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The Wavering Fate of a Communist Jewel: from Casa Scânteii to Casa Presei Libere

Ilinca Stroe

Aug 29, 20223 min read

The Wavering Fate of a Communist Jewel: from Casa Scânteii to Casa Presei Libere

Which “little Paris” on Earth features a hefty piece of Moscow? Only Bucharest can really claim that status.

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Same meaning, different perceptions: the trick about synonyms in Romanian

Ilinca Stroe

Jul 4, 20224 min read

Same meaning, different perceptions: the trick about synonyms in Romanian

... even words that have the same meaning, strictly semantically speaking, carry very different nuances and connotations, elicit very differ

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“She drew beauty from anything she did and spread it around her”. Maria Rosetti’s gifts to Romania

Ilinca Stroe

Jun 3, 20222 min read

“She drew beauty from anything she did and spread it around her”. Maria Rosetti’s gifts to Romania

Romanian by choice. Revolutionary leader. Mother. Writer. Activist. Who said Romanian girls and women today didn’t have role models worth em

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Bucharest’s erstwhile hub of social glamour: the story of Palatul Suțu

Ilinca Stroe

May 3, 20223 min read

Bucharest’s erstwhile hub of social glamour: the story of Palatul Suțu

At night, it’s spellbinding. Its moonlit front yard, with its fine wrought iron gates and marquee, its interior resembling a drawing by...

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Ilinca Stroe

Mar 16, 20223 min read

Minority Profile: Who Are the Romanian Ukrainians?

At present, they are Romania’s third largest ethnic minority, after the Hungarians and the Roma, making up 0.3% of the country’s total popul

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One word and beyond: 8 common Romanian phrases with “ba”

Ilinca Stroe

Feb 4, 20223 min read

One word and beyond: 8 common Romanian phrases with “ba”

... that word is the Romanian equivalent of English “nay”. It has two letters, and you’ll hear quite a bit of it around:

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Romania’s “Queen of the Heights”: How Smaranda Brăescu Made It in a Man’s World

Ilinca Stroe

Jan 5, 20224 min read

Romania’s “Queen of the Heights”: How Smaranda Brăescu Made It in a Man’s World

Smaranda Brăescu (1897-1948) had the dream of flying at a time when her country barely guaranteed any civil rights for women. So when in

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Stupidity Seen by Wisdom. 15 Romanian Proverbs about Fools and Foolishness

Ilinca Stroe

Nov 9, 20214 min read

Stupidity Seen by Wisdom. 15 Romanian Proverbs about Fools and Foolishness

Whatever other peoples’ relationship with stupidity, the Romanians’ is special. Stupidity has us almost in awe. An everyday fact in our life

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Arsenie Boca: Meeting the Romanians’ Need for Miracles

Ilinca Stroe

Sep 20, 20215 min read

Arsenie Boca: Meeting the Romanians’ Need for Miracles

Was it “his extraordinary will, his formidable memory, his being such a hard worker, his out of the ordinary

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What Is It that Makes the Romanians Special? 4 Propositions

Ilinca Stroe

Jul 13, 20214 min read

What Is It that Makes the Romanians Special? 4 Propositions

What are the typical characteristics of the Romanians? The special qualities that set them apart from other peoples? The answer depends on w

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Veronica Micle and Mihai Eminescu: the Love that Fed Romania’s Finest Poetry

Ilinca Stroe

Jun 18, 20216 min read

Veronica Micle and Mihai Eminescu: the Love that Fed Romania’s Finest Poetry

Sexist as it may possibly be deep down, had there not been a Veronica Micle, there might not have been a Mihai Eminescu, either.

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Elena Lupescu: A Femme Fatale to Interwar Romania

Ilinca Stroe

Apr 12, 20216 min read

Elena Lupescu: A Femme Fatale to Interwar Romania

When it comes to the most hated women in the history of Romania, she probably comes second only to the other greatly loathed Elena,...

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Romania’s Genders: What the Romanian Nouns Imply

Ilinca Stroe

Feb 12, 20214 min read

Romania’s Genders: What the Romanian Nouns Imply

probably the most fascinating thing about gender in different languages is the relationship between natural gender and grammatical gender.

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Standing out in the World: 5 Out of the Ordinary Things about Romania

Ilinca Stroe

Dec 9, 20205 min read

Standing out in the World: 5 Out of the Ordinary Things about Romania

The European Union’s sixth largest country after Brexit and one of Europe’s most important agricultural producers, Romania inherited from...

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Romanian Sarcasm: The Case in Point of 9 Turkish loanwords

Ilinca Stroe

Oct 7, 20204 min read

Romanian Sarcasm: The Case in Point of 9 Turkish loanwords

However, linguistically the Romanian language was remarkably welcoming of Turkish-origin words, which have been around for long enough to pe

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The Psychology of the Romanian People: A Rough Collective Portrait

Ilinca Stroe

Sep 15, 20203 min read

The Psychology of the Romanian People: A Rough Collective Portrait

On the one hand, our high potential for cognitive and emotional intelligence, for creativity and learning is comparable to that of the Briti

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Fighting Against the Tide of History: Elisabeta Rizea, the Anti-communist Woman Partisan

Ilinca Stroe

Aug 8, 20204 min read

Fighting Against the Tide of History: Elisabeta Rizea, the Anti-communist Woman Partisan

A graduate of barely secondary school, Romanian history nowadays pays homage to her as the female symbol of anti-communist resistance

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Romanian Moods: The Legacy of the Phanar in 8 Colloquial Words

Ilinca Stroe

Jul 4, 20204 min read

Romanian Moods: The Legacy of the Phanar in 8 Colloquial Words

These words of Neo-Greek origin can be circumscribed to the area of moods, attitudes and dispositions, and today they are all used in the fa

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Anghel Saligny: The Unspectacular Decency of an Engineering Star

Ilinca Stroe

May 28, 20204 min read

Anghel Saligny: The Unspectacular Decency of an Engineering Star

as you near Cernavodă, the fine, slender shape of a steel bridge is coming to view, slightly reminiscent of the Eiffel Tower metal lacework

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A Peek into Romania’s Soul: 8 Quasi-untranslatable Romanian Words

Ilinca Stroe

May 6, 20204 min read

A Peek into Romania’s Soul: 8 Quasi-untranslatable Romanian Words

But any (good) translation is inherently an approximation and an adaptation. Hence the adage “traduttore, traditore”. There are words whose

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