communist romania

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Communist Romania, previously the Kingdom of Romania, was a Soviet-aligned communist

state in the Eastern Bloc. The dominant role of theRomanian Communist Party was enshrined in its

successive constitutions between the proclamation of the republic in late 1947 and theRomanian

Revolution, resulting in the death of Nicolae Ceauescu on 25 December 1989. Officially, the country

was called the Romanian People's Republic (Romanian: Republica Popular Romîn; RPR) from 1947 to

1965, and the Socialist Republic of Romania (Republica Socialist România; RSR) from 1965 to 1989.

Today, Romania is a unitary parliamentary republic and a member of the European Union.

A pro-Soviet government was installed on March 6, 1945. After World War II, the Soviet

Union pressed for inclusion of the previously outlawed Communist Party in the post-war government of

former Axis Romania, while non-communist political leaders were steadily eliminated from political

life. King Michael abdicated under pressure in December 1947 and went into exile, and the Romanian

People's Republic was declared.

During the early years, Romania's scarce resources after World War II were drained by the

"SovRom" agreements, mixed Soviet-Romanian

tax-exempt companies established in the

aftermath of World War II which allowed

Soviets to control Romania's major sources of

income, in addition to the excessive[1]

of war

reparations paid to the USSR. A large number

of people were executed or died in custody;

while judicial executions from 1945 to 1964

numbered 137,[2]

deaths in custody are

estimated in the tens of thousands[3]

or the

hundreds of thousands.[4][5][6]

Many more were

imprisoned for political, economical or other

reasons. There were a large number of abuses,

deaths and incidents of torture against a large

range of people.[5]

In the early 1960s, Romania's communist

government began to assert some

independence from the Soviet Union. Nicolae

Ceauescu became head of the Communist

Party in 1965 and head of state in 1967,

assuming the newly-established role



of President of Romania in 1974. Ceauescu's denunciation of the 1968 Soviet invasion

of Czechoslovakia and a brief relaxation in internal repression helped give him a positive image both at

home and in the West. Rapid economic growth fueled by foreign credits gradually gave way to austerity

and political repression that led to the fall of the communist government in December 1989.

Romania's Plight Under Dictatorship

It didn't take long for reality to sink in," he says. Soon after, a complete political and social

transformation swept throughout the country. Romania's former non-communist leaders were arrested,

imprisoned and many executed. Private industry was nationalized and collectivization of farmlands was

established. Individuals could no longer own property other than a small piece of land surrounding their

home. Farmers were told when, what and how crops would be planted and harvested. Everything was

to be implemented according to plan.

"

The country's borders were sealed, ensuring citizens would remain within the "iron curtain." No

one could travel other than to other communist-bloc countries (Soviet Union, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland,

Czechoslovakia, East Germany)."

There were now only government stores with prices set by the state, eliminating competition.

Food soon became scarce and meat rarely available. People lined up early morning before work to buy

limited food rations. It was first come, first served and foodstuffs sold out quickly. Some returned home

empty handed. Luxury items like chocolate were almost impossible to procure. Rarely, when Veleanu's

mother was able to purchase candy, he would divide it to make it last a month or two. "Any small piece Iwould suck slowly for a long time," he says. "Eating a piece of chocolate was like the biggest thing you

could have in life."

Conditions got worse from one year to the next. "The government's grip of power became

stronger and stronger, and people were afraid of everything," he says. "Life was miserable." In order to

impose allegiance to the government, a policy of terror was instituted, with security police arresting

people in the middle of the night. Those arrested were often accused of publically criticizing the

government or its leaders. Children were encouraged, as their patriotic duty, to report to teachers what

parents discussed at home. All publications from Western countries were banned, isolating the populace

from outside influences.

Veleanu's parents, both accountants, were fortunate enough to work within the hierarchy of

their state-run companies. However, as owners of a home larger than the norm, they were forced to

sublet part of it to another family. Kitchen and bathroom were now shared with strangers. "We were

afraid to say anything or talk to anyone other than immediate family members," he says.

Veleanu entered medical school in Bucharest in 1953, studying there until 1959. As their

standard of living continued to drop, the family decided to apply for exit permits to France. It was

Veleanu's final year of medical school, and he hoped to practice medicine abroad. When it was learned



that the family applied for these documents, he was expelled from medical school, three months short

of graduation. Says Veleanu, "They told me the People's Republic of Romania does not prepare medical

specialists for capitalist countries."

Their exit permits did not materialize for another year-and-a-half, during which time he worked

as a nurse. It was a difficult job to get. Once word got around that he was expelled from medical school,

no one would hire him. He secured the nursing job only after bribing a communist official.

The family was able to leave the country in August 1960. Their home was confiscated by the

government with no compensation for it. When leaving, they were not allowed to take any Romanian

money with them and only 60 kilograms of goods, mostly clothing.

Back then, people generally had more respect for their country, nationality and history. And

there were other positive things.

"Everyone had a job, and everyone had a house," she told me. "The problem was that we

weren't allowed access to information. We weren't allowed to read writers who didn't have Ceausescu's

approval. We weren't allowed to travel abroad, or have friends from abroad. On some days, we weren't

allowed to drive."

And then there were the food rations, she said: no more than half a loaf of bread, not too much

meat, or sugar, and so on.

While we spoke, Anca's husband, Vio, chopped potatoes and cooked them in a frying pan.

Twenty years ago, if he'd been cooking at 7:00 pm, he would've been cooking by candlelight. That's

because the communist government cut off electricity from 6:00 - 8:00 pm each night across the country

to preserve energy.

A youngster at the time, Vio remembers that he used that time to play with his friends. At 8:00

pm, the kids would go home to join their parents in watching the only two hours of TV that were

available in Romania each day. For children, there was a state-controlled cartoon show with a hero

named Mihaela.

"Usually, Mihaela talked about our great leader," Vio said with a laugh. "First we had to listen to

a song about our great leader. Then, there'd be a story involving Mihaela and the great leader."

communist romania

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