Alexandru Baltagă was an Eastern Orthodox priest, writer, and politician from Bessarabia who lived from 1861 to 1941. He played a significant role in religious life by establishing the Romanian-language religious press in the region. As a member of the Sfatul Țării, he voted in favor of Bessarabia joining Romania in 1918. Following the Soviet occupation, he faced intense persecution for his political and religious stances, eventually dying in a specialized psychiatric hospital in Kazan after being arrested by Soviet authorities.