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Romania became isolated from the west following the Second World War.  As in the Soviet Union from 1948 all political power was in the hands of the communist party.  Banks and factories were nationalized and individual initiative was rejected.  The focus lay in the development of heavy industry.  The best agricultural lands were collectivized, by force where necessary.  Slatina-Timis was spared this fate.  Hundreds of thousands of democrats were interned in labour camps.  Any resistance could count upon the hard handed intervention of the Securitate.

The populous continued to sympathise with the west and pockets of resistance could be found in the mountains, especially around Teregova.  They made life difficult for the Securitate but had to cease the struggle in the early sixties.

The Moskou group held power until 1952: communists trained in Moskou that were not even Romanian nationals.  Starting in 1952 Romanian nationals came to power under party leader Gheorghe Gheorgiu-Dej.  The sixties enjoyed a periode of relative relief as living standards rose and cultural contact with the west became more prevalent.  There were clashes between Dej and Chroesjtjsov.  The Soviet army left Romania in 1964 and the communist party declared it’s independence from Moskou.

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In 1965 Nicolae Ceaucescu succeeds Dej after his death.  Ceaucescu held an independent policy and refused to provide support to the suppression of the Prague Spring revolt in 1968.  This won Ceaucescu favour in the west and he was received by all the major powers.  In April 1972 he visited Belgium for 4 days and visited the Bell Telephone factory in Geel.  He never really broke with Moskou though.  In 1971 the thaw ceased, the prevailing ideology was orthodox communism once more and Ceaucescu became president for life.  He took on family members in advisory roles and solidified control over the party.  Heavy industry gained even more priority, besides prestigious projects to Ceaucescu’s own glory.  He deceided to pay off the the national debt early.  All imports were cancelled and maximized exports.  The economy collapsed heralding a dark period in Romanian history: ‘Frica, Foama, Fric” or “Fear, Hunger, Cold”.  This could not go on for ever

 

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On 15th December 1989 the Securitate attempted to relocate pastor Laszlo Tokes away from Timisoara.  The ensuing riot with the parishioners, who were trying to prevent the relocation, quickly escalated into a mass anti-communist revolt in Timisoara.  On 21st December the uprising had reached Bucharest and the other major cities.  Ceaucescu and his wife were detained as they tried to leave the country and were executed on 25th December 1989 after their “trial”. 

 

The National Salvation Front (Romanian: Frontul Salvării Naționale, FSN), made up of revolutionaries, party leaders and dissidents took control of the administration.  Due to the fact that little or no reforms came most dissidents and revolutionaries soon left the FSN and it was a party of ex-communists lead by Ion Iliescu.  The growing civil unrest was violently repressed.

On 20th May 1990 the Iliescu won a comfortable majority in the first free elections.

 

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