Interview with Vladimir Solonari, historian at the University of Central Florida, Orlando, former member of parliament in the Republic of Moldova (1990-2001), and member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (1993-2001). Interview conducted in Ithaca, NY on November 4, 2008.
Dr. Solonari has written a number of articles on the history of Romania during WWII and recently completed a book manuscript entitled: Purifying the Nation: Population Exchange and Ethnic Cleansing in World War II Romania, which is due to come out in 2009.
Interview Themes
Solonari’s family history and its influence on his work (00:53)
Good research habits (05:39)
Significant events of Solonari’s lifetime and how they influenced his work (08:45)
Complexity as an outcome of historical research (14:06)
Stress on argument in American scholarship (17:03)
Importance of area studies and defining our area (20:08)
Solonari’s reflections on being a politician in Moldova during the 1990s (24:45)
Future of Moldova (29:55)
Crossing the boundary between East-Central European and Russian/Soviet history (33:42)
Possibilities of integrating East-Central European history into a broader European framework (37:38)
Most interesting directions in the field of Russian/Soviet history (40:40)
To access interview, click here: http://hdl.handle.net/1813/11585
