Showing Moldova: Romanian-speaking Tourist Guides as Actors of Identity Politics (1965-1989)

• In Event: Mediators: Translations and Translators in Soviet International Relations

Abstract

Romania's independent policy since 1965 and the former territorial conflicts with the Soviet Union made relations between the two countries quite difficult. The Soviet fling of security was particularly acute in relation to the Moldovan territory, formerly part of Romania. Tourism, although overregulated, remained one of the few forms of interaction between the divided nations. Under the existing restrictions on communication with foreigners, Romanian-speaking “guides translators” were on the frontline of Romanian-Moldovan relations.
The study is based on collections of documents from Intourist, Sputnik, the papers of the Committee for Foreign Tourism of the MSSR, media publications, travel guides, and a series of interviews.
The peculiarity of work of the "Romanian translators" was that they were native speakers of Romanian, claiming that their native language was as called Moldovan. Intourist used Moldovan guides to accompany Romanian tourists throughout the USSR. The guides did not emphasize their Moldovan identity and often met tourists at the airport in Moscow.
The growing suspicion of Romanians made Romanian-speaking guides themselves the object of special control. Being, in fact, ideological workers, they contributed to the dissemination of narratives about the Moldovan language, the revolutionary struggle in Bessarabia and the underdevelopment of the Bessarabian territory during the Romanian period. At the same time, most guides avoided writing detailed reports on the behavior of tourists, and during the period of Moldova's independence, they became ardent supporters of the European way.

Author

• Alexey Kotelvas, U of Florida