Panait Istrati (; sometimes rendered as ''Panaït Istrati''; (August 10, 1884 – April 16, 1935) was a Romanian working class writer, who wrote in French and Romanian, nicknamed ''The

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (; ), was a Russian and Soviet writer and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an aut ...

of the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

''. Istrati appears to be the first Romanian author explicitly depicting a homosexual character in his work. Although he lived and worked mainly in Romania, due to his impact on French literature, Istrati is sometimes also labeled as "French writer".

Early life

Born in

Brăila Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The Sud-Est (development region), ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila. According to the 2021 Romanian ...

, Istrati was the son of the laundress Joița Istrate and of the Greek tobacco trader Georgios Valsamis from the village of Faraklata in Kefalonia. He studied in primary school for six years in Baldovinești, after being held back twice. He then earned his living as an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

to a tavern-keeper, then as a pastry cook and peddler. In the meantime, he was a prolific reader. His first attempts at writing date from around 1907 when he started sending pieces to the

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

periodicals in Romania, debuting with the article, ''Hotel Regina'' in '' România Muncitoare''. Here, he later published his first short stories, ''Mântuitorul'' ("The Redeemer"), ''Calul lui Bălan'' ("Bălan's Horse"), ''Familia noastră'' ("Our Family"), ''1 Mai'' (" May Day"). He also contributed pieces to other leftist newspapers such as ''Dimineața'', '' Adevărul'', and ''Viața Socială''. In 1910, he was involved in organizing a

strike action Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike in British English, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Working class, work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Str ...

in Brăila. He went to

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

(1913–1914), and Switzerland (where he settled for a while, trying to cure his

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

). Istrati's travels were marked by two successive unhappy marriages, a brief return to Romania in 1915 when he tried to earn his living as a hog

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

, and long periods of vagabondage. While in the

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

, Istrati met Russian Jewish-Swiss Zionist writer Josué Jéhouda, who became his friend and French language tutor. Living in misery, ill and depressed, he attempted

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

in 1921 on his way to

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionRomain Rolland, the French writer he admired most and with whom he had long tried to get in touch. Rolland received the letter through the

Police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

and immediately replied. In 1923 Istrati's story ''Kyra Kyralina'' (or ''Chira Chiralina'') was published with a

preface __NOTOC__ A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literature, literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a ''foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface o ...

by Rolland. It became the first in his ''Adrien Zograffi'' literary cycle. Rolland was fascinated with Istrati's adventurous life, urging him to write more and publishing parts of his work in ''Clarté'', the

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

that he and Henri Barbusse owned. The next major work by Istrati was the

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

''Codine''. Pamfil Șeicaru named Istrati "poor poet of deflowered arses". Istrati is the first Romanian author to write a novel – ''Chira Chiralina'' – in which a character is homosexual.

Istrati and communism

Istrati shared the leftist ideals of Rolland, and, as much as his mentor, placed his hopes in the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

vision. In 1927 he visited the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

on the anniversary of the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

, accompanied by Christian Rakovsky during the first stage of the journey (Rakovsky was Soviet

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to Paris, and by then already falling out of favor with

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

). He travelled through large sections of the European part, witnessing celebrations in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. He was joined in Moscow by his future close friend, Nikos Kazantzakis; while in the city, Panait Istrati met Victor Serge and expressed his wish to become a citizen of the Soviet Union. He and Kazantzakis wrote Stalin a congratulatory letter that remained unanswered. In 1928–29, after a tumultuous stay in Greece (where he was engaged in fights with the police and invited to leave the country), he went again to the Soviet Union. Through extended visits in more remote places such as the Moldavian ASSR (where he got in touch with his friend Ecaterina Arbore),

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, and

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...

, Istrati learned the full truth of Stalin's communist

dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

, out of which experience he wrote his famous book, ''The Confession of a Loser'', the first in the succession of disenchantments expressed by

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...

s such as Arthur Koestler and André Gide. Istrati dealt with the mounting persecution of

Old Bolsheviks The Old Bolsheviks (), also called the Old Bolshevik Guard or Old Party Guard, were members of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Many Old Bolsheviks became leading politi ...

and the gradual victimization of whole population groups. His views were also harshly made clear in two letters he sent to the GPU leadership in December 1928. Thereafter, he suffered a crisis of conscience mainly due to being branded a "

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

" or even a "

Fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

" by his former communist friends, the most violent of which proved to be Henri Barbusse. Rolland had praised Istrati's letters to the GPU, but he nonetheless chose to stay clear of the controversy. Istrati came back to Romania ill and demoralised, was treated for tuberculosis in Nice, then returned to Bucharest.

Last years

The political opinions Istrati expressed after his split with Bolshevism are rather ambiguous. He was still closely watched by the Romanian secret police ('' Siguranța Statului''), and he had written an article (dated April 8, 1933) in the French magazine '' Les Nouvelles littéraires'', aptly titled ''L'homme qui n'adhère à rien'' ("The man who will adhere to nothing"). At the same time, Istrati started publishing in '' Cruciada Românismului'' ("The

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

of Romanianism"), the voice of a left-leaning splinter group of the ultra-

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

Iron Guard The Iron Guard () was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Clerical fascism, religious fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel M ...

. As such, Istrati became associated with the group's leader Mihai Stelescu, who had been elected as a member of Parliament for the Iron Guard in 1933 and whose dissidence was the reason for his brutal

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

by the Decemviri in 1936; Istrati was himself

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

ed several times by the Guard's squads. Isolated and unprotected, Panait Istrati died at Filaret Sanatorium in Bucharest. He was buried in Bellu Cemetery.

List of works

Adrian Zografi series

* Les Récits d'Adrien Zograffi / The Stories of Adrian Zografi * Kyra Kyralina, Rieder, Paris, 1924, preface: Romain Rolland; Romanian translation by IG Hertz, Bucharest, 1934 * Oncle Anghel, Rieder, Paris, 1924; Romanian translation by the author: Renaşterea, Bucharest, 1925 * Les Haidoucs : I. Présentation de Haidoucs, Rieder, Paris, 1925 * Les Haidoucs : II. Domnitza de Snagov, Rieder, Paris, 1926 * Enfance d'Adrien Zograffi / Childhood of Adrian Zografi * Codine, Rieder, Paris, 1926; Romanian translation by IG Hertz, Bucharest, 1935 * Adolescence d'Adrien Zograffi / Adolescence of Adrian Zografi * Mikhail, Rieder, Paris, 1927 * Vie d'Adrien Zograffi / The Life of Adrian Zografi * At Maison Thuringer, Rieder, Paris, 1933; Romanian version by the author: Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 1933 * Le Bureau du Placement, Rieder, Paris, 1933; Romanian version by the author: Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 1933 * Méditerranée. Lever du soleil, Rieder, Paris, 1934 * Méditerranée. Coucher du soleil, Rieder, Paris, 1935; Romanian translation by the author: Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 1936

Outside the "Adrian Zografi" cycle

* Past and future. Autobiographical pages, Renaissance, Bucharest, 1925 * La Famille Perlmutter, Gallimard, Paris, 1927 (in collaboration with Josué Jéhouda) * Isaac, the joust of the iron, Joseph Hessler librairie, Strasbourg, 1927 * Le Refrain de la fosse (Nerantsoula), Grasset, Paris, 1927 * Mes départs (pages autobiographiques), Gallimard, Paris, 1928; Romanian translation by the author (posthumous): Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 1940 * Les Chardons du Baragan, Bernard Grasset, Paris, 1928; Romanian translation by the author, only the first chapter (posthumous): Moderna, Bucharest, 1943 * Confession pour vaincus. Après seize mois dans l'URSS, Rieder, Paris, 1929 * Le Pécheur d'éponges (pages autobiographiques), Rieder, Paris, 1930; Romanian translation by the author (posthumous): Dacia, Bucharest * Pour avoir aimé la terre, Denoël et Steele, Paris, 1930 * Tsatsa Minnka, Rieder, Paris, 1931; Romanian version by Eminescu, Bucharest, 1931 * En Égypte, Éditions des Cahiers libres, Paris, 1931

Editions

*Selected Works / Œuvres choisies, Romanian-French bilingual edition, elected texts, preface and notes by Al. Oprea, translation by Eugen Barbu, vols. 1–9, Bucharest, Publishing House for Literature / Minerva Publishing House, 1966–1984 *Works, bilingual French-Romanian, Edited, foreword and notes by Zamfir Balan Publisher Istros Museum Brăila (Kyra Kyralina / rent Chiralina 1993, second edition, 2009; Oncle Anghel / Moș *Anghel, 1995 Codina / Codin, 1996; Tsatsa Minnka / Țața Minca, 1997; La Maison Thuringer / Casa Thuringer, 1998). *Works. Stories. Roman, Edited, chronology, notes and comments by Teodor Vârgolici introduction of Eugen Simion, vols. 1–2 Bucharest: Univers encyclopedic collection "fundamental works" 2003 This list and many of Istrati's works are on Wikisource.

English translations of works

''Adrien Zograffi's Accounts''

*''Kyra Kyralina'' (or ''Chira Chiralina''; also translated under the title ''Kyra My Sister'') *''Uncle Anghel'' *''The Haiduks'' (or ''The Bandits''): **''Presentation of the Haiduks'' (or ''Presentation of the Bandits'') **''Domnitza de Snagov''

''Adrien Zograffi's Childhood''

*''Codine'' (or ''Codin'', ''Kodin'') *''Michael'' (or ''Mikhaïl'') *''Mes Départs'' *''The Sponge-Fisher''

''Adrien Zograffi's Life''

*''The Thüringer House'' *''Le Bureau de Placement'' *''Mediterranean (Sunrise)'' *''Mediterranean (Sunset)''

Other works

*''Kyr Nicolas'' *''The Perlmutter Family'' *''Nerantula'' (or ''Neranțula'', ''Nerantsoula'', ''Nerrantsoula'') *''The Thistles of the Bărăgan'' (or ''Ciulinii Bărăganului'') *''To the Other Flame'' and ''The Confession of a Loser'' (published also as ''Russia unveiled: 1927–1930'') *''Tsatsa-Minnka''

Filmography

While in the Soviet Union, Istrati wrote a

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

based on his own work entitled, ''The Bandits'', a project that was never completed. ''Kira Kiralina'' was filmed in 1927 as a

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

in Soviet Ukraine, produced by VUFKU. The novel was filmed for a second time in 1993, as a Romanian- Hungarian production directed by Gyula Maár. A third production, the Dan Pița-directed '' Kira Kiralina'', appeared in 2014. There is also a 1958 Franco–Romanian film, '' Ciulinii Bărăganului'', and '' Codine'' (''Codin''), a Franco–Romanian co-production of 1962.

Critical works on Istrati

*Roger Dadoun, ''Panait Istrati'', L'Arc, Aix-en-Provence, 1983. *Elisabeth Geblesco, ''Panaït Istrati et la métaphore paternelle'', Anthropos, Paris, 1989, *Mircea Iorgulescu, ''Panaït Istrati'', Oxus Éditions, collection ''Les Roumains de Paris'', Paris, 2004, *Monique Jutrin-Klener, ''Panaït Istrati: un chardon déraciné: écrivain français, conteur roumain'', Éditeur F. Maspero, Paris, 1970 *Monique Jutrin-Klener, Hélène Lenz, Daniel Lérault, Martha Popovici, Élisabeth Geblesco, Catherine Rossi, Jeanne-Marie Santraud, ''Les haïdoucs dans l'œuvre de Panaït Istrati : l'insoumission des vaincus'',

L'Harmattan Éditions L'Harmattan, usually known simply as L'Harmattan (), is one of the largest French book publishers. It specialises in non-fiction books with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. It is named after the Harmattan, a trade wind in W ...

, collection ''Critiques Littéraires'', Paris, 2002, *Édouard Raydon, ''Panaït Istrati, vagabond de génie'', Les Éditions Municipales, Paris, 1968 *David Seidmann, ''L'existence juive dans l'œuvre de Panaït Istrati'', Éditions Nizet, Paris, 1984, *Jean-François Bacot, "Panaït Istrati ou la conscience écorchée d'un vaincu" in Moebius: Écritures/Littérature, Numéro 35, hiver 1988, p. 95-114, éditions Triptyque (Montréal). http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/15212ac

References

External links

*
Short biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Istrati, Panait 1884 births 1935 deaths Anti-Stalinist left People from Brăila Romanian people of Greek descent Romanian communists Romanian male novelists Romanian male short story writers Romanian socialists Members of the Crusade of Romanianism Romanian travel writers Romanian writers in French 20th-century Romanian novelists Romanian male essayists Proletarian literature writers in the Kingdom of Romania 20th-century Romanian short story writers 20th-century Romanian essayists 20th-century Romanian journalists 20th-century Romanian memoirists Tuberculosis deaths in Romania 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Burials at Bellu Cemetery