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Petru Movila – Metropolitan of Kiev

Petru Movilă, a notorious personality and Metropolitan of Kiev, was born in Suceava in 1596, the son of Simion Movilă, who would later rule in Walla Wallachia, and his wife, Marghita, later a nun by the name of Melania. His father’s brothers were Ieremia Movilă, ruler of Moldavia from 1595-1606,...

Vladimir Tsyganko

Vladimir Tsyganko (1886 – 1919) Outstanding architect, Ukrainian, author of the project of the building of the National Museum of Nature and Ethnography of RM, designed in pseudo-Moorish style. He also designed the National Museum of History and the Balsa Shelter (now the building of the A. Cantemir Lyceum on...

Valentina Rusu-Ciobanu

Valentina Rusu-Ciobanu is the most valuable female painter that Moldova has had to date. She was born on October 28, 1920, in Chișinău. The work of the late artist stands out not only for its expressive means, which critics have deemed unconventional and innovative, but also for its profound poetic...

Carol Schmidt (Karl-Ferdinand Alexander Schmidt) (1846 – 1928)

The longest-serving mayor of Chisinau (1877-1903) was born into a German-Polish family. One of his sons, Alexander Schmidt, also served as the mayor of Chisinau during the turbulent years of 1917-1918. Under Carol Schmidt’s leadership, numerous impactful developments took place in the city. Many streets were paved, and various public...

Valentin Voitsehovski (1909-1977)

Architect Valentin Voitsehovski (Voițehovski) (1909-1977) – a figure who made significant contributions to the post-war reconstruction of Chisinau and the construction of numerous cities in the republic. Based on his designs, approximately 100 buildings were erected in Chisinau, including the Patria cinema (1951), the structures of the first Botanica microraion...

Gavriil Bănulescu-Bodoni (1746-1821)

Metropolitan of Moldavia, Poltava, Kiev, and later of Bessarabia, Bănulescu-Bodoni was a teacher of Greek, a hieromonk, and a preacher at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Iasi. In 1808, he was appointed exarch of the Church of Moldavia and Wallachia, during the time when both principalities were under the administration of...

Miron Costin (1633 -1691)

A great representative of Romanian culture in the 17th century, Miron Costin was born on March 30, 1633, the son of the hatter Iancu Costin and Saftei, from the well-known Movileștilor noble family in Moldova. In his adult life, Miron Costin was a man of distinguished culture, a true political...

Alexandru Hâjdeu (Hasdeu) (1811-1872)

Descended from the lineage of intellectual boyars, Tadeusz Hâjdeu was a Romanian writer from Bessarabia, the son of the lawyer Tadeu Hâjdeu, and the father of the writer Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu. A philosopher, writer, academician, and fluent in 10 languages, including Persian, Hâjdeu made a significant contribution to the unification...

Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu (1838 – 1907)

Name given at birth – Tadeu Hîjdeu. Writer, philologist, academician, encyclopaedist, jurist, linguist, folklorist, publicist, historian and an important political personality, descended from noble intellectual lineage. Hasdeu was one of the greatest personalities of Romanian culture of all times. He attended the Regional Gymnasium in Chisinau (now the building houses...

Alexandru Bernardazzi (1831 – 1907)

He belonged to the dynasty of renowned architects of Italian-Swiss origin and actively participated in the St Petersburg Architects’ Association. Alexandru Bernardazzi commenced his professional journey in 1850 when he assumed the role of assistant architect at the Bessarabian Road Construction Agency. By 1856, he had earned the title of...

Toma Ciorbă (1864-1936)

Toma Ciorba (1864-1936) An illustrious humanist doctor hailing from Bessarabia, Toma Ciorba was a graduate of the Medical Faculty at the University “St. Vladimir” in Kiev. He served as a medical doctor in Chisinau and gained recognition as the initiator and designer of the Infectious Diseases Hospital, a role he...

Moisey Slutsky (1851 -1934)

A distinguished doctor, social activist, and memoirist from Chisinau, who dedicated 57 years of service to the Jewish Hospital in the same city. Orphaned early in life, he was raised by his grandfather, Leib Efrusi, in Berdicev. His grandfather, a wealthy and educated individual, owned a truck, four horses, employed...

Alexe (Alexei) Mateevici (1888 – 1917)

Teacher, priest, writer, and poet. In 1897, his parents enrolled him in the theological school in Chisinau, and he successfully completed his studies in 1902 “with privileges.” Subsequently, he attended the theological seminary, forming a lasting friendship with the future sculptor Alexandru Plămădeală, who was also a student at the...

Alexandru Plămădeală (1888 -1940)

Sculptor, painter, and graphic artist, Alexandru Plămădeală was the creator of several notable works of art. He pursued his studies at the Higher School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture in Moscow. From 1916 to 1918, he worked at the mint in Petrograd. Upon returning to Chisinau after 1918, he was...

Alecu (Alexandru) Donici (1806 – 1865)

Lawyer, judge, writer, translator (especially from Russian), fabulist, descendant of a line of noble Moldovans. He began his activity in Chisinau, then in Iasi, holding an important position in the Epitropia of Schools. Later, he became an assessor at the Court of Appeal, and in 1846 he was elected president...

Constantin (Costache) Negruzzi (1808 -1868)

Translator, writer, theatre director and mayor of Iasi. He spent several years in Chisinau, where, in 1821, he also met the poet A.S.Pushkin, who was in exile. The Russian poet awakened his early interest in world literature. His first literary essays date from this period: “My Stanzas from Bessarabia in...

Maria Cebotari (1910- 1949)

Opera singer, the famous “Nightingale of Bessarabia” – one of the greatest sopranos in the world in the 1930s and 1940s. She studied at the normal school for girls Florica Niță and at the Metropolitan Chapel in Chisinau, directed by Mihail Berezovschi, after which she attended the “Unirea” Conservatory in...

Constantin Stere (1865 – 1936)

Politician, jurist, professor, scholar, and Romanian writer. In his youth, for his involvement in the narodnik revolutionary movement, he was sentenced by the Tsarist Russian authorities to prison and exile in Siberia for 6 years (1886-1892). For 30 years, he carried out remarkable journalistic activity, being the founder and editor...

Nicolae Donici (1874 -1956)

Romanian astronomer originally from Bessarabia. Descended from the famous Donici family of noblemen, great-grandson of the fabulist Alecu Donici and great-great-grandson of the legislator Andronache Donici. Author of nearly 80 scientific publications (most of them in French), and several articles written in Romanian, Russian and German, many published in the...

Manuc Bey – Armenian Prince

Historians have found that one of the less developed actors in the events of the Russo-Turkish War of 1806-1812, involved in political-diplomatic actions, who had influence over the Russo-Ottoman negotiations was the influential and wealthy Manuc (Emanuel) Mirzaianț (there are different spellings of his name: Mirzaian, Mârzaian, Manuc bey etc.),...

Natalia Dadiani (Godlevschi) (1865 – 1903)

Teacher, politician, princess. She became a Dadiani through her marriage to Prince Beglari Giorgi Davit, a descendant of a noble family from Abkhazia, and became a promoter of girls’ secondary education in Bessarabia. She graduated with a gold medal from the Narodavskaya Girls’ Gymnasium (School No. 1 for Girls), and...

Elena Alistar (Balan) (1873 – 1955)

Medic, publicist, and politician, who was a member of the Council of the Country in Bessarabia. She was the aunt of the writer Magda Isanos. She studied at the Eparchial School in Chisinau. Here, she met the young theologian Dumitru Alistar, whom she later married. After the death of her...

Nadia Russo (Brjozovskaya) (1901 – 1988)

Pioneer of Romanian aviation, a Russian refugee from the Bolshevik revolution, married to a Bessarabian nobleman, she obtained her pilot’s license at the age of 35 and embarked on a remarkable career as a sports pilot. In 1938, she was the only woman to take part in the Prague-Bucharest-Belgrade-Bratislava rally...

Alexei Shchusev (Șciusev) (1873–1949)

Architect, art historian, and theorist, a member of the Academy of Arts of the Russian Empire and the USSR Academy of Sciences, Alexei Shchusev studied at Gymnasium No. 2 in Chisinau from 1883 to 1891. He designed notable structures such as the Kazan Railway Station in Moscow, the Sergei Radonevsky...

Robert Kurtz

Robert Kurtz is a renowned local architect, born on December 17, 1911, in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia. He graduated in 1940 from the Institute of Architecture in Bucharest. From 1944 to 1951, he served as the chief architect of Kishinev, and from 1951 to 1971, he held the position of chief...

Ion și Doina Aldea-Teodorovici (1954-1992, 1958-1992)

“Two twin hearts” – teachers, musicians, singers, Ion is also a brilliant composer. He has written symphonic music, chamber music, children’s songs, songs for films, for dramatic performances, including sacred music. Together with his wife he campaigned for the reunification of Moldova with Romania. They opted for a return to...

Constantin Constantinov (1915 -2003)

On July 7, 1915 in the family of the peasant Timofte from the village of Sucleia, district of Slobozia, the thirteenth child was born and named Costica. In time everyone called him so – Uncle Costea… Constantin Constantinov, famous theatre and film actor, artist of the people (1953). He graduated...

Emil Loteanu (1936- 2003)

Moldavian actor, director, screenwriter, poet and writer. He has directed more than 20 films, including “The Red Meadows” (1966), “The Milkmen” (1971), “The Shatra” (1975), “My Gentle and Tender Beast” (1978), “Anna Pavlova” (1983), “The Lighthouse” (1986). He has also made short films. He has been declared “the best director...

Domnica Darienco (1919 – 2010)

Domnica Darienco – renowned actress of theatre and cinema from the Republic of Moldova.  She has been on stage for over 50 years, playing over 100 outstanding roles. She was born on January 15, 1919, in the Valley of the Thief (former Dolinscoie), Odessa region. He studied acting at the...

Glebus Sainciuc (1919 -2012)

The works of the art man Glebus Sainciuc (19.07.1919-16.10.2012) will hopefully survive in time and will endure in the era through their artistic power of persuasion. His talent was discovered early, still in his high school years, then cultivated through academic studies at the School of Fine Arts in Chisinau....

Grigore Vieru – (1935 – 2009)

The famous poet, whose verses have been translated into more than 30 world languages. He made his debut in 1957 (while still a student at the Pedagogical Institute “Ion Creanga” in Chisinau, Faculty of Philology and History) with his verses for children “Alarm”, highly appreciated by literary critics. He works...

Maria Bieșu (1935 – 2012)

Opera singer, soprano and lied from the Republic of Moldova. She debuted as a soloist in the folk music band “Fluieraș” with the song “Struguraș de pe colina” at a district competition, alongside the famous Tamara Ciobanu and Serghei Lunchevici. He gradually switched from folk music to opera, taking a...

Vladimir Curbet (1930 – 2017)

Vladimir Curbet is a renowned ballet master. He was born on 5 December 1930 in the village of Susleni, Orhei district. In 1981 he became a People’s Artist of the Soviet Union. Vladimir Сurbet graduated from the Stefan Neaga School of Music in Chisinau and was brought up from childhood...

Petre Teodorovici (1950-1997)

Petre Teodorovici was born on May 18, 1950, in the city of Leova, in the family of music teacher Cristofor Teodorovici, being the second child in the family. He graduated from the local secondary (music) school, where he studied the violin (1968), then studied at the Stefan Neaga College of...

Lidia Lipkovski (1884 -1958)

Lidia Lipkovski (1884 Babino village, Hotin county- 1958 Beirut, Lebanon) is the only Basarabian who has performed in Latin America, New Zealand, Jawa Island and the Philippine Islands and on the biggest stages of the world: Paris, Landra New York, Boston, Montreal, Berlin, Vienna, Rome, Milan, Sydney, Hurbin, Tokyo, Melbourn,...