In the first period, the Securitate consisted of ten directorates responsible for particular aspects of its activity: I domestic intelligence; II counter-sabotage; III counter-espionage in prisons and the police; IV counter-espionage in the armed forces; V penal investigations; VI protection of ministers; VII technology, VIII cadres; IX political responsible for purity in the party ranks; X administration. It has been claimed by scholars, both within Romania and elsewhere, that Communist rule "saved" Romania from the economic crisis that existed in the 1930s. A similar process occurred in the cities, where the state gradually took control over factories and other private enterprises. Social Forces is a journal of social research highlighting sociological inquiry Thus, Gheorghiu-Dej secured undisputed leadership in the party and served as General Secretary until his death in 1965.

Therefore, to get even a small fraction of that, people had to stand in line for days every month, destroying their health and their spirit in the p, peoples thirst for revenge. The army was supervised by the Higher Political Council of the Army and other bodies. Economic problems deepened in the wake of global crises and natural disasters affecting Romania in the 1970s (floods, droughts and a severe earthquake in 1977).

Who else would have the capital, know-how, networks, and opportunities to prosper and fill the void of power but the very people who held that power?, Therefore, the decadeafter Romania gained its freedom was in many ways just as challenging for its people as the one before. Even in the dark days of the 1990s.

As a result of Soviet pressure, on 6 March 1945 the king appointed Petru Groza as Prime Minister. He had gained power only four years before and, following his opposition to, ugh and, from that moment on, he did everything he could to turn Romania into North Korea and Romanians into drones, constant adulation for their leader and their land. "People in ex-communist countries appear consistently in surveys as more cynical and least trustful in their national institutions (with the exception of the army and the church)," Ionita said.

We had craved their lifestyle from the time, of Dallas and virtually every famous American movie and T, show from the 70s onwards was shown on Romanian television in the 90s.

However, this was not enough for the countrys dictators. First, anti-government demonstrations were held in Timioara, where the regime responded with force, killing about 120 people. Ceausescus delusion of grandeur wastoo high,only matched bythepeoples thirst for revenge. The 1960s were a decade of quick economic growth. Romanians dream of a Paris-like Bucharest but conveniently forget the huge levels of violent crime in the Fre. The party controlled the army just as much as it did other areas of the state. The change came following anti-government protests in 2018 and the imprisonment of former party leader Liviu Dragnea who went to jail in May over corruption charges. In the years 19451964, figures indicate that 73,334 people were sentenced to prison, of which 2,811 people died before serving their sentences. , Not everything is great in todays Romania.

After Ceauescu came to power, the most extreme forms of terror were practically abandoned, and it lost its mass character. their ideology. As a result, agriculture, the production of consumer goods and the development of the energy sector were neglected. By the end of the decade, Romania had reconnected with the West, but it had more American values than Europeanones., Romanias second decade of freedom will forever be known as the time when it was finally properly reattached to its Westernneighbors. The primary reason was the increasingly dire material situation of society, which was in stark contrast with the splendour surrounding Ceauescu and his wife Elena.

The first and subsequent plans primarily focused on the development of the heavy industry at the expense of other branches of the economy. The dictator was one of the most ardent critics of Gorbachev and his reforms, which he perceived as a right-wing deviation. Social discontent reached its apogee at the end of 1989.

The industry developed, new jobs were created, housing estates were built, electrification proceeded. These indeed protested the communists tactics, but, when they officially recognized the Groza government in February 1946 in return for the promise of early elections, they gave up any remaining leverage they might have had. door heating, being rationed to ridiculously low proportions, in an era that was unironically called The Golden Age.

The monarchy was disestablished, and the country was transformed into the Romanian Peoples Republic. However, the successive victories of Germany convinced King Carol II and the Romanian government to seek an alliance with Hitler.

People compare the Europe they see in movies and city breaks to their own everyday reality and, obviously, reality loses. As it was the case in other countries of the Soviet bloc, the 1940s and 1950s were a period characterised by the far-reaching Stalinisation of social and cultural life. Around that time, the Romanian war doctrine was worked out and remained in force until 1989: It said that the state should defend itself against possible aggression, not only using regular military forces, but with the involvement of the entire nation (the so-called Doctrine of War of the Entire People). Simultaneously, Horia Sima and his fascist group called the Iron Guard continued to gain greater influence in Romania. We had craved their lifestyle from the timeof Dallas and virtually every famous American movie and TVshow from the 70s onwards was shown on Romanian television in the 90s.

Unsurprisingly, 90% of soldiers belonged to the party or youth organisations affiliated with it in 1989. Another clear manifestation of Romanian independence in the international arena was Ceauescu s condemnation of the invasion of Warsaw Pact troops into Czechoslovakia in 1968. This migration is due to a legacy "political culture" in which the state still does not recognise that it "provides a service" to the people, Jiglu said. Following a successful coup on 23 August, Romania joined the Allies and consequently declared war on the Third Reich.

On 23 March, the government announced a decree on agrarian reform. It should be emphasised that membership in the party was obligatory for people who wanted to make a career. However, this trend did not last long. In the 1970s, however, the first symptoms of a serious crisis manifested themselves, which was mainly due to unbalanced investment and the emphasis on fast industrialisation. The Section of Agitation and Propaganda was created at the Central Committee of the PCR and tasked with ensuring the proper character of cultural initiatives. From 1948 to about 1960, communist leaders laid the foundations of a totalitarian regime. They provided themselves with a formal political structure in 1948 by adopting a Soviet-style constitution that reserved ultimate authority for the party. Having borrowed large sums of money to build The Peoples House, a humongous and largely useless building that required a whole Bucharest neighborhood to be wiped off the face of the Earth,Romania had to follow Ceausescus obsession with full self-reliance, which also meant paying off the countrys external debt in its entirety. ns grandfather, he began work on his Communist utopia. As incomes were growin. Being a part of the European Union also meant that Romanians were finally able to travel everywhere in Europe without requiring a visa. There is a lasting legacy from the previous regime, Ionita says, but it's not "communism" as one might think. Czoowe postacie ruchw opozycyjnych w krajach komunistycznych w Romanians have low trust in government institutions: just 8.9% have confidence in political parties and just 9.8% have confidence in Parliament.

The process continued in 19471948, when industrial enterprises, mines, banks and transport companies were nationalised.

The verification carried out in the early 1950s was a means of political fight used by Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dejs faction (which to a large extent consisted of home communists) against the competitive faction of Muscovites with Ana Pauker and Vasile Luca at the helm. For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions On 25 December he was sentenced to death and executed immediately after the pronouncement of the verdict. If this situation materialised, its tasks included organising the defence of important industrial facilities, maintaining public order and protecting the civilian population. The cult of person, This was the missing link for Ceausescu. A close analysis reveals, however, that the economic achievements of the regime are comparable to those which have occurred elsewhere in Europe under different political systems.

relations, and religious studies. This was mostly true in the first decades after World War II, but, things later took an even darker turn in Rom, subdued and every opposing intellectual either imprisoned or dead, It was there that he became acquainted and seduced by North Korea and Chinas Maoist propaganda, withlarger than lifedemonstrations of allegiance to the regime, hundreds of thousands of people, leaders, ridiculously grandiose buildings and boulevards, packed stadiums waving party-, coloredflags, and every other part of the ridiculous propaganda thats still identical to todays North Korea.

Only long term changes will shift the political culture of society, he added.

Inspired by Kim Il-sung, North Koreas leader at the time and current leader Kim Jong-uns grandfather, he began work on his Communist utopia., What followed was arguably the worst time in Romanias history. Another major protest, caused chiefly by economic factors, broke out in November 1987 in Braov, where a strike and a street demonstration were brutally dispersed by the police. Deletant Dennis, Romania under Communist Rule, Bucharest 2006 This number later began to decline due to verification aimed at eliminating hostile elements. Not only did this not happen in Romania, it was literally unthinkable.

The most trusted internal institutions, the INSCOP survey found, were the army and the church. People compare the Europe they see in movies and city breaks to their own everyday reality and, obviously, reality loses., No matter what the current perception is among its people, history will rate Romanias rise over the past three decades as a miracle and an example to other countries. The adaptation of the economic structure and legal concept of ownership to the communist model began in early 1945. It didnt help that virtually all.

but also exploring realms shared with social psychology, anthropology, political Not only were people deprived of any form of basic freedom, but they had to pretend to like it.

In 1984, even a ban on using household appliances was introduced to limit electricity consumption. War International History Project, Working Paper no.

realnego socjalizmu, Warsaw 1992 It's concerning that "the two key pillars of any representative democracy which are the parties and parliament have such low levels of trust", Jiglu said, though this is not limited to Romania.

In 1944, when the Red Army was approaching the borders of Romania, King Michael I prepared a plan to overthrow Antonescu in cooperation with various opposition politicians.

It currently publishes more than 6,000 new publications a year, has offices in around fifty countries, and employs more than 5,500 people worldwide. What followed was arguably the worst time in Romanias history. Powstanie, ewolucja i kryzys The final act was the forced abdication of King Michael and the proclamation of the Romanian Peoples Republic on December 30, 1947. In cultural and intellectual life, the communists expected Romanian artists and writers to subordinate their creativity to party directives and to contribute works that were relevant to contemporary society.

Romania had a higher emigration rate than Mexico, China and India. A recent OECD report found that 17% of the population moved abroad in 2015 and 2016. Who else would have the capital, know-how, networks, and opportunities to prosper and fill the void of power but the very people who held that power? Although it never withdrew from the Warsaw Pact or the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, Romanian leaders stressed and defended their separateness. Romanians had never lost their spiritual connection to the West and, in theyears after the revolution, simply devoured anything that camefrom leftof the border. Dan is a Romanian freelance writer with a degree in Economics and a decade of experience in sales and journalism, on three different continents. It was only after the death of Gheorghiu-Dej in 1965 that a thaw occurred; this allowed greater freedom of creativity as state censorship subsided.

Romania also has a high rate of emigration Romanians moving abroad compared to other countries.

But how much has Romania separated from its past? fected by this awful virus: with confiscated personal property, complete abolishment of anything resembling meritocracy, imprisonment and oftentimes death for any intellectual that did not actively support the ideology, and the removal of any true form of, personal freedom for all citizens except those with a high rank within the party..

Burakowski Adam, Geniusz Karpat.



In the first years after the R, On a cultural level, however, things were flourishing.



In August 1948, the communist authorities introduced a new law on education. where further clashes took place. The dictator simultaneously began to form a peculiar entourage, entrusting many of the most important state functions to his close or more distant relatives. In accordance with this principle, the Patriotic Guard was formed and tasked with supporting the army in the event of an attack on Romania. During the unification congress (2123 February 1948), the Romanian Workers Party was proclaimed. But it was not enough and, from that moment on, he did everything he could to turn Romania into North Korea and Romanians into dronesexpressingconstant adulation for their leader and their land. The re-elected liberal president Klaus Iohannis has promised to tackle corruption in the country and has a new prime minister from the same party. Until the end of the communist dictatorship, the principles put forward in the July Theses did not change fundamentally. It consisted of ordinary citizens, both men and women, who were not subject to obligatory military service.

option. Suddenly, the country had to compete at an international level and its currency value was dramatically dropping each day. Ceauescu wanted to limit what he viewed as excessive influence of Western cultural trends, particularly with regards to cinematography.

I think that the methods used in Piteti are not used even in hell. The communist dictatorship in Romania bore all the hallmarks of Stalinism. Indeed, this trend was maintained until 1989. With the signing of a peace treaty in February 1947 that ratified the terms of the 1944 armistice and returned northern Transylvania to Romania, Western influence in the country came to an end. The influx of foreign business into Romania meant that local workers and managers had a clear roadmap to success in business, imported from companies that were based in countries that hadexperiencedmany post-WWIIdecades of trial and error.This meant theywere miles ahead when it came toproper management, business planning, employee work ethic, and virtually anything else that makes a business successful in a free market., Romania became Europes fastest-growing economy in the years before the economic crisis and regained its upward trajectory after the recession passed.

As incomes were growing, more and more people were able to visit the Europe they had craved for decades., The free movement came with many obvious advantages, as Romanians could see for themselves how things work in functional economies. The Communist Party proceeded to eliminate the remaining opposition in a campaign that culminated in show trials and the condemnation of Maniu and other democratic leaders to long prison terms. In 1958, Khrushchev decided to withdraw part of the Soviet armed forces from Central and Eastern Europe; in the case of Romania, he decided to pull back all soldiers of the Soviet Army. In 1989, it had around 700,000 members as opposed to the regular armed forces which commanded around 200,000 soldiers. This is shown in opinion polls, Jiglu said, which consistently show that citizens have little trust in government.

In August 1944, King Michael I appointed General Constantin Sntescu to form a government, which consisted of representatives of major political forces. But in terms of the current government, no one is going to nationalise property. The Unfinished Revolution, Amsterdam 2005 There are things that the human mind cannot fathom, recalled one of the former prisoners. "There are legacies of the real regime of Nicolae Ceauescu, a typical Balkan combination of nationalism, primitive socialism and territorial family clans, in which everything was negotiable, informal arrangements prevailed and no official institution or planning process worked properly," said Ionita. Dyktatura Ceausescu 1965-1989, Warsaw 2008 This direction caused great dissatisfaction in intellectual and artistic milieus. As things gradually got better after 1990, Romanianopinion of their own country got worse, to the point where nowadays every flaw in its system or any negative action by a Romanian is instantly branded as typically Romanian or only in Romania, showing naivety and ignorance regarding other countries problems. Soviet accomplishments in all fields were held up as models to be emulated, and a massive effort was undertaken to make Russian the second language for Romanians. However, Ceauescu and his entourage took the possibility of similar actions against Romania very seriously. In schools and higher education institutions, emphasis was put on ideological indoctrination in the spirit of Marxism-Leninism. nch capital and the relative safety of their own. Gheorghe Pintilie became the head of the new structure, but its activity remained under constant supervision of the Soviet advisers. As it was the case in other countries of the Soviet bloc, this move was primarily intended to eliminate social democrats from the political stage. "The expectation is to have people accountable for what happened during the revolution," said Jiglu, but that will not change the legacy which he says extends to the education sector and the healthcare system in subtle ways.

It could be viewed as an element of the general trend visible in the late 1940s and early 1950s throughout the Soviet bloc, where high-ranking state officials were put on show trials as scapegoats.

Rather under successive social democratic governments, the country has rolled back anti-corruption measures. Huge stars like, After the initial explosion of optimism came the realization that freedom doesnt come with guarantees, nanny state to find you a job and give you an apartment., eople who had lived their entire lives as slaves to the Communist state found it very hard to adapt to a world where you are fully responsible for your own actions and well-being. Even in the dark days of the 1990s, Romanias crime levels remained relatively low compared to other impoverished nations, a testament to the countrys Christian roots and culture. Extraordinary pressure by Soviet authorities forced King Michael to appoint a procommunist government led by the fellow-traveler Petru Groza on March 6. Huge stars like Elton Johnand Queenperformed in Czechoslovakia and Hungary in the 1980s. After all, the ideology was similar,, Russias ever-present influence. All these maladies prompted the authorities to announce a radical austerity programme in 1982, whose aim was to pay off all foreign debt by 1990. The most notable manifestations of their dissent were Paul Gomas open letters and Marina Predas novel entitled Cel mai iubit dintre pmnteni (The Most Beloved Earthlings), which criticised the regime. Going from the absolute hell of a North Korea-like society and economy to what is now a prosperous and free country in such a short time, in historical terms, could only be, achieved with a strong culture and an openness to compet, The lesson that developing countries could learn from Romanias ascension is that, along with the transition to a free market economy, low crime and stabilit. His rise to power was followed by several years of thaw, primarily in culture and science. At the end of the 1980s, Romania became the pariah of Central and Eastern Europe, and its citizens were among the poorest inhabitants of the region. According to other sources, there were 134,150 political trials involving at least 549,000 defendants only in the period from 19491960. The streets and shop windows were not illuminated. This turn also had huge economic implications, as Romania was slowly poisoned with the idea that itcouldbe fully self-sufficient, without any commerce with theevil and decadent Capitalist west., The effects of this massive shift were not obvious in the 1970s, but as the decade was approaching its end, the cult of personality was risingand peoples quality of life was degrading at an alarming rate.

The land obtained in this way was distributed among 800,000 peasants, and the remaining part became the property of the state.

It didnt help that virtually allgovernment institutions and large companies were run by the people who only months before were part of the Communist regime. The effect was, obviously, the opposite of what the noble leader had envisioned, The full effects of Romanias isolationism from the West and its power-mad presid, ent were felt in the 1980s. Unlike otherneighboringCommunist regimes, Romania didnt enjoy the luxury of a velvet revolution and a peaceful transition of power. After the initial explosion of optimism came the realization that freedom doesnt come with guarantees,and freedom from the statealsomeans theres nonanny state to find you a job and give you an apartment.People who had lived their entire lives as slaves to the Communist state found it very hard to adapt to a world where you are fully responsible for your own actions and well-being. The same month, President Traian Bsescu condemned Romania's communist regime, in a symbolic separation of the state from its past. Nevertheless, as the revolution in December 1989 demonstrated, he could not count on unconditional support from the generals.

The fight for succession after Gheorghiu-Dej was eventually won by Nicolae Ceauescu, who took the leadership of the Romanian Workers Party in March 1965.

However, just like an inmate who finallygets released after decades of imprisonment, Romanians quickly discovered that learning how to be free, both as a nation and as an individual, is an awfully difficult task.

It's this distrust, he added, that "actually fuels populism". However, its rapid economic and cultural growth should serve as an example for any country looking to escape authoritarian governments.

Production of cars, washing machines, televisions and other household appliances began. The decisive factor was the Soviet leader Joseph Stalins approval of a seizure of power, which he gave during a visit to Moscow in January 1945 by Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, the leader of the so-called native faction of the party (composed mainly of ethnic Romanians), and Ana Pauker, who headed the Muscovites (those who had spent their careers mainly in the Soviet Union and were not ethnic Romanians). The anti-Russian and anti-Soviet trend gained social support and was used to build a strong and lasting legitimacy of the regime, especially among the intelligentsia.

ven in the dark years of transition from communism to freedom, despite the abject poverty in some areas, Romanians were never tempted to go back to an extremist regime and always treasured their new-found freedom. Ionita says the Social Democratic Party (PSD) is not communist, but rather conservative, closer to populists. Eventually the dictator was forced to flee the capital. In 1945, the communists took full control over the existing political police. Sownik dysydentw. Most of the camps were located along the Danube-Black Sea channel, which was under construction at the time and came to be known as the death channel. In the years 19451964, 21,068 people were sent to the camps, of whom 656 died while serving their time. In the early years of the communist regime, its real or alleged opponents were often arrested by Securitate officers without respect for the law and without a proper prosecutors order.

The initiative was in line with the new cultural policy, but the success of the famous Romanian gymnast Nadia Comneci also contributed to its introduction.