave Moldova.

– Is Pushkin Street pedestrian? Or is it a major transport route?

– There is a continuous stream of transport along it – both public and private. And this is truly the very heart of the city. Along Pushkin Street there is the National Palace named after. N. Sulak, House of Printing, First Lyceum named after G. Asaki, Cathedral Park, where the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ is located, many shops, cafes, offices.

During the Russian Empire, the most significant buildings were built along it: banks, the Government of the Province, a women’s gymnasium, the building of the Choir Chapel of the women’s gymnasium by the architect A. Bernardazzi.

– Do the townspeople love this place?

– Well, how can you not love your arm or leg? Most of the townspeople were born and raised under it, this is a given. Pushkin Street has been such since 1899. In modern history, only during the Great Patriotic War, under the Romanians, was it called differently. This is a historical fact and one who honors history (and this is how the author of the sensational project positions himself) cannot ignore it. In my opinion, the mayor should not be involved in politics at all. A real business executive in Chisinau already has a lot of work to do.