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Ion Vianu (15 April 1934 – 20 June 2024) was a Romanian writer and
psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...
, who lived in Switzerland from 1977. He was the son of literary critic
Tudor Vianu Tudor Vianu (; January 8, 1898 – May 21, 1964) was a Romanian literary criticism, literary critic, art critic, poet, philosopher, academic, and translation, translator. He had a major role on the reception and development of Modernism in Liter ...
and his wife, Elena. Vianu first studied
classical philology Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek and Roman literature and their original languages, ...
for two years (1952–1954) as a kind of "self-imposed exile into another world", as he called it, before studying medicine.


Dissident

Ion Vianu was one of those who signed
Paul Goma Paul Goma (; October 2, 1935 – March 24, 2020) was a Romanian writer, known for his activities as a dissident and leading opponent of the communist regime before 1989. Forced into exile by the communist authorities, he became a political refug ...
's 1977 open letter that expressed solidarity with the
Charter 77 Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members ...
movement in
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
. This was done, partly, to put the Romanian communist authorities under pressure to allow him to emigrate. As a result, he was interrogated by the Romanian's secret police, the
Securitate The Department of State Security (), commonly known as the Securitate (, ), was the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was founded on 30 August 1948 from the '' Siguranța'' with help and direction from the Soviet MG ...
, harassed, fired from his University job, and eventually allowed to emigrate to Switzerland. After settling down in Switzerland, he joined the "Geneva Initiative Against Political Psychiatry" and collaborated with
Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...
, discussing attempts to use psychiatry as a form of repression. After the 1989 Revolution, he became actively involved in the reform of the system of psychiatric treatment in Romania to bring it up to world standards. Vianu, together with his friend
Matei Călinescu Matei Alexe Călinescu (June 15, 1934 – June 24, 2009) was a Romanian literary critic and professor of comparative literature at Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana University, in Bloomington, Indiana. Biography Călinescu was born in ...
, published an autobiographical volume, ''Amintiri în dialog'' ("Remembrances in Dialogue"). He died on 20 June 2024, at the age of 90.Fostul ministru al Culturii, Vlad Alexandrescu: A murit scriitorul şi medicul psihiatru Ion Vianu


Writings

Ion Vianu's writings include memoires, novels and critical essays. He published the novels ''Caietele lui Ozias'' (in 2004) and ''Vasiliu, foi volante'' (in 2006), both being part of the cycle ''Arhiva trădarii şi a mâniei'' (the Archive of Treason and Wrath), dealing with Romanian society during the
communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...
. (2nd edition, completed and reviewed, 2016) He also published another two novels, ''Paramnezii'' (2005) and, in 2007, "Necredinciosul" (the Unfaithful), inspired by his practice as a psychiatrist in the Western world. In 2009 he published ''Exercitii de sinceritate'' (Exercises in sincerity) about his public life under the communist regime during the seventies. In 2010 he published an autobiographical novel, ''Amor intellectualis'', dealing with some major figures from his youth and the tragic destiny of the intelligentsia under the communist regime. He also published collected critical essays under the name ''Blestem şi binecuvântare'' (Curse & Blessing, 2007), and, in 2008, "Investigatii mateine", a biographical essay about the Romanian writer
Matei Caragiale Mateiu Ion Caragiale (; – 17 January 1936), also credited as Matei or Matheiu, or in the antiquated version Mateiŭ, Sorin Antohi"Romania and the Balkans. From Geocultural Bovarism to Ethnic Ontology" in ''Tr@nsit online'', Institut für die W ...
. Another volume of critical essays "Apropieri" (Approaches), was published in 2011. The novel "Vasiliu, foi volante" was translated in Spanish by Ioana Zlotescu in 2010 under the title ''Vasiliu, hojas sueltas'' (Aletheia Publishing House). "Amor intellectualis" was awarded a few prizes, among them ''Book of the year 2010'' by the "România Literara" magazine. În 2012 it appeared in Spanish, translated by Victor Ivanovici and Susanna Vásquez (Miguel Gomez ediciones, Malaga).


References


Sources


Ovidiu Şimonca, "«Am vrut să fiu un martor». Interviu cu Ion Vianu", in ''Observator Cultural''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vianu, Ion 1934 births 2024 deaths Physicians from Bucharest Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty people Romanian psychiatrists Romanian dissidents Romanian expatriates in Switzerland Jewish Romanian writers Romanian journalists Romanian literary critics Romanian memoirists Romanian novelists Romanian male novelists Romanian essayists Romanian male essayists