On 2 October, Lidia Konstantinovna Baurchulu, an Honoured Educator of Gagauzia who devoted many years to teaching at the Department of Gagauz Philology of Comrat State University (CSU), celebrates a milestone birthday.
Lidia Konstantinovna was born on 2 October 1946 in Ceadîr-Lunga, into a family of salaried employees. Her teaching career began in 1964: after graduating from Cahul Teacher Training College, she worked as a primary school teacher. In 1972, she graduated from the Faculty of History of Chișinău State University and began teaching history at a school in Vulcănești.
In 1976, after her husband was transferred to a position as a people’s judge in Comrat District, Lidia Konstantinovna moved to Comrat School No. 7. She initially worked as a primary school teacher and, following the resumption of mother-tongue teaching in schools, became a teacher of Gagauz. Her professional development continued through specialised courses organised by the Gagauz cultural educators D. Tanasoglo and G. Gaidarzhi.
A new chapter in her life began in 1991 with the opening of Comrat State University. At M. Marunevich’s invitation, Lidia Baurchulu and her husband, Afanasii Panteleevich, joined the Department of Gagauz Philology as senior lecturers in Gagauz language and literature. During the same period, she met the renowned Leningrad Turkologist L. Pokrovskaya, who had come to Comrat to teach. Lidia Konstantinovna warmly invited Lyudmila Alexandrovna to stay in her home. Today, a memorial plaque on Pushkin Street, in front of the house where Professor Pokrovskaya stayed, commemorates this event.
From 1995, Lidia Konstantinovna served as acting head of the Department of Gagauz Philology. She was a member of the expert commission at the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Moldova, where she repeatedly reviewed school textbooks. She also undertook a task of major importance to the region — translating the Fundamental Law of Gagauzia into Gagauz.
In 2008, L. K. Baurchulu joined the Linguistics Department of the M. Marunevich Scientific Research Centre of Gagauzia as a researcher, making a substantial contribution to the development of her native language and literature.
Lidia Konstantinovna has always been active in academic and community life:
she has participated in national and international conferences, symposia and seminars;
she has helped organise school Olympiads in Gagauz language and literature;
she has undertaken extensive work to train young teachers for the autonomous region.
For many years, she has remained a loyal friend and an active participant in events organised by CSU and its scientific library. Lidia Konstantinovna has donated many valuable books from her personal collection to the library. Its holdings now include a personal bibliographic index of her works, compiled by N. Garchu, demonstrating the scope and diversity of her creative legacy.
Lidia Konstantinovna is the author of more than 20 academic articles, a translator and a publicist. Her notable works include:
Russian–Gagauz Dictionary of Legal Terms (2000, co-authored with her husband, A. P. Baurchulu);
Russian–Gagauz–Turkish Phrasebook (2006, co-authored with I. A. Dyachuk);
Gagauzça sinonimnär sözlüü, a dictionary of synonyms (2010, co-authored with T. Marinoglo, G. Karanfil and E. Karamit; academic editor E. Sorochanu).
For her many years of dedicated work, Lidia Konstantinovna was awarded the Veteran of Labour medal. In 2010, she received the title of Honoured Educator of Gagauzia. Her invaluable contribution to promoting her native language has been recognised with numerous diplomas and certificates of honour from the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia, the Ministry of Education and other institutions.
The staff of the scientific library of Comrat State University warmly congratulate Lidia Konstantinovna on her jubilee! We wholeheartedly wish you good health, warmth, well-being and many happy years ahead!
Scientific Library
