On the occasion of the 165th anniversary of the birth of poet Mihai Eminescu, senior state officials rendered homage to the bard by laying flowers at his bust on the Alley of Classical Writers in the central park of Chisinau. The event involved the head of state, the acting Prime Minister, members of the Cabinet, lawmakers, political leaders and people of culture.

Acting Premier Iurie Leanca said that we must think about the significance and role of poet Eminescu, not only of his poems, especially about the importance of his prose. Some of the situations about which the poet wrote in the middle of the 19th century, not necessary favorable, continue to exist nowadays. Eminescu said that we must belong to the European civilization. “The objective was set and we have now a mission to accomplish,” he stated.

Iurie Leanca referred also to the years he was a student, when Mihai Eminescu’s works were forbidden. “I read the journalistic works of Eminescu in Budapest in 1985, taking notes from them in secret so that nobody at home found out that I read what was banned in the Soviet Union. We must take care of Eminescu at home and promote him. He is one of the few real values of our civilization,” he noted.

Romania’s Ambassador to Moldova Marius Lazurca said that today Mihai Eminescu is contemporary by two elements – the beauty of the Romanian language that he recovered in a way from the old chronicles and gave a new shine to it, and the patriotism and love for the country emanated by the poet’s works.

In Moldova, the poet’s birth day January 15 is celebrated as the National Day of Culture.