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Title: Area Handbook for Romania
Author: Keefe, Eugene K., Giloane, William, Moore, James M., Walpole, Neda A., Bernier, Donald W., Brenneman, Lyle E.
Language: English
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AREA HANDBOOK FOR ROMANIA
_Co-Authors_
Eugene K. Keefe
Donald W. Bernier
Lyle E. Brenneman
William Giloane
James M. Moore, Jr.
Neda A. Walpole
Research and writing were completed February 1972
Published 1972
DA Pam 550-160
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 72-600095
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing
Office Washington, D.C. 20402--Price $2.75
FOREWORD
Studies (FAS) of The American University, designed to be useful to
military and other personnel who need a convenient compilation of basic
facts about the social, economic, political, and military institutions
and practices of various countries. The emphasis is on objective
description of the nation's present society and the kinds of possible or
probable changes that might be expected in the future. The handbook
seeks to present as full and as balanced an integrated exposition as
limitations on space and research time permit. It was compiled from
information available in openly published material. An extensive
bibliography is provided to permit recourse to other published sources
for more detailed information. There has been no attempt to express any
specific point of view or to make policy recommendations. The contents
of the handbook represent the work of the authors and FAS and do not
represent the official view of the United States government.
An effort has been made to make the handbook as comprehensive as
possible. It can be expected, however, that the material,
interpretations, and conclusions are subject to modification in the
light of new information and developments. Such corrections, additions,
and suggestions for factual, interpretive, or other change as readers
may have will be welcomed for use in future revisions. Comments may be
addressed to:
The Director
Foreign Area Studies
The American University
5010 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20016
PREFACE
The former Kingdom of Romania emerged from the post-World War II chaos
as the Romanian People's Republic, a communist satellite so closely
aligned to the policies of the Soviet Union that it often appeared to be
ruled from Moscow. During the 1950s, however, Romania cautiously began
seeking to loosen its ties to Moscow and to assert some measure of
autonomy. The widening Sino-Soviet rift of the early 1960s provided an
atmosphere of tension among communist states that the Romanians used to
their own advantage by remaining neutral in the communist struggle and
by seeking greater contacts with noncommunist states. In internal
affairs, the Romanian regime maintained a rigid hold on all elements of
the society. In 1965 the regime changed the name of the country to the
Socialist Republic of Romania and proclaimed that it was well on the way
toward communism. In the early 1970s Romania remains a member of the
Soviet-led military and economic alliances but has become known as the
most independent member.
The changes wrought by the Communists during a quarter century in power
are numerous and far reaching. Despite the desires of the Soviet leaders
that Romania remain predominantly agricultural, the new Romanian
leadership was determined to industrialize. Enforced socialization and
concurrent industrialization brought a host of problems in the
political, social, and economic life of the country. Reorientation of
the society and the political structure was brought about by force when
necessary, but the restructuring of the economy within the framework of
the avowed Marxist-Leninist ideology proved to be more difficult and led
to problems that had still not been overcome by early 1972.
This handbook attempts to describe the social, political, and economic
bases of Romanian society and, more particularly, how these bases have
been affected by Romania's independent stance within the alliances of
Eastern European communist countries. The authors of the handbook have
tried to be objective in order to provide a comprehensive exposition of
the dominant aspects of Romanian life in the early 1970s. Often hampered
by a lack of credible statistical information as well as an
overabundance of biased propaganda, the authors have attempted to piece
together sufficient factual material to present an accurate appraisal
and an indication of observable trends.
English usage follows _Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary_.
Place names used in the text are those approved by the United States
Board on Geographic Names. Tonnages are given in the metric system, but
for other measurements standard United States terminology has been used.
The use of Romanian words has been held to a minimum and, where used,
they have been explained in the text and in the Glossary, which is
appended for the reader's convenience. The acronym PCR, derived from
Partidul Comunist Roman (Romanian Communist Party), is used throughout
the book and is fully explained in the Glossary.
COUNTRY SUMMARY
1. COUNTRY: Officially redesignated the Socialist Republic of Romania
under Constitution of 1965. Established originally as the Kingdom of
Romania in 1881, was converted into the Romanian People's Republic in
1948 by communist party with Soviet backing.
2. GOVERNMENT: Constitution of 1965 provides for a unicameral
legislature and a collegial executive known as the Council of State.
Romanian Communist Party controls elections and runs the government at
all levels. Top party officials concurrently occupy top governmental
offices. Ultimate political power rests in the party hierarchy,
particularly in the person of the party general secretary who, since
1967, has also been head of state.
3. SIZE AND LOCATION: Area of over 91,700 square miles. In southeastern
Europe, shares 1,975 miles of demarcated and undisputed land borders
with Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and the Soviet Union. With 150 miles
of shoreline, shares riparian rights on Black Sea with Turkey, Bulgaria,
and the Soviet Union.
4. TOPOGRAPHY: Terrain is generally irregular. The Transylvania basin in
the northwest occupies about one-third of the country and is separated
from the plains and lowlands of Walachia, Dobruja, and Moldavia to the
south and east by the curving course of the Carpathian Mountains and the
Transylvanian Alps, which cut across the central portion of the country.
5. CLIMATE: Generally Eastern European Continental, dominated by high
pressure systems from European Soviet Union and north-central Asia.
Little variation or moderation experienced in the prevailing long cold
winters and short hot summers.
6. POPULATION: Almost 20.6 million in 1971; annual growth rate of 1.3
percent, among the highest in Eastern Europe. Density more than 224
persons per square mile. Largest minority is Hungarian, comprising 8
percent of population, followed by German, with 2 percent.
7. LANGUAGE: Romanian, the official language, spoken by virtually all
elements of the population. Hungarian and German also recognized and
utilized in areas of large minority concentrations.
8. LABOR: Working population employed by the state in 1969 numbered
about 5 million. About 40 percent were employed in industry; about 51
percent, in agriculture. Women constituted about 43 percent of the
industrial and 57.5 percent of the collective farm labor forces.
9. RELIGION: Freedom of worship is guaranteed by Constitution, but state
controls all church activities. About two-thirds of population belong to
Romanian Orthodox Church. Importance of Roman Catholic and Protestant
minorities enhanced because of their identity with Hungarian and German
ethnic groups.
10. EDUCATION: Restructured in 1948 into a highly centralized system
with a broad base, standardized curricula, mandatory attendance through
tenth grade, and heavy emphasis on vocational and technical subjects
above the elementary level. Political indoctrination permeates entire
system.
11. JUSTICE: Theoretically independent, the three-level court system
(local, district, and Supreme Court) functions as part of executive
branch. Military tribunals operate as part of system under Supreme
Court.
12. ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS: Thirty-nine counties, each subdivided into
varying numbers of communes, villages, and municipalities. Bucharest
administered as an independent political entity. Governmental
functioning ostensibly decentralized, but policy and control exercised
by higher state and party organs.
13. ECONOMY: Government controlled, with basic five-year plans patterned
on Soviet model. Development hampered by scarcity of raw materials and
manufacturing equipment and by insufficient number of experienced
workers and managers.
14. AGRICULTURE: About 63 percent of land is agricultural; of this, 65
percent under cultivation. Food production adequate for domestic needs,
but exports limited because of insufficient investment and lack of labor
incentives.
15. INDUSTRY: Rapid growth since 1950 stimulated by massive inputs of
capital, labor, and imports of modern machinery and technology. Labor
productivity and quality of manufactured products have improved but
remain low.
16. FOREIGN ECONOMIC RELATIONS: Foreign trade is state monopoly and is
conducted primarily with Soviet Union and East European communist
countries. Balance of trade generally negative, reflecting imports of
high-quality machinery from West necessary for industrial advancement.
Exports limited to light machinery, foodstuffs, and some consumer goods.
17. FINANCE: Monetary unit is the nonconvertible leu. The to tourist
rates of about 16 lei per US$1. Currency and foreign exchange are state
controlled, administered through the National Bank.
18. COMMUNICATIONS: All information media party or state owned and
controlled. Press and radio more extensively developed than television,
but all function as parts of ideological and political indoctrination
system.
19. RAILROADS: Important freight and passenger carrier. About 6,900
miles of trunkline in operation, almost all standard gauge. About 100
miles electrified, and rest of system converting to use of diesel
locomotives.
20. HIGHWAYS: Of 47,800 total road mileage, about 6,600 miles nationally
maintained as principal operating network. System supplanting railroads
as major short-haul carrier of freight and passengers.
21. INLAND WATERWAYS: About 1,500 miles of principal rivers and canals
are navigable. Water transport has minor role as a cargo carrier.
22. AIRWAYS: Romanian Air Transport, the state-owned airline, operates
domestic service to twelve principal cities and to about twenty national
capitals in Europe and the Middle East.
23. PIPELINES: Largest network serves oilfields and moves most liquid
petroleum and refined products to refineries and ports. Natural gas
lines exist, but mountainous terrain limits general distribution.
24. MERCHANT MARINE: Small in number but operates modern ships and
equipment. Transport limited principally to truck cargo and freight.
25. ARMED FORCES: In 1972 consisted of about 200,000 men organized into
ground, naval, air, air defense, and frontier forces, all administered
by a single ministry. All elements operate as part of army, which is
largest single component.
26. SECURITY: Security forces, nationally organized and centrally
controlled by Ministry of Internal Affairs, consist of ordinary police
(militia) and security troops, which perform counter-espionage and
counter-subversive functions.
27. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: Member of the United Nations and a
number of its specialized agencies. Member of the Warsaw Treaty
Organization (Warsaw Pact) and the Council for Mutual Economic
Assistance (COMECON).
ROMANIA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
FOREWORD iii
PREFACE v
COUNTRY SUMMARY vii
SECTION I. SOCIAL
Chapter 1. General Character of the Society 1
2. Historical Setting 9
Early Origin--Formation of the Principalities--
Western Influences--National Independence--World
War I--Interwar Years, 1918-40--World War II--
Communist Seizure of Power--The Communist State
3. Physical Environment and Population 29
Natural Features and Resources--Boundaries and
Political Subdivisions--Population--Living
Conditions--Transportation
4. Social System and Values 49
Ethnic Composition--Social Structure--Social Values
5. Religion 65
Church-State Relations--The Romanian Orthodox
Church--The Roman Catholic Church--Protestant
Churches--Other Religions and Churches
6. Education 73
Background--Educational Reforms Since 1948--
Literacy--The Educational System--Education of
Minorities
7. Artistic and Intellectual Expression 91
The Role of the Arts Under Communism--Art,
Sculpture, and Architecture--Music--Theater--Films
--Literature--Scholarship and Research
SECTION II. POLITICAL
8. Governmental System 109
The Constitutional System--The Structure and
Functioning of the Government--The Electoral
System
9. Political Dynamics and Values 129
Major Political Developments, 1965 to 1970--
Political Organizations--Party Policies and
Programs--Political Values and Attitudes
10. Foreign Relations 155
Determinants of Foreign Policy--Conduct of Foreign
Affairs--International Relations
11. Public Information 175
Government and Freedom of Information--The Press
--Radio and Television--Book Publishing--Libraries
--Films--Informal Information Media
SECTION III. NATIONAL SECURITY
12. Public Order and Internal Security 193
Internal Security--Public Order--Crime and the
Penal System
13. Armed Forces 211
Historical Background--Governmental and Party
Control Over the Armed Forces--Organization and
Mission--Foreign Military Relations--Manpower,
Training, and Support--The Military Establishment
and the National Economy
SECTION IV. ECONOMIC
14. Character and Structure of the Economy 229
Organization--Structure and Growth--Planning--
Price System--Budget--Banking--Currency--Foreign
Trade
15. Agriculture 253
Agricultural Regions--Land Use--Organization--Farm
Labor--Investment and Credit--Production
16. Industry 275
Natural Resources--Electric Power--Organization--
Labor--Investment and Construction--Production
BIBLIOGRAPHY 291
GLOSSARY 305
INDEX 307
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure Page
1 Romania xiv
2 Romania, Historic Provinces 10
3 Topography of Romania 31
4 Romanian Transportation System 44
5 Romania, Distribution of Ethnic Groups, 1966 51
6 Romania, Structure of Education, 1972 81
7 Structure of the Government of Romania, 1971 115
8 Romania, Organization of the Council of Ministers, 1971 120
9 Organization of the Romanian Communist Party, 1972 138
10 Romania, Organization of the Armed Forces, 1972 214
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1 Romania, Population Structure, by Age and Sex, 1971
Estimate 40
2 Use of Transportation Facilities in Romania, 1950, 1960,
and 1969 45
3 Principal Romanian Daily Newspapers, 1971 179
4 National Income (Net Material Product) of Romania, by
Economic Sector, 1960, 1967, and 1970 232
5 Gross National Product of Romania, by Sector of Origin,
1960 and 1967 233
6 Foreign Trade of Romania, by Groups of Countries, 1960
and 1969 250
7 Land Use in Romania, Selected Years, 1960-70 255
8 Cultivated Acreage in Romania, by Major Crops, 1960 and
1969 256
9 Agricultural Land in Romania, by Type of Ownership, 1969 258
10 Production of Major Crops in Romania, Selected Years,
1960-69 272
11 Output of Livestock Products in Romania, Selected Years,
1960-69 272
12 Crop Production and Livestock Products in Romania, by
Type of Farm, 1969 274
13 Output of Selected Industrial Products in Romania, 1960
and 1969 288
[Illustration: _Figure 1. Romania_.]
SECTION I. SOCIAL
CHAPTER 1
GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE SOCIETY
The Romanian Communist Party (Partidul Comunist Roman--PCR) is the
leading force in the political, economic, and social life of Romania.
The party general secretary, Nicolae Ceausescu, in early 1972 celebrated
his seventh anniversary in power, displaying complete confidence in the
stability of his regime. Ceausescu serves concurrently as the president
of his country, which is known officially as the Socialist Republic of
Romania. Although tied militarily and economically to the Soviet Union
through membership in the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact) and
the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON), Romania since the
mid-1950s has pursued an independent course in both its internal
development and its foreign relations.
In April 1964, in furtherance of its independent stance, the PCR Central
Committee issued a statement concerning the rights of all communist
parties and socialist states to choose their own methods of development
according to "the concrete historic conditions prevailing in their own
countries." This statement, which has been referred to as Romania's
declaration of independence, was directed primarily to the leaders of
the Soviet Union and, in effect, was a warning to them to cease their
interference in the domestic and foreign affairs of Romania. It was a
declaration of sovereign rights and self-determination by which the
Romanian Communists asserted that they were the masters of their
country's destiny rather than a puppet state to be manipulated by and
for outside interests.
The reasons that the Soviet Union did not crack down on its former
subservient satellite are both obscure and complex. One factor operating
in favor of the Romanians was the rift that had developed between the
two communist giants--the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of
China. The rift had become very deep, and the Soviets were striving to
gain adherents to their position in the struggle and probably were
reluctant to use force against Romania because of the danger of
alienating other communist parties. It is probable that dissension
within the Moscow leadership, which shortly ended the career of Premier
Nikita Khrushchev, also inhibited action against Romania.
In their drive to establish rights of autonomy and free choice for their
country, Romania's leaders have not tried to withdraw from the Soviet
alliances, nor have they changed the basic nature of their communist
government. Their actions have demonstrated that their goals have been
to lessen the influence of the Soviet Union in Romania's domestic and
foreign affairs, at the same time they themselves maintained an
absolute, single-party monopoly of power.
After issuing their declaration of independence, the Romanians in
subsequent years earned a reputation for opposition to the Soviet Union
within the Warsaw Pact and COMECON as well as in the conduct of their
relations with noncommunist states. Pursuit of these goals has sometimes
led the Romanians into situations that have been considered dangerous by
outside observers, and the leadership has often expressed fears of
Soviet retaliation against Romania's independent line.
One obvious result of the independent status has been the resurgence of
Romanian nationalism. Ceausescu, when he talks about "Romania for the
Romanians," even though he may be speaking in the context of building a
communist society, receives wide popular support and, at times, appears
to have genuine appeal among the people he rules. In contrast to the new
nationalism, during the early years of the Romanian communist era it was
generally accepted (at least by party members) that the Soviet Union
deserved to be emulated in every aspect of national life. Not only were
the party and government patterned on Soviet models, but the entire
social and economic life of the country was altered to the point of
almost losing its Romanian uniqueness.
Russian became a required language in the schools, and the history books
were rewritten to play down the traditional orientation toward Western
Europe and to highlight Russian influence in the country, which had been
considerable since the time of Tsar Peter the Great but which had not
always been beneficial from the Romanian point of view. Pseudoscholars
intent on the Russification of their country were publishing papers in
the late 1940s "proving" that the ancient Dacians, to whom modern
Romanians trace their ancestry, were actually Slavic tribes--a thesis
that had never before been suggested. Other spurious scholarship
attempted to show that the Romanian language was Slavic-based rather
than Latin-based as linguists had clearly shown.
While Josef Stalin, Soviet dictator and generally acknowledged leader of
world communism, was still alive, Romania was an obedient satellite, and
Stalinism was the hallmark of communist rule. Even before Stalin's
death in March 1953, however, there was dissension in the Romanian
communist ranks as a Moscow-oriented group vied for power with
indigenous Communists. The latter group was eventually victorious and,
after a series of purges, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej emerged as a party
strong man; the first glimmerings of a distinctive brand of Romanian
communism can be traced to this period in the early 1950s.
The blending of nationalism and communism did not, however, ameliorate
the conditions that existed in the country. Gheorghiu-Dej was a
totalitarian ruler, the party brooked no opposition, few basic freedoms
for the people existed except in the constitution, and the secret police
was an effective instrument of control over the people. Gheorghiu-Dej
did, however, establish a foundation, albeit a very shaky one, for a
structure of national communism. He and his successor, Ceausescu,
strengthened this structure through the years to the point that Romania
became known as the most independent of the former Soviet satellites
with the exception of Yugoslavia, which has been traveling its own path
since 1948.
The Socialist Republic of Romania, ruled in early 1972 by Ceausescu and
the PCR, comprised over 91,700 square miles and contained a population
of more than 20.6 million. The size and shape of modern Romania is
remarkably similar to the ancient country of Dacia, which was conquered
by the Romans in the early second century A.D. and became a province of
the Roman Empire. Although Roman occupation lasted only about 165 years,
it is to the mixture of Roman legionnaires and colonists with indigenous
Dacians that modern Romanians trace their origin. These Daco-Romans are
almost absent from history's pages for several centuries, but Romanian
historians state that they existed in the mountains, tending their
flocks and fending off the vast migrations and avoiding absorption by
invaders who used the territory as a crossroads into the Balkans or into
Europe. After they did achieve some semblance of autonomy during the
Middle Ages, primarily in the historic provinces of Moldavia and
Walachia, they were always pressured by powerful empires that existed
during various historic epochs, and a great portion of former Dacia, the
province of Transylvania, was occupied by Magyars (Hungarians) and was
not joined to Romania until after World War I.
The great majority of the people are ethnic Romanians, although two
sizable minority groups, Hungarian and German, still resided within
Romania's borders in 1972. Other, much smaller, minority groups include
Jews, Ukrainians, Serbs, Russians, Bulgarians, Czechs and Slovaks,
Tatars, Turks, and Gypsies. Most of the lesser minorities have been
assimilated to some degree, particularly in the use of the Romanian
language in the conduct of their daily affairs. The Hungarians and the
Germans, however, have resisted assimilation, and their education,
business, and social lives are carried on in their native tongues. Their
cultural traditions also reflect their Hungarian or German background
rather than that of the country in which they live.
The religious affiliations of the people follow very closely their
ethnic differentiations. The vast majority of ethnic Romanians are
members of the Romanian Orthodox Church, which is one of the
autocephalous branches of the Eastern Orthodox church. The Romanian
Orthodox Church was traditionally considered the state or national
church, which, with its great size, gave it a favored position. Although
its near-monopoly position was contested by Roman Catholics, Uniates,
and several Protestant denominations, particularly after the post-World
War I inclusion of Transylvania within Romania's borders, it still
remained the predominant religion and was able to retain this position
even after the communist takeover.
The Hungarians of Romania are Roman Catholics, Calvinists, and
Unitarians; similarly, the Germans are divided between Roman Catholicism
and Lutheranism. These religions suffered a period of repression under
the Communists, some of their clergy being imprisoned and some of their
churches falling into disrepair because of lack of funds. Nevertheless,
their adherents still numbered in the hundreds of thousands in the early
1970s, and the former vigorous effort by the government to discourage
the practice of religion seems to have softened as the regime
concentrates on dissuading young people from the acceptance of religious
beliefs rather than trying to eliminate such beliefs in older
generations.
The post-World War II Romanian Jewish community has shrunk considerably
through emigration to Israel, which has been allowed by the government
and encouraged by Jewish leaders. There continue to be many Jewish
enclaves, particularly in urban areas, but because Jews have not been
listed separately in official statistics since the mid-1950s, it is
difficult to estimate how many remain in the country. There are several
operating synagogues, but most Jewish services are led by laymen because
emigration has drained away almost all rabbis and none are being trained
in the country; the last rabbinical school was closed during the late
1950s because of lack of faculty and students.
Most of the small Slavic minorities belong to the Orthodox faith, and
the few remaining Muslims--Turks and Tatars--retain their adherence to
Islam and have their principal mosque in the port city of Constanta.
Relatively small numbers of Romanians are Baptists, Seventh-Day
Adventists, and Unitarians. Officially, the communist-ruled country
advocates atheism, but the Constitution allows for freedom of religion
or freedom to profess no religion. Atheism does not seem to have made
any great inroads into the established religions during the first
quarter century of communist rule.
The activities of all religions are supervised by the government through
its Department of Cults. The separation of church and state is
constitutionally guaranteed, but in practice this guarantee serves to
impose limitations on the churches and clergy but does not in any manner
restrict government interference in religious activities.
Though the Communists were unsuccessful in eradicating religion in the
country, they have been successful in transforming the politics,
society, and economy. With the promulgation of the 1948 Constitution,
based on the Soviet Constitution of 1936, and the establishment of the
Romanian People's Republic, the new rulers were ready to construct a
socialist state. Out of this transformation, the leaders were confident
that a "new socialist man" would ultimately evolve, just as Marx and
Lenin had prophesied.
In more pragmatic areas the Communists altered the form of government,
the social structure, and the economy. The 1948 Constitution established
a form of government much like that of the Soviet Union and other
communist-ruled states in that the government is structured to be the
instrument through which the party runs the country. There is an
interlocking of party and government positions that ensures party
control over every facet of Romanian life. There are no competing
political parties, but there are several mass organizations, thoroughly
PCR dominated, in which the people are urged to participate. These
include labor unions, youth leagues, women's organizations, and sports
societies, which serve to involve the people in national and local
affairs while the party hierarchy retains absolute authority in all
areas.
The 1948 Constitution was superseded by another in 1952 that brought no
significant changes and did not greatly alter the structure that had
been established earlier. The Constitution of 1965, however, changed the
name of the country to the Socialist Republic of Romania, and, in
communist jargon, this change was of particular importance because it
signified that the transition from bourgeois capitalism to socialism had
been achieved and that Romania could now proceed on its path toward
communism. Significant also in the 1965 Constitution was the absence of
any mention of the Soviet Union, which had been featured prominently in
the previous documents as a model to be copied and as the liberator of
Romania.
The most prominent feature of the Romanian political system is its
extreme centralization in both the party structure and the government
organization. The people vote for their representatives at all levels of
government from a single list of party-approved candidates. Local
governments always look for direction from a higher level or from the
center. The PCR has a similar pyramidal structure, the topmost organs
being self-selecting and self-perpetuating. The concentration of power
in the hands of the party hierarchy has prevented the rise of any overt
opposition groups, and there has been no observable coalition of
dissenters within the party ranks.
In the transformation of the social structure, the Communists brought
down the former aristocracy and anyone else who they considered might be
opposed to the new order. They then attempted to elevate the status of
the former lower classes--that is, the workers and peasants--but because
of the elitist structure of the party the great leveling process
faltered, and new classes were created despite the prescribed ideology
of a classless society. The party elite became the new upper class, and
immediately below them was a growing group of lesser party
functionaries, technocrats, managers, scientists, teachers, and other
professionals. The privileges, life-styles, and aspirations of these
groups ran far ahead of those of the workers and peasants who once again
found themselves at the bottom of the social pyramid.
Upward mobility is possible, and the key to it is education; the key to
educational opportunity, however, is most often political influence,
which also plays a large role in the accessibility to jobs that lead to
higher social status. A stabilizing of the social structure that became
apparent toward the end of the 1960s, although it did not block upward
mobility, would seem to indicate that such social movement will be more
difficult in the future. Children of workers and peasants will not be
denied opportunity for higher education, but it would appear that the
path to opportunity will be easier for children of the party elite and
the professional classes.
To the people, education is important as a means of social advancement;
to the regime, however, the educational system is the prime means
through which it inculcates socialist ideals and trains the
professionals, technicians, and skilled workers needed to run the
country. The first great goal under the Communists was the eradication
of illiteracy, which, according to the government, had been achieved by
1958. A concurrent and continuing goal was the training of skilled
technicians, foremen, and middle-level managers. The country's rapid
industrialization and economic growth caused severe shortages in these
categories and, in the early 1970s, the educational and training
programs still had not met the demands for the upgrading of unskilled
workers.
Modifications of the educational system have been concentrated on the
extension of basic primary education from the four-year program that
existed after World War II to a compulsory ten-year program that is
expected to be fully operative by 1973. Along with the expansion of
curricula and the extension of the time spent in primary grades, the
regime has also reemphasized the importance of ideological and political
indoctrination for the nation's youth. Adult education has also been
stressed by the government in its efforts to raise the overall
educational and skill levels of the entire population.
In the cultural area there has been a shifting of attitudes by the party
overseers that has seemingly left artists and intellectuals confused and
wary about the limits of creativity. In the early communist period
there was slavish imitation of the Soviet doctrine known as Socialist
Realism, which required that all expression reflect the struggle for
social justice and the positive aspects of communist achievements.
After the death of Stalin and particularly after the initiation of
de-Stalinization in the Soviet Union, there was a relaxation of the
dogmatic controls forced upon Romanian artists and intellectuals,
and more emphasis was placed on historical themes and nationalism.
Restrictions continued, however, and "art for art's sake" was not
tolerated; even the mild liberalization permitted during the 1960s was
curtailed to some degree in 1971 as the regime tightened controls on
artistic and intellectual expression. The new hard-line approach of 1971
did not signal a return to the extreme dogmatism of the early 1950s but
was a stern reminder to artists, writers, and journalists of their
duties to the socialist society.
Militarily, Romania in 1972 maintained about 200,000 men in its armed
forces, the great majority serving in the army and much smaller numbers
serving in the navy, air force, and frontier troops. All armed services
are administered by the Ministry of the Armed Forces, but policymaking
is a top-level function of the PCR. Manpower needs are filled through
universal conscription, and serving a term in the military seems to be
accepted as a normal way of life by young Romanian males.
Romania is a signatory to the Warsaw Pact, but Ceausescu's refusal to
participate in the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 and his
subsequent condemnation of that action placed the country in the
position of being a rather reluctant ally within the pact. Ceausescu has
also refused to allow Warsaw Pact maneuvers to be held in his country,
and during the Czechoslovak invasion he refused to allow Bulgarian
troops to cross Romanian territory. These actions, plus Ceausescu's
repeated reference in public speeches to the desirability of the
dissolution of both the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and
the Warsaw Pact, caused publication of anti-Romanian propaganda in the
Soviet Union and the omission of an invitation to Ceausescu to attend a
meeting of Eastern European leaders in the summer of 1971. The Romanian
people were reportedly concerned about possible Soviet intervention in
their internal affairs, as they had been often since 1968, but the
situation seemed to stabilize in late 1971, at least in outward
appearance.
Despite the military and political uncertainties brought about by
Romania's independent stance in the Warsaw Pact and COMECON, the country
has enjoyed a rapid economic growth rate. Direction of the country's
economy is highly centralized and rigidly controlled by the PCR. A
variety of economic ministries within the governmental structure are
responsible for the administering of specific sectors of the economy,
but policymaking is a function of the Standing Presidium of the party.
The economy operates in accordance with five-year and annual plans that
are all-encompassing and binding on all economic enterprises. Some
attempts at decentralization have been made since 1968 in an effort to
increase initiative on the part of lower level managers, but
intransigence on the part of the hierarchy in releasing its hold has all
but nullified the lukewarm reform efforts.
In 1972 Romania was into the second year of its Five-Year Plan (1971-75)
and was beset by a host of economic problems. The planners had set high
goals for growth during the period, but past overemphasis on heavy
industrialization had left a residue of problems in all other areas.
Agriculture had been neglected, production of consumer goods had never
reached planned goals, and balance of payment deficits with Western
nations threatened the foreign trade base. In seeking political and
economic independence from the Soviet Union, the regime had placed
itself in a precarious position, which forced it to find ways of
becoming more competitive in world markets and fulfilling the basic
needs of its people at the same time it sought to mollify the
resentments of its COMECON partners and retain its ideological
commitments to socialism and ultimate communism. Despite its maverick
approach and its growing relations with the West, Romania was still tied
by treaty, ideology, and geography to the Soviet Union and to its
Eastern European communist neighbors.
CHAPTER 2
HISTORICAL SETTING
Romania's history as an independent state dates from about the middle of
the nineteenth century; as a communist state, from about the end of
World War II. The history of the Romanian people, however, is long,
complex, and important when considered in the context of the overall
history of the Balkan region. The origin and development of the
Romanians remain controversial subjects among Romanian and Hungarian
historians, whose arguments serve to support or deny claims to rightful
ownership of large areas within Romania's borders (see fig. 1).
Until the end of World War II Romania's history as a state was one of
gains and losses of territory and shifting borders. As the Ottoman
Empire in Europe receded, the Romanians found themselves pressured by
the Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires. Borders arranged by the
victorious powers after World War I increased Romania's territory but
also increased its minority population, particularly the Hungarian.
Between the two world wars the country experienced a period of fascist
dictatorship and aligned itself with Nazi Germany early in World War II,
but it eventually overthrew the fascists and finished the war on the
side of the Allies.
The borders arranged after World War II formalized the loss of territory
to the Soviet Union but have remained stable since the end of the war.
In the postwar chaos of the late 1940s, with Soviet troops occupying the
country, Romania deposed its king and emerged as a communist state under
the close scrutiny and supervision of its powerful northern neighbor,
the Soviet Union. After the death of Josef Stalin the Romanian
leadership began a slow pursuit of nationalist goals, which continued in
the early 1970s. Although the Moscow-Bucharest ties have often been
strained, the Romanians have carefully avoided a break that would
provoke a reaction such as the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in
1968.
The Romanian people see themselves as a Latin island surrounded by Slavs
and Magyars (Hungarians). They are proud of their long, distinctly
different historical development and consider that their history is
important to them as proof of their ethnic uniqueness in the area and as
proof that Romania belongs to the Romanians.
EARLY ORIGIN
The earliest recorded inhabitants of the area included in present-day
Romania were Thracian tribes, known as Dacians, who settled in the area
well before the Christian Era and established a major center in
Transylvania (see fig. 2). These people practiced a primitive form of
agriculture and engaged in limited trade with Greek settlements along
the western coast of the Black Sea. By the middle of the first century
A.D. the Dacians had grouped themselves into a loosely formed state
ruled by a series of kings who attempted to expand their power to the
north and west and, most aggressively, to the south into the area below
the lower Danube River.
[Illustration: _Note._ Internal boundaries have not been shown
because of the long history of expansion, contraction, and
shifting borders and because the provinces are no longer
political entities.
_Figure 2. Romania, Historic Provinces._]
In their advance southward the Dacians came into conflict with the
Romans who, during the same period, were attempting to extend their
control over the Balkan region and to push the northern border of their
empire up to the natural barrier formed by the Danube River. In a
series of campaigns between A.D. 101 and 106, the Roman emperor Trajan
succeeded in conquering the areas known as Banat, Oltenia, and Walachia
and in finally reducing the Dacian stronghold in Transylvania. After
consolidating and unifying his control over the people, Trajan fortified
the area, stationed Roman legions in garrisons at strategic points, and
organized the region to serve as a province of the Roman Empire.
As a border province, Dacia developed rapidly and became one of the most
prosperous in the empire. Colonists were brought in from other parts of
the empire, cities were built, agriculture and mineral resources were
developed, and profitable commercial relations were established with
other regions under Roman control. The province proved vulnerable to
periodic barbarian incursions, however, and toward the end of the third
century the Roman emperor Aurelian was forced to abandon Dacia and
withdraw the Roman troops to defend similarly threatened areas farther
to the south.
Aside from the romanization of the native population, little evidence of
the occupation survived the Roman evacuation of Dacia. Among the traces
of the Roman presence remaining were the vestiges of Christianity
introduced in the second century and the legacy of the name of the
future state of Romania as well as the Latin basis for its language.
Lacking natural geographical barriers to invasion from the east and
south, the greater part of the Dacian territory was overrun by
successive waves of barbarian invaders for ten centuries after the
withdrawal of the Romans. Little is known of the fate of the Daco-Roman
population during this long, turbulent period until new settlements
inhabited by a Latin-speaking people known as Vlachs emerged on the
Romanian plains in the eleventh century. Although historic records are
lacking, these Vlachs were believed to be descendants of the earlier
Daco-Roman colonists, many of whom either sought refuge in the
Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania or migrated south of the Danube
River to escape the invaders. Having survived, they returned to
reestablish themselves in their historic homeland.
The succession of barbaric invasions exploited and devastated the
country. The Germanic Goths were followed by Slavs and Avars, and not
until the Bulgars overran the area in the seventh century was a
semblance of civic order established. The region developed a rudimentary
form of cultural life, and Christianity in the Eastern Orthodox form was
introduced after the conversion of the Bulgar Tsar Boris in 864. The
Bulgars were eventually displaced by Hungarians who, in turn, gave way
to Asiatic Tatars, all of whom left limited, but lasting, influences on
the land and its inhabitants.
FORMATION OF THE PRINCIPALITIES
Walachia and Moldavia
As the threats of invasion diminished, the Vlachs gradually moved
farther into the foothills and plains of the Danube basin and fused with
a population that, while retaining a small Vlach element, had by then
acquired a heavy mixture of Slavs and Tatars. Two distinct groups
eventually emerged, one settling in the area now known as Walachia and
the other settling farther to the east and north in Moldavia. The
earliest events surrounding the development of these areas are not
known, but after a period of colonization the two regions emerged, in
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, respectively, as the
semi-independent principalities of Walachia and Moldavia.
When the Ottoman Empire overran southeastern Europe in the fifteenth
century, these Danubian principalities were forced to accept Turkish
suzerainty and remained Turkish dependencies until the middle of the
nineteenth century. Unlike other areas under Turkish rule, the Romanian
principalities were controlled by native princes, who maintained their
position through concessions to the nobles, from among whom they had
gained preeminence, and through the concurrence of the Turks, to whom a
substantial annual tribute was paid. This system of political control
led to intrigues and a long succession of rulers who, assisted by the
nobles, systematically exploited the peasantry, from whom the heavy
annual tribute was collected.
Continued misrule and long-term economic exploitation of the regions
seriously affected the social structure within the principalities. The
lesser nobility, including the landed gentry, was reduced to the level
of free peasants; the peasantry itself was placed in virtually complete
serfdom; and cultural activity became almost nonexistent. Even the
appearance of outstanding political and military leaders, such as
Michael the Brave of Walachia (1593-1601) and Stephen the Great, prince
of Moldavia (1457-1504), could not reverse the general trend of
deterioration, although the harshness of the feudal system was somewhat
lessened during their tenure in office.
At the beginning of the eighteenth century the Ottoman Empire began to
decline, and the Turks instituted a system of direct control over
Walachia and Moldavia, in order to ensure the continued receipt of
maximum revenue from the countries. Greek merchants known as Phanariots,
named for the Phanar district of Constantinople, which was their
center, were invested as rulers in the principalities upon direct
payment of large sums of money. Since their period in office was
indefinite and generally lasted only until outbid by a successor, an
even more intensive system of exploitation within the countries was
introduced to extract greater tribute in shorter periods of time. This
period of oppressive rule lasted until 1821 and proved to be the most
disastrous experienced by the inhabitants. Conditions under this corrupt
system became almost intolerable and led to massive resistance and
eventually to the heavy migration of the peasantry into neighboring
areas, particularly Transylvania.
Transylvania
The historic development of Transylvania was substantially different and
more complex than that experienced by the principalities of Walachia and
Moldavia. Overrun by Asiatic Magyars as early as the ninth century, the
region was organized originally as a province in the eleventh century.
In order to strengthen this eastern outpost, the Hungarians encouraged
two groups of people--Szeklers, or Szekelys, an ethnic group of people
akin to the Hungarians, and Germans--to emigrate from the west into the
area. Although these colonists eventually reached substantial numbers,
the native Romanian speakers remained in the majority (see ch. 4).
With the expansion of Turkish power, Transylvania became the
battleground for opposing Turkish and Hungarian forces. Under Turkish
pressure Hungarian control declined in the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries, and by 1526 the region had become a semiautonomous
principality ruled by Hungarian princes but still subject to Turkish
authority. At the end of the sixteenth century Michael the Brave, the
ruler of Walachia and Moldavia, succeeded in revolting against Turkish
rule and united Transylvania with the other Romanian territories. This
union, however, was short lived, and all three principalities
subsequently reverted to Turkish control. Toward the end of the
seventeenth century Austria conquered Hungary, and Transylvania as part
of Hungary then was included in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
From the earliest times the position of the Romanians in Transylvania
was inferior to that of the other nationalities, and accounts of the
long-term measures practiced against them have been perpetuated among
their descendants. The Romanians were mostly serfs, and their social and
economic status was the lowest in the province. Their Orthodox
Christianity was not recognized, in contrast to the Lutheran, Calvinist,
Unitarian, and Roman Catholic faiths practiced by the various other
nationalities (see ch. 5). To gain religious equality and to win a
larger measure of economic and social recognition, many of the Romanians
gradually abandoned their Eastern Orthodox creed and became Uniates by
accepting papal authority in 1698.
Although the Romanians were slow to benefit from the relatively high
cultural and political level reached in Transylvania under the
Austro-Hungarians, an appreciable number of concessions had been made to
them by the middle of the nineteenth century. They began to share in the
political life after political parties were established, schools were
opened for Romanian children, and education became more widespread among
the general population. Progress in these and associated fields
stimulated the Romanian desire for full equality and the hope for
eventual unification of all Romanians in their own national state.
WESTERN INFLUENCES
Although Romania was late in achieving national recognition, many of the
factors that were to influence its Western orientation after
independence began to evolve as early as the seventeenth century. In
Transylvania the Uniate church became an important medium by which
Romanian national identity was fostered in the struggle against foreign
assimilation. The Habsburg rulers favored the expansion of the church
and permitted the opening of seminaries for the training of young
Romanian clergy. Many of these young clerics were sent to Rome to
complete their studies and, while there, became aware of their Roman
ancestry. They saw the famous column of Trajan, which recorded, in
stone, the early conquest of their Dacian ancestors by the Romans, and
they also discovered that Romanian was an essentially Latin language
(see ch. 4).
The contacts established with Rome encouraged the scholarly development
of a "Latinist" movement in the homeland in the late eighteenth century,
which produced many adherents among the Transylvanian Romanians. It was
the efforts of this group that led to the replacement of the Cyrillic
alphabet, then in common use, with the Latin, the writing of the first
latinized Romanian grammar and, later, the introduction of the first
dictionary that traced the full historical development of the Romanian
language. These reforms helped to create a uniform literary language as
an essential basis for the broad development of Romanian culture (see
ch. 7).
During their long experience under the Habsburgs and Hungarians, the
Transylvanian Romanians also became intimately associated with the
events of central and western Europe. Opportunities for travel and
cultural contacts that later developed were also predominantly within
Western areas and intensified the political consciousness of the
Romanians along Western lines.
Meanwhile, in Walachia and Moldavia interest in Western ideas and
affairs was provided by French influences introduced initially by the
Greek Phanariot princes, who were in power during most of the eighteenth
century. These rulers established French as the court language, and many
of the Greek merchants, clergymen, and teachers who followed them into
the areas helped spread the use of French among the urban population in
Bucharest and Iasi, the respective capital cities. Gradually, French was
introduced into Romanian schools, and eventually Romanian students from
the principalities were sent abroad in considerable numbers to study at
French universities.
In addition to Romanian students, many of the young sons of Romanian
nobles traveled in France. These two groups gradually formed the nucleus
of an intellectual class, which favored French philosophy and thought
and which became receptive to the liberal ideas of the French Revolution
and later periods.
NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE
A phase of major significance and a turning point in Romanian history
began in 1821 with a revolt led by Tudor Vladimirescu, a Romanian and
former officer in the Russian army. This uprising against the harsh
Phanariot rule was the first with a national character, and it attempted
to give expression to the revolutionary ideas of emancipation and
independence. Although the outbreak was suppressed by the Turks, it did
achieve the objective of bringing about the early abolition of the
Phanariot regime and the restoration of Romanian princes as rulers in
the Danubian principalities.
After the Russo-Turkish war from 1826 to 1828 Russian forces occupied
both Walachia and Moldavia to ensure the payment of a large war
indemnity by the Turks. Under the ensuing six-year enlightened and
competent rule of the Russian governor Count Pavel Kiselev, the
foundations were laid for a new Romanian state. The first constitutional
assemblies were organized along identical lines in each province; a
rudimentary governmental administration was established and modeled on
that of the French; an educational system was begun; commerce and a
modest industry were encouraged; and provisions were made for the
creation of a national militia. The intentional similarity in the
fundamental laws that were also enacted in each area further encouraged
the two principalities to develop side by side.
During the two decades after the departure of Russian occupying forces,
the national movement within the two principalities continued to grow
under the rule of native princes who had been restored to power.
Considerable stimulation was provided by the 1848 revolutionary events
in France, the basic ideas of which were imported by the French-educated
Romanians. Dissension arose, and street demonstrations took place during
which demands were made for freedom of speech, assembly, and the press,
as well as for the unification of all Romanians in one independent
state. Similar emancipation efforts were also organized in Transylvania,
but they, too, were forcibly repressed, as were those in Walachia and
Moldavia.
Despite the setbacks suffered by the intellectuals and other leaders of
the revolutionary movement, the modern ideas of liberal government took
firm root and continued to flourish. The dispute between Russia and
Turkey that culminated in the Crimean War, however, provided the actual
opportunity for the first step toward ultimate independence. French and
Russian collaboration at the Congress of Paris, which concluded the war
in 1858, succeeded in producing agreements that finally led to the
establishment of the autonomous United Principalities of Walachia and
Moldavia in 1859.
Although still subject to Ottoman authority, the United Principalities
moved rapidly under their newly elected leader, Alexander Cuza, to
further unify and modernize themselves. Cuza fused the administration of
the two principalities into a single government, established a single
capital at Bucharest, and changed the name from United Principalities to
Romania. Domestic reforms were also undertaken, among which were the
emancipation of the serfs in 1864, the institution of a broad land
distribution program, the introduction of free and compulsory education,
and the adoption of the French civil and penal codes as the basis for a
revised legal system. Political parties on the Western pattern began to
take form as well, the conservatives representing the large landowners
and the liberals representing the new urban class.
The reforms instituted by Cuza were bold and progressive, but his
methods proved to be harsh and unpopular. Forced to abdicate in 1866, he
was succeeded by a German prince, Charles of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.
Charles, who reigned from 1866 to 1914, extended the reforms initiated
by Cuza. He gave the country its first formal constitution modeled after
that of the Belgians, built the country's first railroad, and modernized
and enlarged the small army. In 1878 the country's full independence was
recognized by the Treaty of Berlin, which ended the two-year
Russo-Turkish war in which Romania participated as an ally of Russia.
The Kingdom of Romania was proclaimed formally in 1881 with the crowning
of Prince Charles in Bucharest as Carol I.
The period from 1878 to 1918 brought significant advances in Romania,
largely in the economic and political fields. Under the initiative of
King Carol I and with considerable backing from German capital, new
industries were started, and others were expanded; railroad and port
construction was emphasized; and the considerable petroleum resources of
the country were developed and exploited. The goals of political parties
and leaders became more clearly defined, and modern government
institutions, including a bicameral parliament, were organized.
Economic and formal political progress, however, was not matched by
similar advancement of democratic processes in the social field. The
liberal provisions of the 1866 Constitution were circumvented under the
authoritarian governmental system, leaving much actual power in the
hands of the landed aristocracy. The slowly rising middle class and
small number of industrial entrepreneurs were granted some rights, but
the increasing number of industrial workers and the great peasant
majority shared very little in the political life of the country.
A major peasant revolt in 1907 attempted unsuccessfully to rectify the
serious social imbalance. The uprising was forcefully suppressed with
extensive loss of life and, although some corrective measures were later
instituted that improved working conditions and resulted in the division
of more large landholdings, the general political strength and living
standards of the peasants and workers were not materially improved.
Related also to this social unrest was another problem that grew more
intense during the latter half of the nineteenth century--that of the
increasing size and economic importance of a large Jewish minority.
Forbidden to own land and subject to many other restrictions, the Jews
had settled in urban areas, engaged successfully in commercial
activities and, as a class, gained economic influence and position
generally out of proportion to their overall numerical strength in the
population. To an unusual degree, they formed the prosperous urban
middle class, overshadowing the far smaller number of native Romanians
in that category. In rural centers, as moneylenders, they also became
the middlemen between landlords and peasants; as such, the Jew became a
symbol of oppression, which over the years was transferred into intense
anti-Semitism. Consequently, the Jews were included as a target in the
1907 uprising, and the animosity shown then remained a feature of later
Romanian society.
WORLD WAR I
At the outbreak of World War I in 1914 Romania's leaders were indecisive
and proclaimed an armed neutrality, which lasted for nearly two years.
Much of the pro-Russian and pro-French political orientation of the
1840s and 1850s still existed in the country, but this was offset in
large measure by the strong ties of King Carol I with Bismarck's Germany
and by the rapprochement with Germany that had resulted from the large
investment of German capital in the country. In addition, territorial
inducements, which were attractive to Romania, were made by each side to
influence its entry into the conflict. The Central Powers offered
Bessarabia to be taken from Russia, and the Allies promised the cession
of Transylvania from Austro-Hungary.
After the death of King Carol I and the accession of his nephew, King
Ferdinand, to the throne, Romania entered the war on the Allied side in
1916. By December 1917, however, Romania was forced to conclude an
armistice when the Russian forces disintegrated on the Balkan front
after the Bolshevik revolution of that year. Before the armistice was
ratified, however, and as the defeat of the Central Powers was becoming
apparent, the Romanian army, which had not been demobilized, reentered
the war, liberated Bucharest from the Germans, and occupied much of
Bessarabia and Transylvania. After the war, in response to the expressed
will of the popular assemblies in Transylvania, Bessarabia, and
Bukovina, those provinces were united with the Kingdom of Romania--often
called the Old Kingdom. Formal treaties in 1919 and 1920 confirmed these
decisions, and virtually all Romanians were finally reunited within the
historic homeland.
INTERWAR YEARS, 1918-40
With the annexation of Transylvania, Bessarabia, and Bukovina, postwar
Romania, sometimes referred to as Greater Romania, doubled in size, as
well as in population. Included among the newly acquired population were
large ethnic minorities--principally Hungarians, Germans, and
Jews--whose diverse backgrounds and development presented complex
social, political, economic, and administrative problems for the
Romanian government. The various traditions of the people within the
acquired lands could not easily be transformed into new patterns,
largely because of the government's reluctance to share power with any
political leaders except those representing the Transylvanian Romanians.
As a result, minority elements were largely excluded from national
affairs, and discriminatory policies developed that bred resentment and
increased political instability (see ch. 4).
The immediate postwar years were dominated by the Liberal Party of the
Old Kingdom. The party instituted a series of land reforms, fostered
increased industrialization, and sponsored a broadly democratic
constitution in 1923, which made the new state a centralized
constitutional monarchy. The Transylvanian Romanians, long accustomed to
considerable autonomy and self-government under Hungarian rule, resented
the imposition of central control, especially under the administration
of officials from Bucharest. In protest, a new party, the National
Peasant Party, was formed in 1926 by a fusion of the Transylvanian
National Party with the Peasant Party in the Old Kingdom.
Other parties were active during this early period, but all were
overshadowed by the Liberal Party and the National Peasant Party. The
Social Democratic Party had been organized at the beginning of the
twentieth century but, lacking any sizable number of industrial workers,
the socialist movement remained weak. After the Russian revolution,
however, the radical left-wing elements of the Social Democratic Party
seceded and formed the Romanian Communist Party in 1921. The Communists
went underground after being banned in 1924 and were largely ineffective
until after World War II.
The death of King Ferdinand in 1927 and the elections of the following
year brought significant changes in the Romanian government. Ferdinand's
son, Carol II, was excluded from the succession because of his earlier
renunciation of all claims to the throne to accept exile with his
mistress, Magda Lupescu. A regency was therefore appointed to rule in
the name of Carol's young son, Michael, and a new government led by
Iuliu Maniu and the National Peasant Party was elected, thus ending the
six-year tenure of the Liberals.
Although Maniu's government instituted a series of reforms intended to
improve general economic and social conditions, its efforts were largely
offset by the adverse effects of the worldwide depression of the early
1930s. Also, early dissatisfaction with the regency resulted in the
return of Carol II from exile and his assumption of the crown in late
1930. His agreement to sever relations with Magda Lupescu was not kept,
however, and in protest Maniu resigned the premiership. In the unstable
conditions that followed, King Carol II emerged as the chief political
figure in the country, and his rule evolved into a royal dictatorship.
King Carol's assumption of power was aided initially by the rise of a
fanatical fascist and anti-Semitic group known as the Iron Guard. This
group was strongly pro-German and employed tactics similar to those of
the Nazi party, which was then emerging as the dominant political force
in Germany. The fascist movement, with financial and indirect support
from Germany, increased the influence of the Iron Guard, which was
reflected in the 1937 elections. The coalition government that resulted
supported King Carol but was later overthrown, bringing to power a new
coalition of right-wing extremists.
In order to halt the increasing threat to his power, Carol proclaimed a
personal dictatorship in 1938 and promulgated a new constitution that
abolished all political parties and instituted censorship and other
control measures. This action was followed by the suppression of the
Iron Guard, whose leader, Corneliu Codreanu, was shot. Absolute
authority was maintained by the king, who was supported by the army and
by the National Renaissance Front, a monopoly party that he founded
later in the same year.
Internal instability and uncertainty were aggravated by rapidly
developing international events that threatened the security of the
state. The swift rise of Germany under Adolf Hitler resulted in the
annexation of Austria in 1938 and the subsequent dismemberment and
absorption of Czechoslovakia. These actions, unopposed by the Western
powers, were early warnings of weakness in the Western-oriented
collective security system on which Romania had depended since World War
I. The lessening of confidence in the West led Romania in 1939 to
conclude a treaty of economic collaboration with Germany. This agreement
greatly increased German influence in the country and placed the
extensive Romanian oil and other resources at Germany's disposal for
later wartime use.
Although Romania's territorial integrity had been guaranteed by both
Great Britain and France after the fall of Czechoslovakia, these
assurances were nullified by the early German military successes
achieved following the outbreak of World War II. After the conclusion of
a nonaggression pact with the Soviet Union in August 1939, Germany
invaded and occupied Poland and, by mid-1940, had defeated France and
forced the evacuation of the European mainland by British forces. Faced
with the loss of its two strongest partners in the alliance system and
with the aggressive ambitions of the two strongest totalitarian powers
on the European continent--Germany and the Soviet Union--Romania had
little chance of continued independent survival.
WORLD WAR II
The first claims against Romania were made by the Soviet Union, which in
June 1940 demanded the immediate cession of Bessarabia and northern
Bukovina. Under German pressure Romania acceded to these demands, as
well as to the later loss of northern Transylvania, which Germany and
Italy transferred to Hungary at a joint conference held in Vienna on
August 30, 1940. A third loss of territory, also under German pressure,
followed one week later with the return of southern Dobruja to Bulgaria,
which had already entered the war on the side of Germany.
The crisis caused by these territorial losses had a serious impact
within the country. King Carol was forced to appoint a pro-German
cabinet, and the government was heavily infiltrated with members of the
Iron Guard, most of whom were released from custody under German
pressure. A national protest against the king in early September
culminated in his abdication in favor of his son, Michael. A new
government under General Ion Antonescu was formed, composed almost
entirely of members of the Iron Guard, whose leader was made vice
premier. German troops entered the country under the pretext of
protecting the oilfields, and on November 23, 1940, Romania joined
Germany, Italy, and Japan in the Anti-Comintern Pact.
In January 1941 members of the Iron Guard, attempting to seize full
control of the government, initiated a terroristic campaign that was
suppressed with much bloodshed by the Romanian army, which had remained
loyal to the government. With the continued support of the Germans,
Antonescu dissolved the Iron Guard and formed an almost exclusively
military dictatorship. After stabilization of the government, Romania
entered the war against the Soviet Union and incurred heavy losses in
the prolonged fighting on the eastern front.
After the defeat of the German and Romanian forces at Stalingrad in
early 1943, the Soviets mounted a counteroffensive, which by mid-1944
had liberated the southwestern portions of the Soviet Union and had
advanced deep into Romania and threatened Bucharest. On August 23, 1944,
King Michael, with the support of the major political and military
leaders, overthrew the regime of Antonescu, halted all fighting, and
installed a new, moderate, coalition government. Under the terms of the
armistice that followed, Romania reentered the war on the side of the
Allies, agreed to reparation payments, and accepted the military
occupation of the country until the conclusion of a final peace
settlement.
Romanian forces that continued the war were committed in support of the
Soviet army in Transylvania, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Those engaged
on the Moldavian front were disarmed, and control over the greater part
of the country was maintained by the Soviets. Among the occupation
troops stationed in Romania was the communist-indoctrinated "Tudor
Vladimirescu" division, a force composed of captured Romanian prisoners
that had been organized after the German-Romanian defeat at Stalingrad.
In addition, the Soviets were given the chairmanship of the Allied
Control Commission, the joint body that was established to administer
the occupied country.
COMMUNIST SEIZURE OF POWER
The several conferences held by the Allied powers concerning postwar
arrangements and the understandings that resulted from bilateral
discussion among individual leaders indicated that the Soviet Union was
to become the dominant military and political power in the Balkans. As a
result, the Soviets, from the outset of their period of occupation,
acted determinedly to consolidate their position within Romania and to
influence the development of a permanent postwar governmental system
designed along communist lines.
Although Romania had surrendered in August 1944, it took several months
to create a government stable enough to carry out essential programs.
The first postwar coalition regimes included relatively few Communists
who ostensibly cooperated with the revived traditional political
parties. Despite their small numbers, however, they vigorously engaged
in disruptive antigovernment tactics to prevent the stabilization of
political authority along democratic lines. This course of action was
dictated by the general weakness of the Communists who had surfaced
after the war and was handicapped by the absence of partisan or
resistance organizations, which could have been used as a basis for
expanding political control.
Lacking popular support, the Communist Party set about creating mass
organizations, labor unions, and front organizations through which they
could increase their power. Among the leaders in these activities were
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, an early Communist who had been imprisoned
during the war, and Ana Pauker, who had spent the war years in Moscow
before returning to Romania after the entry of Soviet forces. By the
fall of 1944 the Communists had been successful in grouping a
leftist-oriented agrarian party called the Plowman's Front, splinter
elements of the Social Democratic Party, various labor unions, and
several social welfare organizations into the National Democratic Front.
The front became the principal instrument through which the party worked
to achieve political dominance.
The National Democratic Front received recognition in the December 1944
government of General Nicolae Radescu and, although given a number of
important posts, was generally held to a role subordinate to that of the
National Peasant, the Liberal, and the Social Democratic parties. In
late January 1945 after a visit to Moscow by Pauker and Gheorghiu-Dej,
the leftist leadership within the government initiated a virulent
campaign of disorder, agitation, and denunciation against Radescu and
called for the replacement of his regime with one to be formed by the
National Democratic Front.
The anti-Radescu campaign was prolonged and intensified by the
Communists who, through their control of the printer's union, were able
to silence the opposition press and thus enhance their own propaganda.
In February 1945, during a staged demonstration, the Communists provoked
an incident in which several participants were killed. Demands were made
for Radescu's arrest, and he was forced to seek asylum within a foreign
mission. Using this latest incident as a pretext, Soviet Deputy
Commissar for Foreign Affairs Andrei Vyshinsky, who arrived from Moscow
within two days of the event, forced King Michael to accept a National
Democratic Front government to be headed by Petru Groza, the leader of
the Plowman's Front and longtime communist sympathizer.
The government installed by Groza on March 6, 1945, was dominated by
Communists and fellow travelers and represented an effective seizure of
power by relatively peaceful means. Although a few dissident former
members of the Liberal and National Peasant parties were given posts to
maintain the facade of representative government, no leaders or
representative members of the historic political parties were included.
After recognition by the Soviet Union in August 1945 and by the United
States and Great Britain in February 1946, the Groza government held
rigged elections for the Grand National Assembly and emerged with 379 of
the 414 seats. Having thus achieved legislative as well as executive
control, the Communists proceeded methodically during the following year
to eliminate all political opposition. National Peasant and Liberal
leaders were arrested and tried, and these two major parties were
outlawed in June 1947. This action was followed in the spring of 1948 by
the fusion of the Social Democrats with the Communists into a new party
called the Romanian Workers' Party, which the Communists controlled. As
a final step the National Democratic Front was reorganized into the
People's Democratic Front, which then included the Romanian Workers'
Party, the Plowman's Front, and two new puppet organizations--the
National Popular Party and the Hungarian People's Union.
By the end of 1947 the only remaining link with the prewar system was
the monarchy. King Michael, in addition to being a popular ruler,
represented a national symbol around whom anticommunist opposition could
rally and, as such, was an unacceptable threat to the embryonic
communist dictatorship. Accordingly, in a meeting in December requested
by Groza and Gheorghiu-Dej, King Michael was forced to abdicate under
the threat of civil war. On the same day the government announced the
creation of the Romanian People's Republic. This action represented the
last step in the seizure of power and placed Romania under complete
communist control.
THE COMMUNIST STATE
Having seized effective control of the government, the Communists
embarked on a program of organizing the state along totalitarian lines.
As the first step toward consolidating their position, the Communists
initiated extensive purges and liquidation of anticommunist elements in
preparation for the holding of new parliamentary elections. The
carefully controlled elections held in March 1948 overwhelmingly favored
the single list of candidates put forward by the People's Democratic
Front, which received 405 of the 414 seats. The new National Assembly
met the following month, adopted a constitution modeled after that of
the Soviet Union, and formalized the establishment of the Romanian
People's Republic.
Over the next five years the country rapidly assumed the characteristics
of a satellite state of the Soviet Union. The Allied Control Commission
was withdrawn by mutual consent, and the Soviets were given the right to
retain occupation troops in the country beyond the 1947 peace treaty
date on the basis of an alleged need to protect the lines of
communication with other Soviet forces being maintained in Austria.
Under these favorable conditions and with close party supervision,
locally appointed people's councils had little difficulty in
administratively organizing the local governments in accordance with the
Soviet system.
Soviet-style instruments of control also appeared in a broad pattern in
all major fields and included the collectivization of agriculture, the
nationalization of industry, the centralization of control of the
national economy on a planned basis, and the creation of militia and
police forces whose function was to maintain the authority of the
communist regime and to eliminate all actual or potential opposition to
its policies.
The 1951-53 show trials and political purges within the communist ranks,
which were spearheaded from Moscow, served more to strengthen than to
weaken Romanian leadership in the party. Although Gheorghiu-Dej, a
native leader, had headed the party as its general secretary since 1945,
his influence and that of other Romanian Communists in government
affairs was limited. The Moscow-trained element led by Pauker, which
followed the Soviet forces into Romania, had become dominant in the
party organization, largely because it enjoyed both the support and
confidence of the Soviets. This group, considered essentially foreign
within the Romanian communist movement, firmly controlled the party
apparatus, including the secret police, the key posts that dealt with
foreign affairs, and the domestic economy.
This maldistribution of power within the ruling group led to factional
disputes and internal bickerings, which were brought to the surface and
finally solved by the purging of Pauker and the remainder of the
Muscovite group in 1952. After the purges Gheorghiu-Dej and his close
collaborators assumed full and undivided authority within the party. The
party was successful in maintaining a high degree of homogeneity in its
leadership, and the resultant stability within its ranks enabled it to
adopt, and later carry out, policies that favored Romanian over
international interests in communist affairs.
After the purges Gheorghiu-Dej assumed the premiership and, as the
government and party machinery were now in Romanian hands, the
nationalistic character of the communist government began to appear. In
the early stages emphasis was placed on disengaging the country from
many of the tight Soviet controls that still existed. As an initial move
the Romanians in 1954 successfully negotiated the dissolution of the
onerous joint Soviet-Romanian industrial concerns that had been used by
the Soviets to drain the Romanian economy during the postwar years. This
was followed in 1958 by obtaining Soviet agreement to the withdrawal of
all occupation forces from Romanian territory. At the same time efforts
to stimulate and improve the economy led to the establishment of limited
economic relations with several Western and noncommunist bloc countries
(see ch. 14).
Despite the nationalistic shift in Romanian external policy during this
period, the Romanians were careful to indicate to Moscow that, although
they wished to conduct their affairs with a minimum of Soviet
interference, they had no intention either of abandoning their adherence
to the Soviet bloc or of diminishing their efforts toward the
achievement of all basic communist aims in the country. The manner and
form of internal control in Romania remained repressive and essentially
Stalinist; only minor liberalizing changes took place over the next
several years.
After the death of Stalin in 1953 Gheorghiu-Dej supported the new form
of collective leadership, which separated government and party
functions. Following the Soviet pattern he gave up his party post but
reclaimed it two years later, coincidentally with the emergence of
Nikita Khrushchev as the leading figure in the Soviet hierarchy. Also,
Romania further demonstrated its allegiance to the communist cause by
formally endorsing the drastic action taken by the Soviets in
suppressing the Hungarian revolt against the communist regime in 1956.
The next step in the pursuit of national goals was taken in the economic
field and consisted of measures that sought to lessen Romania's economic
dependence on the Soviet Union and the more developed East European
countries. These goals were embodied in the country's Five-Year Plan
(1960-65), which called for the accelerated creation of an expanded
industrial base supported by its own natural resources and technical
assistance from the more advanced noncommunist countries. This ambitious
program was vigorously pursued beginning in 1960 and, by 1962, had come
into sharp conflict with Premier Khrushchev's announced plans of
revitalizing the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) and
transforming it into a unified system that would integrate the economies
of all Eastern European member nations (see ch. 14).
COMECON, set up by the Soviets in 1949 as a counterpoise to the European
Recovery Program (Marshall Plan), was basically an economic commission
designed to assist the economic development of the communist Eastern
European nations during the post-World War II period. Within this
organization Romania had acted largely as a supplier of agricultural
products, petroleum, and other raw materials and depended on the more
industrialized member states for most manufactured goods. Under the
Khrushchev plan, Romania's role in this organization would remain
unchanged, and all domestic plans that had been developed to produce a
balanced economy through increased industrialization would be
effectively nullified.
Khrushchev, in pushing his revised plans for COMECON, publicly called
for the creation of a supranational planning agency within the
organization that would be empowered to select investment projects,
allocate regional resources, and prescribe economic tasks to be
undertaken by the individual member states on the basis of a majority
vote. Romanian leaders reacted firmly and resolutely to this suggestion
by publishing a statement of the party Central Committee that definitely
rejected the policy of supranational economic integration and the
utilization of majority decisions as a means of forcing economic
cooperation. The committee's resolution further pointed out that
economic collaboration should be based on respect for national
independence, sovereignty, and the equality inherent in the rights of
nations.
Pressure was exerted to bring the Romanian leadership into line. To
counter this, the Romanians took steps to demonstrate their
determination to hold to their independent views. A program of
desovietization was begun throughout the country, during which Soviet
bookshops were closed, the compulsory study of the Russian language in
schools was ended, and those street names that had been changed to honor
Soviet persons or events reverted to their original Romanian
designations. Also, in the field of foreign policy Romania adopted an
attitude of nonalignment in the Sino-Soviet dispute, resumed relations
with Albania (which had been severed after that country left the Soviet
bloc in 1961), and conducted negotiations for increased trade with the
People's Republic of China as well as with several Western nations.
By the end of 1963 it was apparent that Soviet plans for revising
COMECON could not be implemented and, with Romania retaining its
membership, it remained an organization of national economies
cooperating with one another along both bilateral and multilateral
lines. The Soviets, however, retained leadership of the organization and
continued to be a major benefactor from its operation.
The surfacing of the policy conflict with Moscow and the subsequent
activities of the Romanians in defiance of general Soviet interests and
leadership were followed in April 1964 by a formal statement published
by the party Central Committee that proclaimed Romania's inalienable
right to national autonomy and full equality in the communist world.
This so-called declaration of independence made it abundantly clear that
the national and independent character of Romanian policy had been
extended to all fields and would be applied in both domestic and foreign
relations.
The policy of greater national autonomy and political independence from
the Soviet Union was continued by Nicolae Ceausescu, who succeeded
Gheorghiu-Dej as party chief after the latter's sudden death in March
1965. A militant nationalist in the Gheorghiu-Dej pattern, Ceausescu
acted quickly after assuming power not only to maintain the political
momentum generated by the new national line but also to more closely
identify the communist leadership and policies with this expression of
traditional national aspiration (see ch. 9).
In April the name of the Romanian Workers' Party was changed to the
Romanian Communist Party, and new organizational measures were adopted
that were intended to broaden the party's popular base. This action was
followed by the adoption of a new constitution, which changed the name
of the country to the Socialist Republic of Romania, a step that
elevated the country to an advanced status in the communist system by
self-proclamation.
In 1967 Ceausescu's position was further strengthened when he assumed
the presidency of the Council of State to become the head of the country
in title as well as in fact. Since that time Romania has maintained a
firm, orthodox communist control pattern in its domestic affairs but has
continued to pursue an independent foreign policy, which has diverged
remarkably, from time to time, from those of the Soviet Union and its
Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact) allies.
Differences have included opposition to the full integration of the
Warsaw Pact military alliance, refusal to joint the Soviet bloc in
condemning Israel after the 1967 Six-Day Arab-Israeli War, and
unilateral establishment of diplomatic relations with the Federal
Republic of Germany (West Germany). Perhaps the strongest position
vis-à-vis the Soviet Union was taken in 1968, when Ceausescu denounced
the so-called Brezhnev Doctrine of limited sovereignty among socialist
nations, which was used by the Soviets to justify the invasion of
Czechoslovakia (see ch. 10).
CHAPTER 3
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT AND POPULATION
Romania, located in southeastern Europe and usually referred to as one
of the Balkan states, shares land borders with Bulgaria, Yugoslavia,
Hungary, and the Soviet Union and has a shoreline on the Black Sea (see
fig. 1). The interior of the country is a broad plateau almost
surrounded by mountains, which, in turn, are surrounded, except in the
north, by plains. The mountains are not unduly rugged, and their gentle
slopes plus the rolling interior plateau and the arc of lowlands on the
country's periphery provide an unusually large percentage of arable
land.
Romanian historians have remarked that their country's history might
have been different had its mountains been located on its borders rather
than in the interior. Romania's mountains provided a refuge for
indigenous populations but did not constitute barriers against invaders
who sought to dominate the area or use it as a crossroad for deeper
invasions of the Balkan region (see ch. 2).
The prevailing weather is eastern European continental, with hot, clear
summers and cold winters. Rainfall is adequate in all sections, and in
normal seasons the greater share falls during the summer months when it
is of most benefit to vegetation and crops. Soils on the average are
fertile. Forests occupy about 27 percent of the land surface.
All of the major streams drain eventually into the Danube River and to
the Black Sea. The entire length of the Danube in or bordering the
country is navigable. There are few canals, and the Prut River is the
only other waterway that is navigable for any considerable distance.
Several of the rivers originating in the Carpathians have a good
potential for hydroelectric power but, because oil and natural gas are
abundant, their development has not had high priority.
In 1971 railroads carried by far the greatest volume of long-distance
freight and passenger traffic, but highway transport was supplanting
them in short-haul traffic of both types. Commercial aviation had
multiplied its capacities since 1950 but still carried only a minute
percentage of total traffic. Pipelines were the principal carriers of
liquid petroleum and natural gas. The merchant marine had developed
relatively rapidly after 1960 and, although still small, consisted
almost entirely of modern ships and equipment.
The population, estimated at more than 20.6 million in 1971, was growing
at the second highest rate in Europe. The country's officials, however,
did not expect the 1971 rate to be maintained throughout the remainder
of the century.
The standard of living was among the lowest in Europe. Living conditions
improved markedly after 1950, but emphasis on heavy capital investment
held down production of consumer goods. The land has been more than
self-sufficient in the agricultural sector, but food products have been
exported in quantities that have made some of them scarce locally.
NATURAL FEATURES AND RESOURCES
Topographical and Regional Description
All of the mountains and uplands of the country are part of the
Carpathian system. The Carpathian Mountains originate in Czechoslovakia,
enter Romania in the north from the Soviet Union, and proceed to curl
around the country in a semicircle (see fig. 3). The ranges in the east
are referred to as the Moldavian Carpathians; the slightly higher
southern ranges are called the Transylvanian Alps; and the more
scattered but generally lower ranges in the west are known as the Bihor
Massif. A few peaks in the Moldavian Carpathians rise to nearly 7,500
feet, and several in the Transylvanian Alps reach 8,000 feet, but only a
few points in the Bihor Massif approach 6,000 feet.
Lowland areas are generally on the periphery of the country--east,
south, and west of the mountains. A plateau, higher than the other
lowlands but having elevations averaging only about 1,200 feet, occupies
an area enclosed by the Carpathian ranges.
Moldavia, in the northeast, constitutes about one-fourth of the
country's area. It contains the easternmost ranges of the Carpathians
and, between the Siretul and Prut rivers, an area of lower hills and
plains. The Moldavian Carpathians have maximum elevations of about 7,500
feet and are the most extensively forested part of the country. The
western portion of the mountains contains a range of volcanic
origin--the longest of its type in Europe--that is famous for its some
2,000 mineral water springs. Small sections of the hilly country to the
northeast also have forests, but most of the lower lands are rolling
country, which becomes increasingly flatter in the south. Almost all of
the nonforested portions are cultivated.
[Illustration: _Figure 3. Topography of Romania._]
Walachia, in the south, contains the southern part of the Transylvanian
Alps--called the Southern Carpathians by Romanian geographers--and the
lowlands that extend between them and the Danube River. West to east it
extends from the Iron Gate to Dobruja, which is east of the Danube in
the area where the river flows northward for about 100 miles before it
again turns to the east for its final passage to the sea. Walachia is
divided by the Olt River into Oltenia (Lesser Walachia) in the west and
Muntenia (Greater Walachia), of which Bucharest is the approximate
center, in the east. Nearly all of the Walachian lowlands, except for
the marshes along the Danube River, and the seriously eroded foothills
of the mountains are cultivated. Grain, sugar beets, and potatoes are
grown in all parts of the flatland; the area around Bucharest produces
much of the country's garden vegetables; and southern exposures along
the mountains are ideally suited for orchards and vineyards.
The Transylvanian Alps have the highest peaks and the steepest slopes in
the country; the highest point, with an elevation of about 8,340 feet
above sea level, is 100 miles northwest of Bucharest. Among the alpine
features of the range are glacial lakes, upland meadows and pastures,
and bare rock along the higher ridges. Portions of the mountains are
predominantly limestone with characteristic phenomena, such as caves,
waterfalls, and underground streams.
Transylvania, the northwestern one-third of the country, includes the
historic Transylvanian province and the portions of Maramures, Crisana,
and Banat that became part of Romania after World War I. The last three
borderland areas are occasionally identified individually.
Nearly all of the lowlands in the west and northwest and the plateau in
the central part of the province are cultivated. The western mountain
regions are not as rugged as those to the south and east, and average
elevations run considerably lower. Many of the intermediate slopes are
put to use as pasture or meadowland but, because the climate is colder,
there are fewer orchards and vineyards in Transylvania than on the
southern sides of the ranges in Walachia. Forests usually have more of
the broadleaf deciduous tree varieties than is typical of the higher
mountains, but much of the original forest cover has been removed from
the gentler Transylvanian slopes.
Dobruja provides Romania's access to the Black Sea. The Danube River
forms the region's western border, and its northern side is determined
by the northernmost of the three main channels in the Danube delta. The
line in the south at which the region has been divided between Romania
and Bulgaria is artificial and has been changed several times.
For nearly 500 years preceding 1878, Dobruja was under Turkish rule.
When the Turks were forced to relinquish their control, the largest
elements of its population were Romanian and Bulgarian, and it was
divided between the two countries. Romania received the larger, but more
sparsely populated, northern portion. Between the two world wars Romania
held the entire area, but in 1940 Bulgaria regained the southern
portion. The 1940 boundaries were reconfirmed after World War II, and
since then the Romanian portion has had an area of approximately 6,000
square miles; Bulgaria's has been approximately one-half as large.
Dobruja contains most of the Danube River delta marshland, much of which
is not easily exploited for agricultural purposes, although some of the
reeds and natural vegetation have limited commercial value. The delta is
a natural wildlife preserve, particularly for waterfowl and is large
enough so that many species can be protected.
Fishing contributes to the local economy, and 90 percent of the
country's catch is taken from the lower Danube and its delta, from
Dobruja's lakes, or off the coast. Willows flourish in parts of the
delta, and there are a few deciduous forests in the north-central
section. To the west and south, the elevations are higher. The land
drains satisfactorily and, although the rainfall average is the lowest
in the country, it is adequate for dependable grain crops and vineyards.
Along the southern one-half of the coastline there are pleasant beaches.
In summer the dry sunny weather and low humidity make them attractive
tourist resorts.
Bukovina, more isolated than other parts of the country, has a
part-Romanian and part-Ukrainian population. Romanian Bukovina is small,
totaling only about 3,400 square miles. It was part of Moldavia from the
fourteenth century until annexed by Austria in 1775. Romania acquired it
from Austria-Hungary in 1918, but after World War II the Soviet Union
annexed the 2,100-square-mile northern portion with its largely
Ukrainian population.
The approximately 1,300 square miles of the former province remaining in
Romania is picturesque and mountainous. Less than one-third is arable,
but domestic animals are kept on hillside pastures and meadows. Steeper
slopes are forested.
Drainage
All of Romania's rivers and streams drain to the Black Sea. Except for
the minor streams that rise on the eastern slopes of the hills near the
sea and flow directly into it, all join the Danube River. Those flowing
southward and southeastward from the Transylvanian Alps drain to the
Danube directly. Those flowing northward and eastward from Moldavia and
Bukovina reach the Danube by way of the Prut River. Most of the
Transylvanian streams draining to the north and west flow to the Tisza
River, which joins the Danube in Yugoslavia, north of Belgrade.
Romanian tourist literature states that the country has 2,500 lakes, but
most are small, and lakes occupy only about 1 percent of the surface
area. The largest lakes are along the Danube River and the Black Sea
coast. Some of those along the coast are open to the sea and contain
salt sea water. These and a few of the fresh water lakes are
commercially important for their fish. The many smaller ones scattered
throughout the mountains are usually glacial in origin and add much to
the beauty of the resort areas.
The Danube drains a basin of 315,000 square miles that extends eastward
from the Black Forest in the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany)
and includes a portion of the southwestern Soviet Union. It is about
1,775 miles long, including the 900 miles in or adjacent to Romania, and
is fed by more than 300 tributaries, from which it collects an average
of about 285,000 cubic feet per minute to discharge into the Black Sea.
Much of the Danube delta and a band of up to twenty miles wide along
most of the length of the river from the delta to the so-called Iron
Gate--where it has cut a deep gorge through the mountains along the
Yugoslav border--is marshland.
For descriptive purposes the river is customarily divided into three
sections; most of the portion in Romania--from the Iron Gate to the
Black Sea--is its lower course. The northern bank of this course, on the
Romanian side, is low, flat marshland and, as it approaches its delta,
it divides into a number of channels. It also forms several lakes, some
of them quite large. At its delta it divides into three major and
several minor branches. The delta has an area of about 1,000 square
miles and grows steadily as the river deposits some 2 billion cubic feet
of sediment into the sea annually.
Climate
The climate is continental and is characterized by hot summers and cold
winters. Typical weather and precipitation result from the high pressure
systems that predominate over European Soviet Union and north-central
Asia. Southern Europe's Mediterranean weather and western European
maritime systems occasionally extend into the area but not frequently,
and they prevail only for short periods. Winters are long, and the
months from November through March tend to be cold and cloudy, with
frequent fog and snow. Although summers may be hot, they are sunny, and
the humidity is usually at comfortable levels.
Precipitation ranges from fifteen to fifty inches; the countrywide
average is about twenty-eight inches. Dobruja, along the lower Danube
River and adjacent to the Black Sea coast, averages the least, followed
by the lowlands of Moldavia and southernmost Walachia, which usually
receive less than twenty inches. The remaining lowlands of the country
and the Transylvanian plateau average between about twenty and
thirty-two inches. Bucharest receives about twenty-three inches. In all
of the agricultural regions the heaviest precipitation, most of it from
thunderstorms and showers, occurs during the summer growing season when
it is of maximum benefit to crops and vegetation.
Scattered areas in the Transylvanian Alps and in the other mountains of
the northern and western parts of the country receive more than fifty
inches annually. Foothills on all exposures also get more than the
country average. Western exposures benefit from the generally eastward
movement of weather systems; southern and eastern slopes benefit from
the clockwise circulation around the high-pressure systems that are
characteristic of the continental climate.
January is the coldest month; July, the warmest. Bucharest, located
inland on the southern lowland, is one of the warmest points in summer
and has one of the widest variations between average temperatures of the
extreme hot and cold months. Its average January temperature is about
27° F, and in July it is 73° F. Summer averages are about the same at
other places in the eastern lowlands and along the Black Sea, but the
moderating effect of winds off the sea makes for slightly warmer winters
in those areas. Hilly and mountainous sections of the country are cooler
but have less variation between winter and summer extremes.
Nowhere in the country is the climate the deciding factor on the
distribution of population. There are no points where summer
temperatures are oppressively high or winter temperatures are
intolerably low. Rainfall is adequate in all regions and, in the lower
Danube River area where it might be considered the most nearly marginal,
marshes and poorly drained terrain are more of a problem than is lack of
rainfall.
Soils
The most fertile soils of the country occur generally on the plains of
Moldavia and parts of Walachia. This is the black earth known as
chernozem, which is rich in humus. Most of the black earth and some of
the brown forest soils also have a high loess content, which tends to
make them light, fine, and workable. These rich varieties also occur on
the lowlands of the west and northwest and on the Transylvanian plateau.
Lighter brown soils are more prevalent in rolling lands and in foothills
throughout the country.
Soils become progressively poorer at higher elevations and as the slopes
become steeper. Layered soils, which take over as elevations increase,
vary widely and tend to become thinner and poorer at higher elevations
until bare rock is exposed. In some lower areas, where there are areas
of brown forest soils, erosion is a serious problem. Although the sandy
and alluvial soils along the Danube River are of excellent quality and
are valuable where drainage is good, those in a fairly wide belt along
the river are too moist for cultivation of most crops.
Vegetation
Before the land was cleared, lowland Romania was a wooded steppe area,
but the natural vegetation has largely been removed and replaced by
cultivated crops. Forests still predominate on the highlands. Of the
country's total area, about 63 percent is agricultural land; 27 percent
is forest; and 10 percent is bare mountain or water surface or is used
in some way that makes it unsuitable for forest or cultivation. Of the
agricultural land, 65 percent is under cultivation, 30 percent is
pasture and meadow, and 5 percent is orchard and vineyard (see ch. 15).
Forests remain on most of the slopes that are too steep for easy
cultivation. Most of the larger forests are in Transylvania and western
Moldavia in a roughly doughnut-shaped area that surrounds the
Transylvanian plateau. Broadleaf deciduous and mixed forests occur at
lower elevations; forests at higher levels are coniferous with
needle-leaf evergreens. There are alpine sheep pastures at 5,000- and
6,000-foot elevations, and tundra vegetation occurs at some of the
highest locations.
Orchards are found in all sections of the country. Peaches can be grown
in Walachia, but only those fruits that can tolerate colder winters are
raised in Moldavia and Transylvania. Vineyards, especially on the
Walachian mountain slopes, have become more important since World War
II, and wine, although it is not of a quality that receives
international acclaim, is exported.
Natural Resources
The most important natural resources are the expanses of rich arable
land, the rivers, and the forests. The land is agriculturally
self-sufficient and, when fertilizers become more readily available,
crop yields will be appreciably larger. The rivers have a high potential
for the generation of hydroelectric power. Most of them rise in the
mountains and fall to the plains quite rapidly and could be profitably
harnessed. Rainfall distribution is good throughout the year and would
provide more than an ordinarily dependable source of waterpower. The
potential was only beginning to be tapped in 1971 (see ch. 15).
Large fields of oil and natural gas are the most important sub-surface
assets. Both are of the best quality in Europe, with the possible
exception of those near Baku in the Soviet Union. Liquid petroleum is
pumped from large fields in the Ploiesti area and also from an area in
central Moldavia. Natural gas is available under a large part of the
Transylvanian plateau.
A few minerals, such as lead, zinc, sulfur, and salt, are available in
quantities needed domestically, but iron and coal are not plentiful.
Deposits of lignite, gold, and several other minerals occur in
concentrations having sufficient value to be mined.
BOUNDARIES AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS
Boundaries
When it gained full independence in 1878, Romania contained the historic
provinces of Moldavia and Walachia, some of Bessarabia, and a portion of
Dobruja. Substantial numbers of Romanians remained outside the original
state's boundaries in Transylvania and in the Russian portion of
Bessarabia. The first boundaries remained little changed until after
World War I, although the strip of Dobruja was enlarged somewhat in
1913, after the Second Balkan War (see ch. 2).
In the 1918 settlement after World War I about 38,500 square miles were
ceded to Romania from the dismantled Austro-Hungarian Empire. In
addition to historic Transylvania, with its area of about 21,300 square
miles, a strip along its western side, with a substantially Magyar
population, and Bukovina, part of which is now the most north-central
section of the country, were included. Also in the aftermath of World
War I and the Russian revolution, Romania acquired Bessarabia from the
new Bolshevik regime and enlarged its holdings in Dobruja at Bulgaria's
expense.
During the brief period of accord between the Soviet Union and Nazi
Germany immediately before World War II, portions of Romania were sliced
away and divided among Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union. The
post-World War II settlement, arrived at in 1947, again transferred
Transylvania from Hungary to Romania, and Dobruja--with a somewhat
modified southern border--was transferred from Bulgaria. The Soviet
Union retained all of Bessarabia and the northern portion of Bukovina.
In 1971 none of Romania's borders were disputed, and all of them were
satisfactorily demarcated.
The total circumference of the country is about 1,975 miles. The
northern and eastern border with the Soviet Union extends for about 830
miles; the southern border with Bulgaria, for 375 miles; the
southwestern border with Yugoslavia, for 345 miles; and the
northwestern border with Hungary, for 275 miles. The Black Sea coast is
about 150 miles long. The eastern boundary generally follows the Prut
River, and most of the southern boundary is formed by the Danube; in the
west and north the border follows no distinctive terrain features, often
having been drawn according to ethnic, rather than geographic,
considerations.
Political Subdivisions
Until 1968 the communist regime had divided the country into seventeen
regions--including one consisting of the Bucharest metropolitan area
only--and 152 districts. In an extensive reorganization of local
governments at that time, the regions were done away with and replaced
by the prewar system of counties (_judete_). In 1971 there were
thirty-nine counties, plus Bucharest and its suburban areas, which were
still administered separately. Bucharest was one of forty-six
municipalities, but it was the only one not subordinate to the district
in which it was located. Each county is named for the town that is its
administrative center. The newer organization has served to increase
public participation in local government but has also increased the
authority of the central government.
Bucharest, with a population of nearly 1.5 million in 1969, was about
six times larger than Brasov, the next largest city. The Bucharest
district was smallest in area and greatest in population. Other
districts had roughly similar areas and populations. They averaged about
2,350 square miles in area and, although their populations varied
between fewer than 200,000 and about 750,000, two-thirds of them had
between 350,000 and 650,000 persons.
The 1968 reorganization also made extensive changes in the lower portion
of the local administrative structure, reducing the number of communes
by about 40 percent and villages by nearly 15 percent. Typical counties
had about fifty communes of about 4,000 to 5,000 persons each. The
smaller local units were created, dissolved, or combined as population
and local requirements changed but, as of January 1970, there were 236
towns, 2,706 communes, and 13,149 villages. Of the towns, the
forty-seven most important were classified as municipalities, and the
communes included 145 that were suburban areas of the larger towns (see
ch. 8).
POPULATION
The area approximating that defined by the 1971 boundaries of the
country had a population estimated at about 8.2 million in 1860. Thirty
years later it had increased to about 10 million. Growth began to
accelerate slightly after 1890, with periods of greatest increases
between 1930 and 1941 and between 1948 and 1956, until it reached an
estimated 20.6 million in 1971.
The 1971 estimate was derived from the 1966 census and projected from
vital statistics compiled locally through 1970. On this basis the
estimated annual rate of growth was 1.3 percent, exceeded in Europe only
by that of Albania. Density of the population was 224 persons per square
mile. Projected at the 1971 growth rate, the population in 1985 would be
23.3 million, and it would take fifty-four years for the population of
the country to double.
The 1971 growth rate, however, may not be maintained. Legislation
enacted in 1966 stringently restricted abortions and discouraged birth
control practices, resulting in an increased birth rate for the next few
years, but by 1971 there were indications that the rate was again
declining. Unofficially, it is expected that the population will reach
only 25.75 million by the year 2000, or about 27 percent more than in
1970. The projection is based on a growth rate of less than that of the
1970-71 period. It is expected to average about 1.1 percent for the
1971-75 five-year period and to decrease thereafter, resulting in an
average of between 0.7 and 0.8 percent over the entire period. Moreover,
the increase is expected to be far greater in the over-sixty age group
and to provide only about 14 percent more workers in the productive age
brackets between fifteen and fifty-nine.
In 1970 the birth rate, at 23.3 births per 1,000 of the population, was
also exceeded only by Albania's in all of Europe. The rate of infant
mortality, at 54.9 deaths during the first year of life for each 1,000
live births, was slightly lower than those of Yugoslavia and Portugal
and was exceeded significantly only by that of Albania. The death rate,
at 10.1 per 1,000 was very close to the overall European rate of ten per
1,000.
According to the 1971 official estimate there were 10.1 million males
and 10.4 million females, or 102.8 females for every 100 males in the
population. Males outnumber females slightly in the childhood years and
are the majority sex in each five-year segment of the population to
about the age of thirty. Females outnumber males in the thirty to
thirty-four age group, after which there is near numerical equality
between ages thirty-five and forty-four. Females attain a clear majority
beyond age forty-five. Female life expectancy, at 70.5 years, is
approximately four years greater than that of males.
The population group with ages from fifty to fifty-four had both a low
overall figure and an abnormally low percentage of males (see table 1).
The low total reflected a low birth rate during World War I years; the
abnormal sex distribution reflected World War II combat losses. The low
total in the twenty-five to twenty-nine group resulted from the low
birth rate during World War II, and the low figure for the five-to-nine
age group reflected the fewer number of parents in the group twenty
years its senior and their disinclination to have children because of
low incomes and inadequate housing.
The size of the five-to-nine age group was of concern to the country's
economists because it will provide a smaller than desirable augmentation
to the labor force at the end of the 1970 decade and for the early
1980s. The seemingly much larger group that was under five years of age
in 1971, on the other hand, would appear on the surface to more than
compensate for the smaller one preceding it. The country's economists,
however, did not believe that an alleviation of the chronic shortage of
people in the most productive working ages would occur during the
twentieth century.
Aside from natural growth and additions and subtractions of territories
and their occupants, the country's population has been comparatively
stable. It has been affected to a lesser degree than others in eastern
Europe by migrations during and after World War II, probably losing
between 300,000 and 400,000 persons in various resettlement and
population exchange movements. The largest emigration involved Jews to
Israel. Israeli data show an average of about 30,000 immigrants from
Romania during the three immediate postwar years, and Jewish people
accounted for a major share of all emigration between then and the late
1960s.
_Table 1. Romania, Population Structure, by Age and Sex, 1971 Estimate_
(in thousands)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of
Percentage Females
Age Group Total of Total Male Female for Each
Population 100 Males
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Under 5 2,255 11.0 1,149 1,106 96.4
5-9 1,392 6.7 713 679 95.3
10-14 1,743 8.5 892 851 95.3
15-19 1,787 8.7 911 876 95.6
20-24 1,588 7.7 806 782 97.2
25-29 1,316 6.5 666 650 97.6
30-34 1,533 7.4 757 776 102.4
35-39 1,542 7.5 773 769 99.2
40-44 1,502 7.3 752 750 99.6
45-49 1,303 6.3 623 680 109.2
50-54 806 3.9 363 443 121.7
55-59 1,020 5.0 468 552 117.8
60-64 950 4.6 452 498 110.0
65-69 737 3.6 351 386 109.6
70-74 540 2.6 235 305 129.8
75 and over 551 2.7 227 324 142.1
----- ---- ---- ---- -----
Total
population 20,565 100.0 10,138 10,427 102.8
------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Adapted from Godfrey Baldwin (ed.), _International Population
Reports_ (U.S. Department of Commerce, Series P-91, No. 18), Washington,
1969, pp. 32-33.
Within the country the greatest shift of people has been from rural to
urban areas. The rural population grew by about 0.5 million, from 11.9
million to 12.4 million, between 1945 and 1971. During the same period
urban population increased by about 3.5 million, from 4.7 million to
about 8.24 million, and has become about 40 percent of the total.
Officials anticipate that the rural population will stabilize and that
most future increases will be to the towns and cities.
Of the 60 percent of the people who still live in small villages and
settlements, most depend upon agriculture for their livelihood. Isolated
farms and dwellings prevail in the more remote hills and mountains, and
life in those areas has been little affected by industrialization of the
country or by the collectivization of agricultural land, which has been
accomplished in most of the better farming areas.
Older villages most typically have individual family houses, with farm
buildings adjacent and with considerable separation between houses. In
areas that have been collectivized there has been some effort to remove
buildings from productive land and to nucleate the villages.
Population is most dense in the central portion of Walachia, centering
on, and west of, Bucharest and Ploiesti and along the Siretul River in
Moldavia. Southwestern Walachia and central and northwestern
Transylvania are also more densely settled than the average for the
country. The area around Dobruja, lands of high elevation, and
marshlands along the lower Danube River are the most sparsely settled
areas.
LIVING CONDITIONS
According to semiofficial Romanian sources, the national income
increased by six times during the twenty-year period between 1950 and
1970, and real wages, by 2.7 times. Between 1966 and 1970 improved
economic conditions and a broader based industry had created about
800,000 new jobs, most of them in the industrial sector.
Increases in national income have been accompanied by increased outlays
for social and cultural programs. The 1970 allocations for such programs
were ten times greater than in 1950 and amounted to 27.5 percent of the
total national budget.
Housing, production of consumer items, and changes in food consumption
had also improved. Between 1966 and 1970 about 345,000 state-funded
apartments and about 315,000 privately built dwellings became available.
New facilities for production of automobiles, furniture, wearing
apparel, television sets, and other domestic electrical appliances
increased output in these areas by about seven times that of 1950. Foods
with high nutritive value were consumed in larger quantities.
Consumption of milk, garden vegetables, fruit, eggs, and fish nearly
doubled between 1966 and 1970. More meat and cheese were also eaten, but
the increase in their consumption was less spectacular.
Efforts on behalf of public health were reflected in increasing the life
expectancy from forty-two years in 1932 to a figure that was more than
60 percent greater in 1970. Additional and better equipped hospitals and
other medical facilities contributed to this, as did more emphasis on
public sanitation and increased numbers of doctors and medical
assistants. In 1970 there was a ratio of one physician for every 700
inhabitants, which was near the overall European average.
Despite an impressive record of achievements in the production of
industrial goods, the standard of living--with the exception of
Albania's and Portugal's--was probably the lowest in Europe in 1971.
During the preceding twenty years production of consumer goods was held
down, while heavy capital investment was encouraged. This was deliberate
economic practice calculated to be of maximum benefit to the country in
time but not intended to produce the greatest immediate results.
The rent for an ordinary three-room apartment in 1971 was about
one-third of the average worker's monthly wages; the cost of a new
automobile was about forty times his monthly income. Housing area was
small, the countrywide average being about eighty-two square feet of
living space per person. Although about 140,000 urban apartment units
became available in 1969 and similar numbers were programmed for
succeeding years, the housing situation was worse in cities than in
small towns and rural areas.
Commentary on the lot of the consumer varies widely, frequently to the
point of direct contradiction. Visitors that have had a less than
totally favorable impression of the country report that food items--even
the common staples, such as eggs, cheese, and sausage--are not always
available and that, when they are, purchasers wait in long lines.
Because food items are often available only in small shops individually
specializing in milk, cheese and sausage, or vegetables and eggs, for
example, the mere task of buying food is a time-consuming undertaking.
Persons disenchanted with the situation also complain that, although
poor harvests in 1968 and 1969 and floods in 1970 contributed further to
food shortages, much was still exported during those years. In 1971 the
government reiterated its plans to devote primary attention to the
development of its heavy industrial base. Plans at that time, they
alleged, would discourage increased production of consumer goods through
1975 at the least.
TRANSPORTATION
Railroads
Romania's early rail lines were developed largely in relation to
external points rather than to serve local needs. Until World War I the
one major trunk line ran south and east of the Carpathians from western
Walachia to northern Moldavia. Feeder lines and branches connected to
it, but there was little early construction in the marshy areas near the
Danube River, and only one bridge, at Cernavoda, crossed it.
Transylvania, not yet part of the country, was linked to the old
provinces by only one line across the Carpathians. Total route mileage
was about 2,200 miles.
Hungary had developed lines connecting Budapest with Transylvania and
branch lines within that province. When the area was annexed in 1918,
Romania inherited the existing railroads and set about linking them more
advantageously with the rest of the country. Most of the modern system
was completed by 1938, but route mileage was increased by about another
10 percent after World War II. Late construction included another bridge
over the Danube River, this time at Giurgiu, south of Bucharest (see
fig. 4).
The system probably attained its maximum mileage in 1967, when it
totaled almost 6,900 route-miles, all but about 400 of them standard
gauge. About ten miles of line were retired during 1968 and 1969, and
other little-used feeder lines will probably be abandoned as it becomes
more practical to carry small loads over short distances by truck.
Railroads transported nearly ten times as much freight in 1969, measured
in ton-miles, as did the highways. Their average load was carried a
greater distance, however, and motor transport actually handled a larger
volume of cargo (see table 2). During 1969 the railroads also carried
over 300 million passengers, for an average trip distance of thirty-two
miles.
The Romanian State Railroads, directed by the Ministry of
Transportation, operates all but a few minor lines and, in 1969, had
about 147,000 employees. As steam locomotives are retired, they are
being replaced by diesels. Only a little more than 100 route-miles have
been electrified. Officials expect that roads and motor vehicles will
take increasing percentages of short-haul cargo and short-trip
passenger traffic. Airlines may cut somewhat into the long-distance
passenger traffic, but the railroads are expected to remain important
for both their freight and passenger services.
[Illustration: _Figure 4. Romanian Transportation System._]
_Table 2. Use of Transportation Facilities in Romania, 1950, 1960, and
1969_
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Freight Ton-Miles
(in million tons) (in millions)
Cargo Traffic -------------------------------------------------
1950 1960 1969 1950 1960 1969
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Railroads 35.1 77.5 155.4 4,740 12,380 27,500
Motor transport 1.0 56.7 215.6 26 583 2,830
Inland waterways 1.1 1.9 3.1 418 540 728
Sea 0.2 0.2 5.0 382 663 24,400
Air 0.003 0.003 0.02 1 1 21
Pipeline 1.0 5.6 9.2 118 637 790
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Passengers Passenger-Miles
(in millions) (in millions)
Passenger Traffic --------------------------------------------------
1950 1960 1969 1950 1960 1969
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Railroads 116.6 214.8 305.9 5,080 6,710 10,450
Motor transport 11.3 71.8 306.9 242 887 4,220
Inland waterways 0.6 1.2 1.4 10 25 43
Sea 0.05 0.08 0.02 59 17 14
Air 0.04 0.2 0.8 9 54 550
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Roads
Of the 47,800 miles of road, in 1969 about 6,000 miles--or 14
percent--were considered modernized. A little more than one-third had
gravel or crushed stone to harden them, and almost exactly one-half had
unimproved dirt surfaces.
About 7,600 miles were nationally maintained and included the greater
portion--5,200 miles--of those in the modernized, improved category.
Only about 1,400 miles of the local roads were modernized, and less than
one-half of them had hardened surfaces. According to government planning
reports, the road network is considered adequate in size, and all that
can be allocated to it will be applied to its modernization. Motor
transport was nearly negligible until after World War II, but between
1950 and 1969 it assumed importance that rivaled the railroads in both
cargo and passenger traffic.
Waterways
Nearly 1,500 miles of the rivers are considered navigable. All of the
Danube--over 900 miles--that is within or along the southern border of
the country is navigable and, in fact, connects the Black Sea and
Romania with all points upstream--through Yugoslavia, Hungary,
Czechoslovakia, and Austria to Ulm in West Germany. The Prut, flowing
along much of the eastern border with the Soviet Union, accounts for
most of the remaining navigable mileage. Other streams are useful in
some degree for timber rafting and for floating agricultural products
downstream. Rapid currents in hilly sections, silting and meandering
streambeds in the lowlands, and fog and ice in winter months, however,
limit the commercial usefulness of the rivers. Ice stops traffic on the
Danube River for an average of more than one month per year and on the
other streams from two to three months.
The country's topography does not lend itself to the development of an
extensive system of canals. There are short canals in the western
lowlands. Two of them connect to the Tisza River in Yugoslavia but, as
with this pair, further development of the waterways in this portion of
the country would be economically advantageous only when they connected
to points in Hungary or Yugoslavia. Most of the northern and central
regions are hilly or mountainous.
Cargo shipped on rivers and canals in 1969 was less than 1 percent of
that carried by the other transport systems, but most of it was
transported for relatively long distances along the Danube River.
Passengers carried constituted an even more minute percentage of the
total and, because the largest numbers of them rode river ferries, the
relative passenger mileage percentage was even lower.
Airlines
Commercial aviation is altogether state owned and is operated by an
office in the Department of Automotive, Maritime, and Air Transportation
that, with the Department of Railroads, is part of the Ministry of
Transportation. Romanian Air Transport--always referred to in common and
in most official usage as TAROM, derived from Transporturi Aeriene
Romane--serves a dozen or more cities in the country and contacts about
twenty national capitals outside the country. These include Moscow, all
of the capitals of the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact) member
nations, and about a dozen capitals in Western Europe and the Middle
East. Service to nearly all of the external points consists of no more
than one round trip flight weekly to each. Domestic service has expanded
steadily since 1950 but varies throughout the year to provide more
frequent trips during the holiday and tourist seasons.
The line carries some cargo but an insignificant amount when compared
with other modes of transportation. It has, however, begun to carry a
more significant number of passengers. This traffic increased from less
than 40,000 in 1950 to about 780,000 in 1969. Each year since 1965 it
has carried approximately 100,000 more passengers than in the year
preceding.
Pipelines
Most liquid petroleum products and natural gas are moved via pipeline.
The largest network of liquid lines serves the large oilfield in the
Ploiesti area and the smaller one in west-central Walachia. They connect
the fields with refineries and transport the refined products to Danube
River ports and to Constanta on the Black Sea coast. Lines also transfer
crude oil from the Moldavian oilfield to its refineries, but there were
no lines in 1970 to transport finished products from those refineries.
Natural gas is piped to all parts of Transylvania from sources in the
center of the province, but the Carpathians are an obstacle to its
distribution to other parts of the country. One major line crosses the
Transylvanian Alps to serve the Bucharest area, and another crosses the
Moldavian Carpathians through Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej. It serves areas to
the southeast as far as Galati, on the Danube River.
Merchant Marine
The country has a small, but growing, merchant marine. Although most of
its ships are new, the more than 100 percent increase--to nearly 0.5
million deadweight tons--claimed to have been achieved between 1967 and
1969 was accounted for by less than a dozen ships, consisting of two
tankers and some bulk cargo carriers that were built in Japan. The
government releases no official statistics on its merchant fleet, but
fragmentary information indicates that before 1967 it consisted of about
thirty-five ships. One of them was a 2,000-deadweight-ton
passenger-cargo vessel, and there were a few tankers totaling something
over 100,000 deadweight tons. The remainder were freighters, averaging
about 5,000 deadweight tons each.
Statistics on goods transported by sea substantiate the size and growth
of the merchant marine fleet. Until about 1960 it had relatively little
importance, but by 1966 cargo carried was almost ten times that of 1960,
and by 1969 it had again tripled. The impressive growth statistics
notwithstanding, sea transport in 1969 accounted for only about 1.5
percent of the total cargo transported.
Constanta is the major port on the Black Sea, but some smaller seagoing
vessels go up the Danube River to Galati and Braila. All of the larger
river towns, and all of those on rail lines that cross it or terminate
at the river, are considered river ports. Mangalia, on the Black Sea
coast south of Constanta and about five miles from the Bulgarian border,
is a secondary seaport but has the country's largest naval installation
(see ch. 13).
CHAPTER 4
SOCIAL SYSTEM AND VALUES
Since the end of World War II Romanian society and its values have been
in a state of flux. The aim of communist social and economic policies
has been to destroy the old order and replace it with a new one that
will reflect communist ideology. The resulting changes have been
fundamental and far reaching, particularly in the structure of the
society and the place occupied in it by particular individuals. The
effect on values has been less easy to determine.
The extent and the pace of change have been slowing down since the early
1960s, and some aspects of the old social order were beginning to
reemerge, although in different forms. The changes that were continuing
to affect the society in the 1970s were more the result of economic
growth than of conscious efforts to bring them about. This was
particularly true of the changing role of the family, which has come
about as a consequence of increased industrialization and urbanization
as much as by government design.
Least affected by the social upheaval since 1945 have been the ethnic
composition of the country and the relations between the various ethnic
groups. Although the population has always been predominantly Romanian,
Hungarians and Germans constitute a majority in some areas of the
country and remain a source of potential political and social problems.
The Hungarian minority in particular, making up more than 8 percent of
the population in 1966, has always been very sensitive to what it
considers Romanian domination and has at times harbored irredentist
feelings.
ETHNIC COMPOSITION
The population of Romania is basically homogeneous, although it includes
elements of almost every ethnic group in Central and Eastern Europe. At
the time of the 1966 census, Romanians constituted 88 percent of the
population. The largest single minority group were the Magyars, or
Hungarians, constituting 8.4 percent of the population. They were
followed by the Germans with 2 percent of the population. All other
ethnic groups--Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Ukrainians, Russians, Czechs,
Slovaks, Turks, Tatars, Bulgarians, Jews and Gypsies--were simply
listed as "other" and together made up only 1.6 percent of the
population.
The Constitution of 1965 guarantees equal rights to all citizens
regardless of nationality or race and stipulates legal sanctions against
both discrimination and instigation of national or racial animosities.
National minorities are guaranteed the free use of their mother tongue
in education, the communications media, and their dealings with
government authorities and unrestricted perpetuation of their cultural
traditions.
Romanians
The origins of the Romanians and their language have been the subject of
differing interpretations and controversy. Romanians are related to the
Vlachs, a pastoral people speaking a Latin-derived language who are
found in the mountainous regions of northern Greece and southern
Yugoslavia.
According to Romanian tradition, Romanians are the direct descendants of
the Dacians, who inhabited the territory of modern Romania before the
Christian Era. The Dacians were conquered by Roman legions under Emperor
Trajan in A.D. 106 and became romanized during 165 years of Roman
control. When Emperor Aurelian abandoned control of Dacia in 271, in the
face of Gothic invasions, the romanized Dacians sought refuge in the
rugged Carpathian Mountains, where they preserved their Latin language
and culture until more settled conditions allowed them to return to the
plains in the tenth century (see ch. 2).
The period of Roman rule of Dacia is well documented, but the absence of
any firm indication of the presence of a Latin-speaking population in
the territory of contemporary Romania until the tenth century has given
rise to another theory of the origin of Romanians, developed mostly by
Hungarian historians. This theory maintains that the Dacians withdrew
with the Roman legions south of the Danube. There they absorbed elements
of Thracian and Slavic culture, in addition to that of their Roman
rulers. Starting in the tenth century, a people speaking a Romance
language moved northward across the Danube as far as Slovakia and
settled in the area that later became Romania.
The Romanian theory of their origin stresses that a people speaking a
Romance language continuously occupied the territory claimed by the
Romanian state, thus rendering legitimacy to the claim. The other theory
stresses the absence of a Romance-language-speaking people in
Transylvania at the time of the Magyar immigrations into that region,
thus giving legitimacy to the Hungarian claim to Transylvania.
Whatever their origin, Romanians have occupied the territory of their
present state since the Middle Ages. In 1966 they numbered 16.8 million
and formed the majority population in most of the country (see fig. 5).
Romanian, a Romance language, differs sharply from the languages of
neighboring countries which, with the exception of Hungarian, are all
Slavic tongues. The basis for Romanian seems to be the Vulgar Latin of
ancient Rome. Long contact with Slavic-speaking peoples has left its
mark on the vocabulary but has not affected grammar or syntax, which
remain similar to those of other Romance languages. The vocabulary of
literary Romanian is more purely of Latin origin than that of the spoken
dialects. Frequently, parallel words of Latin and Slavic derivation
exist for an object or concept and are used interchangeably. Turkish,
Albanian, Hungarian, and German have also influenced the vocabulary of
the spoken language in various parts of the country.
[Illustration: Source: Adapted from Ian M. Matley, Romania: A
Profile, New York, 1970, p. 276.
_Figure 5. Romania, Distribution of Ethnic Groups, 1966._]
Hungarians
In the 1966 census Hungarians numbered 1.6 million, constituting 8.4
percent of the total population. Since 1947, when Romania acquired its
present borders, the number of Hungarians within its borders has
remained relatively stable, although their percentage in the total
population has been declining.
Hungarians form the majority population in parts of Transylvania and in
pockets along the Hungarian border. They form a significant minority of
the population in the rest of Transylvania and in the Banat region. In
1952 the area of greatest Hungarian concentration in eastern
Transylvania was designated the Hungarian Autonomous Region
(Mures-Magyar) and was given considerable degree of self-government to
deal with complaints of political and cultural oppression by Romanians.
The region was eliminated in the administrative reorganization of 1968
(see ch. 9).
In 1971 it was estimated that slightly more than half of Romania's
Hungarian minority still lived in rural areas. Several Transylvanian
cities--including Cluj, Oradea, Baia-Mare, and Tirgu Mures--also have a
high percentage of Hungarian inhabitants.
Hungarians first moved into the territory occupied by modern Romania in
the ninth century as part of the Magyar invasion of the central European
plain. Their number grew through colonization during the period of
Hungarian rule of Transylvania, which began with the conquest of the
area in the eleventh century and ended in 1918. One group of
colonists--the Szeklers, or Szekelys--were settled in the eastern
borderlands of Transylvania in the first part of the twelfth century to
protect the plains from invaders. The ethnic origin of the Szeklers is
in dispute. Some authorities claim they are Magyars; others claim they
are non-Magyars who absorbed Magyar culture over long years of contact.
During the Middle Ages, Szeklers were distinct from Magyars in political
and social organization. Although the distinction between them and the
Hungarians has disappeared in modern times and Romanian official
statistics do not differentiate, Szekler culture is still considered
more purely Magyar than that of other Hungarians who have absorbed
influences from the West.
With the exception of some Szekler characteristics, the culture and
language of the Hungarian minority in Romania are indistinguishable from
those of their kinsmen in Hungary. They are, however, quite
distinguishable from the Romanians. This distinction is accentuated by
religious differences. Romanians are predominantly Orthodox, whereas
more than half of the Hungarians in the country are Roman Catholic, most
of the remainder are Calvinists, and some are Unitarians.
The culture and language of the Hungarian minority are being preserved
and promoted through schools, newspapers, periodicals, books, theater,
and other cultural activities. Members of the Hungarian minority,
however, frequently complain that the number of schools, books, and
other cultural material available to them in their own language is far
short of the demand and not nearly proportionate to their numbers.
Germans
Approximately 380,000 Germans lived in Romania in 1966. The size of the
German minority was greatly reduced through voluntary repatriation since
the 1930s, when it numbered over 600,000. It has continued to decrease
since 1966 through emigration to the Federal Republic of Germany (West
Germany) supported by the West German government and permitted in
varying volume by the Romanian authorities.
The German population is divided into two groups--the Saxons and the
Swabians. Although more or less equal in size, the groups differ in
origin and, partly, in culture. The origin of the group usually
identified as Saxons is not quite clear, but it was settled by the
Hungarian rulers in the Transylvanian borderlands in the twelfth century
for the same purpose as the Szeklers. The Saxons live mainly in the
cities, such as Sibiu, Brasov, and Sighisoara, which they themselves
founded and which have distinctly German characteristics. Some live in
rural areas surrounding these cities.
Forming the majority population in a small area, the Saxons have lived
in relative isolation until modern times. Their dialect and culture have
retained medieval characteristics long abandoned by Germans elsewhere.
All Saxons have been Lutheran since that denomination was introduced
into Transylvania in the sixteenth century.
The Swabians are Roman Catholics and live in the Banat region. As with
the Saxons, their designation as Swabians does not truly reflect their
origin. They were settled in the Banat during the eighteenth century to
work the land recently vacated by the Turks. Before their arrival there,
the language and culture of the Swabians had undergone various
modifications to which the Saxons had not been exposed. Most Swabians
are peasants farming the rich plain around Timisoara.
Like the Hungarians, the German minority in Romania has resisted
assimilation and maintains its cultural identity through German-language
schools, books and newspapers, radio and television programs, and
theatrical performances and through the perpetuation of their
characteristic dress, dances, and folk art.
Jews
In those censuses in which they are identified (but not including that
of 1966), Jews are listed as an ethnic group or nationality rather than
as members of a religious denomination. In the 1956 census they
represented the third largest minority in the country with a membership
of 146,000. In early 1972 Western observers roughly estimated the number
of Jews still residing in Romania at slightly under 100,000.
The influx of Jews into Romania took place during the first half of the
nineteenth century when large numbers left the unsettled conditions of
Poland and Russia to seek new opportunities in prospering Moldavia and,
later, Walachia. A small number of Jews from various parts of
Austria-Hungary settled in Transylvania at the same time and earlier. By
1900 Jews constituted more than one-half of the urban population of
Romania, most of them engaged in commerce, banking, or industry. Not
allowed to assimilate by various restrictions on their movement and
activities, the Jews remained apart from the rest of the population.
This apartness and their role in the economy engendered distrust and
resentment, which periodically erupted into persecution by some elements
of the population (see ch. 2).
The loss of Bessarabia to the Soviet Union and the deportations and
exterminations during World War II by the Nazis reduced the Jewish
population in Romania to its 1956 size. It has been further reduced
since then through emigration to Israel.
Despite their historic separateness from the rest of the society, most
Jews in the mid-twentieth century tend to think of themselves as
Romanians of the Jewish faith rather than an ethnic minority. All speak
Romanian, and only one-fourth claimed Yiddish as their mother tongue in
the 1950s. They continue to be urban oriented, and one-fourth of them
lived in Bucharest in 1956.
Other Minorities
Eight other ethnic groups were counted in the 1956 census. The largest
was Ukrainian, numbering 60,000. Ukrainians formed the majority
population in the southern part of the Danube delta and in pockets
along the Soviet border. Some 45,000 Yugoslavs, mostly Serbs, lived in
the southern Banat around the Iron Gate. Other Slav minorities included
39,000 Russians in northern Dobruja, near the Bessarabian border; 12,000
Bulgarians, mostly in southern Dobruja; and between 18,000 and 35,000
Czechs and Slovaks in the Banat.
Other ethnic groups of significance were 20,000 Tatars and 12,000 to
14,000 Turks in Dobruja, remnants of the period of Turkish rule.
Gypsies, variously estimated between 50,000 to 100,000, are not
recognized officially as an ethnic minority and not counted separately
in censuses. This, combined with their still largely nomadic life, makes
any reasonably accurate enumeration difficult.
Interethnic Relations
Relations between Romanians and Hungarians, the two largest ethnic
groups, have been less than smooth. During the eight centuries of
Hungarian rule of Transylvania, Romanians, who constituted the poorest
rural elements of the population, occupied a subservient position to the
wealthier, more urbanized, and better educated Hungarians and Germans.
With the joining of Transylvania to Romania in 1918, the Hungarian and
German populations of the region lost much of their favored position
and, through land reform and nationalization since World War II, they
lost their source of wealth. These factors have engendered ill feeling
between the groups and have made Transylvania a continuing source of
potential problems (see ch. 2; ch. 10). Other factors dividing Romanians
and Hungarians have been religious and cultural differences.
Sensitive to the respective nationalist feelings of the Romanians and
Hungarians and to the historical dissensions between them, government
policy since 1947 has been one of promoting unity and cooperation among
all groups for the good of the country as a whole. The theme of equality
of all members of different ethnic groups and their close cooperation
permeates all official documents, reports, and statements. The Romanian
Communist Party, which before World War II had a high percentage from
ethnic minorities, represents itself as the historic protector of
minority populations and their rights. In the late 1960s the party
claimed that over 11 percent of its membership were non-Romanians, in
line with the proportional strength of minorities in the population.
During the first decade of communist rule, the government and the people
were so preoccupied with efforts to restructure society and foster
communist internationalism that ethnic chauvinism and problems of
interethnic relations receded into the background. The 1960s, however,
saw the development of Romanian independence vis-à-vis Soviet domination
and a resurgence of Romanian nationalism, which again raised the
potential for minority problems. As the government and party stressed
Romanian national independence and gave new emphasis to the historic and
cultural heritage of the Romanians, they also emphasized the unity,
equality, and fraternal cooperation between Romanians and minority
groups. National unity became a vital factor in August 1968, and
people's councils were established in the Hungarian, German, and other
minority communities to act as spokesmen for the ethnic minorities in
the Socialist Unity Front (see ch. 9).
The German minority, while anxious to preserve its cultural identity and
rights, seems to have good relations with the Romanians and with other
ethnic groups. Although their historic experience and their religion
give them a cultural affinity with the Hungarians, they have remained
aloof from the Hungarian-Romanian issue in Transylvania. As a whole,
Germans have remained to themselves in their own communities and have
made little effort to integrate into the national society. This has
engendered some resentment on the part of Romanians but no real
hostility.
Historically, the relations between Jews and other Romanians have been
fraught with suspicion and resentment, which found expression in
occasional outbursts of anti-Semitism (see ch. 2). Although the same
emotions undoubtedly still color the attitudes and reactions of some of
the people, they have been less evident since World War II, possibly
because those Jews who survived and remained in the country have
integrated themselves into society and identify with the Romanian
majority.
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Family
Traditionally, the family had been the basic social unit that gave
identity and security to the individual and furthered the values of
society. Family cohesion was great, and close relations were maintained
with parents, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, and first cousins.
Increased mobility and changing life-styles have somewhat loosened this
cohesion, particularly among urban families. A growing number of women
work outside the home; many men combine work and study, or they work at
more than one job in order to improve the family standard of living; and
children spend most of their time in school or youth organization
activities. Thus, members of the family spend less time together, and
the emphasis in daily life is to some degree shifting from the family to
the outside world.
In official writing the family is hailed as the cornerstone of socialist
society; and family cohesion, loyalty, and responsibility, as socialist
virtues. Exemplary family life, particularly exemplary motherhood, is
honored with citations and prizes. At the same time, however, all the
factors that tend to undermine traditional family life, such as the
employment of a greater number of women, are encouraged and promoted.
Since World War II families have tended to be small, having one or two
children. Among the German and Hungarian minorities, families have
always tended to be small, but Romanian families in the past were
larger, particularly in rural areas where children were an important
source of labor. The government became so alarmed by the dropping birth
rate that it passed strict new laws in the 1966-67 period to limit
divorce, abortions, and the sale of contraceptives. The following years
showed a sharp upsurge in the birth rate and a dramatic drop in the
divorce rate, but in 1970 the birth rate again began to decline.
The main reasons for the drop in the birth rate and reduction in family
size have been low wages and a shortage of housing. Many wives must work
to help support the family, but published interviews with working wives
indicate that they want few, if any, children because they lack the time
and energy to care for them as they would like. In addition, the
continuing housing shortage in urban areas forces families to live in
crowded and inadequate quarters, which mitigates against having
children.
In the eyes of the state, marriage is a secular matter. Religious
ceremonies are permitted but must be preceded by a civil marriage. The
minimum age for marriage without parental consent is eighteen for men
and sixteen for women. People generally marry young--43 percent of the
men married in 1968 were aged twenty to twenty-four, and another 30
percent were twenty-five to twenty-nine; 46 percent of the women married
that year were aged fifteen to nineteen, and another 32 percent were
twenty to twenty-four. The urban marriage rate was dropping considerably
in the late 1960s, probably owing to the housing shortage, but the rural
marriage rate remained fairly stable during the decade.
The law assigns equal rights and obligations to both marriage partners.
In case of divorce the father is obliged to provide financial support
for his children. After the passage of a stringent new divorce law in
1967, the divorce rate dropped from 1.94 per 1,000 population in 1965 to
0.35 per 1,000 population in 1969, making it the lowest rate in Eastern
Europe.
In most families the husband and wife are partners whose relationship is
based on cooperation and mutual respect. The husband is the titular head
of the family who represents it to the outside world, but within the
family he customarily consults with his wife on almost all matters.
Patriarchal families where the father is the undisputed head are
encountered among some peasants. Ideally, the husband provides for the
family and protects it from the outside world, and the wife concerns
herself with keeping house and raising children.
The diminution of the family's significance in rearing children has,
however, fundamentally affected the role of the family in the second
half of the twentieth century. As a result of the growing number of
working women the roles of the husband and wife are no longer as clearly
differentiated. Almost two-thirds of women aged over fifteen in 1966
were employed. Approximately three-fourths of these were married women
who had assumed some of the husband's role of provider for the family.
At the same time they had relinquished some of their former functions in
the household and with respect to children, some of which have been
taken over by husbands or by outside institutions.
Social Stratification
Patterns of social stratification have undergone a complete change since
World War II. First, land reform immediately after the war eliminated
the agricultural aristocracy and increased the number of small peasants
who owned their own land. Then nationalization of industry and commerce
in the late 1940s eliminated the urban propertied class. Finally,
collectivization of agriculture eliminated most of the newly enlarged
small peasant class. By the early 1950s the old system had been
destroyed, and a new one was in the process of formation.
The period of so-called socialist reconstruction of the 1950s resulted
in a general leveling of social strata through the demotion of formerly
privileged groups and the promotion of formerly underprivileged groups.
Persons of peasant or worker origin received preferential treatment in
the allocation of housing and other necessities of life that were in
short supply, in the appointment to jobs, and in access to higher
education. At the same time persons of middle or upper class background
were deprived of their housing, removed from key jobs, and denied
educational opportunities for their children through a discriminatory
quota system at secondary and higher schools. A policy of equalizing
incomes made little distinction between differing levels of education or
skill, thus eliminating material rewards as a basis for social
stratification. At the same time, however, a small group of party
stalwarts, most of them of lower or middle class background, rose
rapidly into the top positions of administrative and political power and
became the new ruling elite.
As viewed by its own ideologists and sociologists, Romania in 1971 was
in the socialist stage of development heading toward a classless
communist society. This meant that there were distinctions in income,
standard of living, and prestige among different groups in the society;
the distinctions, however, were based on occupation rather than
ownership of property. Members of all groups were employees; the only
employer was society as a whole through its organ, the state. The main
basis for the distinction of classes was the difference between manual
labor and intellectual work. This difference was gradually being
eliminated through the continuous upgrading of the prestige of manual
labor.
Most Romanian writing on social strata or differentiation based on
occupation separates society into three classes: workers,
intelligentsia, and peasants. By most definitions, workers are all those
engaged in productive occupations, including both the unskilled laborer
and the highly skilled technician. Intelligentsia are all those engaged
in nonproductive occupations, such as office work or service jobs,
including both the unqualified clerk and the enterprise manager or
university professor. Sometimes, however, the intelligentsia is defined
as all those with a secondary or higher education without regard to
their occupations. Members of agricultural cooperatives are classified
as peasants, whereas employees of state farms are considered workers.
The small number of peasants still working private agricultural holdings
are considered to be a disappearing remnant of the past and, therefore,
are not included in any segment of the socialist society.
In 1969 workers were reported as constituting 40 percent of the
population; intelligentsia, 12.3 percent; and peasants, 47.7 percent.
Comparable statistics for 1960 divided the population into 28.6 percent
worker, 9.5 percent intellectual, and 61.9 percent peasant. Thus, the
peasant class was growing smaller while the worker and intellectual
classes were expanding. A continuation of this trend was forecast for
the 1970s.
Cutting across this division was one based on skill and education. Thus
the unskilled worker, the unskilled peasant, and the unqualified clerk
were all members of the same stratum but of different classes. It was
not clear whether or not a division into strata would continue after
class distinctions were eliminated.
This view of the social structure seems to be more a statement of
ideology than an analysis of the actual structure. On the basis of
material rewards, social prestige, and political power, the highest
stratum is the ruling communist elite, followed in turn by the
intelligentsia--professional, managerial, and administrative personnel
with a higher education--skilled manual workers, lower level
white-collar personnel, and unskilled workers and peasants.
The ruling elite is composed of the top communist leadership in the
party, government, mass organizations, and various branches of the
economy. The main criterion for membership in that elite is power
derived from approved ideological orientation and political activism.
Most members of the ruling elite in 1971 were of lower class background
and were veterans of the communist movement in the interwar period. The
life-style and privileges enjoyed by the ruling elite do not differ much
from those of the intelligentsia, the next level in the social scale,
but the elite holds a monopoly of power.
The intelligentsia consists of those professionals, managers,
technicians, and middle-level party functionaries whose skill and talent
are needed to run the society. Education and competence are usual
criteria for membership in the group as is ideological orthodoxy. In
1970 the intelligentsia numbered somewhat over 1 million persons,
approximately 22 percent of the working population. The size of the
group has been growing rapidly in line with the manpower demands of the
expanding economy. Most members were relatively young, had advanced
educations, and were loyal to communist principles. Their social origins
represented the entire spectrum of precommunist society, but a high
percentage were of peasant or worker background reflecting the
educational advantages afforded to the former lower classes.
The life-style and aspirations of the intelligentsia are those of an
industrial middle class. Because of their key position in the economy,
they command incomes and special benefits that afford them a standard of
living considerably higher than that of the lower levels of the social
scale. Among the benefits that individual members of the intelligentsia
may enjoy are high-quality housing; the use of official cars; access to
special facilities, such as clubs, restaurants, shops, and vacation
resorts; and travel opportunities at home and abroad. The growing
identification of the intelligentsia with the Romanian Communist Party
has also enhanced its privileged status as a group. On an individual
basis, party membership provides access to a network of informal
contacts within the power and control structure, which can open many
doors and win many favors.
Skilled manual workers constitute the top level of the lower social
strata. A considerable gap exists in the income, prestige, and
commensurate standard of living between the skilled worker and the
intelligentsia. The gap can be breached only by acquiring higher
education. The skilled worker, however, enjoys considerable material
advantages over the lowest levels of society by virtue of his important
position in the economy. His prestige, although higher than that of
unskilled workers, differs little from that of the lower level
white-collar personnel because of the low esteem in which manual work
continues to be held.
The level of gradation in material rewards of peasants, unskilled
workers, and lower level white-collar personnel is very slight. The
difference among these groups is mainly one of prestige and opportunity
for advancement. The first step up the social ladder is to leave
agriculture and join the industrial labor force. Then, through education
and training, one can advance to the various levels of skill and their
respective income levels and benefits. Despite their lack of skill,
lower level white-collar personnel hold a higher position on the social
scale than other unskilled persons, principally because of the prestige
attached to nonmanual work.
The main avenue for upward mobility is education. Political
considerations, however, influence both accessibility to education and
accessibility to jobs that confer higher social status. Admission to
educational facilities beyond the required minimum is strictly
controlled and manipulated to achieve desired political, social, and
economic goals (see ch. 6). The emphasis on educational credentials for
upper level jobs limits the possibility of upward mobility through skill
or competence alone. On-the-job training, however, does provide a means
for mobility within the industrial labor force.
Partly as a result of conscious government effort and partly as a
natural consequence of rapid economic expansion, upward mobility has
been considerable since the end of World War II. In the early years of
communist rule, this upward mobility was accompanied by a significant
downward mobility of members of the former middle and upper classes who
lost their property and their jobs and were forced to take up
occupations at the lower end of the social scale. By the end of the
1960s the social structure seemed to be stabilizing. The restructuring
desired by the communist rulers had been accomplished, and the
intelligentsia had grown to the point where it could satisfy from its
own ranks most of the demand for professional and managerial personnel.
This reduction of openings in the upper strata of society for recruits
from the lower levels was beginning to solidify the social structure
into self-perpetuating groups whose status and privileges, or their
lack, are passed down from one generation to the next. The avenues of
education and skill, however, remained open and, together with political
loyalty, provided the means for social advancement.
SOCIAL VALUES
The differing life-styles of the rural and urban populations are
reflected in somewhat differing values. Rural values are rooted in the
land and in deep religious faith. Individualism, self-reliance, strength
of character, and love of land and God are admired attributes of the
rural population. For the mountain shepherd and the small farmer,
self-reliance and resourcefulness are essential for survival. These
qualities are praised in song and legend and are widely held responsible
for the survival of the Romanian people and their culture during
centuries of foreign domination. Loyalty is also a highly admired
peasant quality--loyalty to the land, to the family, to God, to country,
and even to one's animals.
The strong religious convictions that pervade the life of most peasants
in the form of carefully observed rules of conduct and rituals are
viewed by some sophisticated urbanites and peasant youths as
superstition and as a sign of backwardness (see ch. 5).
The values of urban Romanians are more complex than those of peasants.
They have been influenced by ideas and values from abroad, particularly
by those emanating from France. Educated Romanians have long felt a
kinship with the French emotionally and intellectually and have looked
to French culture as a model to emulate. As a result, Bucharest was
often referred to as the "Paris of the Balkans."
Among the values shared by both urban and rural Romanians are
self-reliance, resourcefulness, and patriotism or loyalty to country.
Having been ruled by Turks and Hungarians for centuries and being almost
surrounded by Slavic peoples, the Romanians are very proud of their
Latin heritage and their connection with ancient Rome. It is the shared
Latin heritage that probably makes Romanians look to France as their
cultural contact in the West.
The emphasis on self-reliance, resourcefulness, and making the best of a
situation has given Romanians the reputation of being shrewd businessmen
and hard bargainers.
The extent to which communist efforts to change the traditional values
of the people have been successful is difficult to determine. Such
values as independence, resourcefulness, and patriotism continue to be
reflected in the international relations of the country, particularly in
its relations with the Soviet Union.
CHAPTER 5
RELIGION
Romanians have traditionally been a very devout people. The vast
majority belong to the Romanian Orthodox Church, and regular church
attendance and participation in church functions have been a normal part
of daily life. In rural areas the clergy are heavily depended upon as
counselors and confidants. As in most peasant societies, the religious
beliefs and practices fostered and approved by the churches are often
intermingled with folklore. Belief in the evil eye, werewolves, and
vampires is common among peasants, although younger ones are less likely
to take such beliefs seriously.
Aware of the deep-seated religious beliefs of the people, the communist
government has done little to restrict their free expression, and
officially religion is viewed as a private and personal matter.
Religious persecution has been limited to clergymen who have openly
opposed the government and its policies. Government efforts, however,
have been aimed at controlling the churches and using their influence
with the people to further official policies and programs. At the same
time, public information media and schools have been attempting to
undermine the hold of religion on younger people by equating religious
faith with superstition and backwardness and stressing scientific and
empirical knowledge as the basis for a modern world view. Many religious
values are attacked as lacking a basis in true knowledge and reality.
Those values that the government wants to preserve and promote are given
a scientific-intellectual justification and are stripped of any
religious meaning.
In line with its view of religion as a private and personal matter, the
government has not published any statistical or other information
pertaining to the various religious communities since 1950. Research on
the role of religion in the daily life of the people has been
discouraged; therefore, up-to-date information is restricted to
observations by foreign visitors to the country. According to reports
from such observers, more than twenty years of communist effort to
undermine religion as a force in the life of people has been
unsuccessful. Some of the clergy have lost their former influence by
openly working on behalf of the government, and some young people
question the relevance of some beliefs and practices. The fundamental
faith of the people, however, has been little changed. Even longstanding
members of the party have been publicly criticized for subscribing to
religious views and practices.
CHURCH-STATE RELATIONS
The Constitution of 1965 guarantees freedom of conscience and freedom of
religion to all citizens. It also specifically guarantees the right not
to profess any religion. The organization and activities of any church
are regulated by state law, and religious organizations are prohibited
from operating any educational institutions other than those for the
training of clergy and members of religious orders.
Within these broad guarantees and prohibitions, the state exercises
strict control over the organization and activities of religious
denominations through its Department of Cults, which functions in
accordance with the General Regulations for Religious Cults passed by
the Grand National Assembly in 1948. Under these regulations the state
must approve the statute of organization and administration and the
statement of beliefs of any church before it can be recognized as a
legal body. Clerical appointments are subject to state approval, and all
clergy must take an oath of allegiance to the Socialist Republic of
Romania.
All legally recognized churches receive state subsidies for salaries of
clergy and other operating expenses; churches are not allowed to receive
any income or financial assistance directly. Budgets are subject to
approval by the Department of Cults, which may withhold funds for
individual parishes or for salaries of individual clergymen if their
activities are found to be in violation of the policies or laws of the
state. The Department of Cults may also suspend any policy decision,
regulation, or other measure passed by the governing body of a church if
it is deemed contrary to the provisions of law either directly or
indirectly.
State supervision and control of administrative and financial affairs of
religious denominations had existed in Romania before the communists
took power. The terms of the General Regulations for Religious Cults
followed in many ways the Law on Cults of 1928; however, several
differences in the degree of control point out the fundamental
difference in church-state relations in these two periods. Before 1948,
for instance, the churches could receive income from property and
donations in addition to the state subsidy. More important, however, the
earlier law gave the state no right to interfere in matters of belief
except in the case of minor sects whose specific beliefs were subject to
approval. The 1948 law makes the state the ultimate authority on matters
of faith as well as administration. Thus the intent of the earlier law
appeared to be the regulation of the activities of essentially
independent bodies, but the intent of the present law is to give
complete authority and control to the state.
In practice, state control of religious bodies has been carried out
through its control over finances and through its confirmation of
clerical appointments. No changes have been made in the traditional
methods of selecting and appointing clergy and laymen for the various
positions in the church. By using its power to confirm these selections,
however, the state has managed to fill all the important positions and
decisionmaking bodies with persons willing to cooperate and carry out
state policy. The state has refused to grant recognition to the Roman
Catholic Church because of the church's belief in the supremacy of the
pope in all matters of faith and morals and in church administration;
however, the church does function with the tacit agreement of the
regime.
THE ROMANIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
The Romanian Orthodox Church is the most important church in the country
and the one into which the vast majority of Romanians are born. It is an
independent Eastern Orthodox church headed by a patriarch in Bucharest.
Its membership in the 1950s, after the incorporation of the Uniate
church, was estimated at more than 15 million.
Romanians were introduced to Christianity during the period of Roman
rule of Dacia. By the tenth century they were known to be following the
Slavonic liturgy of the Eastern Christian Church. Old Church Slavonic
remained the liturgical language until the late sixteenth century, when
it began to be replaced by Romanian.
During the period of Turkish rule in Walachia and Moldavia and of
Hungarian rule in Transylvania, the Romanian Orthodox Church helped to
maintain the national consciousness of the Romanian people and was
active in their struggle to achieve national unity and independence (see
ch. 2). The Turkish policy of religious tolerance enabled the church to
thrive in Walachia and Moldavia; in Transylvania, however, a
post-Reformation settlement between the Hungarian rulers and the various
churches did not recognize the Romanian Orthodox Church as a legal
denomination.
In order to gain legal status and its accompanying freedoms and
benefits, a major portion of Romanian Orthodox clergy and laymen in
Transylvania agreed, in 1698, to accept the jurisdiction of the pope
while retaining Orthodox liturgy and ritual. The resulting Uniate church
was an important religious and political force in Transylvania until
the communist government forced it to reunite with the Romanian Orthodox
Church in 1948. As the church of the Romanian people in Transylvania,
the Uniate church played a major role in their emancipation and eventual
integration into a greater Romania.
With over 1.6 million adherents in 1948, the Uniate church in Romania
was the second largest and second most influential church in the
country. Fearing and resenting the influence of the Roman Catholic pope
with such a large number of its people, the communist regime decreed
that the Uniates be merged with the Romanian Orthodox Church and disavow
allegiance to the pope. Some Uniate clergy and laymen resisted and were
persecuted and imprisoned. The pattern for the dissolution of the Uniate
church was the same everywhere in Eastern Europe, and from 1946 to 1950
the Uniate congregations were absorbed into the various national
Orthodox churches.
Until the Romanian state was enlarged in 1918, the Orthodox faith was,
with minor exceptions, the exclusive religion of the country. The
Romanian Orthodox Church was legally accepted as the national church and
was supported by the state. Its hierarchy generally supported the
policies of the government both as individuals and as officials of the
church. The close relationship between church and state was of
particular significance in rural areas, where the church was often
called on to carry out local government functions. As the only literate
person in the area, the parish priest was often not only the spiritual
mentor of the population but also the teacher, judge, and government
official. The power of the church in relation to the population,
therefore, was based on both spiritual and governmental authority. In
the eyes of the devout peasant, the local priest was an important
authority on a variety of matters as well as a confidant and adviser.
The role of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the life of the country
changed considerably after World War I with the addition of substantial
populations of other faiths. Efforts to secure a favored position in its
legal relationship to the state and to other denominations were defeated
when pressure from the Roman Catholic and Uniate churches forced the
government to guarantee religious freedom and the complete equality of
all churches. At the same time, the Orthodox church's former role in the
administration of governmental affairs at the local level was being lost
to a growing secular civil service and educational system. The position
of the church in the life of the average communicant, however, continued
to be one of considerable power and influence. As the largest Orthodox
church outside of the Soviet Union, the Romanian Orthodox Church also
exercised a degree of leadership among other Orthodox churches.
The revised statutes of the Romanian Orthodox Church issued in 1949
differ little from those in effect before that date. Authority was
somewhat more centralized, and the prerogatives of the patriarch were
more clearly defined, but the structure of the church remained
essentially the same. The patriarchate is divided into five
metropolitanates, which in turn are divided into twelve dioceses. Each
diocese is composed of parishes encompassing 1,500 to 2,500 communicants
each. The clerical head at each level is assisted in his religious and
administrative duties by a council composed of one-third clergymen and
two-thirds laymen. The administration of monasteries falls under the
jurisdiction of the head of the diocese. Since a 1952 reorganization of
institutions for religious training, the Romanian Orthodox Church has
had two theological institutes for the training of clergy and six
schools for chanters and for monastic priests.
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
The Roman Catholic Church is second in size of membership to the
Romanian Orthodox Church and, since the absorption of the Uniates by the
Orthodox church, the most important minority religion. Its estimated
membership of between 1.2 million and 1.5 million in the 1960s was
composed mostly of Hungarians and German Swabians (see ch. 4).
As the principal denomination of the Hungarian minority, the Roman
Catholic Church has played a cultural and political role in the life of
the country as well as a religious one. The well-organized body of the
church and its related institutions have been a natural vehicle for the
promotion of Hungarian group interests and the preservation of Hungarian
cultural traditions. Catholic schools, which were independent of
government control until 1948, most often used Hungarian or German as
the language of instruction.
The Concordat of 1927 between the Holy See and the Romanian state
defined the legal position of the Roman Catholic Church in Romania until
the communist takeover. It gave the church full equality with the
dominant Romanian Orthodox Church and other denominations and granted it
sole control over its educational institutions, hospitals, and
charitable organizations. In contrast to all other denominations, the
Roman Catholic Church was free from state administrative control and did
not receive any financial support from the state. The concordat was
abrogated by the Romanian government in 1948, and since that time the
position of the Roman Catholic Church has been unclear.
The Catholic bishops have refused to recognize the supremacy of the
state over church affairs as expressed in the General Regulations for
Religious Cults of 1948, and consequently the state has not granted the
church legal recognition as a religious denomination. Between 1948 and
1967 the government tried to force the church into submission by
systematically weakening its position. Uncooperative clergy were either
imprisoned or otherwise prevented from exercising their clerical and
administrative duties; all church schools, hospitals, and charitable
institutions were taken over by the government, and all other church
assets were confiscated. All but two monasteries and three convents were
disbanded, and even these were not permitted to accept new novices. In
addition, the organization of the church was reduced from six to two
dioceses, Alba-Iulia and Bucharest. Since the church has not been
receiving a state subsidy and has been forbidden to seek contributions,
most clergy have been supporting themselves by working at lay jobs.
Church buildings have been deteriorating because of lack of maintenance,
and many travelers have commented on the marked difference in appearance
between the decaying Catholic churches and the well-maintained Orthodox
churches.
As part of a general political liberalization in 1967 the arch-bishop of
Alba-Iulia, head of the Roman Catholic Church in Romania, and other
clergy were released from imprisonment. The action marked the reopening
of contacts between the Roman Catholic Church and the Romanian
government in an effort to reach a satisfactory agreement that would
normalize the position of the church in the country. Additional
government effort to reach an accommodation with the church has been
demonstrated by the appropriation of funds for the restoration of the
historic cathedral of Alba-Iulia. Other denominations had been receiving
regular funds for the maintenance and restoration of religious buildings
of historic or artistic significance, but the Roman Catholic Church had
been denied such funds until 1967. In 1972 contacts between Romania and
the Holy See, which had begun in 1967, were continuing. Several meetings
had taken place between the Romanian Orthodox patriarch, Justinian, and
Cardinal Koenig, who heads the Vatican secretariat for nonbelievers. No
agreement legalizing the position of the Roman Catholic Church in
Romania has been reached, however.
The government promoted the creation of the Catholic Church of Romania,
which was formed in 1951. It is administratively independent of the pope
and recognizes the supremacy of the state over church affairs. Legal
justification for the move was found in a statute passed in Transylvania
in the seventeenth century that placed the conduct of Catholic church
affairs in the hands of clergy and laymen directly subordinate to the
pope in order to preserve the church from engulfment by the
Reformation. In early 1972 the Catholic Church of Romania was headed by
a council composed of both lay and clerical members. It recognized the
pope as supreme authority on matters of faith, morals, and dogma but
rejected any organizational connection with the Holy See.
PROTESTANT CHURCHES
Protestantism is closely identified with the Hungarian and German
minorities of Transylvania. Although the churches themselves have
refrained from any political activity on behalf of the minorities, their
ethnic composition has made them politically significant at times. The
Protestant population, estimated at about 1.2 million in 1950, was
divided into Calvinist, Lutheran, Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist,
Evangelical, and Pentecostal churches.
The largest Protestant denomination is the Reformed (Calvinist) Church,
with a membership estimated at 780,000 in 1950. The membership of this
church is almost entirely Hungarian, and its center is at Cluj, a
Calvinist stronghold since the Reformation. Most of the Hungarian
aristocracy in Transylvania adopted Calvinism during the Reformation, a
period when the Roman Catholic Church was weak in that region. This
weakness of the Roman Catholic Church and the political and economic
independence of the Transylvanian nobles prevented an effective
counterreformation and allowed Protestantism to remain strong in
Transylvania while the rest of Hungary was Roman Catholic.
Next in size are the Lutherans, with an estimated membership of 250,000
in 1950. Lutheranism is represented by the Evangelical Church of the
Augsburg Confession, headed by a bishop at Sibiu, and the Evangelical
Synodal Presbyteral Church of the Augsburg Confession, headed by a
bishop in Cluj. Membership of both churches is predominantly German.
Lutheranism was adopted by the Transylvanian Saxons at the same time
that Calvinism was adopted by the Hungarians. In 1938 there were 400,000
Lutherans in Romania; their number was reduced through the loss of
northern Bukovina and through the emigration of Saxons to Germany during
the 1940s. Continued emigration is further reducing the Lutheran
population.
The Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, and Pentecostal churches were united
by government decree in 1950 into the Federation of Protestant Cults.
The estimates of the membership at the time of the merger vary greatly,
but it probably included between 50,000 and 100,000 Baptists, 15,000 to
70,000 Adventists, and about 5,000 Pentecostals. Before their merger
none of these churches had a central organization in Romania, as their
congregations were directed from abroad.
In the reorganization of theological education in 1948, the Department
of Cults assigned one school for church singers and one theological
institute for the training of clergy to each Protestant denomination.
There was some indication that all denominations had difficulty
recruiting young men for the ministry after World War II. After more
than a decade of complete isolation from their fellows in other
countries, all the Protestant churches resumed an active association
with the World Council of Churches in 1961.
OTHER RELIGIONS AND CHURCHES
Government statistics on the ethnic composition of the population in
1956 listed 146,000 Jews. Jewish sources outside the country estimated
the size of the community in 1968 at between 80,000 and 110,000. Once an
important ethnic and religious minority, the Jewish community has shrunk
as a result of territorial losses, extermination during World War II,
and emigration. Between 1958 and 1969 large numbers of Jews emigrated to
Israel with the encouragement of the chief rabbi and the Romanian
government. Many of the rabbis have emigrated with their congregations,
leaving only nine rabbis to care for some seventy congregations. Most of
the congregations were directed by laymen but received regular visits
from one of the rabbis. The only rabbinical school in the country was
closed in the 1950s. The congregations are supervised by the Federation
of Jewish Communities, which is the legally recognized representative
body of the Jews in Romania and is headed by the chief rabbi.
Islam is the religion of the Tatars and Turks in Dobruja. Moslems were
estimated to number between 30,000 and 35,000 in the mid-1950s. Mosques,
most of them built during the Turkish occupation of the area, are found
throughout the region. The seat of the grand mufti, religious head of
the Moslems in Romania, is at the Central Mosque in Constanta.
Unitarianism was introduced into Transylvania in the mid-sixteenth
century, when a group of former Calvinists founded a Unitarian church in
Cluj. The church has always been closely connected with the Hungarian
minority, from which it draws most of its members. The number of
adherents in the mid-1950s was estimated at 70,000. The seat of the
Unitarian Church is in Cluj, which is also the location of its seminary.
Two other legally recognized churches are the Armenian-Gregorian Church
and the Christians of the Old Rite. The Armenian-Gregorian Church is
headed by a bishop in Bucharest, and the Christians of the Old Rite,
also known as Old Catholics, by a bishop in Bukovina. Each had an
estimated membership of 25,000 in the 1950s.
CHAPTER 6
EDUCATION
The Romanian educational system has been transformed to fit the
communist pattern of total subordination to the needs of the state.
Since 1948 the educational system has developed as a major force for
increasing the general educational level of the population, for
inculcating members of society with socialist ideals in support of the
regime and its policies, and for providing technical specialists and
skilled workers for the nation's labor force. Modifications and
adjustments in the system have taken place periodically, but such
changes have largely reflected a shift in emphasis among these major
objectives rather than any change in basic educational principles.
Considerable progress has been made in the educational field since the
end of World War II. An intensive campaign to eradicate illiteracy was
undertaken and, according to the government, was successfully concluded
by 1958. The number of schools was significantly increased, as were
student enrollments throughout the system, although in 1972 the number
of students continuing their education beyond the primary level was
still proportionately low. The growth of the school structure was
further indicated by the successive extension of the period of
compulsory education from four years in 1948 to ten in 1968. Full
enrollment under the ten-year program, however, was not expected to be
achieved before 1973.
To meet the demands for skilled and semiskilled industrial and
agricultural workers, the educational system was gradually transformed,
heavy emphasis being placed on scientific and technical programs and on
vocational training. The most recent reforms, promulgated in 1968, not
only reinforced education to meet national economic requirements but
also placed renewed stress on the need for increased ideological and
political training of the country's youth as a prime element in the
successful development of the Romanian socialist state.
Despite the progress achieved in producing a disciplined work force,
which benefits the country's economic development, the educational
system continued to show basic limitations and shortcomings.
Overspecialization and excessive student workloads served to limit the
effectiveness and efficiency of secondary and higher schools.
Furthermore, the constant effort to expand the mass base of the system,
although achieving uniform and satisfactory results by communist
standards, lowered the quality of education and sacrificed individual
creativity.
BACKGROUND
The educational history of Romania has followed closely the political
development of the country. The earliest educational institutions were
established in the principalities of Walachia and Moldavia during the
sixteenth century and served as the basis of the first system of public
education, which became operative in 1832. The unification of the
principalities in 1859 led to the adoption of the Educational Act of
1864, which established the principle of free and compulsory education,
"where schools were available," under state supervision. Despite the
legal provisions for an adequate school system, however, administrative
and financial limitations kept the number of schools small and pupil
enrollment low.
Little progress was made in improving the scope and substance of public
education until the latter half of the nineteenth century and the early
part of the twentieth. Beginning in 1893, the country's educational
process underwent extensive reorganization: the structure and functions
of elementary and normal schools were revised, the curricula of
secondary schools and institutions of higher education were revamped,
and the position of vocational training in the system was strengthened.
Although these advances served to improve the quality of education then
available, the number of state-supported schools continued to be low.
Romania's territorial acquisitions after World War I almost tripled its
population and added greatly to the problems of public education.
Educators considered the system deficient in many respects through the
1930s and the mid-1940s, but they succeeded in achieving considerable
uniformity among the school programs at the various educational levels
and, in the main, imparted a basic general education to the majority of
pupils who completed courses through the secondary school level.
Precommunist Education
The educational system that had evolved in precommunist Romania was
operated largely, but not exclusively, by the state and reflected the
traditional European order of the times, in which the socially and
economically privileged classes were the chief recipients of the
benefits of education. Only a limited number of children of the
peasantry received more than the four years of elementary education
required by the state, and both they and the children of the urban lower
classes were discouraged from going on to secondary schools either by
the lack of sufficient institutions or by the inability of their parents
to pay tuition fees beyond the compulsory level. The public,
state-supported system administered by the Ministry of Education
consisted of kindergartens, elementary schools, secondary schools,
vocational schools, and institutions of higher learning. Academic
standards were generally high, and advancement was based primarily on
scholastic merit.
Kindergartens were open to children between the ages of five and seven
in both state and private schools. No specific subjects were taught and,
although theoretically compulsory, attendance was seldom enforced.
Attendance records for the 1929-38 period indicated that only
approximately 13 percent of all eligible children attended public
kindergartens and that fewer than 1.5 percent were enrolled in private
ones.
The seven-year elementary school system, four years of which were
theoretically compulsory, comprised two types of institutions for
children between the ages of seven and fourteen: four-year schools for
pupils preparing for secondary schools and seven-year schools for
students terminating their education at the elementary level. Elementary
education was free except in private schools and, although attendance
was supposedly mandatory, enrollments before 1940 averaged less than 75
percent of all children of elementary school age.
Curricular requirements were demanding at this level, particularly in
the four-year primary schools. All students studied the Romanian
language, literature, history, geography, and natural sciences, in
addition to participating in physical education classes and handicraft
programs. In the seven-year schools the curriculum during the last three
years also included a variety of vocational subjects.
Four types of educational institutions made up the secondary school
system: lyceums, primarily preparatory schools for universities; teacher
training schools; theological schools; and trade schools. Most of these
institutions were public, and each type offered an eight-year course
with varying degrees of specialization. Attendance was generally limited
to children of the landed aristocracy and the urban upper class. All
subjects, even those of a vocational nature, were taught on a
theoretical basis. The general curricula in the lyceums included the
Romanian language, history, literature, the physical sciences,
mathematics, and music. Before being accepted in a university, all
graduates of lyceums were required to have passed the baccalaureate, a
special comprehensive examination given after all graduation
requirements had been met.
The theological schools, also state supported, trained priests in the
different faiths; the teacher training schools trained kindergarten and
elementary school teachers; and the trade schools prepared students for
work in business and commercial concerns. No qualifying examinations
were given to graduates of theological, teacher training, or trade
schools, since none were eligible for admission to higher level schools.
Enrollment throughout the secondary schools was also low; statistics
show that over the 1928-39 period less than 6 percent of the total
number of students enrolled in elementary schools entered a secondary
school after completing four years of compulsory elementary education.
Higher education in precommunist Romania was centered in four
universities; two polytechnical institutes; and a limited number of
academies specializing in architecture, the arts, physical education,
agronomy, and higher commercial and industrial studies. All academic
disciplines could be pursued at one or another of these various
institutions, and three to seven years were required to obtain the basic
university degree. An additional two to four years of study and research
were required for the awarding of an advanced degree. The number of
students attending higher institutions was proportionately small, and
the number receiving the basic degree was even smaller.
Communist Educational Policies
After communist seizure of the government in 1948, the educational
system was reoriented away from basic French educational concepts toward
those based on the communist philosophy as developed in the Soviet
Union. The ultimate objective of the reformed system was to make
education available to as large a segment of the population as possible,
with a view to transforming the citizenry into a cohesive and effective
element for the building of a socialist society along Marxist-Leninist
lines. The new system was specifically designed to be tightly
controlled, uniform in operation and administration, exclusively secular
and public, and fully coordinated with the labor needs of the planned
economy.
The August 1948 decree revamping education spelled out in detail the
specific policies and methods that would be employed in meeting the new
educational goals. Foremost among the basic aims were the eradication of
illiteracy and the broadening of the educational base to include all
children of school age. Other specific goals of the educational process
included: inculcating all youth with the ideological spirit of so-called
popular democracy; guiding the use of leisure time by organizing
outside activities for students; educating, on a "scientific" basis, the
higher and lower cadres of specialists needed for the construction of
all aspects of a socialist society; and training the teachers necessary
for the proper functioning of the educational system.
Although these policies have been adjusted and modified and certain
aspects have received additional emphasis at particular times, they have
been retained as the basic guidelines for Romanian public education. The
implementation of these policies since 1948 has resulted in the
restructuring of the school system, the expansion of educational
facilities, the recasting of the content of curricula and courses, and a
major reorganization of the teaching profession, heavy stress being
placed on teachers as indoctrinators as well as educators.
EDUCATIONAL REFORMS SINCE 1948
Although the educational reform law of August 1948 has been amended many
times, most of the changes that have taken place have not materially
altered the basic pattern of communist education that the law
established but rather have reflected the vicissitudes of Romanian
political life and the country's economic needs. Almost all changes in
the educational process have served to implement the original concept
that the role of public education is primarily to serve as a vital
instrument in the creation of an industrialized society subservient to
the interests of the state.
The initial changes introduced by the Communists immediately after
coming to power in 1948 affected the content more than the form of
education. The public school structure was left virtually unchanged
except for the addition of those religious and private educational
facilities that had been expropriated by the government. An extensive
purge of all categories of teachers was undertaken, and a number of
special schools were set up for the political indoctrination of those
retained in the system. In addition, the student bodies, particularly in
the schools of higher learning, were carefully sifted, and adjustments
were made in the availability of courses and in the size of classes in
order to redirect students into selected fields of study.
As a further means of control the regime organized students into
associations comparable to communist labor unions. The groups included
the Union of Student Associations, the Union of Communist Youth, and the
Pioneers Organization. The activities of these organizations affected
students at all levels and consisted of planned and supervised
extracurricular programs. Among the activities scheduled were special
exhibitions, sports events, meetings, lectures, and competitions based
on ideological themes.
By the late 1950s the reorganization of the educational process along
communist lines was virtually completed, and some expansion of
facilities had taken place. Curricular requirements had been codified;
new textbooks had been written, printed, and introduced throughout the
system; new teaching methods were in general use; and the revised
teacher training program had produced adequate numbers of "reliable"
teachers at all school levels. Additional schools for minority groups
had been built, and overall progress throughout the system was
sufficient to permit the extension of the compulsory system of education
from four to seven years beginning with the 1958/59 school year.
In the early 1960s demands for skilled and semiskilled agricultural and
industrial workers brought further changes in the educational system. A
renewed general emphasis was placed on polytechnical education, and a
period of practical on-the-job training before entering permanent
employment was instituted for all secondary technical school graduates.
The achievement of this new objective required a further extension of
the compulsory education period to eight years and a relative deemphasis
of the amount of class time allocated to the humanities and other purely
academic subjects.
In 1968 a new educational law was enacted that had far-reaching
consequences, but by late 1971 it had not yet been fully implemented.
Changes provided for under this law were intended to improve the general
quality of education at all levels and to relate education more closely
to expanding technological and industrial needs. In addition, the law
instituted new measures that gave stronger impetus to the political
indoctrination of youth in order to counteract student unrest and
dissatisfaction as well as the spread of Western liberalism (see ch. 9).
Specific modifications to be made in the system under the 1968 law
included the extension of compulsory education to ten years, the
establishment of additional specialized secondary schools, the
introduction of more practical classroom work on vocational and
technical subjects, closer coordination and supervision of
extracurricular projects by the Union of Communist Youth, and the
requirement that teachers include a greater number of political and
ideological themes in all social science courses. The importance
attached to the political aspects of the new program by the regime was
indicated by the creation, in July 1971, of the new post of first
deputy minister of education with the specific function of expanding and
supervising all ideological indoctrination throughout the school system.
LITERACY
Before World War II the literacy rate in Romania ranked among the lowest
in Europe. In 1930, at the time of the first official census, more than
38 percent of the population over seven years of age were considered
illiterate--50 percent of the women and over 25 percent of the men in
the entire population of about 18 million were unable to read or write.
In rural areas, where most of the population lived, it was generally
considered that the illiteracy rate was even higher. Much of the lack of
literacy could be attributed to the fact that children of school age
either were not enrolled in school or, if they were enrolled, did not
attend classes regularly. There was also a fairly large percentage of
children who left school without completing their studies or, having
completed only the mandatory first four grades, relapsed into illiteracy
in adult life.
Although the proportion of literacy had been increased somewhat by the
time the Communists came to power, it was still low. The emphasis given
to expanded educational opportunities by the party and government
between 1948 and 1956 brought a substantial decline in the number of
illiterates. Classes were organized throughout the country by the
various people's councils, and a determined campaign was undertaken to
increase enrollment. Most of these courses lasted two years and were
conducted on a weekly basis by both regular teachers and literate
volunteers; successful completion was officially considered equivalent
to graduation from a four-year elementary school.
As a result of these increased efforts, the 1956 census showed an
overall increase in the literacy rate to about 90 percent. According to
this census the greatest proportion of illiterates was still to be found
in the rural areas and among women. Literacy courses were continued
until late 1958, when the government officially declared that illiteracy
had been eliminated. Despite this authoritative statement, Western
demographers consider that, although illiteracy has been significantly
reduced, it probably still exists among older segments of the
population, particularly in remote areas of the country.
THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
In early 1972 the public education system included all levels of
instruction from preschool or kindergarten through elementary,
secondary, and higher polytechnical schools and universities (see fig.
6). At the beginning of the 1971/72 academic year approximately 4.5
million students were enrolled in the more than 16,000 schools operated
throughout the system. Kindergartens and nurseries were organized on a
voluntary basis, but attendance at elementary school and through the
first two years of secondary school was compulsory for students between
the ages of six and sixteen. Attendance at higher level institutions was
voluntary, but admission was subject to selective procedures that
included heavy emphasis on political reliability as well as scholastic
achievement.
All schools were state owned, and tuition, textbooks, and other
classroom materials were free at all levels. An extensive system of
scholarships existed, sponsored by government agencies, labor unions,
state enterprises, and mass organizations. These scholarships were
awarded on a selective basis to students in both secondary and higher
schools to help defray transportation costs, living costs, and
recreational expenses. The state also operated hostels, low-cost
boardinghouses, child care centers, dining halls, and canteens for
students above the elementary level. A planned increase in the number of
these facilities, however, had not been achieved, and the authorities
were under pressure to both improve and expand them.
The educational system, in general, stressed technical, political, and
economic subjects; and the classroom work in the elementary and
secondary schools was underscored by the Pioneers Organization, whose
extracurricular activities were considered an integral part of the
educational program. The Union of Communist Youth and the Union of
Student Associations performed similar functions in the higher schools.
The academic year ran from October to September, and elementary and
secondary classes ended at the end of May. At the university level all
instruction was divided into two semesters, running respectively from
October 1 to January 14 and from February 15 to June 30. The grading
system at all levels utilized numbers from a high of ten to a low of
one, five being the minimal passing grade.
Administration and Finance
The Ministry of Education exercised overall control and direction of the
educational system and implemented all party policies and directives
concerning its management. In carrying out this broad mission, the
ministry cooperated with other central organs of state administration
and principally with the Romanian Academy of Social and Political
Sciences. Under the country's highly centralized control system, the
ministry's specific functions included: the determination of the number
and kinds of institutions to be organized in the school network and the
types of trades and specialties to be taught; the drawing up of plans,
curricula, syllabi, and textbooks and teaching materials; the
supervision over the training, appointment, promotion, and dismissal of
all educational personnel; the general supervision of research plans at
higher institutions of learning; and the coordination of the assignment
of graduates to meet the planned requirements of the economy.
[Illustration:
UNIVERSITIES AND HIGHER
POSTGRADUATE STUDY POLYTECHNICAL
INSTITUTES
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
AGE---------------------------------------------------------------GRADE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
18 SCHOOLS FOR SCHOOLS VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL AND XII
UNIVERSITY FOR THE ARTS SCHOOLS TEACHER TRAINING
17 PREPARATION SCHOOLS XI
16 X
15 IX
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
14 VIII
13 VII
12 VI
11 8-YEAR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS V
10 IV
9 III
8 II
7 I
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
6 NURSERY SCHOOLS AND KINDERGARTENS
5
4
3
----------------------------------------------------------
Note--Attendance is compulsory through grade X.
_Figure 6. Romania, Structure of Education, 1972._]
The Ministry of Education also defined general policy for, and
supervised the work of, the educational sections of the various regional
and district people's councils, which were assigned certain
responsibilities for organizing and administering local primary and
secondary schools. The operation of these schools was subject to
periodic detailed checks by a body of inspectors general to ensure the
uniform application of government regulations and policies. All
institutions of higher learning were controlled directly by the Ministry
of Education, which appointed and dismissed all rectors and their
assistants. The ministry also employed an intertwined system of advisory
councils and commissions to ensure compliance with party and government
directives and guidelines.
The overall budgeting for the educational system was also coordinated by
the Ministry of Education and consisted of the budgets submitted by the
various people's councils for primary and secondary schools as well as
the ministry's own estimated budget needs for vocational and higher
schools and for operating the entire system. In 1969, the latest year
for which official statistics were available, approximately 6 percent of
the state budget was allocated to education.
Preschool Education
Preschool education, consisting principally of kindergartens, was
available on an optional basis for all children between the ages of
three and six. Attendance was free, and enrollment was encouraged by the
government as an essential step in the communist educational system of
developing "correct" socialist values and attitudes in youth.
Kindergartens were organized by districts and were located at the
facilities of local enterprises, state organizations, and cooperative
agencies. In certain areas, day nurseries attached to kindergartens
provided care for the children of working mothers, for which a fee,
generally in proportion to the parents' wages, was charged.
If the school was large enough, classes were generally organized on an
age-group basis, each with a teacher or supervisor. The number of
children attending kindergartens has steadily increased since 1960.
During the 1969/70 school year more than 428,000 children, approximately
40 percent of all those eligible, were enrolled in about 10,000
kindergartens and nurseries. Official estimates anticipated that this
attendance figure would increase appreciably in future years as more
working mothers were added to the labor force.
Primary Education
Primary education was provided, in early 1972, to all children between
the ages of six and sixteen in eight-year elementary schools as part of
the compulsory education program. During the 1969/70 school year
enrollment was about 3.3 million students in about 15,000 schools
throughout the country. Instruction was conducted principally in the
Romanian language, but in those areas with large minority populations
Hungarian- or German-speaking teachers were employed, and special texts
were also available in those languages.
Courses taught throughout the first four years, in addition to stressing
the Romanian language, included history, geography, arithmetic,
elementary biology, art, music, and physical education. Classes usually
met six days a week for periods ranging from four to five hours,
depending on the type of subject matter to be covered. Grades five
through eight emphasized the development of the pupils' ability to
express themselves orally and in writing through the intensified
teaching of many of the subjects presented in the first four grades. In
addition, foreign-language instruction was introduced in the fifth
grade, offering a choice of French, German, Russian, or English. In all
grades the foundation of political education was laid within the scope
of Marxist-Leninist tenets concerning the materialistic development of
society, usually presented as part of other general subjects.
Examinations were held in each area of study at the end of the school
year. Promotion to the next higher class required a passing grade of
five (on the one-to-ten scale) in the substantive work covered, as well
as a minimum grade of six for general conduct. A student was permitted
to repeat an examination before being failed in a course but, if he
failed that too, the entire course had to be repeated.
At the end of the eight-year program all graduates were required to
pass written examinations in history, geography, and literature as well
as oral tests in other selected subjects. Those successfully completing
both examinations were awarded diplomas and became eligible to take the
competitive entrance examinations for secondary school. It was at this
point that students were grouped into general categories according to
their aptitudes for advanced education: ultimate university-level study,
teaching and technical training, the professional arts, and vocational
training.
Secondary Education
In late 1971 the necessary adjustments in the secondary school structure
to accommodate the changeover from eight to ten years of compulsory
education, as provided in the 1968 educational law, had not yet been
completed. Although the extension of the program through the tenth grade
began with the 1969/70 school year, shortages in funds, educational
personnel, and facilities needed for higher student enrollment still
existed and were not expected to be overcome until 1973. Secondary
schools of all types numbered about 800 in 1970 and had an enrollment of
about 370,000 students, roughly one-quarter of those of secondary school
age.
General education secondary schools were of the college preparatory
type, offered a four-year program, and had the most rigid entrance
requirements. Students could select a course either in the humanities or
in the natural sciences. The humanities course included such subjects as
the Romanian language, a modern language, Latin, history, psychology and
logic, and the history of literature. The science course covered
mathematics through advanced algebra and probability theory, astronomy,
physics, chemistry, biology, and economic and political geography.
Physical education and art were included in both courses, as was a
subject called sociopolitical science, which covered elements of
political economy, "scientific" socialism, and the history of the
Communist Party and the labor movement in Romania.
After satisfactory completion of either course of study, all students
were required to take the state baccalaureate examination, which
qualified them for admission to higher schools or for district
employment in middle-level positions in government or in industry. The
number of entrants to schools of higher education was determined by the
Ministry of Education each year in the light of the needs of the various
sectors of the economy and of cultural life. Since the number of
applicants usually exceeded the number of spaces allocated to each
higher institution, competitive examinations were held, and candidates
were selected on the basis of marks received and their general political
attitude. Those who either failed the entrance examination--that is, did
not receive marks sufficiently high to qualify for a university or
polytechnical institute--or were considered politically apathetic were
usually placed in short-term vocational courses to qualify them for
employment as technicians.
Specialized secondary education was conducted in schools for the
professional arts and in technical and teacher training schools. Studies
in art schools lasted one or two years and consisted of combined courses
of general subjects and specialized training in cultural activities,
including various forms of art and drama. Technical schools specialized
in industrial fields, agriculture and its associated subfields,
forestry, socialist economics, and public health. Courses offered
covered four or five years, the time depending on the area of
specialization, and included basic courses in general education.
Graduates in these technical fields were designated for employment in
intermediate-level positions. Teacher training schools, also of four or
five years' duration, trained students exclusively for teaching
positions at the preschool and elementary levels.
Vocational secondary education encompassed the largest number of schools
and was reported to enroll almost 50 percent of all secondary school
students. These schools provided a one- or two-year program of combined
general education and vocational training in all the trades necessary
for the national economy. Vocational schools were usually organized at
the locations of industrial enterprises and socialist cooperatives, and
students were trained as skilled workers. Additional vocational training
was also provided in the form of apprentice or on-the-job training to
workers already employed in industrial installations. The bulk of these
trainees had either completed the compulsory level of education and then
dropped out of school or had failed to be selected in the competitive
examination for entrance into secondary school. Vocational training had
not kept pace with increasing industrialization, and in 1972 the demand
for trained workers continued to surpass the supply (see ch. 16).
Higher Education
The system of higher education was comprised primarily of universities
and polytechnical and specialized institutes, which in 1971 had a total
enrollment of approximately 150,000 students. All institutions were
under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Education and were
geared to produce specialists in the humanities, in the social, natural,
physical, and engineering sciences, and in education as needed to fill
positions in government and all sectors of the economy. The schools of
higher learning were generally headed by a rector (university) or a
director (technical institute), who was appointed by the Ministry of
Education for a period of four years.
Schools were divided into faculties, headed by deans; faculties, in
turn, were divided into departments, each headed by a chairman.
Collectively the rector, deans, chairmen, and certain other selected
faculty members were grouped into an advisory council, which had broad
authority in carrying out the government's educational policies,
approving the faculty work programs, supervising the instruction carried
out by the departments, and granting degrees at the graduate level.
Students were admitted to all higher schools on the basis of competitive
examination and assigned to particular faculties according to
government-directed areas of study. Most degree courses at universities
required three to six years to complete, and those at polytechnical
institutes, from two to three years. Medical and dental degrees were
granted at institutes attached to universities and required six years of
study.
After completing all course requirements and passing a comprehensive
state examination, graduates of the various institutions were assigned
to positions in the government or industry as dictated by their
specialized work. Students who graduated with distinction were given
preference in assignment to positions and in the selection of candidates
for postgraduate study. Two higher degrees were available: the Candidate
of Science, which required an additional three years of study, the
passing of several examinations, and the successful defense of a thesis
that made an original contribution to the student's field of
specialization; and the Doctor of Science, which also required extensive
study, the passing of oral and written examinations, and the successful
defense of a thesis based on original and extensive research work in the
student's selected field.
Adult Education
Adult education as a supplementary form of instruction was considered an
integral part of the educational process. Initiated in the early 1950s,
the program was intended to give the workers and peasants the
opportunity to improve their level of education and skill and, at the
same time, to provide the government with the means of intensifying the
ideological and political indoctrination of the general population.
A variety of schools was established throughout the country that offered
evening and correspondence courses to volunteer enrollees, mostly
between the ages of forty and sixty. The courses consisted of lectures
given by volunteer instructors in the social, natural, and political
sciences; although no degree or diploma was offered, those who
successfully completed courses were eligible, after passing a state
examination, for certificates as elementary or higher school graduates.
In 1958 the program was revised and expanded. In that year people's and
workers' "universities" were established under the guidance of labor
unions, local committees on art and culture, and committees of the Union
of Communist Youth. These universities were established at cultural
centers, in libraries, in museums, and at collective farms and
industrial enterprises. The enrollment age was lowered to twenty to
attract youthful school dropouts, and a greater variety of basic general
educational and technical courses was introduced. Despite these changes,
in 1967 the press reported a general lack of public support for the
program. Deficiencies in the system included a lack of adequate
classrooms and equipment, the low quality of instruction, and the
absence of a vigorous recruitment program.
After the enactment of the new law on education in 1968, the system was
again revised; extensive modifications were made in the curricula, and
closer supervision of the program was undertaken. In rural areas the
school year was shortened to four or six months during the winter, and
additional general cultural courses were offered, as well as special
courses in foreign languages and modern agricultural techniques. In
urban schools the program was reduced to eight or nine months, and
modern courses in stenography, television repair, and automatic data
processing were made available. As a result of these efforts, official
reports in 1970 claimed that the number of schools providing adult
education had increased to 171 and that student enrollment totaled
almost 100,000.
Teacher Training
Teachers and educators were considered important elements in the
ideological and political conditioning process directed toward the
country's youth. In addition to their primary task of teaching, they
were relied upon to supplement the educational program by acting as
disseminators and interpreters of the communist line and by encouraging
and influencing young students to participate in state-sponsored
activities. In 1971 there were approximately 200,000 teachers assigned
to the 16,000 schools throughout the country, and this number was
expected to increase with the continued emphasis on mass education.
Teacher training was accomplished at three main levels: pedagogical
schools for training preschool and elementary teachers; pedagogical
faculties or departments at universities and teachers' institutes for
training secondary teachers; and a postgraduate studies program to
prepare lecturers and professors for higher educational institutions.
There were also refresher training courses conducted at various centers,
which all teachers were required to attend once every five years until
they had accumulated twenty-five years of experience in the profession.
These courses varied in length and generally stressed advances in
pedagogical science, counseling techniques, and utilization of modern
teaching aids.
As evidence of the importance it placed on the teaching profession, the
government, since 1967, has instituted many practices intended to
improve the social position of teachers in the community as well as to
increase their personal benefits. Among these innovations was the
creation of the titles of professor emeritus, educator emeritus,
outstanding professor, and outstanding educator in order to honor
individuals for exceptional work. The government also authorized several
orders and medals to be awarded to teachers for outstanding service and
accomplishments.
Teachers were also nominated for places on local people's councils, and
increasing numbers were declared eligible for election to the Grand
National Assembly. To raise the standard of living for the teaching
corps, a new wage system was introduced in 1969, which granted pay
increases at all teaching levels, improved promotions, and raised
retirement benefits. Government assistance was made available to all
teachers for the construction of individual homes in either urban or
rural areas in which they were assigned.
EDUCATION OF MINORITIES
Although the government has recognized in principle the right of the
national minorities to use their native languages in education, the
implementation of official educational policies has reflected a strong
preference for the incorporation or integration of all minority groups
into the general population. The dissatisfaction of the large Hungarian
and German minorities with the inadequacies of minority education
eventually surfaced in early 1969 at the national congress of
educational workers, and since that time the regime has taken steps to
reduce inequalities in the system by providing additional facilities,
trained personnel, and teaching materials for the improvement of
minority instruction.
As a result of this increased government support, groups as small as six
were made eligible to be instructed by a full-time teacher in any
non-Romanian native language. High schools with instruction in Hungarian
or German were set up in a number of the larger cities and towns that
had sizable populations in those nationalities. In addition, sections or
classes were organized in certain vocational and industrial schools for
the teaching of selected subjects in minority languages, and candidates
for admission to higher schools were permitted to take competitive
examinations in either Romanian or their native language. By the opening
of the 1971/72 school year the government reported that more than
280,000 minority students in 3,162 schools and sections were receiving
instruction in their native languages from approximately 14,000
teachers.
CHAPTER 7
ARTISTIC AND INTELLECTUAL EXPRESSION
The arts and intellectual activity reflect Romania's position as a
crossroads of Eastern and Western cultures. Elements of ancient Roman
culture from the second and third centuries mingle with Byzantine
elements (dating from the Middle Ages) and with Islamic elements
(brought by the Turkish conquest of the fifteenth century) (see ch. 2).
In more recent times, these were joined by elements of Western European
culture. Underlying all these influences from abroad are elements of a
native peasant culture that can be traced back to the Neolithic
settlement found on the territory of the Romanian state. The mixing of
all the elements has produced a cultural mosaic that, although it has
much in common with the cultures of neighboring countries, is purely
Romanian.
The Romanian people are very proud of their cultural heritage and of the
artistic and intellectual expression that it has inspired. Artists and
intellectuals have always occupied a favored position in society as
transmitters of the aspirations of the people. They continue to feel an
identity as the social class that is responsible for the spiritual
well-being of the nation.
The communist government has promoted this pride in the cultural
heritage by devoting considerable funds and effort to the restoration
and preservation of antiquities. It has also fostered the preservation
of folk art and folk traditions through the establishment of the Village
Museums in Bucharest and Cluj and through the continued urging of
contemporary artists to produce a national art based on folk traditions.
The various ethnic minorities have preserved their own cultural
traditions and forms of expression. Although these forms reflect the
same modern influences of foreign origins that have affected Romanian
forms, they show relatively little direct borrowing from each other or
from the Romanian majority.
Because artistic and intellectual activity is a very effective means of
protest and social criticism and, therefore, opposition to the
established order, the communist leadership has tried to keep such
expression under control and to use it for its own purposes. The degree
of cultural freedom and the content of cultural output have been
indicators of the political situation in the country.
Despite controls, artists and intellectuals continue to create. Not all
of their effort becomes public, and that which does is not necessarily
sincere or direct. Symbolism and allusion have been developed to a high
degree and are well understood by both the creator and his audience.
THE ROLE OF THE ARTS UNDER COMMUNISM
Since the communists took control of the government in 1947, artistic
and intellectual expression has been dominated by the cultural policy of
the Romanian Communist Party (Partidul Communist Roman--PCR), which
follows the model developed by the Soviet Union. The policy is based on
the concept known as Socialist Realism, whereby an artist must strive to
grasp the essence of human and social relations and depict them
truthfully in the light of socialist ideals. Art must be directed toward
the working man; therefore its style must be simple and straightforward.
Adherence to this concept in the formulation and execution of cultural
policy has varied, however, and generally reflects the political climate
of the time and the particular outlook of the men in power. During the
1950s, which has come to be known as the Dogmatic Period of cultural
life in post-World War II Romania, the content of the arts and of
intellectual expression was strictly controlled and restricted.
Socialist Realism was interpreted to mean the presentation of the
glories of communist ideals through the various forms of art and the use
of such forms to further these ideals. All cultural effort, therefore,
had to be directed to these goals, and no deviation was tolerated. The
merits of a book, painting, or play were judged only by how well they
fulfilled the propaganda function. Most individuals entrusted with
passing judgment on what was or was not acceptable had no professional
qualifications. As a result of all these factors, artistic production
that was made public during this period was, with few exceptions, dull
and mediocre.
With the discrediting of Stalin and his policies in the mid-1950s,
dogmatism in artistic expression gave way to a more liberal
interpretation of what was considered appropriate. Emphasis on Socialist
Realism was replaced with emphasis on nationalistic and historical
themes, as Romania strove to gain greater political and economic
independence from the Soviet Union. In order to be acceptable to the
administrators of cultural policy, artistic expression no longer had to
confine itself to the presentation of communist ideals in traditional
styles, but it could address itself to a variety of themes and could
experiment in innovative styles. Although artists were criticized for
submitting to so-called decadent bourgeois culture if they moved too far
away from the standards of Socialist Realism, they were not punished or
enjoined from further creative activity unless their work could be
interpreted as an attack on the regime or its policies.
At the same time, expanding relations between Romania and the
noncommunist world brought artists and intellectuals into contact with
cultural developments elsewhere and stimulated Romanian creative
expression. Cultural exchanges with Western countries were often used by
the government to allow artists more freedom of expression than could be
politically justified at home. Artists were allowed to exhibit or
perform abroad works that had been highly criticized at home. The
critical praise received abroad was proudly publicized at home as an
example of Romanian genius, at the same time that these very works were
being criticized for not meeting the desired standards of artistic
expression.
The apparent inconsistency in the application of cultural policy in the
late 1960s was indicative of a widespread effort to determine what the
role of art and literature should be in a socialist society. By 1971
this had become a much debated topic. Party ideologists, communist and
noncommunist artists and critics, and other members of the intellectual
elite, including students, aired their views through roundtable
discussions, through polemics in the press, and through other means. The
debates appeared to be unrestricted and lively, and the views expressed
ranged from strict adherence to the concept of Socialist Realism to a
plea for "art for art's sake." The opinion of the majority, however,
seemed to be that art and literature in a socialist society, as in any
other society, have both an aesthetic and a social role. Neither of
these functions should overshadow the other; social and political
elements in a work of art or literature should be implicit and
artistically presented rather than the sole justification for the
existence of the work.
In July 1971 President Nicolae Ceausescu announced a tightening of
cultural reins in order to bring cultural and educational activity back
toward its socialist purpose. The statement was followed by the removal
of some books from publication schedules, the cancellation of some
theatrical productions, and the resignation or removal of several
editors of literary and cultural periodicals. Most observers, however,
agreed that, despite some tightening of controls, artistic and
intellectual expression in Romania at the end of 1971 was far from
returning to the restrictions of the Dogmatic Period of the 1950s.
Cultural policy was administered in 1971 by the Council on Socialist
Culture and Education, which had replaced the State Committee for
Culture and Art. The council had the status of a ministry in the
government, as had the committee that preceded it (see ch. 8). The main
overseers of cultural policy and the principal organs of control on
artistic and intellectual expression, however, have been the various
professional unions. The role of the unions is to supervise and enforce
established standards of creative expression and to act as
representatives for the members of their professions. A close
relationship exists between the union leadership and the communist
party, whose control of the unions and, thereby, of the members is
exercised through the party leadership (see ch. 9).
Membership in the appropriate union is a prerequisite for effective
artistic and intellectual activity. Only members can be employed in
their professions and have their works published, performed, or
exhibited. Deviation from established cultural policy results in
expulsion from the union and consequent professional oblivion.
Therefore, most artists and intellectuals exercise self-censorship
rather than risk punishment, even if such censorship involves
compromising principles and artistic standards.
ART, SCULPTURE, AND ARCHITECTURE
Folk Art
A long heritage of decorative folk art, expressed in wood carving,
embroidery, weaving, pottery, and other forms, has been important as
artistic expression for the peasants and has served as inspiration for
the more sophisticated painters, sculptors, and architects. Regional
differences in styles and materials reflect the way of life of the
people as well as their needs and the resources available to them.
Some of the typical forms and motifs used through the ages have been
found to date back to articles unearthed by archaeologists at Neolithic
settlements. In common with the folk art of other countries of Eastern
Europe, Romanian folk art uses mostly abstract and geometric designs.
When floral or animal forms are used, they are usually stylized.
The carving of wood is a natural form of folk expression in the heavily
forested areas of the Carpathians and Transylvania. Pillars and frames
of houses and other buildings, farmyard gates, and furniture are
decorated with carved geometric designs. Wooden household utensils are
also decorated with carved designs, as are farm tools and other objects
used in daily life.
Elaborate embroidery decorates the traditional costumes of both men and
women. Those used on festive occasions are particularly richly
embellished. Designs and colors vary with the regions and make it
possible to identify specific costumes with specific parts of the
country. Similar embroidery is also used to decorate household linens.
Particularly well known outside the country are the woven rugs,
tablecloths, and tapestries that decorate all rural homes and many urban
ones. Designs are mostly geometric, and particular designs and color
combinations are associated with particular regions. Well known for
their unusual design and warm colors are Oltenian textiles in which a
central animal, human, or floral design is surrounded by several frames
of different colors. Muntenian textiles, on the other hand, have small
geometric designs spread over the whole surface. Moldavian and
Transylvanian textiles vary a great deal from one location to another
and include both geometric and figurative designs. At one time, wool was
used exclusively for weaving rugs and tapestries, but since the
mid-nineteenth century cotton or hemp warp has been used in combination
with wool. All-cotton and all-hemp rugs and wall hangings are also
produced.
Pottery of various kinds is made both as decorative objects and as
household utensils. Plates, pots, and jugs are used to serve and store
food, but they are also displayed on shelves along the walls of peasant
houses, making the interiors colorful and cheerful. The shapes, colors,
and designs of the pottery show the many cultural influences from
Neolithic to modern West European. Two distinct types of pottery are
produced: a black pottery made by incomplete firing of clay with much
smoke, and the more common red pottery. Black pottery, the origins of
which date back to the Bronze Age or earlier, is made mostly in Moldavia
and eastern Transylvania. It has a highly polished finish, which is
achieved by the use of a special stone. The widely produced red pottery
may be glazed or unglazed and is usually decorated in some fashion--by
painting, scratching a design into the wet clay, or applying a design in
relief.
Among the more unusual forms of folk art that continue to be practiced
are the decoration of Easter eggs and painting on glass. Easter is a
special time not only because of its religious significance but also
because it heralds the beginning of the growing season, and Easter eggs
as a symbol of fertility are an important element of the festivities.
Eggs are decorated with highly ornamental patterns in various ways and
often become respected works of art.
Painting on glass was introduced into Transylvania in the seventeenth
century from Bohemia and was used for the production of religious
icons. Icon painting formed an important bridge between folk art and the
fine arts in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is no longer
widely practiced.
A number of contemporary artists utilize the various forms of folk art
as their medium of artistic expression. Their designs include not only
the traditional but also elements of modern art styles, such as cubism
and abstraction.
Fine Arts
The beginnings of fine art in Romania date back to the fourteenth
century when frescoes and other paintings were created to decorate the
churches of the period. All of the early art was created in connection
with churches, although not all of it was religious in content.
Portraits of those responsible for the building of churches or
monasteries, and of their families, were often included among the
pictures of saints and biblical scenes that decorate the interior and
exterior walls of medieval religious buildings.
Romanian church art of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries is
recognized as some of the finest and most unusual of the later period of
Byzantine art. It differs somewhat in style from other examples of
Byzantine art of that period by reflecting the influence of folk art.
Some of the finest examples are found at the Moldavian monasteries of
Putna, Sucevita, and Voronet. They are unusual in that they were painted
on the outside walls in order to educate the peasants in church history
and in elements of their faith. The quality and imaginativeness of these
frescoes has been termed one of the great contributions to European
religious art. Their freshness after more than 400 years of exposure to
the elements is remarkable.
In addition to paintings, religious art of the medieval period also
included various objects, such as vestments, furniture, and vessels
worked in wood, gold, or silver and richly decorated. Collections of
these objects are preserved at the monasteries, the largest exhibits
being at Sucevita and Putna.
During the seventeenth century a change in style took place in painting
and other decorative arts, although the subject matter remained
religious. Russian artists who had come to Moldavia and Walachia
introduced the small, detailed painting of Russian iconography, which
became evident in the murals and other painting of Romanian artists. At
the same time, the simple, folk art decorative forms were replaced by a
more elaborate style showing both Baroque and Oriental influences. A
distinct Walachian style developed, and schools emerged in Bucharest and
other cities. The most notable achievements of the Walachian school are
the interior frescoes of the Hurez Monastery.
A secular trend was introduced into art in the eighteenth century with a
greater involvement of merchants, craftsmen, and landowners as patrons.
Not until the nineteenth century, however, did a completely secular art
come into being, mostly through foreign influences. The earliest secular
artists reflect in their styles the training they had received as
religious artists.
In the early nineteenth century several foreign painters lived and
worked in Romania and exerted a strong influence on young Romanian
artists who, in turn, helped to train other artists of the nineteenth
century. The spirit of nationalism and revolution that was sweeping
Europe during that century involved Romanian artists as it did those in
other countries under foreign rule. Art was a medium for expressing
nationalist sentiments and the fight for self-determination. Most of the
art of the period, therefore, represents historic and heroic subjects.
Foremost among the revolutionary artists were Gheorghe Tattarescu and
Theodor Aman, both extremely popular in their lifetime. Together, they
exerted a great influence on the development of fine arts in Romania by
founding the School of Fine Arts in Bucharest and by training young
artists. Aman, in particular, is considered the country's first great
modern painter.
By far the most outstanding artist of the nineteenth century was Nicolae
Grigorescu. His work remains extremely popular among Romanians, and his
lyrical landscapes and scenes of Romanian life are well known abroad.
The work of Stefan Luchian at the beginning of the twentieth century
introduced to Romania some of the avant-garde styles that were appearing
in European art elsewhere. Although he followed his predecessors in
painting landscapes and rural subjects, he opposed their conservative
style and introduced into his paintings a greater use of color than had
been common. He also introduced social themes into his paintings by
depicting the misery and poverty that were characteristic of the lives
of most people. His best paintings, however, are flower studies, which
bring out his love of color and of nature.
Luchian's break with tradition and his use of color were followed by a
number of artists, the most celebrated of whom was Nicolae Tonitza.
These and other artists of the interwar period were greatly influenced
by the impressionist and postimpressionist painters in Paris and Munich,
where they studied. Their landscapes, flower studies, and portraits show
the effective use of bright colors, which is considered characteristic
of Romanian art.
Because landscapes, floral studies, and other neutral subjects have
traditionally been the main concern of Romanian painters, this form of
artistic expression was the least affected by the strict controls of the
first decade of communist rule. A number of interwar artists and several
younger ones continued to produce their canvases in the precommunist
tradition, but during the 1960s some young artists experimented with
various avant-garde techniques and styles that were then current in
Western Europe. Although the government disapproved of these works, it
allowed the artists to exhibit them abroad and win considerable acclaim
for Romanian art. In the late 1960s the PCR was disturbed by the extent
to which abstract art had blossomed despite party disapproval. Artists
had been introducing cubism and primitivism into their work under the
guise of folk art, which is supposed to serve as their main inspiration.
Sculpture
Romanian sculpture has its origins in the tombstones and other grave
markers dating back to the Middle Ages. As a fine art, sculpture began
to develop in the mid-nineteenth century when the German sculptor Karl
Storck arrived in Bucharest to teach at the School of Fine Arts. Among
the earliest sculptors he trained were Ion Georgescu and his own son,
Carol Storck, both known for their statuary and busts. Stefan Ionescu
Valbudea, also in that group, was best known for his romantic statues
and classical male figures in movement.
In the period between the two world wars, several sculptors produced
large monumental works visible in public places. Dimitrie Paciurea was
the first in this group. He was followed by his students Corneal Madrea,
Ion Jalea, and Oscar Han. In addition to his monumental sculptures,
Jalea is also known for his busts and bas-reliefs. Han is particularly
known for his busts and statutes of famous Romanians.
Best known of all Romanian sculptors is Constantin Brancusi, who is
considered one of the great sculptors of the world. Brancusi studied in
Bucharest and in Paris. His earliest work, mostly busts, shows a strong
influence of Auguste Rodin. Gradually he broke with tradition and
developed a highly stylized and abstract style utilizing the simplest
forms. His best known works are found in important collections
throughout the world.
The work of contemporary sculptors included a wide range of styles and
mediums. Modernistic works in stone, wood, and various metals, some of
them completely abstract, can be seen in parks and other public places
throughout the country. A number of contemporary sculptors have taken
inspiration from folk art for their often massive works in wood.
Architecture
Architecture, more than any other form of artistic expression, reflects
the many cultural influences that have been exerted on the people of
Romania over the ages. The abundance of architectural styles found in
the country has been a source of great pride for Romanians who have
devoted much time and money to preserve them.
The simplest architectural forms are those of the peasant houses made of
wood and clay. The style and building technique of many of these houses
have been traced back to those used in Neolithic settlements.
Vestiges of Roman architecture can be found in Dobruja, Walachia, and
Transylvania. The most important of these are the remains of the bridge
built by Emperor Trajan across the Danube at Turnu Severin. A large
amphitheater has been unearthed at the site of the Dacian-Roman capital
of Sarmizegetusa at the southwestern tip of the Transylvanian plain.
Other Roman remains include several monuments as well as sections of
roads and aqueducts.
The period of greatest architectural creativity is usually referred to
as the feudal period, dating from the tenth century to the beginning of
the nineteenth century. The oldest structures of that period are the
fully preserved Byzantine church at Densus, Transylvania, and the ruins
of the Prince's Court at Curtea de Arges. Beginning in the fourteenth
century, distinctive architectural styles developed in Walachia,
Moldavia, and Transylvania.
The architecture of Walachia and Moldavia shows strong Byzantine
influences and includes all the special forms and decorative styles of
the several periods of Byzantine art. Specifically Romanian variations
are the exterior frescoes and the massive protecting walls of some of
the churches and monasteries.
Transylvanian architecture of the feudal period reflects Western
European influences, including Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and
Baroque styles. The fortified churches and castles built by German and
Hungarian settlers are reminiscent of similar structures in central
Europe but distinguished by their massiveness and fortifications. The
older architecture of several cities in central Transylvania is
completely Germanic or Hungarian in character, contrasting sharply with
that of Walachian and Moldavian cities. The typical Romanian
architecture found throughout the Transylvanian countryside is
particularly prominent in many rural wooden churches, which invariably
feature fine pointed spires.
During the seventeenth century the Brancovan style of architecture was
developed in Walachia, the name being derived from that of the ruling
Prince Constantin Brincoveanu. It is characterized by the use of open
porches supported by large pillars. The pillars and door and window
frames are usually elaborately carved with floral designs. The exterior
of the building is usually ringed by a wide, carved wooden band.
Outstanding examples of the Brancovan style are the Hurez Monastery and
the Mogosoaia Palace in Bucharest. More recent adaptations of the style
are seen in several public buildings and private villas built in
Bucharest before World War I.
Starting in the nineteenth century, Byzantine influences began to
disappear from architecture. Most building after that period followed
contemporary European styles, although elements of Romanian folk art
were often incorporated in the decorative details. Modern architecture
began to develop in the period between the world wars and reached a high
level of accomplishment in the 1950s and 1960s with the construction of
the seaside resorts of Mangalia, Eforie Nord, and Mamaia. Most
contemporary architecture, however, is oversized and utilitarian. The
needs for rapid and cheap construction forced architects to disregard
aesthetics and produce monotonous, dreary structures.
MUSIC
Romanians have the reputation of being a musical people. Song and dance
play an important role in their daily lives, particularly among the
peasants. A rich heritage of folk music, both vocal and instrumental,
has been passed down from generation to generation and has formed the
background for serious Romanian music that began to develop in the
mid-nineteenth century.
Folk music can be broadly classified as dance music, ballads and
laments, and pastoral music. Dance music is most frequently performed
and is a major component of any festivity. Dance tunes are generally
lively to accompany the fast and intricate steps of the dancers.
Sometimes they are sung by the dancers, but more often they are played
by one or more of the traditional instruments.
The basic instrument in folk music is the violin. It is often
accompanied by the _cobza_, a large stringed instrument resembling the
lute, or by a _tambal_, a zither-like instrument played with small
hammers. A variety of flutes are also used both as solo instruments and
in orchestras. The accordion is popular as a solo accompaniment for
singing or dancing.
Folk musicians are known as _lautari_ (lute players) and are often
Gypsies. Small orchestras are found at weddings and other celebrations
in every village and in the cities. Larger, specially formed folk
ensembles perform on radio and television and give concerts.
Ballads and laments vary in style and subject matter from region to
region. Over the years, ballads have lost most of their importance as a
contemporary musical form, although they retain value as poetry.
Laments, however, continue to play an important role in the musical life
of the people. They reflect in song the hardships and problems of daily
life and the trials and tribulations of love. Some laments have a
distinctly Oriental quality.
Pastoral music was developed by the shepherds of the Carpathians as a
diversion for their long, lonely days in the mountains and as a means of
communication. The melodies are very simple, usually played on any of
several types of alphorns or on flutes. With the changing way of life in
the mountains, pastoral music has been disappearing as a musical form.
In the early nineteenth century folklorist Anton Pann began to collect
Romanian folk music, to publish it, and to popularize it among educated
Romanians, who were more familiar with the classical music of Germany,
Italy, and France than with their own musical heritage. This resulted in
the emergence of a group of Romanian composers who utilized folk
melodies in the composition of operas, symphonies, and chamber music.
The period between the two world wars saw several composers adding to
the repertoire of Romanian music. One who achieved international fame
was Georghe Enescu. Dinu Lipatti became well known as a pianist,
although he was also a composer.
The music of the interwar composers showed the influence of German
romanticism and postromanticism and of modern French music. All of it,
however, had a strongly Romanian character attained through the use of
intonations and rhythms borrowed from folk music.
Several of the interwar composers were still active in 1970, together
with new younger composers. Their music is regularly performed in
Romania and in some of the other communist countries, but it is not well
known elsewhere. Some of the young composers have experimented with
avant-garde styles that have not been well received by the guardians of
cultural policy. Composers are urged to use folklore as their source of
inspiration and to write compositions reflecting the cultural policies
of the PCR.
THEATER
Theater has always played a vital role in the life of the educated
Romanian, and regular attendance at plays, operas, and ballets is
considered an essential part of his cultural and intellectual life. The
performing arts, therefore, have had a faithful and critical audience in
all urban centers, which has stimulated playwrights and directors. In
cities such as Cluj and Brasov, which have sizable minority populations,
Hungarian and German theaters thrive beside the Romanian.
Since the end of the rigid restrictions of the 1950s, the performing
arts have been flourishing with talented performers, directors, and
writers. The government has been promoting the presentation of Romanian
plays, and Romanian playwrights have striven to compete for audience
favor with the best of contemporary and classical foreign plays, which
are regularly presented.
Among contemporary playwrights who have achieved critical acclaim at
home and abroad are Paul Everac, D. R. Popescu, Horia Lovinescu, Iosif
Naghiu, and Paul Anghel. Eugene Ionesco, although Romanian by birth, is
generally considered a French playwright since he writes in French.
Romanians, however, proudly claim him as one of their own, even though
his plays do not follow the desired standards of form and content.
Most contemporary plays have been categorized by critics as tribunal
drama in that they pass judgment on ideas or actions and follow a format
where one or more characters take the role of the accused and others act
as prosecutors. Some plays are in the form of confessions of wrongdoings
or wrongthinking. Both forms lend themselves well to imparting a
message. Pure entertainment plays are usually boulevard comedies.
Historic themes seem to be popular and safe topics, particularly if they
promote Romanian nationalism. For the most part, plays are of local
rather than universal interest, for they deal with matters limited in
time and space. They usually arouse interest outside Romania for what
they reveal of the Romanian character and society rather than for
artistic merit.
The tightening of cultural reins in July 1971 seems to have had a
greater effect on the theater than on any other form of artistic
expression. The management of several major theaters was changed in late
1971 following admission by the replaced managers of having favored
artistic merit over ideological value in the selection of plays for
their repertory. The new managers pledged themselves to presenting plays
that contain a clear-cut message conforming to high political,
ideological, and educational standards. They also pledged themselves to
encourage young playwrights to write such plays. In the meantime, the
plays selected for the 1971-72 season were almost all true and tried
classics, devoid of any political implications. Romanian directors,
nevertheless, have shown themselves in the past to be able to impart to
the audience a great deal of political meaning through their
interpretation of such seemingly innocuous plays.
FILMS
The film industry has a long and venerable history dating back to 1912,
when the first full-length feature was produced. The silent comedies of
the 1920s compare favorably with those produced by the best film makers
of the time. In the 1930s and 1940s, until the communist takeover,
Romanian musicals and tales of suspense and of the supernatural were
popular at home and abroad. Most of these films were produced with
technical and financial assistance from France and other countries (see
ch. 11).
Cultural restrictions in the 1950s and early 1960s prevented the
Romanian film industry from taking part in the technical and artistic
developments that were changing the film industry in France and other
Western countries. As a result, films produced in Romania as late as
1970 were technically and artistically old-fashioned compared to those
produced in noncommunist countries and even in Czechoslovakia. Most
critics outside the country compare them to the good films produced by
Hollywood in the 1940s. Nevertheless, several Romanian films in the
1960s have won prizes at lesser known international film festivals.
Two of the important directors in the late 1960s were Mircea Dragan and
Ion Popescu-Gopo. Dragan specializes in historic adventure films of epic
proportions, whereas Popescu-Gopo concentrates on fantasies, including
science fiction. Popescu-Gopo is also well known for his animated films.
LITERATURE
Literature in the form of folk tales and poetry is of ancient origin. A
vast collection of legends, tales, ballads, proverbs, and riddles has
been preserved and is known to both rural and urban Romanians. Legends
and tales deal with the daring exploits of a national hero, sometimes
real and sometimes imaginary. In the oldest tales, the adversaries are
monsters and inhabitants of the underworld; in later ones, they are the
foreign conquerors and occupiers.
Ballads were originally intended to be sung but are now more often
recited as poems. They deal with the same subjects as legends and tales,
and many are of epic proportions. In the mountains of Transylvania and
Moldavia separate groups of ballads developed dealing with the pastoral
life of the people.
The earliest known texts written in Romania are chronicles in Old Church
Slavonic. In the sixteenth century a number of religious texts were
translated into Romanian, and the introductions to them are the first
known original writings in the Romanian language.
Of significance in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were the
chronicles written by a number of writers in Moldavia and in Walachia.
Dimitrie Cantemir, ruler of Moldavia, wrote the _Description of
Moldavia_ and _History of the Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire_
during the same period. A Transylvanian school of writing stressed the
Latin origin of the Romanian people and their language and utilized a
latinized Romanian in its writing. It was influential in awakening the
national consciousness of Transylvanian Romanians.
Four members of the Vacarescu family wrote lyrical poetry in the
eighteenth century. The best of them, Iancu Vacarescu, is regarded as
the father of Romanian poetry. The lyric tradition was carried on in the
early nineteenth century, and much of the poetry dealt with historic
subjects and expressed the growing patriotism and nationalist sentiment
of the time.
In the early nineteenth century the Latinist movement of Transylvania
spread into Moldavia and Walachia and began to Romanianize the hitherto
Hellenic culture of the Romanian upper class. The founding of the
College of Saint Sava in Bucharest, using Romanian as the language of
instruction, laid the foundation for the development of a reading public
for Romanian literature. At the same time, the founding of a
Romanian-language newspaper with a literary supplement gave writers a
publication outlet. The newspaper was founded by Eliade Radulescu, who
also founded the Philharmonic Society and the Romanian Academy, thus
giving major impetus to the development of Romanian literature and
culture.
In Moldavia, Gheorghe Asachi originated the historical short story,
wrote verse, and also founded a newspaper. The literary supplement of
Asachi's newspaper provided an outlet for Moldavian writers.
The nineteenth century was the romantic age of Romanian literature.
Writers and poets wrote under the influence of Russian, French, and
English romanticists whose works were widely translated. Outstanding
among the poets was Grigore Alexandrescu, who also wrote fables and
satires along the lines of Alphonse de Lamartine and Jean de LaFontaine.
Many historical works were written by Nicolae Balcescu and Mihail
Kogalniceanu, both of whom were political figures in the nationalist
movement of their time as well as important writers. The founding in
1840 of the literary magazine _Dacia Literata_ by Kogalniceanu marked
the beginning of the traditionalist school, which was characterized by
the use of specifically Romanian themes. An outstanding exponent of this
school was the short story writer, Constantine Negruzzi.
The second half of the nineteenth century saw the development of modern
literature through the impetus of serious criticism based on German and
French philosophical thought and cultural trends. The period was
dominated by Vasile Alecsandri and Mihail Eminescu. During Alecsandri's
long career, he produced outstanding works in every form of literary
expression--prose, poetry, drama, and nonfiction. Together with Negruzzi
and Kogalniceanu, he was one of the early directors of the National
Theatre in Iasi.
Eminescu is Romania's outstanding poet and holds his place among the
important poets of the world. His lyrical poetry is influenced by
Romanian folklore, Hindu thought, and German philosophy. His ballad
_Luceafarul_ (Evening Star) is a well-known classic. In addition to
poetry, Eminescu wrote short stories and political and philosophical
essays. He was one of the leaders of the Junimea, a literary circle for
youth in Iasi, which was founded by the important critic Titu Mairescu.
Other important members of the circle were Ion Luca Caragiale, a
playwright who first introduced social comedy to Romania, and Ion
Creanga, who wrote about the peasant life from which he stemmed.
Around the beginning of the twentieth century the growing popularity of
peasant themes and descriptions of peasant life in the writing of such
authors as Ion Slavici and Gheorghe Cosbuc led to the publication of a
new literary periodical, _Samanatorul_, and the development of a
literary school that took its name. The school stressed the national
heritage of Romania, its folklore, and its rustic life as subjects for
literary creation, in contrast to the cosmopolitan outlook of the
Junimea circle.
Parallel to the Samanatorul school developed _poporanism_ (of the
people), which was similar to the then-current Russian populism in its
social and political motivation. Its organ was _Viata Romaneasca_, which
featured populist causes.
Several writers remained apart from any of the schools. Among them was
Barbu Delavrancea, well-known for his trilogy about Stephen the Great
and for stories of Walachian peasant life, and the poet Alexandru
Macedonski, who introduced French symbolism to Romanian literature.
The period between the two world wars gave rise to the novel, which
quickly took its place beside lyrical poetry as an important form of
literary expression. An important contributor to the development of the
novel was Liviu Rebreanu, whose _Forest of the Hanged_ is a powerful
description of the horrors of war. His other important novels are
_Ion_, dealing with peasant life, and _Ciuleandra_, a psychological
novel.
Mihail Sadoveanu, whose most important works were published in the 1920s
and 1930s, is considered the foremost realist of the twentieth century.
His writings deal mostly with history and with peasant life. In 1924 he
won the national prize for literature, and in 1949, the Gold Peace
Medal.
Outstanding interwar poets were Lucian Blaga, Ion Barbu, and Tudor
Arghezi. Blaga's poetry was an exposition of his philosophy based on the
traditional way of life interpreted as a cosmic mystery. Barbu's poems
are of an abstract and esoteric nature. Arghezi is considered the
greatest poet since Eminescu on the basis of his use of language and
symbolism.
Immediately after World War II poetry again took the lead in literary
expression. Although much prose was published, none of it was considered
of particular importance. The poetry can be divided into three main
schools: surrealist poetry, poetry of spiritual revolt, and a
return-to-tradition balladry.
Several of the prewar writers and poets continued to produce after the
communist takeover and subjected themselves to the constraints of
Socialist Realism. Among them were Sadoveanu, Calinescu, Camil Petrescu,
and Arghezi. Others were denounced for their previous writings and
became silent. The literary output of the 1950s is generally regarded as
second rate. Several notable novels, however, were published in the
early 1960s. Among them were George Calinescu's _Bietul Ioanide_ (Poor
Ioanide), Ion Sadoveanu's _Ion Sintu_ (Saint John), and Petru Dimitriu's
_Cronica de Familie_ (Family Chronicle). Of particularly outstanding
merit and lasting quality are Marin Preda's peasant epic _Morometii_
(The Moroments) and Eugen Barbu's naturalist novel _Groapa_ (The
Trench).
With the relaxing of cultural controls in the mid-1960s, many of those
who had been silent resumed their writing, together with a new group of
younger writers. The mid-and late-1960s saw an outpouring of literary
creativity that had been pent up during the preceding decade. The
variety of genres and styles was impressive; some continued the
traditions of the past, others repudiated their literary traditions and
ventured into new areas of expression. Lyricism dominated the poetry of
Ion Alexandru, Adrian Paunescu, Marin Sorescu, and others. Their
greatest appeal was among young people whose doubts, hopes, and
restlessness they expressed.
Prose showed two trends: realism, which was now free to examine all
aspects of human existence; and antirealism, which showed influences of
some contemporary French writers.
Literary criticism, which had played an important role in the
development of Romanian literature, was revived as a literary art and
was removed from politics. Both old and new works were examined and
evaluated, and Romanian literary traditions were studied and analyzed.
The literary output of the 1950s was attacked for its lack of
imagination and creativity.
The retightening of controls in 1971 reduced the volume of new works
being published, and many writers retreated into a self-censorship,
which restricted their creativity. Literary periodicals and other
publication media were more selective in deciding what to publish,
whereas some critics attacked the volume and quality of the recent
literary output.
SCHOLARSHIP AND RESEARCH
A tradition of scholarship and research has in the past been limited to
a small intellectual elite centered in Bucharest and Iasi. The group was
oriented toward France and, to a lesser extent, Germany in terms of
professional contacts and sources of inspiration. During the 1930s a
number of sociologists at the University of Bucharest established a
reputation for outstanding and original work in their field.
The great expansion of the educational system since the 1940s has
provided a much broader base for scholarly activity but, in keeping with
ideological dictates, scholarly activity must be socially useful, that
is, directly applicable to the needs of the society. Therefore, great
emphasis has been placed on applied research in the sciences and
technology designed to improve the economy. All research is sponsored by
the state and is directed and supervised by the National Council for
Scientific Research.
The interest in sociology has continued, but work in this field, as in
the other social sciences, has suffered from the restrictions imposed by
communist ideology. The only accepted philosophy is that of
Marxism-Leninism, and all scholarly work must be based on its precepts,
which frequently leads to sterile research or preconceived results.
Two developments by Romanians in the field of medicine have caused
considerable controversy among specialists in other parts of the world.
One is a regeneration therapy for the aged based on the administration
of procaine, which was developed by Anna Aslan of the Institute of
Gerontology. The therapy, strongly backed by the government, is intended
to free the elderly from the various chronic discomforts of advanced age
and thereby make them more active. Many prominent gerontologists have
questioned the efficacy of the treatments and the results claimed by
the Institute of Gerontology, but others have reported it to be fully
effective. A Romanian-developed drug used in the treatment is
extensively sold in Europe. The other medical development acclaimed by
Romania but questioned by many specialists in the field is the use of an
extract obtained from cattle eyes for the treatment of many human eye
diseases. The extract was developed by Professor Petre Vancea.
SECTION II. POLITICAL
CHAPTER 8
GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM
As of early 1972 the structure of the government remained essentially
the same as that established by the 1965 Constitution. Power is declared
to belong to the working people united under the leadership of the
Romanian Communist Party (Partidul Comunist Roman--PCR). That power is
said to be expressed through their representatives to the Grand National
Assembly, the nation's sole legislative body, and through the people's
councils, the organs of government on county and local levels.
Constitutionally, the Grand National Assembly, as the highest voice of
the people, is asserted to be the supreme organ of state power, and all
other government bodies are theoretically subordinate to it.
Actual political power, however, is monopolized by the PCR and
particularly by the highest organs of the party under the leadership of
Nicolae Ceausescu, who is simultaneously head of state. Although the
system of government is, in theory, designed to emphasize participatory
democracy, the government functions largely as the administrative
structure through which the party exerts its will in all aspects of
Romanian society (see ch. 9).
There is no separation of powers between the branches of the government,
and it is difficult to draw distinctions between the executive and the
legislative functions. The Council of State is closely tied to the
structure and membership of the Grand National Assembly and functions as
a permanent assembly presidium. The nation's highest administrative
body, the Council of Ministers, is elected by the assembly and
responsible to both the assembly and the Council of State. Although it
is theoretically independent in its judicial decisions, the Supreme
Court is also constitutionally responsible to the assembly.
The entire structure of the government, from national down to local
levels, is organized on a principle of centralized control by which all
lower bodies are subject to the authority and control of the next higher
unit, the ultimate power resting in the central government. The
governmental system consists of nominally representative bodies at
community, town, and county levels, which are hierarchically
subordinated to the authority of the central government. Throughout the
entire system the predominant influence of the party is evident, the key
positions at each level being held by party members.
THE CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM
Constitutional Development
Since coming under full communist control in December 1947, Romania has
had three constitutions. The first, designating the country a "People's
Republic," was adopted by the Grand National Assembly in April 1948,
just four weeks after the assembly had been reorganized under new
communist leadership. The second, officially adopted in September 1952,
had first been made public the preceding July after Gheorghe
Gheorghiu-Dej had assumed the post of prime minister in addition to his
position as head of the party. A third constitution, incorporating the
elements of Romania's changed social and ideological position, entered
into force on August 20, 1965.
In many ways similar to the initial constitutions of the other
Soviet-dominated states of Eastern Europe, the 1948 Constitution was
designed to mark Romania's entry into the first stage of the transition
from capitalism to socialism. As a people's democracy, state power was
said to derive from the people as expressed through the Grand National
Assembly, nominally, the supreme organ of state power. A nineteen-member
Presidium was elected by and from the membership of the assembly to
provide continuity of legislative authority when the assembly itself was
not in session. The highest executive and administrative organ was the
Council of Ministers, which functioned under the direction of the prime
minister. Although it was not mentioned in the constitution, the
Communist Party functioned as the supreme decisionmaking authority over
and above that of the government.
The right of ownership of private property was guaranteed, although the
constitution provided that privately held means of production, banks,
and insurance companies could be nationalized when the "general
interest" so required. Less than two months after the adoption of the
constitution, the Grand National Assembly applied this "general
interest" principle and nationalized all banking, industrial, insurance,
mining, and transportation enterprises.
Described in the constitution in anticipation of their actual
establishment, the organs of state power in the regions, counties,
districts, and communes were designated "people's councils." Formally
established by law in 1949, these bodies were organized into a
centralized system in which the lower level councils were fully
subordinated to the next higher council and all functioned under the
direct control of the central organs of government.
Changes that were effected in the political, social, and economic
structure of the country after 1948 were incorporated into a new
constitution in 1952. Patterned largely after the 1936 Constitution of
the Soviet Union, the 1952 document specifically designated the Romanian
Workers' Party (title of the Communist Party between 1948 and 1965) as
the representative of the working class and the country's leading
political force. The nation's close ties with the Soviet Union were
strongly emphasized. Several references to the Soviet Union glorified
its role in the liberation of the country from fascism during World War
II and described the Soviets as great friends of the Romanian people.
Whereas the 1948 Constitution declared that "the Romanian People's
Republic was born amid the struggle conducted by the people, under the
leadership of the working class, against fascism, reaction, and
imperialism," that of 1952 asserted the republic "was born and
consolidated following the liberation of the country by the armed forces
of the Soviet Union."
As did the 1948 Constitution, that of 1952 guaranteed full equality to
the country's national minority groups, but the 1952 Constitution also
established an autonomous administrative unit, the Hungarian Autonomous
Region (Mures-Magyar), for the large Hungarian population. The region
was given its own people's council and local authorities, although these
were clearly subordinated to the organs of the central government.
Including the Hungarian Autonomous Region, the country was administered
through twenty regional units that, in turn, were subdivided into
districts, towns, and rural localities.
Citizens were guaranteed the right to work for remuneration; the right
to rest, assured by the establishment of the eight-hour workday and paid
annual vacations for workers and office employees; the right to material
security when old, ill, or disabled; and the right to education. Full
equality in all aspects of economic, political, and cultural life was
guaranteed to all working people regardless of nationality, race, or
sex.
Freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and public demonstration were
likewise assured, as was freedom of religion. Churches, however, were
forbidden to operate schools except for the training of religious
personnel. Other rights guaranteed the protection of the person from
arbitrary arrest, the inviolability of the home, and the secrecy of the
mail. The right of citizens to form public and private organizations was
also assured, although associations having a "fascist or anti-democratic
character" were prohibited.
Citizen duties to the state included the observance of the constitution
and the laws of the republic and the obligation to preserve and develop
socialist property, to practice discipline in regard to work, and to
work in general for the strengthening of the "regime of people's
democracy." Military service and the defense of the nation were
described as duties of honor for all citizens.
In March 1961 the Grand National Assembly established a commission to
prepare a new draft constitution. At the same time the 1952 Constitution
was revised to transform the Presidium of the assembly into the Council
of State. The new council, vested with supreme executive authority,
consisted of a president, three vice presidents, and thirteen members.
As was the case with the Presidium, the Council of State was elected by
and from the assembly membership and was, in theory at least,
responsible to it.
The authority of the council was threefold, consisting of permanent
powers, powers to be exercised between assembly sessions, and special
powers that could be exercised in exceptional circumstances. The
permanent powers were exercised by the president, who was by virtue of
his position the head of state, and focused primarily on the
representation of the republic in international relations. Between
sessions of the assembly the Council of State was empowered to oversee
the activity of the Council of Ministers, appoint and recall members of
the Supreme Court and the commander in chief of the armed forces,
supervise the functioning of the Office of the Prosecutor General, and
convene standing commissions of the assembly.
The council could also issue decrees having the force of law although,
at least technically, these had to be submitted to the next assembly
session for ratification. In the event of circumstances that might
prevent the assembly from convening, the council was authorized to
appoint the Council of Ministers, declare war, order mobilization,
proclaim a state of emergency, approve the budget, and prepare economic
plans. Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, first secretary of the Romanian Workers'
Party, was elected as president of the Council of State. Ion Gheorghe
Maurer--who had been chairman of the assembly Presidium, and thus
titular head of state, since 1958--became prime minister.
Although the draft constitution prepared by the commission appointed in
1961 was never adopted, it was used as the basis for the work of a
second commission named in June 1965. Under the chairmanship of
Ceausescu, the commission prepared a new draft and submitted it to the
party congress and the Council of State. After being approved by these
bodies the Constitution was adopted by the Grand National Assembly on
August 20, 1965.
The Constitution of 1965
After the adoption of the first communist constitution in 1948 the
country had officially borne the title of a people's republic. With the
promulgation of the new Constitution in 1965 the name of the country was
changed to the Socialist Republic of Romania (Republica Socialista
Romania). In adopting this title, the Romanian leadership was asserting
that the country had completed the transition from capitalism and had
become a full-fledged socialist state.
Observers of Eastern European politics considered the emphasis placed on
national sovereignty and independence in the new Constitution to be
significant. Whereas the 1952 Constitution repeatedly stressed the
country's close ties to the Soviet Union and the role of the Soviet army
in the liberation of Romania during World War II, the 1965 Constitution
omits all reference to the Soviet Union. Instead, it refers only to the
policy of maintaining friendly and fraternal relations with all
socialist states and, in addition, expresses the intention of promoting
friendly relations with nonsocialist states.
There is also increased provision for civil liberties in the 1965
Constitution, including the right of petition, the right of individual
recourse to the courts in the event of illegal acts of state agencies,
and rights equivalent to habeas corpus. The extent of individual freedom
is qualified, however, by the declaration that the "freedom of speech,
of the press, reunion, meeting and demonstration cannot be used for aims
hostile to the socialist system and to the interests of the working
people." While proclaiming freedom of association and organization, the
1965 Constitution, as did that of 1952, prohibits associations of a
"fascist or anti-democratic character."
Perhaps owing to the declared advancement to the stage of socialism, the
1965 Constitution contains no reference to the "private capitalist
sector" of the economy, as had the 1952 document. Whereas the 1952
Constitution had recognized the private sector as one of three elements
of the economic system, along with the socialist sector and the sector
described as "small-scale commodity production," that of 1965 declares
the basis of the economy to rest solely on the socialist ownership of
the means of production. Cooperative farmers, however, are permitted the
personal ownership of some livestock and tools, certain craftsmen are
guaranteed ownership of their workshops, and peasants who are not in
cooperatives are able to own small parcels of land and some farm
implements.
Changes that had been made in the organizational structure of the
government after 1952 were incorporated into the 1965 Constitution. The
Council of State is described as the "supreme body of state power with a
permanent activity," although it remains theoretically subordinate to
the Grand National Assembly, which is designated as "the supreme body of
state power." In contrast to the 1952 Constitution, which provided for
representation to the Grand National Assembly on the basis of one deputy
for every 40,000 persons, the 1965 document fixes the number of assembly
deputies at 465 and requires the establishment of that number of
constituencies of equal population.
Although the Hungarian Autonomous Region continued to exist, the 1952
provision guaranteeing "administrative and territorial autonomy" to the
Hungarian population was omitted from the 1965 Constitution. All of the
sixteen regional units were subsequently eliminated by a territorial
reorganization of 1968, at which time a system of _judete_ (counties)
was established.
All power is ascribed to the people and exercised by their
representatives in the people's councils and the Grand National
Assembly. The Communist Party is described as the country's leading
political force under whose leadership the working people have the
expressed goal of building the socialist system to create "the
conditions for transition to communism."
THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONING OF THE GOVERNMENT
The Central Government
According to the 1965 Constitution the major institutions of the central
government are the Grand National Assembly, the Council of State, and
the Council of Ministers (see fig. 1). Although the Constitution
declares the Grand National Assembly and the Council of State to be the
supreme organs of state power, in practice the authority of both of
these organs ranks after that of the PCR. The Constitution itself states
unequivocally that "the leading political force of the whole society is
the Romanian Communist Party." The basic national policy decisions are
made in the ruling bodies of the party and subsequently communicated to
the government for adoption and implementation.
[Illustration: _Figure 7. Structure of the Government of Romania,
1971._]
The Grand National Assembly
The Grand National Assembly, which supervises and controls the functions
of all other state organs, consists of 465 deputies elected from an
equal number of electoral districts for a four-year term of office. In
the event of exceptional circumstances that prevent the holding of
elections, however, the assembly is empowered to prolong its term of
office for the duration of these circumstances. Regular assembly
sessions are held twice yearly, and special sessions may be convened on
the initiative of the Council of State or on demand of one-third of the
total number of deputies.
Constitutionally, the Grand National Assembly is empowered to elect,
supervise, and recall the members of the Council of State, the Council
of Ministers, and the Supreme Court. It is also empowered to name the
prosecutor general and control the activity of his office. It is given
ultimate authority in the regulation of the electoral system, the
national economic plan, the state budget, and the organization and
functioning of the people's councils.
The assembly is empowered to establish the general line of the country's
foreign policy and has ultimate responsibility for the maintenance of
public order and national defense. As a part of this responsibility the
assembly appoints and recalls the supreme commander of the armed forces.
Declarations of war, however, are constitutionally limited to the
protection of Romanian national sovereignty in the event of aggression
or in the event of aggression against another state with which Romania
has mutual defense obligations.
Other powers attributed to the assembly include adopting and amending
the Constitution and the general control over its application. Assembly
authority extends as well to the interpretation of the Constitution and
decisions on the constitutionality of laws, making it in effect its own
constitutional court. In exercising that power the assembly elects the
Constitutional Commission, which functions for the duration of the
legislative term. The Constitution specifies that up to one-third of the
commission members may be persons who are not deputies, but members of
the Supreme Court, college and university teachers, and scientific
researchers are specifically excluded from commission membership. Duties
of the commission focus primarily on providing the assembly with reports
and opinions on constitutional questions.
The Grand National Assembly functions under an elected chairman who
presides over assembly sessions and is responsible for directing its
activities. The chairman and four elected vice chairmen form the Bureau
of the Grand National Assembly and are assisted in their duties by a
panel of six executive secretaries. In addition to the Constitutional
Commission, other standing commissions of the assembly include the
Agriculture and Forestry Commission; Credentials Commission; Defense
Commission; Economic and Financial Commission; Education, Science, and
Culture Commission; Foreign Policy Commission; Health, Labor, and Social
Welfare Commission; Industry, Construction, and Transportation
Commission; Legal Commission; and the People's Councils and State
Administration Commission. Any deputy may be elected to the standing
commissions of the assembly or to temporary commissions created to
perform specific functions. Reports, bills, or other legislative matters
are submitted to the standing commissions by the assembly chairman for
study and for recommendations on further action.
The assembly may function if one-half of the deputies plus one
additional deputy are present. Laws and decisions are adopted by simple
majority vote with the exception of an amendment to the Constitution,
which requires a two-thirds majority of the total number of assembly
deputies. Laws and decisions are signed by the presiding officer present
at the time the decision is voted. Within ten days after adoption, laws
are required to be signed by the president of the Council of State and
published in the _Official Bulletin of the Socialist Republic of
Romania_.
The Council of State
Described as the supreme body of state power with a permanent activity,
the Council of State exercises certain permanent powers as well as
special powers that fall to it when the Grand National Assembly is not
in session. Formed of nineteen members, the Council of State is elected
by the assembly, from its own membership, at the first assembly session
as it begins a new term of office. The council's authority continues
until the election of a new Council of State by the succeeding
legislature. Although the president of the council is the head of state,
the Constitution asserts that the functioning of the council is to be
based on the principle of collective leadership. Almost all the members
of the Council of State also hold leading party posts.
Among the most important permanent powers of the Council of State are
the establishment of election dates; the appointment and recall of the
heads of central government agencies, except for the Council of
Ministers; and the ratification or denunciation of international
treaties. The president of the council represents the republic in
international relations. Other permanent powers include the granting of
senior military ranks; the conferral of honors; the granting of
citizenship, pardon, and refuge; and the appointment and recall of
diplomatic representatives.
Grand National Assembly powers that devolve to the Council of State
between assembly sessions, or in the event of exceptional circumstances
that prevent the assembly from acting, include the authority to appoint
and recall members of the Council of Ministers, members of the Supreme
Court, and the prosecutor general. Also included in this category are
powers to establish norms having the power of law, control over the
application of laws and decisions passed by the assembly, and
supervision of the Council of Ministers and other central administrative
bodies as well as the activities of the people's councils.
Although the legal decisions passed by the council must be submitted for
approval to the next session of the Grand National Assembly, they take
effect as law immediately on passage by the council or on a date
specified in the ruling itself. In the event of a national emergency the
Council of State can also exercise the assembly's power to declare a
state of war, subject to the same qualifications imposed upon the
assembly--that is, in the event that Romania or one of its allies is the
victim of external armed aggression.
In December 1967 PCR General Secretary Ceausescu was elected president
of the Council of State by the Grand National Assembly and, by virtue of
this position, became the head of state. The reason given for the
concentration of the principal party and government positions in
Ceausescu's hands was the desire to provide unitary leadership both as a
means of efficiency and of ensuring full party control at the highest
level of the government. The decision to unite the two posts, as well as
to combine a number of party and government positions on lower
administrative levels, had been taken at a national party conference a
few days earlier and followed action taken by the PCR Central Committee
in October. Outside observers saw the move as one of a series of steps
designed to ensure the continued subordination of the state apparatus to
the party.
In March 1970 the Grand National Assembly voted to establish the Defense
Council, to be headed by Ceausescu and responsible to the Council of
State. The formation of the Defense Council, which was given
decisionmaking powers for high-level military affairs, served to
strengthen Council of State control over the armed forces and further
enhance Ceausescu's personal authority. The same legislation that
established the Defense Council also decreed that foreign troops could
not enter Romania under any circumstances without the prior approval of
the assembly. Coming in the aftermath of the Soviet-led invasion of
Czechoslovakia, observers of Eastern European affairs interpreted this
ruling as a means of preventing any dissident group from inviting
foreign intervention on the pretext of preserving orthodox communist
rule.
The membership of the Defense Council reflected the importance given it.
Besides the head of state, other members of the council include the
prime minister, the minister of the armed forces, the chairman of the
Council of State Security, the minister of internal affairs, the
minister of foreign affairs, the chairman of the State Planning
Committee, and eight other members who also held leading government and
party positions. The secretary of the council in 1971 was the chief of
the general staff and a member of the PCR Central Committee.
Also connected to the Council of State and subordinate to it is the
Economic Council. This body functions to advise on economic matters,
coordinate planning, and make recommendations to the Council of State
for the development of the national economy and the improvement of state
enterprises. In late 1971 the chairman of the Economic Council was also
a member of the PCR Secretariat.
The Council of Ministers
Defined in the Constitution as the supreme body of state administration,
the Council of Ministers exercises control over the activities of all
state agencies on both the national and local levels. The council is
composed of a chairman (who is the prime minister), a first deputy
chairman, an unspecified number of deputy chairmen, the ministers, and
the heads of certain other important government agencies (see fig. 8).
Unlike the 1952 Constitution, in which twenty-six specific ministries
were listed, that of 1965 fixes neither the number of ministries nor
their particular areas of competence, this being left to other laws.
In 1971 the Council of Ministers was composed of forty-four members,
including the prime minister, first deputy, seven deputies, twenty-three
ministers, and ten committee chiefs with ministerial rank. All but two
of the members of the council were also members, or alternate members,
of the PCR Central Committee, and the prime minister and his first
deputy were members of the Standing Presidium of the party. These two,
along with two other deputies, were also full members of the PCR
Executive Committee.
[Illustration: _Figure 8. Romania, Organization of the Council of
Ministers, 1971._]
The Constitution charges the Council of Ministers with responsibility
for the general implementation of the nation's domestic and foreign
policies, the application of laws, and the maintenance of public order.
As the supreme administrative body of the government, the council
coordinates and controls the activity of the ministries and other state
organs at all levels. In economic matters the council administers the
drafting of the overall state plan and the national budget and provides
for their implementation. In addition, it directs the establishment of
the economic enterprises and other industrial and commercial
organizations (see ch. 14). The council's responsibilities also include
the general administration of relations with other states, the
conclusion of international agreements, and the general organization of
the armed forces.
Formally elected by the Grand National Assembly at the beginning of each
new assembly session, the council's term of office continues until the
election of a new council by the succeeding assembly. Both collectively
and individually, the council members are responsible to the Grand
National Assembly; and in the interval between assembly sessions, to the
Council of State. The Constitution asserts that the Council of Ministers
is to operate on the principle of collective leadership to ensure the
unity of its political and administrative actions.
In late 1969 the Grand National Assembly enacted legislation aimed at
strengthening the concept of collective leadership in the ministries and
extending the principle to other national administrative agencies. In
the case of the Council of Ministers, the measure provided for the
establishment of a collegium in each ministry consisting of the
minister, department heads, certain specialists, and representatives of
labor unions or other organizations. Purposes of the collegium included
collective decisionmaking, review of ministry activities, and
recommendations on ministry programs and policies. The meetings of the
collegium, at which decisions are made by majority vote, are also
attended by representatives of the PCR appointed by the party Central
Committee. In the event of serious disagreements within the collegium,
the law provides for the matter to be referred to the Council of
Ministers. No such disagreements have been reported, however.
Since the promulgation of the 1965 Constitution, the Council of
Ministers has been reorganized several times. In late 1971 the
importance of a number of the ministries and state commissions was
emphasized by the prominence of the party position held by their
ministers or chairmen: almost all of the members of the Council of
Ministers were either full or alternate members of the PCR Central
Committee; the chairmen of the General Union of Trade Unions, the
National Union of Agricultural Production Cooperatives, and the State
Planning Committee were full members of the party Executive Committee;
the chairmen of the Council of State Security and the State Committee
for Local Economy and Administration were alternate members of the
Executive Committee, as was the head of the Ministry of the Armed
Forces. The chairmen of the State Planning Committee and the Council of
State Security and the ministers of internal affairs and the armed
forces also were members of the Defense Council.
The Judicial System
The general organization and functioning of the judiciary is established
by the Constitution and by the 1968 Law on the Organization of the Court
System. Overall responsibility for the functioning of the courts is
vested in the Ministry of Justice, whereas the prosecutor general
(attorney general) is charged with the general application of the law
and the executing of criminal proceedings.
To fulfill its responsibility for the functioning of the courts and the
supervision of state marshals, state notaries, and the national bar
organization, the Ministry of Justice is divided into six directorates:
civil courts, military courts, studies and legislation, personnel,
administration, and planning and accounting. In addition, the ministry
includes a corps of inspectors, an office of legal affairs, the State
Notary Office, and a lawyer and legal expert service.
The court system includes the Supreme Court, _judet_ courts, lower
courts, military courts, and local judicial commissions. The
Constitution places the judiciary under the authority of the Grand
National Assembly; and between assembly sessions, under the authority of
the Council of State. The Supreme Court, seated in Bucharest, exercises
general control over the judiciary activities of all lower courts.
Members of the Supreme Court are professional judges appointed by the
Grand National Assembly to four-year terms of office. The Supreme Court
functions as an appeals court for sentences pronounced in lower
tribunals and, in certain matters specified by law, may act as a court
of first instance. It may also issue guidance, in the form of
directives, on legal and constitutional questions for the judicial
actions of lower courts and the administrative functions of government
agencies. To fulfill its responsibilities, the Supreme Court is divided
into three sections: civil, criminal, and military. Each of these
sections is presided over by a panel of three judges, and plenary
sessions of the entire court are held at least once every three months
in the presence of the minister of justice for the purpose of issuing
guidance directives.
With the territorial-administrative reorganization of February 1968, the
jurisdictions of the former regional and district courts were
restructured to correspond to the new administrative units. Accordingly,
there are thirty-nine _judet_ courts and the municipal court of
Bucharest, which has _judet_ court status. Each court on this level is
presided over by a panel of two judges and three lay jurors, known as
people's assessors, and decisions are made by majority vote. People's
assessors were first introduced in December 1947 and given additional
legal status in 1952 by the Grand National Assembly's Law on the
Organization of Justice. The law required these lay assessors to be
Romanian citizens and at least twenty-three years of age. Most of the
people's assessors are appointed by the PCR or by one of the district
bodies of the mass organizations (see ch. 9).
Below the _judet_ courts, and subordinate to them, are the lower courts.
In the city of Bucharest these consist of eight sectional courts, which
function under the supervision of the municipal court. For the remainder
of the country the number of these lower courts and the extent of their
territorial jurisdiction are established by the Ministry of Justice.
Courts on this level are presided over by a panel composed of one judge
and two people's assessors; decisions are based on a majority vote.
Military courts are established on a territorial basis, subdivisions
being determined by the Council of Ministers. The lower military
tribunals have original jurisdiction over contraventions of the law
committed by members of the armed forces; the territorial military
tribunals exercise appellate jurisdiction for decisions of the lower
units. In certain situations specified by law, cases involving civilians
may be assigned to military courts. At each level, the military courts,
when acting in the first instance, consist of two judges and three
people's assessors. In appeals cases on the territorial level, the
courts consist of three judges only. As in the civil courts, decisions
are reached by majority vote.
In 1968 the Grand National Assembly enacted a law establishing a system
of judicial commissions to function as courts of special jurisdiction in
the state economic enterprises and in localities. These commissions were
designed as "an expression of socialist democracy" to provide for the
increased participation of working people in the settlement of problems
involving minor local disputes and local economic issues. Functioning
under the direction of enterprise management or municipal executive
committees, the judicial commissions are assigned such matters as labor
disputes, misdemeanors, property disputes, and violations of proper
social conduct, a category that appears to provide broad latitude for
prosecution. As a rule, the commissions consist of five members elected
for a term of two years; however, in labor disputes two additional
members are added to the commission, one representing the enterprise
management and one representing the labor union committee.
General supervision over the application of the law and the initiation
of criminal proceedings is exercised by the Office of the Prosecutor
General. Headed by the prosecutor general, the office exercises
supervisory powers that extend to all levels of the society, from the
government ministries down to the ordinary citizen. Subunits of the
Office of the Prosecutor General are hierarchically organized and
include offices in each judicial district plus the prosecutor's military
bureau. The prosecutor general is elected by the Grand National Assembly
for a four-year term and is responsible to the assembly or, between
assembly sessions, to the Council of State for the activities of his
office. Three deputy prosecutors assist the prosecutor general in
carrying out his official duties.
An important part of the prosecutor general's responsibilities consists
of supervising the activities of the courts to ensure the uniform
application of the law. Prosecutors on the _judet_ level have a
consultative vote in the meetings of local government agencies when
important legal questions are being decided. The prosecutor general
participates in those plenary sessions of the Supreme Court at which
guidance decisions are made. In the event the prosecutor does not agree
with a decision, he may appeal to the county people's council or to its
executive committee for a review of the decision. On the national level,
the Office of the Prosecutor General may appeal alleged violations of
the law to the Council of Ministers.
Local Government
Local government bodies, known as people's councils, exist on the
_judet_, town, and commune levels. The 1965 Constitution had also
provided for subunits of state administration on regional and district
levels, but a territorial-administrative reorganization voted by the
Grand National Assembly in 1968 replaced the existing sixteen regions
and 150 intermediate districts with a system of thirty-nine counties and
forty-four independent municipal administrations. The expressed purpose
of the change was the provision of more efficient administration.
In addition to the establishment of county and municipal people's
councils, local councils were also set up in 142 smaller towns, and
communal councils were formed in rural areas. A number of the smaller
communes were combined in order to give them a larger population base.
Boundaries of each of the new _judete_ were drawn to include about fifty
communes consisting of some 4,000 to 5,000 persons.
Along with the territorial reorganization, the decision was also made to
combine party and government functions of the _judet_ level so that the
same person acted both as party committee first secretary and people's
council chairman. In explaining this fusion of party and state
authority, Ceausescu stated that there were many instances in which
offices in both the party and the government dealt with the same areas
of interest, a practice that resulted in inefficiency and the
unnecessary duplication of party and state machinery. He asserted that
the consolidation of these administrative positions would serve to
eliminate this overlapping. At the same time, Ceausescu declared that,
inasmuch as the government was responsible for the implementation of the
PCR's economic decisions, there was no justification for the continued
existence of the numerous economic sections of the party Central
Committee and that future economic policy would be implemented within
the structure of the government (see ch. 9).
According to the Constitution and the 1968 Grand National Assembly's Law
on the Organization and Operation of People's Councils, the people's
councils are responsible for the implementation of central government
decisions and the economic, social, and cultural administration of their
particular jurisdictions. Deputies to the people's councils are elected
to four-year terms--except for the communes where the term is two
years--from single-member constituencies of equal population. Based on
population, the _judet_ people's councils may have a maximum of 231, or
a minimum of 141, deputies. The membership of the Bucharest People's
Council is fixed at 369, and there are 151 deputies on the councils of
each of its subdistricts. City people's councils range from eighty-one
to 221 deputies, and those of the towns consist of from thirty-five to
ninety-one deputies. Commune council memberships range from twenty-five
to seventy-one persons.
Organized on the basis of highly centralized control, the people's
councils function under the general supervision of the Grand National
Assembly; and between assembly sessions the councils function under the
direction of the Council of State. The Law on the Organization and
Operation of People's Councils specifically places the people's councils
under the overall leadership of the PCR as the leading political force
of the society.
To expedite its work, each people's council established an executive
committee as its chief administrative organ and a number of permanent
committees to which it assigns specific responsibilities. The executive
committee, consisting of a chairman, two or more deputy chairmen, and an
unspecified number of other members, functions for the duration of the
council's term of office. Each of the people's council executive
committees also has a secretary, who is appointed with the approval of
the next higher ranking council and is considered an employee of the
central government rather than of the local executive committee itself.
The chairman of executive committees in the cities, towns, and communes
are officially considered the mayors of these units. The executive
committees are responsible to the people's council that elected them as
well as to the executive committee of the next higher council.
The executive committee meets whenever necessary and is required to
convene at least once a month; full council sessions are held every two
months on the city, town, and commune level and every three months on
the county level. Responsibilities of the executive committees include
the implementation of laws, decrees, and decisions of the central
government, the carrying out of the decisions made by the people's
councils, the working out of the local budget, and the drafting of the
local economic plan. The executive committee is also charged with the
direction and control of the economic enterprises within its area of
jurisdiction and with the exercising of supervision over the executive
committees of the councils inferior to it. The executive committees are
also responsible for the organization and functioning of public
services, educational institutions, medical programs, and the militia.
THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM
According to the 1965 Constitution, all power belongs to the working
people joined in a worker-peasant alliance; power is exercised through
the people's representative bodies--the Grand National Assembly and the
several levels of people's councils. Theoretically, these bodies are
elected by, controlled by, and responsible to the working people.
Emphasis is placed on the direct participation of the citizens through
their local people's councils, party units, and chapters of the mass
organizations (see ch. 9).
Although the Constitution asserts the right of all citizens eighteen
years of age and older to participate in the election of all
representative bodies on the basis of a universal, direct, equal, and
secret vote, it does not determine how elections are to be organized or
specify who is responsible for conducting them. The Constitution does
declare, however, that the right to nominate candidates belongs to the
PCR, as well as to all labor unions, cooperatives, youth and women's
leagues, cultural associations, and other mass organizations. Citizens
who have reached the age of twenty-three are eligible to be candidates
for elective office.
Separate legislation provides for general elections to be held every
four years and local communal elections to be conducted every two years.
Elections are organized under the direction of the Socialist Unity
Front, the national entity that incorporates the country's numerous mass
organizations under the leadership of the PCR (see ch. 9). All
candidates for elective office must have the approval of the front in
order to be placed on the ballot, a requirement that ensures that no
candidate unacceptable to the front's leadership will be placed in
nomination.
The Socialist Unity Front was officially established in November 1968 as
a replacement for the People's Democratic Front, which had existed since
the Communists began to organize effectively in the country during World
War II. The Socialist Unity Front lists among its member organizations,
in addition to the PCR, the labor unions; cooperative farm
organizations; consumer cooperatives; professional, scientific, and
cultural associations; student, youth, women's, and veterans'
organizations; religious bodies; and representatives of the Hungarian,
German, Serbian, and Ukrainian minorities. At the time of its formation,
Ceausescu was elected as the front's chairman, and Ion Gheorghe Maurer,
the prime minister, was named as first vice chairman. Both continued in
these positions in early 1972.
General elections were conducted by the Socialist Unity Front in March
1969. Official results indicated that ballots were cast by 99.96 percent
of the country's 13,582,249 eligible voters. Of the votes cast, a
reported 99.75 percent were marked in favor of the single list of
Socialist Unity Front candidates. Although the great majority of the
candidates for the Grand National Assembly who were placed on the ballot
belonged to the PCR, some non-members gained front approval and were
elected. Nearly half of the candidates elected were newcomers to the
assembly and included forty-one Hungarian, twelve German, and nine other
minority representatives. The front has scheduled the next general
elections for 1973.
CHAPTER 9
POLITICAL DYNAMICS AND VALUES
At the beginning of 1972 the country's political system continued to be
based on the leading position of the Romanian Communist Party (Partidul
Communist Roman--PCR). Within the party, political power was centralized
in a small group of men who occupied the leading party and government
offices. Political authority was particularly concentrated in the hands
of the general secretary of the PCR, Nicolae Ceausescu, who was also the
head of state.
Regarding itself as the leading force of the society, the PCR has made
the government apparatus an instrument of party policy and, through a
broad network of subordinate mass organizations, has mobilized all
elements of the society in support of its programs and goals. Individual
and group participation in the political process was limited to the
forms and means permitted by the PCR.
The concentration of all political authority in the central bodies of
the party has effectively precluded the emergence of any open opposition
to the PCR leadership as well as the assertion of any particular group
interests. Under Ceausescu's leadership the party has sought to
strengthen its role in all spheres of social, economic, and political
life and, at the same time, to broaden its base of support by taking
steps to increase its membership. Although the party leaders have
periodically demonstrated a cautious relaxation of the highly
centralized system of control, the PCR has continued to be extremely
sensitive to any potential threats or challenges to its position.
In attempting to build a broad base of popular support the party has
drawn upon the symbols of nationalism and has made extensive use of
Romanian history and tradition. Its independent stance in relation to
Soviet domination has served to enhance its image among the general
population; at the same time, the fact that membership in the party has
been made relatively easy has helped the PCR become one of the largest
communist parties of Eastern Europe.
In mid-1971 Ceausescu initiated a campaign to strengthen ideological and
cultural orthodoxy and, for the first time in the six years since he had
come to power, some political observers believed they were able to
detect opposition to his proposals both within and outside the party.
There was no indication, however, that the resistance was organized or
was strong enough to affect Ceausescu's position. Throughout the period
of Ceausescu's control there have never been any recognizable factions
in the party in opposition to his leadership.
MAJOR POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS, 1965 TO 1970
The leadership of the PCR changed hands in March 1965 when Nicolae
Ceausescu became first secretary after the death of Gheorghe
Gheorghiu-Dej, who had headed the party almost continually since 1944
(see ch. 2). Ceausescu's emergence as head of the party came in the
midst of a period of growing Romanian nationalism that had begun in the
early 1960s. Initiated by Gheorghiu-Dej, the policy of greater national
autonomy was given additional form and substance by Ceausescu, who
sought to cast himself in the role of the restorer of Romanian history
and the country's national traditions.
As Gheorghiu-Dej's successor, Ceausescu was confronted with the
necessity of consolidating his power. No member of the party Secretariat
owed his position to Ceausescu, and he found particular challenges to
his authority from three men who had been among Gheorghiu-Dej's closest
associates: Chivu Stoica, a veteran party leader; Gheorghe Apostol,
first deputy premier and a former PCR secretary; and Alexandru Draghici,
minister of internal affairs and, as such, head of the powerful state
security apparatus.
A temporary solution to the problem was found in a system of collective
leadership by which Ceausescu became head of the party and Stoica took
over Gheorghiu-Dej's other leading position as president of the Council
of State and, as such, head of state. Apostol continued as first deputy
prime minister, and Draghici remained as minister of internal affairs.
Ion Gheorghe Maurer, who had served as prime minister under
Gheorghiu-Dej, continued in that position. At the same time, changes
were made in the party statutes to prevent one man from holding dual
party and government offices as Gheorghiu-Dej had done.
In April, just one month after taking over as head of the PCR, Ceausescu
announced that a party congress would be convened in July. During the
month of June, while preparations were being made for the congress, he
revealed plans to redefine the character and structure of the party and
announced that its name would no longer be the Romanian Workers' Party,
as it had been known since 1948, but would again be the Romanian
Communist Party. Observers of East European political affairs saw the
change of name as an assertion of the equality of Romanian communism
with the communist parties of the Soviet Union and other communist
states. During the same month the new PCR leaders also proclaimed that
the official designation of the state would be the Socialist Republic of
Romania rather than the Romanian People's Republic as it had previously
been known (see ch. 8).
At the July party congress Ceausescu was successful in adding a number
of his supporters to an enlarged PCR Central Committee and in having his
own title changed to general secretary. At the same time the party
structure was changed to add a new body, the Executive Committee,
between the Standing Presidium (Politburo) and the Central Committee.
Although he was not able to gain full control of the Executive Committee
immediately, in time this new body provided Ceausescu with the means for
including his supporters in the leading organs of the PCR and for
implementing his own policies.
During the party congress Ceausescu was able to turn the PCR
proscription against an individual's holding dual party and government
positions to his own advantage by engineering the election of Draghici
to the party Secretariat, a move that resulted in Draghici losing his
power base as minister of internal affairs as well as his direct control
over the state security forces. Later in the year the appointment of two
additional "first deputy prime ministers" undermined the power of
Apostol who had been, until that time, the only first deputy.
Simultaneously, Ceausescu was making preparations for even more
definitive actions against his rivals, preparations that took the form
of an unpublicized decision of the PCR Central Committee, in November
1965, to establish a commission of inquiry to reexamine the political
trials conducted by the Gheorghiu-Dej regime during the 1950s. The
commission was particularly directed to investigate the 1954 trial and
execution of Lucretiu Patrascanu, who had been the Romanian minister of
justice from 1944 to 1948 and an important member of the party
hierarchy. The formation of the commission of inquiry and its findings
were not announced publicly until April 1968.
Political observers identified three principal factions within the PCR
during the 1965-67 period: Ceausescu and his supporters; the veteran
party men led by Stoica, Apostol, and Draghici; and the intellectuals,
of whom Maurer was perhaps the nominal representative. Those allied with
Ceausescu, who was forty-seven years old when he came to power, tended
to be men of his own generation and outlook, and whenever possible he
engineered their appointment or promotion into important party,
government, and military positions.
One of Ceausescu's foremost concerns was what he termed the
revitalization of the PCR. To achieve this end, he not only brought his
own younger men into the top party organs but also sought to broaden the
professional skills represented in these bodies through the recruitment
of technically trained men and academicians. At the same time, increased
technical and scientific contacts were permitted with Western nations,
and previously banned works of foreign writers and artists were allowed
to be reintroduced--moves that helped Ceausescu gain additional support
among the PCR's intellectuals.
Although the party encouraged a revival of nationalism and introduced
several limited domestic reforms, it did not relax its tight political
control and continued to direct the country's economy through a highly
centralized system. The maintenance of strict party control was
evidenced in the congresses of the youth and labor union organizations
in mid-1966, when the delegates were informed that the PCR would begin
to enforce the "patriotic education" of their members.
The 1967 National Party Conference
At a specially convened National Conference of the PCR in December
1967--the first such conference in twenty-two years--Ceausescu continued
to strengthen his own position. The conference was attended by the
members of the Central Committee as well as by 1,150 delegates from
local party organizations. Ceausescu elected to employ the technique of
the party conference rather than a special party congress in order to
have his proposals approved by a larger body than the Central Committee.
At the same time, he wanted to avoid the requirement of having to elect
a new Central Committee, which would have been the case had a congress
been held.
In his address to the conference, Ceausescu declared that in order to
modernize Romania as a socialist state it was imperative to adopt new
organizational and ideological forms. To achieve this end, he proposed a
number of reforms in the structure and functioning of both the party and
the government and defended the country's policy of independent
development. Speaking of the relationship between party and government
responsibilities, Ceausescu asserted the need to eliminate overlapping
and duplication in party and government functions. As a remedy, he
proposed that only one individual, whether in the party or in the
government, should deal with a particular sector of activity. In
addition, he called for a clearer delineation of the responsibilities of
the government and the party. It was not necessary, he declared, for the
Central Committee to decide all questions of economic affairs and
continue to maintain a number of economic departments that duplicated
the functions of the Council of Ministers and the economic ministries.
He proposed that the Central Committee limit itself to basic decisions
of economic policy and that the specific matters of implementation be
left to the government ministries.
Political and ideological activity, Ceausescu proposed, would remain
under the control of the Central Committee and would be given greater
emphasis and direction through the creation of an ideological commission
that would work to develop an intensified program of political
education. A defense council, composed of the party's Standing Presidium
and other members, would be established to deal with most military
questions, but the basic questions of guidance for both the armed forces
and the state security apparatus would continue to be the responsibility
of the Central Committee. Major foreign policy questions would be
decided by the Standing Presidium (see ch. 8).
Ceausescu also proposed reforms in the organization and responsibilities
of governmental organs. In addition to proposing a reorganization of the
state's territorial subdivisions, he asserted the need to broaden the
activities of the Grand National Assembly and to increase the
responsibilities of the assembly commissions in order to give that body
a greater role in the government. Ministers and other high government
officials were to be more aware of their responsibilities to keep the
assembly informed of the activities of their departments. Ceausescu also
declared the need to strengthen the role and organization of the Council
of Ministers to enable it to provide for long-term economic planning. In
addition, he suggested that the heads of three of the more important
mass organizations--the General Union of Trade Unions, the Union of
Communist Youth, and the National Union of Agricultural Production
Cooperatives--be included in the government and be given ministerial
ranking.
The party conference represented a major success for Ceausescu in his
drive to gain undisputed political control. All of his proposals were
unanimously adopted, and the party statutes were changed to enable him
to become the head of state, as president of the Council of State, as
well as head of the party, a reversal of the 1965 proscription against
one individual simultaneously holding prominent posts in both the party
and state. The nomination of Ceausescu was made by Stoica, the incumbent
president of the Council of State, on the grounds that uniting the
highest offices of the party and the state would eliminate the
duplication of functions and increase efficiency. Stoica was given a
position in the party Secretariat and later, in 1969, was named chairman
of the Central Auditing Commission, a post he continued to hold in early
1972.
As a result of the approval of Ceausescu's recommendations, a number of
changes were effected in local government and party organizations.
Certain positions in the party and state organizations were fused, the
county or city party first secretary also becoming chairman of the local
people's council (see ch. 8). The secretaries of local party units and
labor union representatives were included on the councils of the
industrial enterprises.
Following the recommendations of the party conference, the day after the
conference adjourned the Grand National Assembly convened to elect
Ceausescu as president of the Council of State, and it approved
legislation to implement most of the other conference decisions. At the
same time, the assembly elected a new Council of State consisting of (in
addition to Ceausescu) three vice presidents and fifteen other members.
A new Council of Ministers was also elected, with Maurer again named as
prime minister. Apostol was demoted from his position as a first deputy
prime minister to his previously held post as chairman of the General
Union of Trade Unions. Draghici was removed from the party Secretariat
and given a position as a deputy prime minister under Maurer. With the
successful demotion of his chief rivals, Ceausescu emerged at the close
of 1967 as the undisputed leader of both the party and the state.
Rehabilitation and De-Stalinization
With his power base firmly established, Ceausescu acted to fully
disassociate his regime from the Gheorghiu-Dej era. In April 1968, at a
plenary session of the Central Committee, the report of the commission
of inquiry, which had been secretly established in late 1965, was made
public. The Gheorghiu-Dej regime was severely indicated for fraudulently
conspiring to arrange the trial and execution of Patrascanu in 1954 and
for violations of justice in the other political show trials of the
1950s. Patrascanu was exonerated of all charges, and several other of
the trial victims were officially rehabilitated.
Because of this close association with Gheorghiu-Dej and his position as
head of the internal affairs ministry during the period of the trials,
the Central Committee dismissed Draghici from all his positions. Apostol
and Stoica were censured but were allowed to remain in their posts,
although their standing in the party was considerably weakened.
Throughout the 1968-70 period the Ceausescu regime continued a gradual
and cautious policy of de-Stalinization in domestic affairs and
continued, as well, to assert the country's independent stance in
international relations. The domestic relaxation was limited, however,
and, in an address to an association of artists in April 1968, Ceausescu
cautioned both intellectuals and artists not to overstep the bounds
established by the party.
The invasion of Czechoslovakia by Soviet-led forces of the Warsaw Treaty
Organization (Warsaw Pact) in August 1968 posed a crisis to the
Ceausescu regime and raised the possibility of Soviet intervention in
Romania. Ceausescu's firm denunciation of the invasion, however, served
to unify the population behind him. His call for national mobilization
and the creation of a home guard for national defense elicited broad
popular support and gained him stature as the defender of Romanian
independence.
In late 1968 the PCR leadership acted to establish a new national
political organization, the Socialist Unity Front, in order to bring
representatives of the major mass organizations and other associations
into a party-dominated framework for the political mobilization of the
population (see ch. 8). As a replacement for the older and largely
ineffective People's Democratic Front, the new front organization was
structured around a national council and, theoretically, was given
advisory powers on important policy matters.
In addition to the PCR, the Socialist Unity Front's National Council
included representatives of: labor unions; cooperative farmers'
organizations; consumers' cooperatives; professional, cultural, and
scientific associations; women's youth, and veterans' organizations;
religious bodies; and the councils of the Hungarian, German, Serbian,
and Ukrainian minorities. Ceausescu was elected president of the front,
and Maurer, the vice president.
The first major activity of the Socialist Unity Front was the conducting
of national elections on March 2, 1969. As only the front was allowed to
nominate candidates, just one candidate was named for each Grand
National Assembly seat. The official results indicated that over 99
percent of the eligible voters cast their ballots and, of these, 99.75
percent endorsed the Socialist Unity Front slate. Elections to the newly
organized bodies of local government took place at the same time (see
ch. 8).
Convening ten days after the election, the new Grand National Assembly
reelected Ceausescu as president of the Council of State and renamed
Maurer as prime minister. At the same time, the assembly enacted
legislation establishing the Defense Council that Ceausescu had earlier
proposed. Observers of East European political affairs considered the
timing of this enactment, coming just three days before an important
meeting of the Warsaw Treaty Organization, as a further assertion of
Romania's independent course in international affairs (see ch. 10).
The Tenth Party Congress
Almost 2,000 delegates attended the Tenth Party Congress of the PCR held
in Bucharest from August 6 to 12, 1969. In addition, delegations were
present from sixty-six foreign communist parties (see ch. 10). The main
features of the congress included Ceausescu's unanimous reelection as
general secretary of the party for a five-year term, the enlargement of
the Central Committee from 121 to 165 members, and the approval of
revisions of the party statutes.
Among other things, the statute revisions provided for the election of
the Central Committee by secret ballot and transferred the
responsibility for electing the general secretary from the Central
Committee to the party congress. It was also decided that party
congresses would be convened every five years rather than every four so
that each congress could discuss and adopt a five-year economic plan for
the country. A unique feature of the congress was the division of the
delegates into five working commissions, with their sessions open to
foreign journalists.
When it came time for the congress to elect the Central Committee,
nearly half of the remaining older members were replaced by younger men
who were supporters of Ceausescu. Apostol and Stoica were conspicuously
not reelected and, immediately after the congress, Apostol was
discharged from his position as chairman of the General Union of Trade
Unions after being charged with "serious breaches of Communist
morality."
Although the modifications in the party statutes were designed to allow
for more democratic procedures in party affairs, the principle of
centralized control continued to be strongly maintained. Whereas all
party members were encouraged to voice their opinions on any given
issue, once a decision was adopted the minority was expected to yield to
the majority and aid in implementation of policies. The congress
resolved that party control and ideological guidance must reach into all
aspects of the life of the people.
POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS
The Romanian Communist Party
Originally founded in 1921, the Romanian Communist Party was declared
illegal in 1924 and forced into a clandestine existence until the
closing years of World War II. After the war, fully supported by the
Soviet Union, the party gradually consolidated power and sought to
extend its base of popular support through intensified propaganda
activity. In early 1948 the PCR merged with one wing of the Social
Democratic Party to form the Romanian Workers' Party. By the end of
1952, however, almost all of the former Social Democrats had been
expelled from the leading party bodies and replaced by active Communists
(see ch. 2).
Organization
Basic decisions concerning the organization, operation, and membership
of the PCR are contained in the party statutes, the fundamental document
of the party. Originally adopted in May 1948, the statutes have
undergone several modifications, with more significant revisions being
made in 1955, 1965, 1967, and 1969.
All organs of the party are closely interrelated and operate on the
principle of democratic centralism. Derived from the Communist Party of
the Soviet Union, the concept of democratic centralism provides for the
election of party bodies at all levels but requires a firm hierarchical
subordination of each party organ to the next higher unit. In practice,
this means that party programs and policies are directed from a single
center and that decisions of higher organs are unconditionally binding
on all lower organs as well as on individual members. The statutes call
for the free and open discussion of policy questions at congresses,
conferences, local membership meetings, and in the party press; however,
discipline requires that once a decision is made the minority fully
submits to decisions of the majority.
According to the party statutes, the supreme organ of the PCR is the
party congress consisting of delegates elected by the county (_judet_)
conferences on the basis of one delegate for every 1,000 party members.
As revised in 1969, the statutes call for the convening of a party
congress every five years. Duties of the congress include the election
of the PCR general secretary, election of the Central Committee and the
Central Auditing Commission, and the discussion and adoption of programs
and policies proposed by the central organs of the party.
Between congresses the leading party organ is the Central Committee.
Consisting of 165 full members and 120 alternate members, the Central
Committee is responsible for the overall direction of all party
activities and the implementation of policies established by the party
congress. In addition, the Central Committee screens nominations for the
more important party and state positions. Party statutes require a
plenary session of the Central Committee at least four times a year (see
fig. 9).
[Illustration: _Figure 9. Organization of the Romanian Communist
Party, 1972._]
After its election by the party congress, the Central Committee in turn
elects, from among its own number, the members of the leading party
bodies: the Standing Presidium, the Executive Committee, and the
Secretariat. The election is largely a formality, however, for in
practice the Standing Presidium is the primary center of political power
and is a self-perpetuating body. Any change in its membership or in that
of the Secretariat is generated from within rather than through a
democratic decision of the Central Committee. As general secretary of
the party, Ceausescu heads both the Standing Presidium and the
Secretariat and chairs the Executive Committee.
To accomplish its administrative tasks the Central Committee is provided
with an extensive bureaucratic structure that in many instances
parallels the organization of the government ministries. A chancellery
office, headed by a chief and three deputies, coordinates the
committee's overall administrative activities. Party work is organized
under three directorates, each headed by a supervisory secretary, and a
number of administrative sections and functional commissions. The
directorates, designated as international affairs and propaganda, party
organization, and press and cultural affairs, supervise and direct the
work of the administrative sections. Not all of these sections are
listed in the party statutes or by the party press. A partial listing
includes sections for the economy, local administration, propaganda,
press, international affairs, party organs and personnel, national
minorities, and state security.
In addition to the directorates and administrative sections there were,
in 1970, eight formally established commissions directly tied to the
Central Committee. These were listed as the commissions for agriculture
and forestry; economic problems; ideological and cultural-educational
problems; international relations; organizational problems and internal
party activity; training of cadres, education, and science; development
of the social and state system; and social questions, public health, and
living standards.
Two party training institutions, the Stefan Gheorghiu Academy of
Social-Political Education and the Training of Leading Cadres and the
Institute of Historical and Social-Political Studies, operate under the
direct supervision of the Central Committee. Located in Bucharest, both
of these institutions are designed to train and indoctrinate key
bureaucratic personnel. The Central Committee also maintains a museum of
party history in Bucharest.
In charge of all of the political machinery of the PCR, the Standing
Presidium of the Central Committee is the party's center for
decisionmaking and policy control and, as such, is the most powerful
body in the country. There were, at the beginning of 1972, four party
leaders who held positions concurrently on the Standing Presidium, the
Executive Committee, and the Secretariat: Ceausescu, Manea Manescu,
Paul Niculescu-Mizil, and Gheorghe Pana. Political observers considered
these men to be the most powerful in the party and, hence, the nation.
All of the nine members of the Standing Presidium are also members of
the Executive Committee.
Little information is available on the responsibilities given the
Executive Committee, although some observers have described it as
providing an administrative link between the Standing Presidium and the
Central Committee. In practice it has functioned as a rump Central
Committee when the latter is not in session. The Secretariat serves as
the continuing administrative unit of the party. It supervises the
execution of policies decided upon by the Standing Presidium. Three
members of the Secretariat serve as the supervising secretaries of the
major directorates of the Central Committee.
Two other important party organs function under the supervision of the
Standing Presidium and the Secretariat: the Central Auditing Commission
and the Central Collegium, formerly known as the Party Control
Commission. Consisting of forty-five members (none of whom may belong to
the Central Committee), the Central Auditing Commission is empowered to
exercise general control over party financial affairs and examine the
management of finances by the various party organs. The nine-member
Central Collegium deals with matters of party discipline and serves as a
type of appeals court for penalties imposed on members by county or
local party committees.
An interlocking of authority and functions at the highest level of the
party and state is evidenced in the frequency with which the senior
party officials also hold important government posts. All of the members
of the Standing Presidium, the Executive Committee, and the Secretariat
are also deputies to the Grand National Assembly, and most of them hold
other prominent government positions in the Council of State, the
Defense Council, or the Council of Ministers.
The party statutes describe the local cell, the basic party unit, as the
foundation of the party. Cells exist in factories, offices,
cooperatives, military and police units, social and cultural
organizations, and residential areas. Some of these cell groups consist
of as few as three members, whereas those in the larger enterprises may
have as many as 300 members. In 1969 there were an estimated 69,000 of
these local party units.
Functions of the local and occupational cell units include the
implementation of party directives and programs, the recruitment and
indoctrination of new members, and the dissemination of propaganda
directed at those outside the party. Members have the duty to
participate in social, economic, and cultural activities, particularly
in the direction of the economic enterprises, and to critically examine
production and community life in the light of party ideology and goals.
In all of its activities the local cell is required to uphold the
discipline of the party and to adhere to the policies established by the
ruling bodies of the PCR.
Between the local cell unit and the higher organs of the PCR stands a
hierarchy of party committees organized on the county, town, and
communal levels. Each of these units is directly subordinate to the next
higher level of the party organization. In Bucharest a city party
committee supervises the activities of the communal and enterprise
cells. Each party committee sets up its own bureau and elects a
secretariat. In most cases the secretariat consists of a first
secretary, a first vice chairman, and three or more vice chairmen or
secretaries.
The activity of the bureaus is conducted through several functional
departments, which generally consist of sections on personnel,
administration, agitation and propaganda, economic enterprises, youth,
and women's affairs. The county and city committees also have their own
control commissions and training programs. The first secretary of the
county committee also serves as chairman of the county people's council,
interlocking the party and government offices (see ch. 8).
The party leadership decided in late 1967 to require the active
participation of the party secretaries in the administrative organs of
the enterprises and other institutions in their respective areas. County
committees are aided in their administrative duties by economic
commissions that oversee the general economic development of the county
and fix both current and long-range goals. In addition, the economic
commissions are charged with the coordination of all economic activity,
the conducting of studies and making of proposals for setting production
goals, and the allocation of material and human resources in the county.
At each of these levels--county, city, town, and commune--the highest
authoritative organ is the party conference, which fills a role on these
lower levels similar to that of the party congress on the national
level. The party statutes as revised in 1969 call for the convening of
conferences every fourth year in the counties, in the city of Bucharest,
and in the larger towns. In the communes and smaller towns the
conference is required to be held once every two years. Although the
conferences are held ostensibly to discuss problems and formulate
policies, they serve in practice as transmission belts for the official
party line set down by the central PCR authorities. County conferences
and the Bucharest city conference elect delegates to the national party
congress.
Membership
The PCR emerged at the close of World War II with only about 1,000
members. Four years later, just before its merger with the Social
Democratic Party and after an intensive propaganda campaign and a strong
membership drive, the party reported over 700,000 members. When the PCR
merged with the Social Democratic Party to form the Romanian Workers'
Party in 1948, some 200,000 Social Democrats were added to the
membership roll. A purge of so-called hostile and nominal members during
1950 resulted in the expulsion of 190,000 persons from the party,
reducing the total membership to about 720,000 at the beginning of 1951.
During the early years of full communist control of Romania, the party
considered itself the vanguard of the working class and made a sustained
effort to recruit workers into party membership. By the end of 1950 the
PCR reported that 64 percent of the leading party positions and 40
percent of the higher government posts were filled by members of the
working class. The efforts to recruit workers into the party have
consistently fallen short of the set goals, however, and from time to
time throughout the period since 1950 party leaders have decried the
fact that the social composition of the membership has not included an
adequate proportion of workers.
By 1964 the party membership was reported at 1.2 million. This total was
increased to 1.5 million by 1966, a figure that represented about 8
percent of the country's population. Membership composition, in 1966,
was reported as 40 percent workers, 32 percent peasants, and 22 percent
intelligentsia, with the remaining 6 percent not classified.
After Ceausescu's accession to power in 1965, he sought to increase the
party's influence, broaden the base of popular support, and bring in new
members. At a first step, he eliminated the probationary period, which
had varied from one year for industrial workers to two years for
peasants, white-collar workers, and intellectuals. Additional members
were also sought by enticing those who had belonged to the old Social
Democratic Party and the former Socialist Party by dating their
membership from the time of their entry into those parties.
The result of the membership drive, announced at the 1967 party
conference, was the addition of 230,000 new PCR members, bringing the
total to 1,730,000. At the 1969 party congress it was announced that the
PCR had 1,924,500 members, representing about one-seventh of the total
adult population. In February 1971 the Central Committee reported that
the membership had grown to 2.1 million, making the PCR one of the
largest communist parties in Eastern Europe.
Statistics reported by the party press indicated the nationality
composition of the PCR as consisting of 88.8 percent Romanians, 8.4
percent Hungarians, and slightly over 1 percent Germans, with the
remainder encompassing other nationalities. As the 1966 census had shown
that Hungarians represented 8.4 percent of the total population, the
Germans 2 percent, and other nationalities about 2 percent, the
nationality composition of the party compares favorably with that of the
country as a whole.
Workers reportedly made up 44 percent of the party membership; peasants,
26 percent; and intellectuals and white-collar workers, 23 percent.
Seven percent were unclassified as to status. Statistics indicating the
age composition of the party were also published, revealing that 24
percent of the membership was under thirty years of age; persons between
the ages of thirty and forty made up 36 percent of the membership, and
40 percent of the members were over forty years old.
The PCR membership campaign had been given particular emphasis in the
major industries, such as the metal, machine-building, coal, petroleum,
and chemical industries, where 27 to 36 percent of the workers were
reported to belong to the party. Female membership was reported as 23
percent, up from 17 percent in 1960 and 21 percent in 1965. The report
contained a recommendation that a larger number of women be assigned to
responsible positions. Statistics for the army revealed that 90 percent
of the officers and 55 percent of the noncommissioned officers were
party members. The fact that over 926,000 members lived in rural areas
was asserted by the PCR leaders to be proof of peasant support and a
demonstration of the effectiveness of the party in organizing at the
village level.
In 1970 the party press reported that an analysis of the leading
national and local PCR bodies revealed that the greater proportion of
their memberships consists of those drawn from the ranks of the working
class. Of the 285 members and alternate members of the Central
Committee, 197, or nearly 70 percent, were workers or persons who had
come from the workers' ranks. Of the 4,698 members of county party
committees, 2,144 or 45.6 percent were said to be workers or from the
working class. Together, workers and peasants were reported to make up
over 64 percent of the membership of county committees. As many as 81
percent of the activists of the county, municipal, and communal party
committees were--according to their basic professions--workers, foremen,
or technicians.
Party Training
In early 1970 the PCR carried out a major reorganization of its primary
institution for the training of leading party workers, the Stefan
Gheorghiu Party Academy. With the reorganization, the full name of the
institution became the Stefan Gheorghiu Academy for Social-Political
Education and the Training of Leading Cadres. Its tasks were defined as
the training of party activists and the development of party leaders
capable of resolving problems and "applying the science of political
leadership to the party and society."
Ceausescu explained that the reorganization was necessary for upgrading
the training of activists for the party as well as for various sectors
of economic and state life. He also stated that the combination of party
training with state and economic activity is based on the principle that
the PCR is the leading force of the society and, as such, must ensure
the proper training of the personnel needed to guide all sectors of
activity.
As reorganized, the academy is divided into two departments, one for the
training of cadres in the party and in mass organizations and a second
for the training of personnel who work in the economy and state
administration. Each department is subdivided into a number of
institutes, sections, and training centers. Within the first department
is the Institute for Training Cadres in Social-Political Management,
which in turn is subdivided into sections for political-organizational
activity, political-ideological activity, and political-economic
activity. Also within the same department are the Journalism Faculty,
the Center for the Education and Training of Party and Mass Organization
Cadres, the Center for Improving the Political-Ideological Training of
Teachers of Social-Political Sciences in State Schools, and the Center
for Activist Training Courses. The Center for Activist Training Courses
provided programs of study for activists in the party, the youth
organization, labor unions, and workers in offices of foreign affairs.
The last two centers are divided into several sections that specialize
in the training of particular classes of activists.
The second department, that which provided training for state employees
and for those working in economic activities, consists of the Central
Institute for the Education of Leading Cadres in the Economy and State
Administration, a section for short-term courses, and a section for
training in specialized management and organizational problems. The
institute includes sections on the organization and management of
industrial activity, of construction, of transport and telecommunications,
of agriculture, of circulation of goods and services, of planning, and
of state administration. In addition, the department organizes courses
for chairmen of agricultural production cooperatives.
Admission to the academy programs is carefully controlled by the party.
Courses in the first department last for four years, and candidates are
selected from among the activists in the county and city party
committees and the central PCR bodies and from loyal party workers in
the mass organizations. Political activists in the Ministry of the Armed
Forces, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the State Security Council
are also eligible for training in the first department.
PCR regulations stipulate that candidates for training in the first
department must have worked for at least three years in production and
have had at least three years' experience in mass organizations. In
addition, the candidate must have completed at least a five-month course
in one of the lower level party schools, have a high school diploma or
its equivalent, and be thirty-five years of age or younger.
Courses in the second department last for two years. Requirements for
admission into this department include extensive experience in
organization and management related to industry and labor, at least
eight years of service, membership in the PCR, graduation from a higher
education institute, and an age of forty years or younger.
In addition to the broad program of the academy, the PCR also maintains
other ideological training institutions. These include the Institute of
Historical and Social-Political Studies in Bucharest, which functions
under the direct supervision of the Central Committee, and lower level
training programs that operate under the county party committees.
During 1971 the PCR placed increased emphasis on both the political and
general education of all party workers, and the Central Committee
decreed that only those who can keep up to date in their fields of
activity would be promoted. As a followup to the decree, the Central
Committee initiated a series of twenty- to thirty-day training programs
and required some 15,000 persons from party, state, and mass
organizations to attend the sessions. The order included a warning that
those who did not successfully complete the courses would lose their
jobs.
Observers of Romanian politics stated that the decision to require this
additional training of state and party workers stemmed from the fact
that the majority of personnel on both the central and local levels had
been named to their positions on the basis of faithful party activity
rather than their professional qualifications. The stipulation that
those who do not successfully complete the courses would lose their jobs
enables the party to replace those who are not qualified to fill their
positions.
The study programs, designed to include practical work, discussion of
specific problems, and field trips, cover a number of subjects including
"the basic Marxist-Leninist sciences of management and organization,"
automatic data processing, the utilization of electronic calculators,
methods of socioeconomic analysis, and the projection of plans, as well
as a number of special subjects related to the various fields of
activity of the participants. To facilitate the training of larger
numbers, branches of the Stefan Gheorghiu Party Academy's Center for the
Education and Training of Party and Mass Organization Cadres were set up
in Bucharest and in seven counties.
Mass Organizations
The PCR has fostered the development of a large number of mass
organizations that function as its auxiliaries. Comprised of members of
an interest group or a profession whose welfare they purport to serve,
the mass organizations provide channels for the transmission of policy
and doctrine from the party to the general population. PCR leaders have
described the duties of mass organizations as the mobilization of the
working people for the fulfillment of party policies and the provision
for their participation in the economic, political, and cultural life of
the country. Leaders of the mass organizations are always reliable PCR
members.
Citizens are constitutionally guaranteed the right to join together in
organizations. At the same time, the Constitution defines the leading
role of the party in relation to the mass organizations, asserting that
through such organizations the PCR "achieves an organized link with the
working class, the peasantry, the intelligentsia, and the other
categories of working people" and mobilizes them in "the struggle for
the completion of the building of socialism."
Two broad classes of organizations are included under the rubric of mass
organizations: those based on common interests or common categories or
persons, such as youth and women's associations, and those based on
professions, such as the General Union of Trade Unions. Several of the
organizations belong to international organizations and associations,
such as the World Federation of Trade Unions and the World Federation of
Democratic Youth.
Among the more important of the mass organizations are the Union of
Communist Youth, the General Union of Trade Unions, and the National
Council of Women. The chairmen of the Union of Communist Youth and the
General Union of Trade Unions sit on the Council of Ministers and have
ministerial rank; the chairman of the youth union serves simultaneously
as head of the Ministry of Youth Problems.
The Union of Communist Youth
At the time of its founding in early 1949 the Union of Communist Youth
(Uniunea Tineretului Comunist--UTC) was looked upon as the youth branch
of the PCR. It was set up with much the same organizational structure as
the party and, in practice, functioned both as a youth political party
and mass organization. Resulting from the party-decreed merger of all
existing youth organizations, the UTC was given the task of educating
the young in the spirit of Marxism-Leninism and mobilizing them, under
the guidance of the party, for the building of socialism.
In early 1972 the UTC continued to be one of the most powerful of the
mass organizations in the country, with an estimated membership of 2.5
million. Membership was open to young people between the ages of fifteen
and twenty-six; those who have reached the age of eighteen could also
become members of the PCR. The Tenth Party Congress, meeting in 1969,
introduced the requirement that young people up to the age of twenty-six
would be accepted into the party only if they were UTC members.
Decisions on persons to fill the most important leadership positions in
the UTC were made by the PCR Central Committee.
The structure of the UTC has undergone a number of changes since it was
originally established. In early 1972 the organization functioned on the
national level with an eight-member Secretariat, including the first
secretary who is also the UTC chairman, and a bureau of twenty-one full
and seven alternate members. In each of the thirty-nine countries and
the city of Bucharest there exist UTC committees that are similarly
organized with secretariats and bureaus. The UTC has its own publishing
facilities and publishes its own propaganda organ, _The Spark of Youth_
(Scinteia Tineretului).
Statistics on the composition of the youth organization, reported at the
Ninth UTC Congress held in February 1971, indicated that the membership
consisted of 30 percent workers, 39 percent students, and 17 percent
peasants. The remainder consisted of those who were classified as
intellectuals, clerks, and office workers.
Periodically throughout the 1960s PCR leaders demonstrated growing
concern for what they termed as shortcomings in the political education
of the nation's youth. In 1968 this concern led to the establishment of
the Research Center for Youth Problems and an increased effort to
instill in the young people a sense of "socialist patriotism." Ceausescu
asserted the need for all levels of education to be permeated with
Marxist-Leninist ideology and placed particular emphasis on ideological
training in the universities.
Political education of young people, both members and non-members, and
their mobilization in support of PCR policies is considered the primary
duty of the UTC. It is charged with the organization of political and
patriotic courses in schools, among peasant groups, and among workers
and members of the armed forces. The UTC also guides and supervises the
activities of the Union of Student Associations.
A second youth movement, the Pioneers Organization, was created for
young people between the ages of nine and fourteen. In late 1971 the
Pioneers Organization reported a total membership of 1.6 million. The
organization's responsibilities toward those of its age group parallel
those of the UTC and involve political and patriotic training. Until
1966 the Pioneers Organization functioned as an integral part of the
UTC, but since that time it has been under the direct control of the
party Central Committee.
The General Union of Trade Unions
As the official organization incorporating all blue-collar and
white-collar workers, the General Union of Trade Unions (Uniunea
Generala a Sindicatelr din Romania--UGSR) is the largest of the
country's mass organizations, with a reported membership in early 1972
of 4.6 million. Headed by a general council, the UGSR consists of twelve
component labor union federations and forty area councils, one for each
county and the city of Bucharest. The Central Council is structured with
a chairman, appointed by the PCR Central Committee, seven secretaries,
and an executive committee of twenty-seven full and nine alternate
members. There are an estimated 12,000 local union units.
The primary function of the labor unions is the transmission of party
policies to the rank and file. The UGSR statutes specify that the
organization will carry out all of its activities under the political
leadership of the PCR, and a similar provision is also included in the
statutes of the county UGSR committees. In addition, the statutes of
the central body require the organization to work to mobilize labor
union members to ensure the implementation of party policy. A 1969
resolution of the Central Council of the UGSR declared that all labor
union activities would focus on the mobilization of the working people
to fulfill the state economic plan.
In early 1971, after a period of increased labor discipline problems and
following a time of severe labor unrest in Poland, the PCR took steps to
reform the labor union organization. Announcing what he termed as the
democratization of the UGSR and its component unions, Ceausescu promised
the workers genuine protection of their interests and a voice in the
appointment of industrial management. The goal of the PCR program was to
improve the unions without losing party control, and Ceausescu defined
democratization as meaning that the labor unions would serve the party
as a framework for the organization of consultations with the masses and
as a forum where workers can debate the country's economic and social
development.
New UGSR statutes were introduced in mid-1971. Observers of Romanian
political affairs asserted, however, that there were no major changes in
the system and pointed out that the new statutes still did not give
labor unions the right to take the initiative in matters concerning
wages or the living standard. In this regard the unions could fill only
a watchdog role to assure that the regulations approved by the
appropriate party and management bodies were being correctly carried
out.
PARTY POLICIES AND PROGRAMS
The major domestic programs that the party sought to promote centered on
the country's economic development, the integration of national
minorities, the extension of so-called socialist democracy, and the
PCR's cultural-ideological campaign. As a means of strengthening its
leading role, the party leaders acted to improve communication between
the central PCR organs and the county, city, and commune organizations
and, at the same time, took additional steps to win mass support.
The Economy
In the area of economics the PCR continued its primary emphasis on
industrial development and was only secondarily concerned with
agriculture and consumer goods. This emphasis was evidenced in the
economic plan adopted for the 1971-75 period, approved by the 1969 party
congress, which concentrates on heavy industry at the expense of
consumer goods. Although Romania was primarily an agricultural country,
the PCR leadership in the early 1960s, rejected the plan of the Council
for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) for a division of labor between
the participating communist states that would have had Romania place the
greatest emphasis on the development of agriculture. Instead, the PCR
launched a drive to modernize the country through industrialization (see
ch. 14; ch. 10).
The policies pursued by the PCR are designed to maintain firm party
control of the economy. In the formulation of Romania's economic
development plans, the will of the party is predominant, and the degree
of party control was augmented by the territorial and administrative
reorganization of 1968 when economic commissions were established in
each of the new counties to function under the direct supervision of the
county PCR committees. These commissions made it possible for the party
to have a direct hand in the local economic programs.
During 1970 and 1971 party leaders noted that, whereas the annual
production increase envisaged by the Five-Year Plan (1971-75) had been
fulfilled for industry, that for agriculture fell far short. Ceausescu
called for a renewal of intensive efforts in both industry and
agriculture to meet the requirements of the people and to enable the
country to achieve the true socialist state of development.
National Minorities
The integration of the major non-Romanian national groups into the life
of the country has posed periodic problems for the PCR throughout the
post-World War II era. Each of the communist constitutions guaranteed
equal rights to the national minorities, rights that included the
opportunity to use their own language and to have representation on
local bodies of government. The Hungarian Autonomous Region had been
created by the 1952 Constitution but was not continued under the 1968
territorial reorganization (see ch. 8; ch. 4).
Party leaders explained the decision to abandon the concept of an
autonomous region for the Hungarian population in terms of the need to
integrate all of the minority groups fully into the Romanian political
community. Spokesmen asserted that it is the policy of the PCR to
respect the heritage of the various nationality groups and extend to
them full political rights but at the same time to work to create
conditions that will serve to unite all of the country under the
leadership of the party.
PCR leaders have feared the possibility of attempts by foreign elements
to foster unrest among the country's larger minority groups. This was
particularly true at the time of the Soviet-led invasion of
Czechoslovakia, when Romanian leaders were apprehensive about the
possibility of a similar intervention in their country. At that time PCR
officials visited the areas where there were concentrations of Hungarian
and German minorities, stressing national unity and equal rights for all
national groups.
These efforts were followed in November 1968 by the establishment of
nationality councils: the Council of Working People of Hungarian
Nationality and the Council of Working People of German Nationality.
Units of the Hungarian council were established in fifteen counties, and
units of the German council were established in nine counties. In
counties where there existed substantial Serbian or Ukrainian
populations, similar local councils were established for these groups,
although only the Hungarian and German minorities maintained councils on
the national level. The nationality councils were affiliated with the
Socialist Unity Front. A month after the establishment of the councils
the Grand National Assembly, on the initiative of the party, passed
legislation granting the minorities increased representation on local
government bodies.
In explaining the purposes of the nationality councils, Ceausescu
declared that they would "cultivate socialist patriotism, socialist
internationalism, and devotion for our new order and for the common
fatherland ... against any backward nationalistic concepts and
manifestations." Observers of Romanian political affairs pointed out,
however, that the councils are closely tied to the party and, although
they can serve as means of communication between the PCR and the
minority groups, they function primarily as transmission belts for party
policies and as instruments for PCR political and educational
activities.
Social Democracy and Party Ideology
At the same time that the PCR has sought to present itself as a
progressive force seeking the participation of the people in political
affairs, it has also carried on a campaign to strengthen what it calls
the Marxist character of all ideological, cultural, and educational
activities. Within limits, Ceausescu has encouraged what he has termed
as "socialist democracy"--open communication between the masses and the
party leadership--and he has publicly called for the people to express
their views on political issues.
Socialist democracy is defined by Ceausescu as a spirit of social
responsibility by which the citizens are inspired to perform their
duties in accordance with the needs and imperatives of the society as a
whole. The goal of socialist democracy is to stimulate the masses to
support the cause of socialism by involving them in the programs of the
PCR to such an extent that the individual identifies his personal goals
and values with those of the party.
In mid-1971 Ceausescu announced a new ideological program and the
tightening of party controls over government, science, and cultural
life. Observers gave various interpretations to the campaign. Some saw
it as a move to respond to Soviet criticism of Romanian foreign policy
by reminding Moscow that socialism was not endangered in Romania and
that this pretext could not be used to justify Soviet interference;
others considered it as an assertion of authority by Ceausescu at a time
when he judged it necessary to combat ideological laxity at home. The
action may also have been prompted by a concern that party authority and
discipline were being undermined by Western cultural influences.
Partially directed at the youth of the nation, the campaign included
curbs against alcohol in youth clubs and the screening of foreign
television programs and music. Another objective of the campaign was
increased party control over literature and cultural life; new
ideological guidelines were issued for writers, publishers, and
theaters. In speaking of the role of the arts, Ceausescu declared that
they must serve the single purpose of socialist-communist education. At
the same time, he called for increased guidance of the arts by all
levels of the PCR and requested that works of art and literature be
judged for their conformity with party standards and their service to
the working class. Ceausescu ruled out repressive measures, however, and
asserted that the party would rely on persuasion to implement the new
ideological program (see ch. 7).
The campaign encountered some resistance, although more passive than
overt. A number of writers boycotted the literary magazines in protest
against the restrictions imposed on publishing and, despite the fact
that the official writers' union circulated a statement in support of
the party's stand, many of the more prominent writers refused to endorse
it. In August 1971 the editor of a leading literary journal, who was
also a member of the PCR Central Committee, resigned both positions as a
protest against the stricter party controls.
Resistance was also evident in the party and state bureaucracy, where
the ideological campaign was welcomed in principle but frequently
ignored in practice. Many of the nation's youth also manifested
disagreement with the restrictive content campaign. Assessing the
progress of the program in late 1971, Ceausescu admitted that the new
approach had not been generally adopted among the youth and asserted
that the party organizations had not been diligent enough in the
enforcement of the code. Particular criticism was directed at the
Executive Committee and Secretariat for having failed to implement the
decisions taken for the improvement of ideological activity.
Although it is difficult for outside political observers to detect
differences within the top bodies of the party, in regard to the
ideological campaign tensions have been more evident. For the first time
since Ceausescu came to power in 1965, the Central Committee plenum,
meeting in November 1971, did not report unanimous agreement on all
issues. Some observers indicated that the effect of the campaign has
stimulated opposition to some of Ceausescu's policies. There was no
evidence, however, that such opposition is organized or that it provides
any serious threat to Ceausescu's position, and no leading figure in
either the government or the party has openly expressed views that
differ from those of the general secretary.
POLITICAL VALUES AND ATTITUDES
The Regime and the People
Inasmuch as the PCR has proclaimed itself to be the only legitimate
source of political power and, as well, the leading force in all aspects
of economic and cultural life, the development of independent political
and cultural values has been thoroughly circumscribed. Party control
extends to all aspects of the society and embraces educational and
professional opportunities. Although PCR leaders have promised changes
in the manner of selection for advancement, promotions have been based
more frequently on party activity and doctrinal reliability than on
professional competence.
Because of the breadth of party control, accurate information on the
attitudes of the people toward the regime and toward specific political
issues is difficult to obtain. The Romanian press functions under the
direct supervision of the PCR, and tight restrictions are placed on
foreign correspondents reporting on events inside the country. Observers
have indicated, however, that not all of the regime's domestic policies
have been welcomed by all segments of the population and that some party
policies have left a wake of latent resentments.
Some observers have pointed to the decrease in the number of peasants in
the party (down 3 percent in the 1969-71 period) as an indication of
peasant dissatisfaction with the poor living conditions in the rural
areas and the low income of most of the agricultural cooperatives (see
ch. 2). Frequently the party responds to signs of discontent by any
segment of the population by increasing the ideological propaganda
directed toward it, but the regime has also attempted various reforms to
counter obvious inadequacies.
Among the more overt examples of discontent with party policy is the
resistance to accepting job assignments in rural areas shown by
technical school graduates. Other graduates have also refused to leave
their home areas to work on collectives; all of these were criticized in
the party press for giving priority to personal interests instead of
considering the interests of the society as a whole. PCR officials
declared that the graduates had been trained at state expense and that
their refusal to fulfill their obligations as assigned by the party
could not be tolerated. This resistance to party-decreed transfers was
also evident among other groups during 1969 and 1970, including
teachers, builders, and administrative workers.
Observers consider such situations as evidence that the party is having
difficulty reconciling an essentially authoritarian system with a policy
of socialist democracy that encourages public initiative and
participation. The persistence with which Ceausescu pursued the new
ideological campaign during 1971 gave some observers the impression that
he had opted to put his weight down on the side of continued
authoritarianism.
Romanian Nationalism
The regime scored a marked success in basing its appeal for popular
support on nationalistic sentiments and in giving emphasis to Romanian
history and cultural traditions. Ceausescu has attempted to broaden the
communist movement to include the aspirations of the people as a whole.
Whereas in the past the PCR leaders made reference only to communist
achievements and attributed everything positive to the work of the
party, Ceausescu has praised Romanian national heroes and has given
positive emphasis to specifically Romanian contributions to socialist
development.
To a significant degree the revival of nationalism has gone hand in hand
with anti-Soviet attitudes. The image of the party was bolstered by the
PCR leader's refusal to follow the Soviet line on a number of
significant national and international issues (see ch. 10). At the time
of the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968, Ceausescu's
denunciation of the action and his call for national mobilization in the
face of the crisis served to unite the population and strengthen his
position. Observers have pointed out, however, that this unity has
appeared to wane with the ebbing of the crisis and with the return to
the realities of everyday life in Romania.
CHAPTER 10
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Throughout the 1960s Romanian foreign policy increasingly diverged from
that of the Soviet Union and its allies in Eastern Europe as the
Romanian leaders asserted the country's national interests. In early
1972 the government continued to declare that its foreign policy was
based on national independence, sovereignty, and the principle of
noninterference in internal affairs. Government and party leaders
asserted that Romania would continue to seek development of friendly and
cooperative relations with all states without regard to differences in
sociopolitical systems.
Foreign policy was formulated under the direct control of the Standing
Presidium of the Romanian Communist Party (Partidul Communist
Roman--PCR) and administered through the government ministries. Although
the regime of PCR General Secretary Nicolae Ceausescu has steadfastly
sought to maintain an independent stance in foreign affairs and to
develop political and economic relations with both communist and
noncommunist states, it has continued to assert the Marxist-Leninist
character of both its domestic and foreign policies. PCR leaders have
repeatedly affirmed the party's commitment to the international
communist movement and to the solidarity of all socialist states.
In the development of an independent foreign policy position the PCR has
sought to shift away from economic and political domination by the
Soviet Union and to develop a form of communism geared to the country's
national interests and in keeping with the regime's perspective on world
affairs. Although such a course brought the Romanian party and
government into frequent conflict with the Soviet Union, the Romanian
leadership continued to insist on its own interpretation and adaptation
of communism.
In early 1972 Romania maintained full diplomatic relations with more
than ninety governments, over forty of which maintained embassies in
Bucharest. In addition, trade and cultural relations were conducted with
a number of other states with which formal relations had not been
established. Romania is a member of the United Nations (UN) and a number
of several UN specialized agencies. It is also a member of the communist
military alliance known as the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact)
and the communist economic alliance called the Council for Mutual
Economic Assistance (COMECON).
During 1970 and 1971 the regime made increased efforts to cultivate and
strengthen the country's relations with the developing states of Asia
and Africa and to extend its relations with the nations of Latin
America. Personal diplomacy by Ceausescu and other ranking party and
government leaders served as an important means for maintaining the
country's international relations.
DETERMINANTS OF FOREIGN POLICY
Historical Factors
After coming under full communist control in the early post-World War II
period, the country was closely aligned with the international policies
and goals of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Romania's
international and domestic policies generally supported the political
and economic goals of the Soviet Union. Beneath the surface, however, an
internal party struggle was being waged in Romania between certain
communist leaders who were fully oriented toward the Soviet Union and
others who sought an orientation that was less Soviet dominated (see ch.
2).
Although the internal struggle involved personal ambitions as much as
political and ideological goals, the group surrounding party First
Secretary Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej urged the attainment of national goals
through cooperation with the Soviet Union rather than a position of
complete integration and exclusive dependence on the Soviets. By
mid-1952 Gheorghiu-Dej was able to gain full control of the party, purge
his leading opponents, and assume the dual role of party chief and head
of the government. Shortly after assuming the premiership, Gheorghiu-Dej
began a slow and cautious disengagement from Soviet domination, being
careful, however, not to advocate goals that were at variance with the
policies of Soviet Premier Josef Stalin. Domestic politics, in fact,
remained strongly Stalinist in orientation, and it was not until after
Stalin's death in March 1953 that the first significant steps were taken
to diminish Soviet control.
To a significant degree the country's foreign policy during the
Gheorghiu-Dej era reflected the Romanian leader's struggle for his own
political survival, particularly in the face of Soviet Premier Nikita
Khrushchev's campaign to weaken the power of Stalinist-oriented Eastern
European communist leaders. Important also was the growing Romanian
determination to limit the influence of the Soviet Union in the
country's internal affairs, especially in the realm of economic
development. Political events within the communist world during the
remainder of the 1950s and the early 1960s provided Gheorghiu-Dej the
opportunity to assert an increasingly independent stance and to gain
concessions from the Soviets.
Faced with Khrushchev's emphasis on de-Stalinization and his demands for
communist unity under Soviet leadership, the Gheorghiu-Dej regime
responded by giving lip service to Soviet policies while, at the same
time, supporting moves aimed at weakening Soviet hegemony in the
communist world. In early 1954 Gheorghiu-Dej sensed the political
significance of Khrushchev's "peaceful coexistence" theme for Romania
and began to exploit the situation to gain leverage for the extracting
of concessions from the Soviet Union. The first significant achievement
came later that same year when negotiations led to the dissolution of
the joint Soviet-Romanian industrial enterprises that had been the
primary instrument of Soviet economic exploitation during the postwar
period.
The regime also sought to gain increased domestic support by emphasizing
the country's historical traditions, by calling for "Romanian solutions
to Romanian problems," and by cautiously exploiting the population's
latent anti-Soviet sentiments. In August 1954, on the occasion of the
tenth anniversary of the country's liberation from Nazi forces,
Gheorghiu-Dej asserted that the primary credit for driving out the
occupiers belonged to Romanian Communists rather than to the Soviet
army, a view that was subsequently condemned by the Soviets and
supported by the Communist Chinese.
Although the Gheorghiu-Dej regime formally supported the Soviet action
in suppressing the 1956 Hungarian revolt, the Romanian leaders attempted
to exploit the situation in order to obtain additional concessions from
the Soviets and to gain recognition of the legitimacy of the so-called
Romanian road to socialism. At that time, one of their primary aims was
the removal of Soviet occupation forces that had remained in the country
throughout the post-World War II period. Although the regime was not
successful in obtaining formal Soviet recognition of a Romanian variant
of communism, an agreement was reached placing a time limit on the
presence of the Soviet troops, the forces finally being withdrawn in
1958.
Important problems were posed to the Gheorghiu-Dej regime by the
reactivation of COMECON and the Soviet intentions to integrate the
economies of the member states. Initially established in 1949 as the
Soviet counterpart to the European Recovery Program (Marshall Plan),
COMECON was largely dormant until 1955, when Khrushchev decided to
revitalize the organization as an instrument of Soviet economic policy
in Eastern Europe. COMECON plans called for the subordination of
national economic plans to an overall planning body that would determine
economic development for the member states as a whole. Romania was to be
assigned the role of a supplier of raw materials and agricultural
produce for the more industrially developed members (see ch. 2).
Gheorghiu-Dej rejected such a subservient role for Romania and proceeded
with his own plans for the country's industrial development, asserting
the right of each COMECON member state to develop its own economy in
accord with national needs and interests, a position that was, in turn,
rejected by the Soviets. As a reaction to Soviet pressures and the need
to lessen Romanian dependence on COMECON, the regime initiated a gradual
and cautious expansion of economic relations with noncommunist states.
In 1957 Ion Gheorghe Maurer became minister of foreign affairs and,
under the direction of Gheorghiu-Dej, initiated programs that emphasized
the national character of Romanian foreign policy. Included in these
programs were plans for the attainment of self-sufficiency in the
machine-tool industry and in the production of iron and steel. At the
same time, additional steps were taken to increase trade with Western
Europe and the United States.
The conflict with the Soviet Union became more acute in 1962 when
Gheorghiu-Dej again rejected the COMECON plan for Romania and, later in
the year, announced that a contract for the construction of a large
steel mill at Galati had been concluded with a British-French
consortium. Romanian statements in support of Albania further
antagonized the Soviet leaders. During 1963 and 1964 Romanian-Soviet
relations continued to deteriorate as the Gheorghiu-Dej regime sought to
exploit the Sino-Soviet dispute and moved closer to the Communist
Chinese position on the equality of communist states and the rejection
of the leading role of the Soviet party. In November 1963 Maurer
declared the readiness of Romania to mediate the Sino-Soviet dispute, a
suggestion that Moscow considered arrogant and anti-Soviet.
A statement issued by the party Central Committee in April 1964 declared
the right of Romania and all other nations to develop national policies
in the light of their own interests and domestic requirements. During
the remainder of that year the volume of economic and cultural contacts
with Western nations increased significantly. The increased role of the
United States in the Vietnam hostilities, however, served to curb the
Gheorghiu-Dej regime's efforts to improve relations with the United
States, and the sudden death of Gheorghiu-Dej in March 1965 raised
questions as to the future direction of Romanian foreign policy.
Under Gheorghiu-Dej's successor, Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania's foreign
policy continued to diverge from that of the Soviet Union and the other
members of COMECON and the Warsaw Pact. Increasingly assertive of
national interests, the Ceausescu regime antagonized the Soviet Union by
its establishment of diplomatic relations with the Federal Republic of
Germany (West Germany) in 1967 and by its refusal to follow the Soviet
lead in breaking relations with Israel in the wake of the 1967
Arab-Israeli War.
The invasion of Czechoslovakia by Soviet-led forces of the Warsaw Pact
in August 1968 posed a particular threat to Romania. Observers of
Eastern European political affairs saw the invasion as a severe blow to
the basic assumptions of Romanian foreign policy, which included the
belief that the Soviet Union would not intervene militarily against
another member of the Warsaw Pact as long as the system of communist
party rule was firmly maintained and membership in the pact was
continued.
From the outset of the Czechoslovak crisis the Ceausescu regime asserted
that the only basis for relations between states was respect for
national independence and sovereignty and a policy of noninterference in
another state's internal affairs. The actual invasion, however, marked a
reversal for Romanian foreign policy and, although the initial response
was one of condemnation and defiance, Romania was put on the defensive.
The invasion of Czechoslovakia marked something of a turning point in
Romania's relations with COMECON and the Warsaw Pact. The Soviet
enunciation of the so-called Brezhnev Doctrine--the concept that the
protection of socialism in any communist state is the legitimate concern
of all communist states--was intended as a clear warning to the
Ceausescu regime.
Pressures mounted on Romania to cooperate more fully in the Warsaw Pact
and to agree to a supranational planning body within the framework of
COMECON. Economic conditions as well as the political and military
pressures pushed the Ceausescu regime toward closer cooperation with
COMECON, although the Romanians continued to resist the Soviet efforts
toward economic integration.
As a result of these pressures, the 1968-70 period was one of relative
passivity for the Romanians in foreign affairs, although the period was
marked by several important events, including the visit of President
Richard M. Nixon to Romania in August 1969 and the long-delayed signing
of the friendship treaty with the Soviet Union in July 1970. By early
1971 the Ceausescu regime again became more assertive of its independent
line in foreign policy.
Principles of Foreign Policy
According to the 1965 Constitution, the foreign policy of the country is
based on strict respect for the principles of national independence and
sovereignty, equality of rights, noninterference in internal affairs,
and interstate relations based on mutual advantage. The Constitution
declares the nation's desire to maintain friendly and fraternal
relations with all socialist states as well as to promote friendship and
cooperation with states of other sociopolitical systems. Participation
in international organizations is directed toward the furthering of
peace and international understanding.
Spokesmen for the regime have repeatedly asserted these principles as
the only acceptable basis for relations between states both within and
outside the world communist movement. In contrast to the Soviet position
that socialism can only be fully realized by transcending national
forms, Romanian policy gives primary emphasis to the distinct
requirements of the nation. At the same time, however, Romania
recognizes the duties of each socialist state toward cooperative and
mutually advantageous relations with all socialist nations and fraternal
communist parties.
In keeping with these principles the PCR has rejected the so-called
Brezhnev Doctrine of limited sovereignty of socialist states. Instead,
regime spokesmen have asserted that within the socialist system all
Marxist-Leninist parties are equal and have the exclusive right to
determine appropriate solutions for their own problems and manage their
own affairs. Romanian policy maintains that relations between socialist
states must be based on equal rights, complete trust, mutual respect,
and fraternal cooperation. In defending the country's policies, PCR
leaders have repeatedly argued that, because the construction of
communism is being carried out under a great variety of conditions,
there will inevitably be different opinions regarding the forms and
procedures employed as well as different points of view regarding
international problems. Such differences, however, should not affect
relations between socialist states or the unity of the socialist
movement.
In response to Soviet calls for socialist solidarity, a ranking member
of the PCR Standing Presidium declared, "it would be unrealistic to
think that fourteen socialist countries spread over three continents,
each with its specific characteristics, should show themselves strictly
identical in the building of a new society." Additional party statements
insisted that each country must be allowed to apply the principles of
Marxism-Leninism to its own particular conditions and that no general
line for all parties could be established. In adjusting Marxism-Leninism
to national needs each party must be able to make its own unique
contribution to the enrichment of the entire communist movement.
During the negotiations for the renewal of the friendship treaties with
the other Warsaw Pact countries, the Ceausescu government repeatedly
stressed that its own formula for developing international relations
with noncommunist nations was based on the same principles as those
applied to socialist states and that Romania was open to the
establishment of such relations "without regard for difference in the
social order." A party spokesman asserted that the country's foreign
relations are not determined by short-term circumstances that are valid
at one moment and superseded the next but by policies directed at
long-term cooperation in all fields of common interests.
PCR policy has sought to support the country's independent political
stance by increasing its economic independence. This has led to the
rejection of COMECON attempts to integrate the economies of its member
states and to establish a division of labor among them. Instead, the PCR
has followed a policy aimed at the industrialization of the country,
based on the proposition that an expanded industrial base is what is
most needed for Romania's overall economic development.
In the same manner that the PCR has resisted complete integration into
COMECON, the regime has also opposed Soviet plans for the fuller
integration of military forces under the Warsaw Pact. Romanian
objections to such integration stem from a concern for the preservation
of the country's national sovereignty and a desire to limit Soviet
hegemony in Eastern Europe. PCR leaders have described military blocs
and the existence of foreign troops and military bases on the territory
of other states as being incompatible with national independence and as
the primary obstacles to cooperation among nations. On the other hand,
party spokesmen have frequently stated that, as long as the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is continued, the socialist
countries will be forced to maintain the Warsaw Pact.
CONDUCT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Policy Formation
The Constitution assigns to the Grand National Assembly the
responsibility for establishing the general line of foreign policy and
assigns its implementation to the Council of Ministers. It is the
Council of State, however, that is given the overall executive functions
of ratifying international treaties and establishing diplomatic
relations with other states. As the head of state, the president of the
Council of State is charged with representing the country in its
international relations.
In practice, however, the basic foreign policy decisions are made by the
Standing Presidium of the PCR rather than the Grand National Assembly.
Owing to the fact that the same men occupy leading positions in both
party and government, decisions reached in the Standing Presidium are
promulgated as decisions of the Council of State. Party spokesmen have
described the country's foreign policy as being the result of the
"unitary thinking and action of the leading party bodies based on the
principle of collective leadership" (see ch. 8; ch. 9).
Within the PCR, foreign policy decisions are channeled through the
Central Committee's directorate for international affairs, which in turn
transmits them in the form of directives to the appropriate government
agencies and oversees their implementation. A commission on foreign
policy in the Grand National Assembly functions largely to channel party
decisions to the assembly for its official approval.
As head of the PCR and president of the Council of State, Ceausescu
personally exercised the primary decisionmaking powers in matters of
foreign policy just as he did in domestic affairs. Observers of Eastern
European politics also ascribe influential roles in the determination of
foreign policy to Prime Minister Maurer and Foreign Minister Corneliu
Manescu.
Since coming to power in 1965 Ceausescu has been the dominant figure in
the political life of the country and its principal spokesman in
international affairs. Believing in the importance of personal
diplomacy, Ceausescu has made frequent visits to other nations and
cultivated personal relationships with other heads of state. The prime
minister and the minister of foreign affairs have also made frequent
visits to other states to foster international support for the country's
foreign policy. Manescu had developed broad international contacts
during his term as president of the twenty-second session of the UN
General Assembly in 1967.
Administration of Foreign Affairs
The Council of Ministers is charged with the coordination and
implementation of foreign policy and exercises these responsibilities
through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign
Trade. Since decisionmaking powers rest in the top echelons of the
party, the ministries function almost exclusively as administrative
agencies. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for the
implementation of party directives in the country's foreign diplomatic
relations and in the areas of educational, cultural, and scientific
relations with other states and with international organizations. The
Ministry of Foreign Trade functions as the central organ for the
country's international trade and economic activities.
In early 1972 the organizational structure of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs remained essentially the same as it had been established after
the adoption of the new Constitution of 1965. The ministry is organized
into six geographical departments, twelve functional directorates, and
three administrative offices. The geographical directorates are
designated as: the Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary;
the Balkans and the Near East; Western and Central Europe; North America
and South America; Africa and the Middle East; and the Far East and
Southeast and South Asia.
The functional directorates are: international organization; cultural
relations; political synthesis; economic relations; legal and treaties;
consular; press; protocol; personnel; finance, accounting, and work
organization; technical and administrative; and secretariat. The three
administrative offices are designated the Chancellery, the Office of
Services to the Diplomatic Corps, and the Legal Office. The entire
organization functioned under the direction of the minister of foreign
affairs and five deputy ministers.
The Ministry of Foreign Trade is organized into nine bureaus, a legal
office, and an office for protocol. Bureaus listed under the ministry in
1970, the latest year for which information was available in early 1972,
included: economic relations with socialist countries; economic
relations with developed capitalist countries; economic relations with
emerging nations; currency and plan coordination; imports and exports;
personnel and training; administration; budgets; and accounting. The
ministry functions under the direction of the minister of foreign trade,
four deputy ministers, and a secretary general.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
In early 1972 diplomatic relations were maintained with ninety-six
countries and the so-called Provisional Revolutionary Government of the
Republic of South Vietnam (Viet Cong). Of these, forty-two governments
maintained embassies in Bucharest. Nine other governments conducted
relations through their embassies in Moscow; seven, through their
embassies in Belgrade; two through their embassies in Prague; and one,
through its embassy in Athens. The total includes Brazil, with which
relations were maintained at the legation level, and Spain and San
Marino, where Romania maintained consulates. Thirty-two of the states
with which Romania maintained diplomatic relations had not established
permanent embassies or legations in the country as of early 1972. Trade
relations were conducted with several other states with which the
government had not established formal diplomatic ties (see ch. 14).
Relations with Communist States and Communist Parties
The Soviet Union
Romania's pursuit of an independent foreign policy has resulted in
frequent conflicts with the Soviet Union and tense relations between the
two states. In general, the policy disagreements have centered on
Romania's unwillingness to participate more fully in the Warsaw Pact,
rejection of the concept of economic integration under COMECON, refusal
to take sides in the Sino-Soviet dispute, and development of a foreign
policy toward the West that runs contrary to Soviet desires. Soviet
leaders have interpreted the Romanian policies as a direct challenge to
the leading role of the Soviet party in the world communist movement and
a rejection of the PCR's obligations to promote "socialist solidarity."
The general policy differences between the two countries were repeatedly
demonstrated during the 1967-71 period in such instances as the Romanian
establishment of diplomatic relations with West Germany, the refusal to
follow the Soviet lead in regard to the Arab-Israeli conflict, the
refusal to participate in the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia and
Ceausescu's strong denunciation of the action, and the rejection of the
Brezhnev Doctrine of limited sovereignty.
Perhaps the most important element complicating relations with the
Soviet Union has been Romania's refusal to take the Soviet side in the
Sino-Soviet dispute. In keeping with its policy of maintaining friendly
and fraternal relations with all socialist states, the Ceausescu regime
has cultivated relations with the People's Republic of China and is
thought by some observers to have played a role in the establishment of
contacts between the Communist Chinese and the United States. In
mid-1971 Romanian leaders also mediated the restoration of relations
between the People's Republic of China and Yugoslavia. These actions led
to charges in the Soviet press that Romania was organizing an
anti-Soviet bloc in the Balkans under the patronage of the People's
Republic of China.
Despite the ups and downs of Soviet-Romanian relations throughout the
period of the Ceausescu regime, the two states signed a twenty-year
treaty of friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance in July 1970.
This treaty replaced a similar 1948 accord that had been set to expire
in 1968 but continued in force under an automatic five-year renewal
clause. Negotiated before the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia,
the actual signing of the treaty was delayed because of strained
relations between the two states and Soviet attempts to insert a clause
containing the essence of the Brezhnev Doctrine. The Ceausescu
government refused to renegotiate the original agreement, however, and
the treaty was finally signed at ceremonies in Bucharest.
Brezhnev did not attend the ceremonies and, in contrast to similar
Soviet treaties with other Eastern European communist states, which were
signed by both the party leaders and the prime ministers of each
country, the Soviet-Romanian treaty was signed only by the prime
ministers. Coming in the midst of serious disagreements between the two
countries, the signing of the treaty was considered by some observers as
a formality and something of a smokescreen intended to cover a widening
split.
Other Communist States
In general, relations with Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German
Democratic Republic (East Germany), Hungary, and Poland mirrored
Romania's relations with the Soviet Union. The communist leaders of
these countries followed the Soviet lead in the policy differences with
the Ceausescu regime and, although each state had friendship treaties
that expired in 1968 and 1969, only the treaty with Czechoslovakia was
renewed before the Soviet-Romanian treaty was signed. The Czechoslovakia
treaty was concluded during the period of the government of Alexander
Dubcek before the 1968 invasion.
In its relations with the Eastern European communist regimes Romania had
adhered to the principle of cultivating fraternal relations with all
socialist countries despite policy differences. Long-term bilateral
trade agreements were concluded with Hungary and Bulgaria in late 1969,
and the major portion of the country's foreign trade continued to be
with COMECON states throughout 1970 and 1971. Visits on the ministerial
level were regularly exchanged. Relations with the East German regime
proved more difficult, however, the major obstacle being Romania's
establishment of diplomatic ties with West Germany in early 1967.
Despite the recognition of the West German government, however, the
Ceausescu regime has continued to insist on the reality of two German
states and has pressed for international recognition of East Germany.
Relations with Bulgaria had been generally cool throughout the latter
period of the Gheorghiu-Dej regime but improved significantly after
Ceausescu came to power in Romania in 1965. By the beginning of 1968,
however, the policies pursued by the Ceausescu regime led to serious
differences, although formal amenities continued to be observed.
Relations remained correct but not cordial until after the signing of
the Soviet-Romanian treaty of friendship and alliance in July 1970. This
action paved the way for improved relations with Bulgaria, and in
September Ceausescu met with Bulgarian prime minister Todor Zhivkov,
marking the first top-level bilateral contact between the two
governments in three years. This meeting was followed by the exchange of
a series of high-level delegations with the announced purpose of
improving relations and increasing cooperation.
Friction with Hungary arose in mid-1971 over the Romanian region of
Transylvania and the sizable Hungarian minority residing there. In the
period of strained--Soviet-Romanian relations, the Budapest regime
revived the Transylvanian minority question in order to put pressure on
the Ceausescu government. Frequent visits of Soviet embassy personnel to
Transylvania added to the concern of Romanian leaders, who initiated
increased efforts to meet the needs and expectations of the country's
minority groups (see ch. 4; ch. 9). By February 1972, tension between
Hungary and Romania had eased and a friendship treaty was renewed.
Relations with Albania and Yugoslavia differed from those with the other
Eastern European communist regimes, as neither participated in the
Warsaw Pact and both had also pursued policies independent of the Soviet
Union. In 1960 Albania sided with the Communist Chinese in the
Sino-Soviet dispute and withdrew its ambassadors from all the Eastern
European countries after Khrushchev denounced the Albanian regime at the
Twenty-second Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in
1961. The Romanian position of neutrality in regard to the Sino-Soviet
dispute opened the way for improved relations with Albania, and the
Ceausescu government returned its ambassador to Tirana in 1964.
The Ceausescu regime has maintained that the policies of the Albanian
Communists (the Albanian Workers' Party) are legitimate manifestations
of socialism developed according to national needs. Common fears of
Soviet designs against their countries after the Warsaw Pact invasion of
Czechoslovakia brought about increased cooperation between the two
governments.
Relations with Yugoslavia had progressed along lines of mutual interest
throughout the period of the Ceausescu regime, and close cooperation had
developed between the Romanian and Yugoslav heads of state as they
sought each other's support for their independent foreign policies. The
PCR was the only Eastern European party to send a delegation to the
Ninth Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia in 1969.
Although the two governments indicated almost identical views on all
important international issues, they manifested widely divergent
approaches to domestic affairs and, owing to the fact that their
economies are not complementary, economic relations between the two
countries have not kept pace with political relations. Efforts to
increase economic relations resulted in a new five-year trade agreement
in 1971 designed to increase the exchange of goods by 128 percent in the
period covered. Cooperation between the two states was also demonstrated
in the joint construction of the Iron Gate hydroelectric station on the
Danube (see ch. 3).
During 1971 the PCR renewed efforts to promote cooperative relations
among the Balkan states. The regime emphasized that the geographical
isolation and the socialist systems of Albania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia,
and Romania make for common interest in increased economic, political,
and cultural cooperation. Observers of Eastern European politics pointed
out that Romania shares lengthy borders with Bulgaria, Hungary, and the
Soviet Union and that improving relations with the other Balkan states
would serve to overcome the country's relative physical isolation.
PCR leaders have also called for all of the Balkan area, including both
the communist and the noncommunist states, to be designated a nuclear
free zone and for the removal of United States military bases from the
area. Observers pointed out that the Ceausescu regime believed that such
actions would serve to reduce the strategic significance of Romania in
the eyes of the Soviet leaders and possibly result in greater tolerance
for Romanian deviation from the Soviet line. Political observers also
attributed the growing willingness of Albania and Yugoslavia to increase
cooperation and give support to Romania's initiatives for the Balkan
area to the growth of Soviet naval power in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The Ceausescu regime successfully cultivated relations with the People's
Republic of China and persisted in the development of these relations
despite tremendous pressures from the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact
states. An important byproduct of these relations has been increased
economic exchanges between the two countries; in late 1970 the Communist
Chinese extended Romania a long-term, interest-free credit amounting to
the equivalent of US$244 million.
In June 1971 Ceausescu made a twenty-five day visit to Asia that
included nine days in mainland China, the first such visit by a party
leader of a Warsaw Pact state since the Sino-Soviet dispute became
public. In a joint communiqué the Communist Chinese and Romanian leaders
emphasized the necessity of sovereign and equal relations among all
communist states and parties. Ceausescu reiterated his government's
support for the admission of the People's Republic of China to the
United Nations and asserted that the rightful sovereignty over Taiwan
belonged to the Peking regime. In August 1971 a Communist Chinese
military delegation attended the twenty-seventh anniversary celebrations
of the liberation of Romania from Nazi occupation.
Maintenance of friendly relations with the People's Republic of China
has also gained the Ceausescu regime support from other communist
parties that have been critical of the Soviet Union in its conflict with
the Communist Chinese, most notably the French and Italian parties. The
PCR has taken special pains to cultivate relations with nonruling
communist and workers' parties, efforts that were reflected in visits of
top leaders from at least thirty of these parties to Romania during
1970. All of these visitors were received personally by Ceausescu.
Observers pointed out that the cultivation of relations with the
nonruling parties was an important means of gaining support for
Romania's independent policies.
Relations With Noncommunist States
Romania has continued to improve relations with Western nations and has
sought to cultivate ties with the developing countries of Africa and
Asia. The expansion of relations beyond the Soviet alignment system was
cautiously initiated in the mid-1950s by the Gheorghiu-Dej regime when
pressures were building for Romania's full economic integration into
COMECON. In addition to the desire to develop trade relations with
Western nations, the government was interested in utilizing Western
technology and in seeking an increased measure of detente in the cold
war.
West Germany
In the period that followed the initiation of limited relations with
noncommunist states, Romania's resistance to the Soviet Union
contributed to a receptive attitude on the part of several Western
states. Aside from the gradual development of trade relations, however,
significant political relations with Western Europe did not materialize
until January 1967, when the Ceausescu regime agreed to establish formal
diplomatic relations with West Germany, becoming the first of the Warsaw
Pact states, other than the Soviet Union, to do so.
Romanian leaders based the establishment of relations with West Germany
on the so-called Bucharest Declaration issued by the leaders of the
Warsaw Pact countries in 1966. The declaration affirmed that there were
in West Germany "circles that oppose revanchism and militarism" and that
seek the development of normal relations with countries of both the East
and the West as well as a normalization of relations "between the two
German states." Also included in the declaration was a statement
affirming that a basic condition for European security was the
establishment of normal relations between states "regardless of their
social systems." The Ceausescu regime interpreted this as implying that
bilateral relations could be developed between Eastern European states
and West Germany.
Although the West German government made overtures to other Eastern
European communist states, Romania was the only one to agree to the
establishment of formal diplomatic ties at that time. Political
observers saw the move as a means for Romania to dramatically
demonstrate independence from the Soviet Union and, as well, a means of
avoiding COMECON integration pressures by increasing trade and the
possibility of obtaining economic aid from the West.
The establishment of diplomatic ties with West Germany did not alter the
PCR position on the existence of two German states. Each country, at the
time the diplomatic exchange was made public, simply reasserted its own
positions: the West German government reiterated its right and
obligation to speak for the entire German people, and the Bucharest
government asserted that one of the fundamental realities of the
post-World War II era "is the existence of two German states." Although
Romania reaffirmed the existence of East Germany as a separate state, it
did not make recognition of the East German regime by West Germany a
precondition for the establishment of diplomatic relations with the West
German government.
The East German regime was highly critical of the Romanian establishment
of relations with West Germany, and there followed a serious decline in
Romanian-East German relations. PCR leaders responded to East German
criticisms by declaring that "the foreign policy of a socialist state is
laid down by the party and the government of the country in question and
they need render account only to their people."
In the period since 1967 relations with West Germany have continued
without major difficulties. Although the Ceausescu regime has not
hesitated to criticize elements of German policy with which it does not
agree, the two governments have sought to minimize differences in
ideology and in foreign and domestic policies in the interest of
maintaining good relations. In economic exchanges between the two
countries Romania has had a continuous balance of trade deficit, a
situation that both countries were attempting to correct. In mid-1970
Prime Minister Maurer paid an official visit to Bonn, becoming the first
Eastern European head of government to do so. In May 1971 the West
German government reciprocated, President Gustav Heinemann making a
state visit to Romania.
The United States
Relations with the United States were initiated on a limited scale in
the early 1960s, and ambassadors were exchanged in 1964, but relations
declined with the increasing United States role in the Republic of
Vietnam (South Vietnam). After the opening of the Paris peace talks and
particularly after the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia that same
year, relations between the two states improved significantly. Trade
relations remained minimal, however, partly because of United States
legal restrictions on trade with Eastern European countries.
The improved relations between the two nations were demonstrated by the
visit of President Nixon to Romania in August 1969, marking the first
visit of a United States head of state to a communist country since the
1945 Yalta Conference. Press reports indicated that the president
received an enthusiastic welcome from the Romanian people and that in
meetings with Ceausescu a wide range of international problems were
discussed.
At the close of the visit President Nixon reaffirmed that the United
States "respects the sovereignty and equal rights of all countries,
large and small, as well as their right to preserve their own national
character." The two heads of state agreed upon the reciprocal
establishment of libraries, the opening of negotiations for the
conclusion of a consular convention, and the development and
diversification of economic ties.
The presidential visit was reciprocated by Ceausescu in October 1970
when the Romanian leader traveled to New York to attend the twenty-fifth
anniversary session of the UN General Assembly. Ceausescu followed the
UN visit with a two-week coast-to-coast tour of the United States and
talks at the White House with President Nixon. The Nixon administration
moved to increase economic relations with Romania, and in early 1972
legislation was pending in the United States Congress to grant that
country most-favored-nation status (see ch. 14).
Other States
As part of its campaign to improve relations among the Balkan states and
in keeping with its policy of establishing relations with all states
regardless of their political systems, the Ceausescu regime initiated
efforts to ameliorate its relations with Greece and Turkey. The
development of ties with Turkey has progressed without serious setback
throughout the period of Ceausescu's rule, but Greco-Romanian relations
have fluctuated. Although the regime has followed a policy of
noninterference in the internal affairs of another state, it left the
Romanian embassy in Athens without an ambassador for a year after the
1967 Greek military coup. In July 1968 the Romanian government returned
an ambassador to Greece as a first step in improving relations between
the two states. Increased trade and cultural exchanges followed,
although the differing ideologies of the two regimes have kept official
relations at a correct but cool level.
Although Turkey did not respond positively to the Romanian call for a
nuclear free zone in the Balkans and the removal of foreign military
bases from the area, asserting that such an agreement would have to be
included in a wider accord between NATO and Warsaw Pact nations,
relations between the two states have continued to improve. Ceausescu
paid a state visit to Turkey in 1969, and the Turkish president visited
Romania in April 1970. The satisfactory political ties have resulted in
a number of cultural and economic agreements, Romania obtaining Turkish
raw materials, particularly iron, chrome, and manganese, and exporting
machinery to Turkey.
Political, economic, and cultural ties were expanded with a number of
other Western countries during the 1965-70 period, particularly with
Austria, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom. The Ceausescu regime
placed primary emphasis on the cultivation of economic relations with
these states, and several substantial trade agreements were concluded
and high-level visits were exchanged during 1970 and 1971.
PCR policy statements have proclaimed that one of the principal
guidelines of Romanian foreign policy is the steady cultivation and
broadening of political and economic relations with the young
independent states of Asia and Africa as well as with the countries of
Latin America. The regime has also repeatedly affirmed its support for
"the struggle of the peoples of Africa, Asia and other regions of the
world for liberation and national independence against neocolonialism
and the aggressive actions of imperialism."
Policy statements have also consistently voiced support for the
communist effort in South Vietnam. The communist Provisional
Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (Viet Cong) is
recognized as the legitimate government of South Vietnam and maintains
an embassy in Bucharest.
The Middle East situation has posed a dilemma for the Ceausescu
government, which has sought to maintain relations with both sides in
the conflict. When, in August 1969, Romania and Israel announced an
agreement to elevate their relations to the ambassadorial level, Syria
and Sudan retaliated by breaking relations with Romania, and Iraq and
the United Arab Republic reduced the level of their representation in
Bucharest. Despite these actions by the Arab states, PCR leaders
continued to voice support for "the struggle of the Arab people to
defend their national independence and sovereignty" but called for a
negotiated settlement of the conflict.
The Ceausescu regime systematically cultivated relations with the
developing countries, and particular efforts were directed toward
increasing relations with African nations during 1970 and 1971.
Ceausescu made a state visit to Morocco, and other high Romanian
officials visited Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa)--in late 1971
became the Republic of Zaire--Burundi, Kenya, the Malagasy Republic,
Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia. Several prominent African leaders, among
them President Jean Bedel Bokassa of the Central African Republic and
President Joseph Mobutu of Zaire visited Romania. Trade agreements were
signed with a number of African nations, but little had been done to
implement these agreements as of early 1972. As another means of
increasing its influence in Africa and broadening relations there, the
Ceausescu government established more than 400 scholarships for African
students to study in Romania.
Relations With International Organizations
Romania became a member of the UN in 1955 and as of early 1972 also held
membership in the following UN specialized agencies: the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United
Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations
Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It also participates in the work of the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
The two most important communist organizations to which the country
belongs are the Warsaw Pact and COMECON. The Warsaw Pact was established
in 1955 as a twenty-year mutual defense pact between the Soviet Union,
Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and
Romania. (Albania ceased its participation in the organization in 1961
and officially withdrew in 1968 as a symbol of protest against the
invasion of Czechoslovakia). As an instrument of Soviet foreign policy,
the Warsaw Pact has served to maintain Soviet hegemony in Eastern Europe
and to provide the legal basis for the presence of Soviet troops on the
territory of some of the participating states.
Romania has consistently refused to acquiesce in Soviet proposals for
greater integration of the military forces of the Warsaw Pact states and
did not participate in the invasion of Czechoslovakia. After the
Czechoslovak invasion the Ceausescu government established a defense
council and proclaimed that foreign troops were not to enter Romania for
any purpose without prior approval of the Grand National Assembly.
During the 1968-71 period the Romanians limited their participation in
pact activities as much as possible. Rather than Romanian troops taking
part in joint maneuvers of pact forces, participation has generally been
limited to a small group of staff officers who attend the exercises as
observers.
Official Romanian views on the integration of Eastern European communist
forces under the pact were forcefully reiterated in early 1970 after the
Soviet chief of staff spoke of "combined" or "unified" pact forces.
Ceausescu responded by declaring that Romania's armed forces are not
subordinated to any authority other than "the Romanian party,
government, and Supreme National Command." Although he pledged continued
cooperation with the pact and a fulfillment of his country's
responsibilities, he asserted that no part of the party's and
government's right to command and lead the armed forces would be ceded
to any other body. In addition, Ceausescu gave emphasis to the defensive
nature of the Warsaw Pact and reiterated the Romania position on
noninterference in the internal affairs of another country.
Romanian policy toward COMECON has been cooperative in regard to
mutually advantageous trade relations with the other member states but
has consistently opposed pressures for the integration of their
economies. The Soviet Union and the more industrialized of the Eastern
European communist states have pressed for economic integration that
would include a division of labor among COMECON members and a
specialization of production. Romanian leaders, preferring to develop a
diversified national economy, have refused the role of supplier of
agricultural goods and raw materials that COMECON would have assigned to
their country.
During the mid-1960s Romania successfully reoriented a substantial share
of its trade toward the West and reduced its participation in COMECON.
Trade with the West, however, produced sizable deficits and, along with
other economic problems, including the disastrous floods of early 1970,
forced the Ceausescu regime to again rely on its economic ties with the
COMECON states. Despite these difficulties, the country has continued to
develop its trade relations with noncommunist nations and has continued
to resist COMECON integration pressures.
In 1970 a prominent Romanian economist proposed that COMECON become an
open-ended organization in which all countries, socialist and
nonsocialist, could participate on a voluntary basis. In mid-1971 an
official PCR party spokesman declared that economic cooperation with
COMECON must "in no way affect the national economic plans or the
independence of the economic units in each country."
CHAPTER 11
PUBLIC INFORMATION
In the early 1970s the media of public information, under complete party
and government control and supervision, were utilized primarily to
propagandize and indoctrinate the population in support of the regime's
domestic and foreign policy objectives. The system of control was highly
centralized and involved an interlocking group of party and state
organizations, supervising bodies, and operating agencies whose
authority extended to all radio and television facilities, film studios,
printing establishments, newspapers, book publishers, and the single
news agency. In addition, this control apparatus also regulated the
access of the public to foreign publications, films, newscasts, books,
and radio and television programs.
Freedom of information, although never fully recognized in precommunist
Romania, completely disappeared under the Communists after 1948. In late
1971, as a result of an ideological campaign launched by the regime, the
communications media experienced measures that served further to
reemphasize their assigned role as political tools in the indoctrination
of the people. The effects of this campaign had not become fully evident
in early 1972, but changes and modifications had begun to appear that
tended to inhibit liberalizing trends, which had been incorporated
gradually into the system during the 1960s.
GOVERNMENT AND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
Although freedom of information was theoretically guaranteed by the
early constitutions of precommunist Romania, censorship of the press was
not unusual and commonly took the form of banning or confiscating
newspapers and periodicals considered hostile to the ruling group.
Newspapers had traditionally been published by political parties and
special interest groups, only a few being uncontrolled and truly
independent. In consequence, the public has long regarded the press as
generally biased, tainted with propaganda, and not reliable as a source
of objective news.
Under the dictatorship imposed by King Carol II in 1938 and during the
wartime regime of Marshal Ion Antonescu, censorship was officially
proclaimed and rigidly enforced. Since that time the communications
media have enjoyed only one period of relative freedom, lasting only a
few weeks following the coup d'etat of King Michael in August 1944.
After Michael's deposition and during the struggle for power that
followed, the Communists effectively controlled the press and radio
through the unions serving these facilities, which they had heavily
infiltrated. After their seizure of power in 1948, the Communists
instituted a system of censorship and control that has continued without
interruption.
The 1965 Constitution, the third promulgated by the Communists since
their takeover of the government, is less moderate in tone than its
predecessors in preserving the fiction of the right of citizens to
individual freedoms. The document states that freedom of speech, of the
press, and of assembly "cannot be used for aims hostile to the socialist
system and to the interests of the working people." This same article
also prohibits associations of a "fascist" or "anti-democratic" nature,
as well as the participation of citizens in such associations. The
Constitution names the Romanian Communist Party (Partidul Communist
Roman--PCR) as the leading political force in the country; by virtue of
its position, the party has become the ultimate authority in determining
actions that are "fascist," "anti-democratic," or "hostile to the
socialist system."
In 1972 the regime continued to utilize the conventional information
media--newspapers, magazines, books, radio, television, and motion
pictures--as an integrated, governmental system for the indoctrination
of the population and the molding of public opinion in support of the
state and its policies. In keeping with this overall objective, a
campaign for the increased ideological and political indoctrination of
the public was undertaken in July 1971 that brought about a
reenforcement of party authority over the highest information control
and policymaking bodies in the government (see ch. 7). The former State
Committee for Culture and Art, established with ministerial rank under
the Council of Ministers, was reconstituted as the Council on Socialist
Culture and Education and was made directly subordinate to the Central
Committee of the PCR. Similar changes were made in the Committee of
Radio and Television, which became the Council of Romanian Radio and
Television.
Under the direct guidance of the press and propaganda sections of the
Central Committee, these two councils formulate policy guidelines and
supervise all publication and dissemination procedures throughout the
communications media. The policies and directives, in turn, are
implemented by other government-controlled operating agencies, such as
the General Directorate for the Press and Printing, the Romanian press
agency, and the individual publishing houses, printing establishments,
book distribution centers, motion picture studios, and radio and
television stations. To further assure a uniform collective effort
consistent with the party line, and two national councils are also
empowered to organize wherever necessary permanent commissions,
temporary working groups, and local committees to assist the councils in
"analyzing" the way decisions are applied and in "improving" local
activities.
THE PRESS
Newspapers
According to the latest official statistics, there were a total of
seventy-six "general information" newspapers published throughout the
country in 1969. Of these, fifty-one were dailies, twenty-three were
weeklies, and two appeared at infrequent intervals, from two to three
times per week. Daily circulation estimates were available for very few
newspapers. Together, these newspapers had a total annual circulation of
more than 1.1 billion copies, a substantial increase over the 1950 level
of 870 million copies that was achieved by the seventy-five newspapers
then being published. The acceptance of high circulation figures as an
indicator of reader appeal is of doubtful value, however, since many
readers were required to subscribe to newspapers because of their party
or work affiliation. Also, certain functionaries throughout the
governmental apparatus and many supervisory workers had subscription
costs automatically deducted from their salaries.
Newspapers traditionally have been published in the national minority
languages, but since the mid-1960s the government has published no
official statistics on them, apparently in keeping with its
integrationist policy (see ch. 7). In 1964 it was estimated by Western
observers that the ethnic minorities were served by approximately twenty
newspapers, including eight dailies, with an annual circulation of
slightly more than 103 million copies.
All newspapers are licensed by the General Directorate for the Press and
Printing, the state agency that also controls the allocation of
newsprint, the manufacture of ink and other printing supplies, and the
distribution of all publications. Thus the government is in a position
to prohibit the appearance of any newspaper or other publication either
directly by revoking the license or indirectly by withholding essential
supplies or services. Each newspaper is organized into a collective
enterprise made up of the entire personnel of all departments. Chief
responsibility for the content of the paper is vested in an "editorial
collegium" headed by the chief editor. Meetings are held periodically
between all chief editors and party representatives, which serve as an
effective means of followup control in lieu of prepublication
censorship.
Major mass organizations, government-sponsored groups, local government
organs, and the PCR and its subsidiaries publish the most important and
influential papers, both in Bucharest and in the larger cities of the
various counties (see table 3). Little latitude is allowed in the
presentation of news, and almost all papers follow a serious, monotonous
format that has little popular appeal. Shortly after renewed emphasis
was placed on the ideological and political education of the population
in mid-1971, a Western journalist likened the nation to a huge classroom
in which unpopular and trite subjects were being presented to an
unreceptive class by an exhortative mass media.
The most authoritative and widely read newspaper is _Scinteia_, founded
in 1931 as the official organ of the Central Committee of the party. It
has, by far, the largest daily circulation and enjoys considerable
prestige as the outlet for party policy pronouncements as well as for
semiofficial government attitudes on both national and international
issues. The eight-page newspaper appears seven days a week and is
national in scope. Its editorials, feature sections, and chief articles
are frequently reprinted, in whole or in part, by smaller newspapers in
outlying areas. Quotations and summaries are also repeated regularly in
shop bulletins and in information letters put on by many enterprises,
plants, and factories.
The next most important dailies are _Romania Libera_, established by the
Socialist Unity Front in 1942; _Munca_, founded in 1943 as the voice of
the Central Council of the General Union of Trade Unions and _Scinteia
Tineretului_, the organ of the Union of Communist Youth, which has been
published since 1944. Each of these newspapers is much smaller than
_Scinteia_ and is directed at a particular group of readers of level of
society. Although _Romania Libera_ contains items of both national and
international interest, it deals primarily with the problems associated
with the "building of socialism" at the local level. Similarly, _Munca_
directs its major effort at the labor force and stresses the cooperative
relationship between workers and industry. _Scinteia Tineretului_, in
like manner, concentrates on the younger element of the population and
stresses the ideological and political training of youth as the basis
for a "sound socialist society."
_Table 3. Principal Romanian Daily Newspapers, 1971_
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Daily
Publication Circulation Place Publisher
(in thousands)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
_Crisana_ ___ Oradea Romanian Communist Party
_Dobrogea Noua_ ___ Constanta Do.
_Drapelul Rosu_ 54 Timisoara Do.
_Drum Nou_ ___ Brasov Do.
_Drumul Socialismului_ ___ Deva Do.
_Elore_[1] ___ Bucharest Hungarian People's Council
_Faclia_ ___ Cluj Romanian Communist Party
_Faklya_[1] ___ Oradea Hungarian People's Council
_Flacara Iasului_ ___ Iasi Romanian Communist Party
_Flacara Rosie_ ___ Arad Do.
_Flamura Prahovei_ ___ Ploiesti Do.
_Igazsag_ ___ Cluj Do.
_Inainte_ ___ Craiova Do.
_Inainte_ ___ Braila Do.
_Informatia Bucurestiului_ ___ Bucharest Do.
_Munca_ ___ do General Union of Trade Unions
_Neuer Weg_[2] 100 do German People's Council
_Romania Libera_ 200 do Socialist Unity Front
_Satul Socialist_ ___ do Union of Agricultural
Production Cooperatives
_Scinteia_ 1,000 do Romanian Communist Front
_Scinteia Tineretului_ 300 do Union of Communist Youth
_Sportul Popular_ ___ do Union of Culture and Sports
_Steagul Rosu_ ___ do Romanian Communist Front
_Steau Rosie_ ___ Tirgu Mures Do.
_Szabad Szo_[1] ___ Timisoara Hungarian People's Council
_Viata Noua_ ___ Galati Romanian Communist Party
_Voros Zaszlo_[1] ___ Tirgu Mures Hungarian People's Council
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
___ circulation unknown
1. Published in Hungarian.
2. Published in German.
The principal and most widely known minority-language newspapers are the
Hungarian daily _Elore_ and the German _Neuer Weg_, also a daily. Both
of these newspapers contain generally the same news as Romanian
newspapers with additional local items of minority interest, such as
cultural developments and problems associated with minority language use
in education and other fields.
Periodicals
The number of periodicals published throughout the country increased
from a total of 387 in 1960 to 581 in 1969, according to the latest
government statistics. The total annual circulation of periodicals
almost doubled during this time, increasing from about 105 million
copies to approximately 209 million. More than 340 of these magazines
and journals were published either quarterly or annually, the remainder
appearing either weekly, monthly, or at some other intervals. No
indication was given within this general classification of the number of
publications that were issued in the minority languages or were directed
at special minority interest groups.
All periodicals are considered official publications of the various
sponsoring organizations and are subject to the same licensing and
supervising controls as newspapers. Virtually all magazines and journals
are published by mass organizations and party or government-controlled
activities, such as institutes, labor unions, cultural committees, and
special interest groups. They cover a broad range of subjects and
include technical and professional journals, among them magazines on
literature, art, health, sports, medicine, statistics, politics,
science, and economics. The technical and scientific journals are
intended for scholars, engineers, and industrial technicians; cultural
and political periodicals are aimed at writers, editors, journalists,
artists, party workers, and enterprise managers; and general
publications are intended to appeal to various segments of the
population, such as youth, women, and both industrial and agricultural
workers.
Two of the best known and most widely circulated magazines are _Lupta de
Clasa_ and _Contemporanul_. _Lupta de Clasa_, a monthly published by the
Central Committee of the PCR, had an estimated circulation of about
70,000 in 1969 and was considered to be the foremost political review.
It deals with the theory of socialism and is extensively quoted in the
daily press as a semiofficial voice in domestic affairs.
_Contemporanul_, the weekly organ of the Council on Socialist Culture
and Education, had a circulation of approximately 65,000 and was a
leading authority on political, cultural, and social affairs. Through
its wide range of articles it serves as a primary vehicle for conveying
party policy to writers, journalists, editors, and publishers in all
fields.
Other periodicals cover a broad spectrum and included _Femeia_, the
monthly magazine of the National Council of Women; _Probleme Economice_,
the monthly review of the Society of Economic Sciences; _Tinarul
Leninist_, a monthly magazine for members of the Union of Communist
Youth; _Luceafarul_, a semimonthly review of foreign policy matters
published by the Union of Writers; _Romania Literara_, a literary,
artistic, and sociopolitical weekly also published by the Union of
Writers; _Urzica_, a humorous and satirical semimonthly review published
by the PCR; _Volk und Kultur_, a monthly review published in German by
the Council on Socialist Culture and Education; and _Korunk_, the
monthly sociocultural review in Hungarian, published by the Hungarian
Peoples' Council.
One of the magazines best known outside the country is _Romania Azi_, a
richly illustrated social, economic, and cultural monthly magazine
published by the Foreign Language Press. In addition to Romanian, it is
also published in English, Chinese, French, German, Russian, and
Spanish. The government also sponsors a series of scholarly reviews
dealing with studies on southeastern Europe, the history of art,
Romanian historical and artistic development, and linguistics. These
reviews appear at infrequent intervals and, in addition to the Romanian
edition, are offered on subscription in English, French, German,
Russian, and Spanish.
News Agencies
The Romanian Press Agency (Agentia Romana de Presa--Agerpres) was
established in 1949, with the exclusive right to the collection and
distribution of all news, pictures, and other press items, both domestic
and foreign. In recent years, however, it has concerned itself almost
exclusively with news from foreign countries, leaving much of the
domestic news coverage to the correspondents of the larger daily
newspapers. Agerpres, in 1972, operated as an office of the central
government under the direct supervision and control of the Central
Committee of the party.
The headquarters for Agerpres is maintained in Bucharest, with some
sixteen branch offices located in other major towns and cities
throughout the country. In addition, it staffs on a full-time basis
twenty-one bureaus abroad, principally in the larger capital cities of
Europe, Africa, South America, and the Far East. Until 1960 its most
important source of foreign news was the Soviet central news agency,
through which it received the bulk of its foreign news releases and
international news summaries. This arrangement was replaced by news
exchange agreements with selected agencies of both the Western countries
and the countries of Eastern Europe.
In addition to the Soviet agency, foreign news bureaus are maintained in
Bucharest by the press agencies of Poland, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia,
Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and the German Democratic Republic (East
Germany). To service these bureaus and its own correspondents abroad
Agerpres issues the daily Agerpres News of the Day and the weekly
Agerpres Information Bulletin. For domestic consumption Agerpres
distributes about 45,000 words of foreign news coverage daily to
official government and party offices, to various newspapers and
periodicals, and to radio and television broadcasting stations.
RADIO AND TELEVISION
Radio Broadcasting
In 1971 domestic radio broadcast service was provided by twenty AM
(amplitude modulation) stations located in sixteen cities and by six FM
(frequency modulation) stations located in Bucharest, Cluj, and
Constanta. These stations are government owned and operate under the
direct supervision of the Council of Romanian Radio and Television, an
agency of the party's Central Committee. All broadcast stations are
grouped into three major networks, known as Program I, Program II, and
Program III. In addition, broadcast facilities are augmented by an
extensive wired-broadcast network, which extended coverage into outlying
areas where direct transmissions are subject to either geographic or
atmospheric interference.
The most powerful stations are located in Brasov, Iasi, Boldur,
Bucharest, and Timisoara. They range in power from 135 to 1200 kilowatts
and transmit in the low- and medium-frequency bands. The FM stations
operate exclusively in the very high frequency range and are all
moderately powered at four kilowatts. The majority of the programs
originate at studios in Bucharest and are rebroadcast by the network
stations, which add short local news broadcasts and, from time to time,
originate coverage of special events of local interest. In addition to
government-provided subsidies, the industry also benefits from the
license fees collected from the almost 3.1 million owners of radio
receivers.
In 1971 scheduled regional programming was revised to include additional
broadcast time for programs in the minority languages. These broadcasts
were carried by four major stations including Radio Bucharest, with
programs in Hungarian and German; Radio Cluj and Radio Tirgu Mures, with
programs in Hungarian; and Radio Timisoara with programs in German and
Serbo-Croatian. Most of these offerings are short and stress news,
features, and talks by local personalities. These programs are also
relayed over wire lines to local centers for distribution to public
establishments, factories, and schools.
The programs offered on Programs I and II are generally of good quality
but have a high ideological content and are lacking in diversity. In
addition to news and weather reports, programs include special
broadcasts for children and rural listeners, scientific, theatrical,
cultural, and literary presentations, and a great variety of musical
programs. Program III, which is limited principally to the Sunday
evening hours, carries many of the regular concerts given by the various
national orchestras and choirs. Despite its limited broadcast schedule,
Program III also carries indoctrination programs in the form of
interviews and panel discussions.
Foreign broadcasts in thirteen languages were beamed to Europe and
overseas by Radio Bucharest on one mediumwave and six shortwave
transmitters in early 1972. These programs were on the air for a
combined total of approximately 200 hours per week, averaged one-half
hour in length, and generally carried domestic news and comments on
international developments. In addition to Romanian, the broadcasts to
European listeners were presented in English, German, French, Greek,
Italian, Portuguese, Serbo-Croatian, and Spanish. Overseas programs were
beamed to North Africa and the Near East in Arabic, English, French, and
Turkish; to Asia, in English and Persian; to the Pacific area, in
English; to North America, in English, Romanian, and Yiddish; and to
Latin America, in Portuguese and Spanish.
Radio Audience
The communist regime has long recognized the importance of radio
broadcasting as a medium for both informing the people and for molding a
favorable public attitude toward the government. As a result, the
construction of broadcast facilities and the production of receiving
sets have been steadily increased since 1960. Also, during this same
period the number of radio receivers increased more than 50 percent,
from 2 million in 1960 to almost 3.1 million in 1970. The number of
licensed receiving sets included approximately 870,000 wired receivers
and amplifiers that usually reached group audiences in public areas.
By early 1972 the government had given no indication as to the results
achieved by the radio in the intensified ideological campaign launched
in mid-1971. Press reports revealed that, whereas radio programs
continued to be criticized as to content and purpose, changes more
favorable to the socialist concept of culture and political thought have
not yet been extensive. Western programs, though fewer, were still being
offered, and certain musical programs were being revised to favor the
light and popular music of native composers over the modern Western
style. Listener resistance to changes intended to improve the "communist
education of the masses" was revealed by official statements that called
for the need of radio editors and program coordinators "to improve their
skill" in arousing and focusing the interest of the radio audience on
"up-to-date" programs.
Television Broadcasting
Since its inception in 1956, television broadcasting has been closely
linked with radio, by the regime, as an increasingly important
instrument of "propaganda and socialist education of the masses." Like
radio, television operated under supervision of the Council of Romanian
Radio and Television, whose policy guidelines were received directly
from the party apparatus. Also, as in the case of radio, television came
under close scrutiny and criticism in mid-1971 in the intensified
ideological campaign initiated by President Nicolae Ceausescu. By early
1972 changes in television network programming resulting from this
campaign had not been revealed, but the press indicated that most of
them were intended to limit foreign influence in literary, theatrical,
film, and artistic broadcasts and to stress the Marxist-Leninist
interpretation in presenting current events.
Although only recently developed as a new medium in mass communications,
television has expanded more rapidly than radio. From the six stations
that were operational in 1960, the industry had increased to a total of
eighty-five in 1971. Of these, sixteen were principal transmitting
stations located in various parts of the country, and sixty-nine were
repeater stations. The number of television sets also increased
significantly during this period, from 55,000 to almost 1.3 million. It
was estimated by government authorities that programs aired over the 1.3
million licensed sets covered more than 80 percent of the country and
could be seen by between 5 million and 6 million viewers.
The television network operates the Central European System of 625-line
definition and broadcasts over two systems, Program I and Program II.
Program I was on the air daily during the evening hours for a total of
thirty-eight hours per week. Program II broadcast weekday mornings and
evenings for a total of eighteen hours. Most presentations originate on
Program I and include, in addition to political, literary, and cultural
programs, sports, news, documentaries, and special programs for children
and workers. Program II usually repeats most of the programs shown on
Program I or summarizes certain telecasts for combined showings with
other short features.
Foreign programs, chiefly from neighboring communist countries, are also
available to Romanian televiewers. Most of this material is procured on
a mutual exchange basis through Intervision (Eastern European
Television), an organization to which Romania belongs. A substantial
number of foreign telecasts, however, are also available to residents in
border areas, by direct transmission.
BOOK PUBLISHING
Before World War II Romania was one of the leading Balkan nations in the
publishing field. Annually, some 2,500 titles were commonly published in
editions of 2,000 to 5,000 copies, with a high percentage representing
original works of Romanian authors. After the communist takeover in 1948
all publishing facilities were nationalized, and the entire industry was
converted to serve as a major propaganda and indoctrination instrument
in support of the new regime. Between 1949 and 1953 the revamped
publishing concerns turned out more than 13,500 separate titles, with a
total of almost 250 million copies. This record amount of officially
approved and censored material represented a whole new series of
communist-oriented material needed to operate the highly centralized
government, to reeducate the people, and to regulate their activities.
By 1955 the number of titles issued annually had decreased to a little
more than 5,000, but total circulation remained relatively high at more
than 48 million copies. From 1955 to 1966 the number of titles gradually
increased and reached a plateau of about 9,000, where it remained
through 1969. Annual circulation figures over the same periods of time
fluctuated in a fairly regular pattern showing a controlled average
number of copies issued per title each year also to be about 9,000.
Thus, the planned publishing requirements as set by the government
apparently were achieved in 1966 and have varied very little since then.
Publication
Government and party control of all printing and publishing activities
is centered in the Council on Socialist Culture and Education. This
party-state organization formulates policy guidelines for the publishing
industry and utilizes other government-controlled or government-owned
agencies, such as the General Directorate for the Press and Printing,
the various publishing houses, and book distribution centers to
supervise and coordinate day-to-day operations. Within this control
machinery all short- and long-range publication plans are approved, and
the distribution of all printed material is specified. This central
authority also allocates paper quotas, determines the number of books to
be printed, and sets the prices at which all publications are to be
sold.
In 1972 about twenty-five publishing houses were in operation; of these,
twenty-three were located in Bucharest, and one each was in Cluj and
Iasi. Each of these enterprises produced books, pamphlets, periodicals,
and other printed material within its own specialized field and was
responsible, through its director, for the political acceptability and
quality of its work. In 1969 some decentralization in publishing took
place with the opening of branch offices of the larger houses in a few
of the more heavily populated districts. Although this program was
ostensibly initiated for the purpose of securing "a broader scope of
reader preference" in the number and type of books to be published,
press reports published in late 1971 indicated very little popular
support for this experiment.
Of the 9,399 titles published in 1969, the greatest numbers were in the
fields of technology, industry, agriculture, and medicine. Also included
in this group were books, treatises, studies, and reports in the general
economic field as well as translations from foreign sources. This
category of titles, although representing about 33 percent of those
published, had an average circulation of only about 3,500 copies per
title--well below the overall average of approximately 9,000.
The second largest group of published titles was in the field of social
sciences and represented approximately 22 percent of the total. This
classification included all books dealing with political science and
socioeconomic theory as well as all textbooks and materials used in the
educational system. A particularly large segment of books in this area
were documents and manuals used for party training, Marxist-Leninist
classics, and party-directed studies and monographs dealing with the
historical, philosophical, or sociological development of the communist
movement.
The material published in the fields of art, games, sports, and music
dominated the third largest group and ranged from children's
entertainment to musical scores. The fourth largest group, representing
about 15 percent of the national publishing effort, related to general
literature. This field covered novels, essays, short stories, and poetry
written by recognized authors as well as by less well established modern
writers, both domestic and foreign. The books selected from foreign
sources were carefully scrutinized, and very few were published that
dealt with contemporary Western subjects. Also banned, as a matter of
general principle, was all material that (in the judgment of chief
editors) "did not contribute actively to the socialist education of the
new man" within the communist society.
Distribution and Foreign Exchange
The distribution and sale of books, both domestic and foreign, are
vested in the Book Central, a state-owned organization that is also
responsible for the coordination of all book production. The Book
Central, with headquarters in Bucharest, operates directly under the
Council on Socialist Culture and Education and maintains a network of
bookshops throughout the country in district centers and other major
towns. In addition to supplying major outlets such as libraries and
schools with publications, the local bookshops also set up and operate
bookstalls and book departments in rural areas, usually at industrial
enterprises and farm collectives. Traveling bookmobiles are also used to
serve factories, mines, or other isolated activities in outlying areas.
Discount book clubs were reportedly established as early as 1952, but
recent information was lacking as to their continued existence, size,
and method of operation.
After receiving approval of their individual publishing plans, the
publishing houses distribute catalogs, bulletins, and other
informational material to the Book Central for distribution to major
purchasing outlets. In addition, the local bookshops issue periodic
lists of all books in stock as well as those scheduled to be printed
during specific periods. Official statistics concerning the wholesale
and retail sale of books are not habitually published, but recurrent
articles in the press criticize the lack of enthusiasm and general
ineptness of booksellers as major factors in lagging book sales to
individual buyers.
The Book Central in Bucharest conducts all transactions involving the
foreign exchange of publications. This agency issues annual lists of
available Romanian publications, together with short bibliographic
annotations or summaries as well as subscription details. Also, the sale
of books is fostered at the various international book fairs in which
Romania participates.
LIBRARIES
The Romanian library network consists of two broad categories--general
libraries, administered by the central government and its territorial
organs, and the various libraries administered by mass organizations,
institutes, and enterprises. Those in the latter category are generally
referred to as documentary libraries since most of them specialize in
scientific and technical holdings. The number of general libraries
declined appreciably from a total of almost 35,000 in 1960 to slightly
more than 18,000 in 1971, due principally to the consolidation of
facilities. Over the same period the number of documentary libraries
remained fairly constant, averaging slightly more than 4,000, the total
number existing in 1971.
The greatest proportion of general libraries, by far, are those
associated with primary and secondary schools and those that serve the
general public. In addition, the state operates two national libraries,
and forty-three others function as part of university and other higher
level institutions. The total holdings of all these facilities exceeded
95 million volumes, and the number of registered readers in the public
libraries was reported to have reached almost 5 million in 1971. No
information was available as to the total annual circulation of books on
personal and interlibrary loan in the general library system, but the
two national libraries were reported to have circulated 55,000 volumes
in 1968, and the combined circulation of the forty-three
university-level libraries approximated 178,000 volumes in the same
year.
The two national libraries, the Library of the Academy of the Socialist
Republic of Romania and the Central State Library, together maintain
stocks in excess of 10 million volumes, and both function as central
book depositories. The Library of the Academy of the Socialist Republic
of Romania, a precommunist institution founded in 1867, holds special
collections of Romanian, Greek, Slavonic, Oriental, and Latin
manuscripts, maps, and engravings as well as rare collections of
documents, medals, and coins. The Central State Library, founded in
1955, also has important collections of books, periodicals, musical
works, maps, and photographs and, in addition, acts as the Central
Stationery Office and the National Exchange for books. It also issues
the National Bibliography and annual catalogs, which list all books
printed in Romania and the holdings of all foreign books in the state
library system.
The largest libraries among the universities, each of which holds more
than 1.5 million volumes, are those at Bucharest, Iasi, and Cluj. These
holdings include the book stocks maintained in the libraries of the
various faculties, hostels, and institutes associated with the
universities as well as the central university library itself. The
largest documentary library, the Library of the Medical-Pharmaceutical
Institute, operates ninety-nine branch facilities, and its annual book
inventory has been in excess of 1.2 million volumes.
FILMS
As in the case of other elements of the mass media, the small motion
picture industry has also been affected by the intensified ideological
campaign of mid-1971. In general, the regime has attempted to further
limit the importation of foreign films, particularly those from the
West, which are considered violent and decadent. There has also been a
move to stimulate the production of more native films with a truly
"profound ideological content which will express our Marxist-Leninist
world outlook, convey the message of our own society in highly artistic
terms, and reflect the life of the new man." Until more Romanian films
of the appropriate type can be offered, the industry has been advised to
utilize additional films from the National Film Library and to emphasize
foreign presentations that are based on socialist concepts.
Production
Film production, distribution, and exhibition were controlled by the
National Center of Cinematography, a state agency that operates under
the supervision of the Council on Socialist Culture and Education. The
national center operates two production studios: the Alexandru Sahia
Film Studio in Bucharest, which produces documentaries, newsreels,
cartoons, and puppet films, and the Bucharest Film Studio, which
produces feature films at Buftea, a suburb about fifteen miles northwest
of the capital.
In 1970 cinema production consisted of thirty-nine feature and short
pictures, about 1960 documentary films (including animated cartoons),
and seventy-six newsreels. This output reflected a two-fold increase
since 1960 in both feature and documentary films but a decrease of about
15 percent in the number of newsreels. The largest growth in the motion
picture industry occurred between 1923 and 1930, when production rose
from about seven motion pictures per year to about twenty-five. This
increased output was a combination of native films and features
coproduced with France, Germany, and Hungary. After the communist
takeover of the government in 1948, film production fell drastically and
did not again reach its pre-World War II level until 1955.
Romanian films, until 1968, continued to reflect much of the earlier
French influence. Both the native and coproduced pictures of this period
were of high quality, and several won awards at film festivals in
Cannes, Trieste, and Chicago. Subjects treated were well diversified and
included historical adventure, strong dramas, and both satirical and
classical comedies. Beginning in 1968, the regime launched widespread
criticism of the industry, and the quality of production decreased
appreciably. The 1971 ideological campaign forced film making into a
further regression. Western observers characterized post-1968 films as
being totally lacking in originality.
Because of the relatively low number of Romanian films produced, the
industry has generally depended on the importation of sizable numbers of
foreign films to meet its needs. The government no longer publishes
official statistics dealing with film imports, but in 1960 the regime
reported that 188 feature films and 150 documentaries from foreign
countries were shown. Approximately 40 percent of these films came from
the Soviet Union; the remainder came from France, East Germany, England,
Italy, Czechoslovakia, and the United States.
Distribution
Despite the emphasis placed by the government on motion pictures as both
a propaganda and an entertainment medium, the number of theaters and
attendance at film showings has decreased steadily since 1965. This
trend was due principally to the competition offered by the expanding
television industry, but the falling off in the quality of films was
also a contributing factor.
Film theaters are of two types, those which show pictures regularly in
designated movie houses or, periodically, in multipurpose recreation
centers, and mobile film units, which exhibit documentary and
educational films in schools or other local facilities in outlying
areas. Motion picture houses of both types decreased in number from
6,499 in 1965 to 6,275 in 1970, and in the same period annual attendance
dropped more than 6 million from the 1965 high of almost 205 million.
INFORMAL INFORMATION MEDIA
Lectures, public and organizational meetings, exhibits, and
demonstrations also serve as means of communication between the
government and the population at large. Although less significant than
the formal mass media, these events are fostered by officials of the
regime as highly effective elements in the indoctrination process
because they offer direct personal confrontations at the lower levels.
Word-of-mouth communication is also an important and effective medium,
particularly as a means of spreading news heard from Western radio
transmissions, which were no longer subject to government jamming as a
matter of policy.
SECTION III. NATIONAL SECURITY
CHAPTER 12
PUBLIC ORDER AND INTERNAL SECURITY
By 1972 the internal security situation in Romania had changed a great
deal from that of the post-World War II period and the first few years
of the communist regime. In those days the regime had feared for its
existence and for that of the system it was attempting to establish. It
had feared interference from outside the country and active opposition
from a large segment of the local population and had also doubted the
reliability of a considerable number of those within its own ranks.
In the police state atmosphere of that time a good portion of the people
had also, and frequently with good reason, feared the regime. People
whose greatest crime might have been lack of enthusiasm feared that they
might be suspected of deviant political beliefs. Because of the brief
time then being spent on investigation of a crime and seeking out an
individual's possible innocence, such persons could easily emerge from
hasty trials as political prisoners.
By 1972 the security troops--successors to the secret police that had
held the population in dread and terror twenty years before--still
existed in considerable force. They had receded into the background,
however, and only infrequently had any contact with the average citizen
as he went about his daily routine.
The population was undoubtedly not altogether content in 1972 and often
chafed at bureaucratic red tape, at lackluster performance on the part
of minor officials, and at other irritations. The youth, in particular,
was showing reluctance to be molded into the uncompromising pattern of
socialist society, and some of its resistance took on characteristics
considered intolerable by the regime. On the other hand, there was
little, if any, sign of organized opposition to the system or the
leadership. The dominant attitude throughout the country was cooperative
to the degree that, if the system was seen to be in need of change, it
was preferable to attempt reform from within the system itself and along
accepted guidelines.
Reflecting the easing of internal tensions, the formal framework of the
judicial system--the penal code, the code of criminal procedure, and the
courts--was extensively changed in 1968. Although the new code
emphasized protection of the state and society more than individual
rights, the code it replaced had been one of the most severe and
inflexible in Europe. The new codes clearly specified that there was no
crime unless it was so defined in law and that there was to be no
punishment unless it had been authorized by law.
Procedures for criminal prosecution were set down in readily
understandable language that, if adhered to, guaranteed equitable
treatment during investigation, trial, and sentencing to a degree
hitherto unknown in the court system. There were also provisions for
appeal of lower and intermediate court sentences.
Petty cases were disposed of by judicial commissions that did not have
court status. Such commissions were set up in villages, institutions,
collectives, or enterprises comprising as few as 200 people. Although
authorized to administer only small fines or penalties, they were
established in a fashion designed to involve large numbers of people in
the judicial process and to exert local pressures on those appearing
before them.
INTERNAL SECURITY
During the mid-1950s the militia (civil police force) and security
troops were busily engaged in apprehending alleged spies, traitors,
saboteurs, and those who persisted in voicing beliefs considered
dangerous to the regime and the socialist system. In the early 1970s
directives for security agencies still identified the 1950 threats to
the regime and exhorted the agencies to continue to combat the same old
enemies of the people. The emphasis has been altered, however, and
national authorities appeared generally satisfied with the improved
internal security situation in 1972.
The regime had by then become seriously concerned much less over mass
violence or organized subversion than over levels of unrest or passive
resistance that are evidenced by widespread laxity, carelessness,
indolence, or an obvious lack of popular support. The militia blamed a
rash of railroad accidents in 1970 on laxity when investigation
determined that the equipment had, in nearly all cases, operated
properly and the people had received sufficient training to make the
system work safely. It also blamed an excessive number of fires on
carelessness and negligence. Classified political and economic data were
found on several occasions during routine checks of unoccupied and
unsecured automobiles. New laws were published in 1970 to deal with
vagrancy, begging, prostitution, and persons not seeking employment or
living what the authorities termed "useless lives."
Although they have been relaxed, controls over the population remain
strict by Western standards. A 1971 decree on the establishment of
private residence placed rigid limitations on movement to the cities,
allowing only those who get employment and are allocated housing to
move. For example, military personnel must have had previous residence
in a city in order to establish residence there after retiring from the
service.
All persons over fourteen years of age must carry identification cards.
The cards are issued by the militia and are usually valid for ten-year
periods to age forty-four, after which they have no expiration date.
They are reissued, however, if the photograph no longer matches the
appearance of the bearer or when a name change--such as that following
marriage--affects the identity. In addition to the photograph and other
data for identification, the card contains blood type and residence
information. Identification cards of prisoners or persons held in
preventive detention are withheld from them.
Ministry of Internal Affairs
The minister of internal affairs is one of the three members of the
Council of Ministers who head governmental agencies charged with defense
of the country and security of the regime and the social system. His
ministry is responsible for the various police and related organizations
that, although controlled from national headquarters, perform most of
their functions at the local level in the defense of law, order, and
property. It cooperates with the Ministry of the Armed Forces and with
the State Security Council, a watchdog committee that oversees police
activities, but neither of those agencies does a large share of its work
with local government or party agencies (see ch. 8).
Two-thirds of the ministry's major directorates deal with the militia.
They include the militia's general inspectorate; its political council;
and directorates relating to firefighting, special guard units, the
Bucharest militia, and Bucharest traffic control. Other directorates of
the ministry deal with prisons and labor settlements, reeducation of
minors, and state archives.
Militia
The militia is organized at the national level under the Ministry of
Internal Affairs and is probably also responsible to the State Security
Council. The chain of command between the ministry and local police
units appears to work from inspectorate general offices in the ministry
through the thirty-nine _judet_ (county) inspectorates and one for the
city of Bucharest. Local police units and local inspectorates, in
addition to being subordinate to their counterparts at the next higher
level, are also responsible to the locally elected people's councils.
This dual subordination probably works because of the overriding
influence of the Romanian Communist Party at all levels.
Most of the police work is done, and by far the greatest part of the
organization is situated, in the many local police offices. These are
located any place in which there are sufficient numbers of people or
enough valuable property to justify them--in towns, communes,
enterprises, or cities, where there may be several. The ministry may
also establish other individual police jurisdictions at railroad
stations, ports, airfields, and large construction sites and in other
special situations on a temporary or permanent basis.
The militia is charged with defense of the regime and the society, with
maintenance of public order, and with enforcement of laws. To accomplish
the more general tasks, it is directed to detect criminal activities and
to apprehend criminals. The militia is also given responsibility for
preventing crime and for guiding, assisting, or directing other
organizations involved in protection of the regime, the citizens, and
state or private property. An increasing portion of routine police work
is required in the control of highway traffic. The militia may also be
called upon to assist in emergencies or in disaster situations.
Militia regulations require the police to respect individual rights and
the inviolability of homes and personal property in normal
circumstances. Restrictions are removed, however, if circumstances
warrant. Police may commandeer any vehicle or means of communication,
private or otherwise, if the situation demands. During chase or during
investigation of flagrant crimes, they may enter private homes without
permission or search them without warrant.
Citizens are directed to assist the militia when called upon or to act
as police--to apprehend and hold violators--if no police are at the
scene when a crime is committed. Provisions authorizing the formation of
auxiliary police groups are established in law. Such auxiliaries would
ordinarily be organized by the militia but, whatever their sponsorship,
they would be expected to cooperate with local police authorities.
According to the law defining the militia's organization, its personnel
consist of military and civilian employees on the staff of the Ministry
of Internal Affairs. Officers, military experts, and noncommissioned
officers are recruited from the graduates of schools operated within the
regular military establishment. Policemen may be drawn from those
selected annually for compulsory military service. The armed forces'
personnel regulations apply to militiamen acquired from the draft
process or from military schools. Graduates of civilian schools are
employed in the police force to meet its requirements for specialists
who are not trained in the armed forces. These individuals and others
who have had no association with the armed forces retain civilian status
and are subject to the provisions of the labor code and other
regulations applicable to civilian employees.
The militia's personnel strength of 500,000 in 1972 means that about one
person in every forty of the country's population is in, or employed by,
the force. The reason for this high ratio is that the militia
organization has branches at all government levels, from the national
ministry down to the village. Also, its working groups include nearly
all of the country's guard, regulatory, investigative, and paramilitary
organizations, as well as those performing police and firefighting
functions.
Security Troops
Security forces organized at the national level to protect the regime
from subversive activities, whether locally or externally generated,
were created in the late 1940s and are still maintained. The force in
1972 numbered roughly 20,000 men. It is organized along military lines,
and most, if not all, of its men have military rank. It receives its
administrative and logistic support from the Ministry of Internal
Affairs but is supervised by the State Security Council.
According to pronouncements made during anniversary ceremonies held in
August of 1968, during their twenty years of service the security troops
had been a consistently reliable force. Their mission was described as
identifying and apprehending foreign espionage agents and combating
local spies, saboteurs, agitators, and terrorists. It was declared that
the forces operated under the leadership and direct guidance of the
party and governmental leadership and that local security forces were
controlled by the party authorities in districts and cities.
Pronouncements by the leadership about their local subordination
notwithstanding, the security troops, which are the direct descendants
of the old secret police, are still controlled at the national level.
Because of their declining mission in counter-espionage and
counter-subversion, they undoubtedly cooperate wherever possible in
usual militia functions, but they appear to have only nominal
responsibilities to local government agencies.
The diminishing role of the security troops is evident in several areas.
Their personnel strength in 1971 was a fraction of that of the militia.
The country's efforts against external threat have been increasingly
relegated to the regular armed forces. Also, although the chairman of
the State Security Council--which was newly established in 1968--is a
member of the Council of Ministers, in 1970 he was the only man on the
security council who was a ranking party member, and he was no more than
an alternate member of the Executive Committee of the Central Committee
of the Romanian Communist Party. His vice chairmen were military
officers, and only one of them was prominent enough in the party to have
been a member of the Central Committee. It is evident that the State
Security Council in Romania does not have the status of the high-level
groups that in some countries have the responsibility for coordinating
party and governmental activities relating to national security and for
providing basic guidance to all of the various military, paramilitary,
and police agencies.
PUBLIC ORDER
As is the case in the other communist countries that pattern their
systems after that of the Soviet Union, Romania's leadership relies on
the party and several mass organizations to foster a climate in which
the people will actively support and cooperate with the regime. These
organizations involve as large a segment of the population as possible
in a broad spectrum of programs and functions. The efforts they elicit
from their members may consist of activities within the organizations
themselves or in local governments, judicial systems, and security
groups. Mass popular involvement provides an influence that is generally
subtle but that may become direct pressure.
Mass Organizations
The party attempts to attract the most competent and elite element of
the people, to ensure that its members adhere to basic socialist
ideology, and to maintain the power to direct and control all other
groups involved in major social and governmental activities. The mass
organizations support the party and carry its programs to special
interest groups. They keep the party informed of the concerns of their
members and may also, within certain limitations, have an influence upon
the party's actions (see ch. 9).
There are about a dozen mass organizations. The Socialist Unity Front is
not typical of the group, as in theory it encompasses all of the others
as well as the party--although it supports and serves the party. It
functions as a coordinating agency in such things as running the
national elections.
The largest typical groups are the General Union of Trade Unions and the
youth groups. There are three of the latter: the Union of Communist
Youth (Uniunea Tineretului Comunist--UTC), the Pioneers Organization,
and the Union of Student Associations. The UTC is a general group whose
members are between fifteen and twenty-six years of age, although
members in leadership positions may retain their affiliation beyond the
upper age limit. The pioneers are the younger children, seven through
fourteen years old; their program is designed so that they move
naturally into the UTC when they become fifteen. The student groups are
organized in universities or in schools beyond the secondary level. They
have experienced difficulties in attracting members and in persuading
those they have attracted to accept all of the principles set down for
them (see ch. 9).
The other organizations are a miscellaneous aggregation, including a
women's organization, the Red Cross, a sports and physical education
group, one that involves the various ethnic nationalities, another that
is a Jewish federation only, one that is designed to foster ties of
friendship with the Soviet Union, and one designed for the defense of
peace. Although they are highly dissimilar and vary widely in
importance, all are designed to attract groups with special fields of
interest and to guide such groups into activities that promote harmony
and order.
The labor and youth groups, in addition to being the largest, are also
those most actively charged with supporting the regime. Labor union
members are active in auxiliaries of the militia and in the military
reserves. The UTC membership spans most of the age group that is drafted
into the regular armed services and the security forces. Within the
services it forms units throughout the organizational structures that
either direct or actively assist in political indoctrination programs
and manage sports and recreational activities. Where a party cell
exists, the UTC is guided by it; where the military unit is too small to
have a party cell, the UTC functions in its place.
Youth Programs
Although the economy has improved and the internal security situation
has stabilized, youth problems have increased, and much effort is being
expended on their solution. Officials point out that the percentage of
young people that have become criminals or whose antisocial conduct gets
most of the publicity is very small. They complain, however, that the
number of those who will not associate with the UTC and who display
other negative behavior is far too great. Negative behavior on the part
of young people reportedly involves their manner of speech and dress,
which "offends common decency," their creation of public disturbances,
their apathy toward work, and the fact that many of them have become
cynical and infatuated with "wrong beliefs."
Authorities understand the youthful tendency to be nonconformist and
accept the fact that a certain amount of the behavior they deplore is
an attempt to affirm new and differing youth attitudes. Attitudes and
conduct considered to have exceeded permissible bounds, however, are
dealt with firmly. Leaders blame the inadequacies of some educational
facilities; the ignorance, injustice, or excessive indulgence on the
part of some parents and educators; and the overlenient courts.
Solutions that have been proposed since the late 1960s have run the
gamut from advice to parents to the creation of powerful governmental
agencies. Parents are admonished to take a firm attitude toward their
children. The first secretary of the Central Committee of the UTC was
made a member of the Council of Ministers, as minister for youth
problems. University student associations have been given much new
attention, as have the other youth organizations and their programs. The
militia, armed forces, and security troops have been required to
undertake programs to cooperate with youth organizations.
During 1969 the minister for youth problems was provided a research
center by the Council of Ministers. Its purpose was to investigate the
problems experienced by schools, universities, youth mass organizations,
the militia, and the courts. As case studies are documented, the center
is directed to evaluate the problems and the solutions found for them
locally at the time they occurred and to disseminate the information,
with additional comments and recommendations, as widely as possible.
In early 1971 a considerably invigorated program was unveiled for the
UTC. Wherever possible, all programs were to become more mature and more
stimulating. Military exercises would involve field trips and more
realistic maneuvers. Aerial sports would include parachuting, gliding,
and powered flight. Hobbies, such as model ship building, amateur radio,
and the study of topography, were to be given more adequate supervision.
Better equipment and facilities would be supplied for touring,
motorcycling, mountaineering, skiing, and hiking. More youths were to be
scheduled for summer camps. No information concerning the effectiveness
of the new programs had been made available by early 1972.
Many university students held their party-sponsored associations in low
regard during the middle and late 1960s, and eventually the
then-existing student unions were dissolved or consolidated into the new
Union of Student Associations. The incentives and pressures that were
applied, in addition to revamping the union's programs, had succeeded by
1970 in re-animating the association to the point that it was active in
all of the country's universities and institutes of higher learning. It
was authorized to make recommendations applicable to extracurricular
sports and tourist programs, political education, and the entire
academic area of the educational establishment.
Programs for the young pioneer groups have probably not been the object
of the same degree of reform effort that has been applied to the UTC and
the student associations. A party spokesman stated in late 1971,
however, that the 1.6 million pioneers were not too young to develop a
socialist consciousness and to be given a communist education. He stated
that their major programs should feature direct involvement in work of
educational and civic value.
To give young people a sense of accomplishment, as well as to keep them
occupied in meaningful and productive work, large numbers of them are
organized into youth construction groups. In typical situations
temporary housing or camps are built near the project, and all necessary
facilities are provided at the site. During the spring of 1970, for
example, five such groups were scattered throughout the country,
operating concurrently. A majority of the projects have involved land
reclamation, irrigation, or drainage. Many of them are major
undertakings, and thousands of young people take part in the program.
CRIME AND THE PENAL SYSTEM
During a 1971 discussion on the judiciary's philosophy with regard to
the general subjects of law and freedom, the chairman of the Supreme
Court stated that the penal code and criminal procedures adopted in 1968
assign to the law the role of regulator of social behavior. The law has
become, he said, not simply an instrument stipulating the rights and
obligations of the citizen; its important social role provides a firm
foundation for society's behavior. Other spokesmen have amplified this
theme. They emphasize that, once an individual understands the law and
its objectives, he appreciates the fact that individual freedom is
related to the freedom of others and that a free individual is bound to
respect accepted ideological concepts and accepted moral and judicial
standards.
Public prosecutors have a broad range of responsibility in the judicial
and penal systems. Their duties are not confined to handling the
prosecution of indicted individuals who have been brought to trial. As
the appointed protectors of the civil liberties of the people, their
duties extend from crime prevention to rehabilitation of criminals
serving prison sentences. They are responsible for seeing that crimes
are detected and investigated and that penal action is taken against the
criminal. They also see to it that the criminal is held in preventive
detention, if necessary, before trial. After sentencing, the prosecutors
have access to any place in which the criminal might be detained and
pass on the legalities of the detention and the conditions within the
penal institution. If a sentence either does not involve imprisonment
(but is, for example, in the form of a fine, restriction, or extra work)
or is suspended, the prosecutors ensure that the terms of the sentence
are carried out.
Public prosecutors are monitored by the Office of the Prosecutor General
at the national level. The prosecutor general (attorney general) assures
that the work of local public prosecutors is consistent throughout the
country, both in the choice of cases to pursue and in the diligence with
which the prosecution is undertaken (see ch. 8).
Crime
Statistics released to the public do not include crime rates. Reliable
data that would include petty crime would, in any event, be difficult to
obtain because many minor infractions of law and all but the more
serious of personal disputes are not termed crimes and are tried before
the hundreds of local judicial commissions.
A rough assessment of the overall crime situation can, however, be made
from the concern expressed in the many speeches and articles published
by government and party spokesmen. It is apparent that certain types of
crime are considered to be adequately under control and occur
infrequently enough to be statistically tolerable. There are, for
example, few trials in the political category, such as those where
dissidents are accused of attempting to undermine the authority of the
regime or to subvert the population from the approved ideology. In an
exceptional case (apparently at least his second serious offense) an
engineer found guilty of passing economic information to a foreigner
received a twenty-five-year sentence in March 1971 for espionage.
Similar trials were a frequent occurrence during the early 1950s, but
much of the publicity they have received since the mid-1960s has
occurred because they have become so infrequent as to be noteworthy.
Furthermore, to emphasize the more moderate and strictly legal
procedures adhered to by police forces and the judiciary, some of the
1950 political trials are being reexamined. Most of those sentenced to
imprisonment from such trials have been amnestied, the largest group in
1964. A few of those who were executed are still being posthumously
rehabilitated.
On the other hand, there is a greater percentage of crimes in the
categories that are sometimes attributed to an improvement in the
standard of living but that reflect dissatisfaction with the rate of the
improvement. These include economic crimes--theft and embezzlement--misuse
or abuse of property, and antisocial crimes and crimes of violence, which
are committed most frequently by younger people. Party officials also
deplore the prevalence of laxity in the use of state property and in the
safeguarding of official information and documents.
Measures taken to combat crime have had varying degrees of success.
Speculation is illegal, but efforts to prevent private sales of new and
used cars at excessive profit have been ineffective. Cars two to five
years old sell for more than their original cost. Crimes such as
vagrancy, begging, and prostitution were, as of late 1970, defying the
best efforts of the militia and the courts. This type of crime had been
prevalent during the early post-World War II period but declined after
about 1950. During the late 1960s it again began to increase. The
militia has also encountered a problem in the amount of popular
cooperation it is able to count upon. Individuals who have identified
persons as having committed criminal acts have been subjected to
reprisals. The militia has, however, been able to show good results
against vandalism, pilfering, and petty theft. By mid-1971 crimes of
that category had been reduced to pre-1969 levels.
The 1968 Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact) invasion of
Czechoslovakia generated a certain amount of disillusion that probably
contributed to the increase, during the late 1960s, in attempts to
emigrate illegally. An émigré reported that about 40 percent of the
prison populations at Arad and Timisoara, or some 500 inmates, had
failed in attempts to cross the border into Hungary. Most of them were
reportedly twenty to thirty years old and were serving sentences of from
one to five years.
Modern crime-fighting facilities have been introduced more slowly than
has been the case in the more prosperous European countries. During 1970
the Ministry of Justice established the Central Crime Laboratory and two
branch, or interdistrict, laboratories. All of them serve the militia,
the security and armed forces, the courts, and the public prosecutors.
They are equipped to assist in the investigation of all aspects of
crimes except those where medical and legal services are required. They
include facilities for handwriting, fingerprint, and ballistic analyses
and analysis of documents (for counterfeiting or alteration) and for
performing a number of other physical and chemical tests.
Traffic Control
Traffic control demands a sizable portion of police energies, although
by 1972 highway use remained low in comparison to the rest of the
continent. There had been few motor vehicles before World War II, and
numbers for personal use or for motor transport increased slowly during
the immediate postwar years. Since about 1955, however, both categories
have become available at an accelerated rate.
In 1963 traffic was up over 200 percent (and in 1965 approximately 300
percent) from 1955 levels. Total numbers of vehicles increased at about
10 percent a year during the late 1960s, and the number of those that
were privately licensed doubled during the two-year period 1968 and
1969. Encouraged by the government during approximately the same period,
tourist traffic tripled.
Irresponsible driving, lack of traffic controls, and lack of concern for
their danger on the part of pedestrians, bicyclists, and wagon drivers
contributed to an acceleration in the number of accidents and casualties
that paralleled the increase in traffic. In 1969 there were 2,070 deaths
resulting from about 5,300 reported accidents. Only about 40 percent of
the victims were occupants of the vehicles involved and, of them, a
considerably larger number of passengers than drivers were killed.
Nearly 50 percent of the total fatalities were pedestrians; the
remainder were on bicycles or wagons.
Considering accident statistics higher than warranted by the rising
volume of traffic, the regime had enacted a series of stricter control
measures, the bulk of them in 1968. Officials analyzing the problem
attributed most of the poor record to disregard for driving regulations
and inadequate traffic controls. Excessive speed had accounted for about
40 percent of the accidents. Driving under the influence of alcohol,
failure to pay attention, and failure to yield the right of way
accounted, in that order, for most of the others. Drivers were blamed
for about 65 percent of accidents, pedestrians for 31 percent, and
malfunction of vehicles for 4 percent. Accidents in which alcohol was a
factor tended to be the most serious. One in every 2.3 alcohol-related
accidents resulted in a fatality.
After 1968 the more stringent regulations and measures to enforce them
began to yield results. By 1970, although both the numbers of local
automobiles and tourist traffic had continued to increase steadily,
accidents had decreased by 8 percent; and deaths and injuries from them
were down by 7 and 8 percent, respectively. Officials gave credit to an
educational program in secondary schools, the beginnings of a vehicle
inspection program, and positive actions taken to reduce driving after
drinking, as well as to the new regulations and enforcement efforts.
During 1970 the militia suspended about 20,000 operators' licenses,
canceling a number of them.
Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure
The penal code in effect before 1968 was one of the most severe in
Europe. The penal code and the code of criminal procedure that have
replaced it attempt to ensure that criminals are not able to evade the
penalties provided for in the law but, at the same time, there is a
stated guarantee against the arrest, trial, or conviction of innocent
persons. Protective measures for accused persons are to be respected by
all law enforcement and judicial agencies.
It is emphasized that an individual is found guilty according to the
relevant evidence in his case. Courts are instructed to base sentences
on the crime, rather than on an individual's reputation or extenuating
circumstances. A Romanian assumes legal responsibility and is subject to
the codes at age fourteen; he is considered an adult before the courts
at age sixteen.
If the possible sentence for an alleged crime is five years or more, the
accused is guaranteed counsel during any part of the investigation that
involves his presence after he has been taken into custody, in the
preparation of his defense, and throughout his trial. Minors and
enlisted military personnel are authorized counsel without regard to the
possible sentence. The defense counsel has access to all findings that
are uncovered by the prosecutor or other investigators during the
investigation of the case. Except in special cases specified in the law,
trials are public. Decisions as to guilt or innocence and the sentence
handed down are concurred in by a majority vote of the judges and
people's assessors on the court.
The maximum prison sentence for a first offense is twenty years; for a
repeated serious offense, it may be twenty-five years. The death
sentence is also authorized, but it may be commuted to life
imprisonment. The most severe sentences are still authorized for crimes
in the political category--those endangering the state, the regime, or
the society. Serious crimes against property and crimes of violence
against a person are also considered grave but, unless they are
exceptional, are not punishable by death. A person receiving the death
penalty has five days in which to request a pardon. If the sentence is
carried out, execution is by a firing squad.
The new codes attempt to reduce court time spent on minor offenses.
Those that constitute no significant danger to society and should be
prevented from recurring by social pressures have been removed from the
list of crimes and have been relegated to the judicial commissions. In
other cases, where an act is still classified as a crime, an offender
may elect to plead guilty without a trial. If he does, he is charged
one-half the minimum fine for the offense, and the case is closed.
Pretrial preventive detention is authorized to protect the individual,
to assure that he will not elude trial, or to prevent his committing
further criminal acts. Detention is ordinarily limited to five days for
investigation of a crime or to thirty days if the person has been
arrested and is awaiting trial. Extensions up to ninety days are
authorized if requested by the prosecutor in the case. Longer extensions
may be granted by the court.
According to the Romanian press, which has commented on the way that the
new codes have served the people, examples of poor performance are
usually attributable to the inertia of the bureaucracy. When citizens'
rights are withheld, red tape or over-worked personnel are most
frequently to blame. Occasionally, however, officials are unresponsive
to individuals' requests and provide services grudgingly without an
adequate justification for delay.
Courts
The Constitution charges the judiciary with the defense of socialist
order and the rights of citizens in the spirit of respect for the law.
It also gives the courts responsibility for correcting and educating
citizens who appear before them, to prevent further violations of the
law. Party leader Nicolae Ceausescu, in a 1970 pronouncement, indicated
that the party leadership may feel that the law should stress to an even
greater extent the defense of the state and society rather than the
rights of the individual. According to his statement, the first
obligation of the courts is to collaborate with the militia and security
forces and apply lawful punishment to those who disregard order and the
laws of the country. He went on to say that he considered that the
concepts of "solicitude for man" and "extenuating circumstances" were
poorly understood and were abused by overlenient courts. In his view the
courts had not shown sufficient firmness in cases involving trivial
infractions, such as rowdiness or minor infractions of the norms of
social relationships, or in cases dealing with persons who wish to live
without working (see ch. 8).
Nonetheless, the court organization, as it was redesigned in 1968, is
required to operate within a framework that is compatible with the penal
codes and is thoroughly described and established in the law. Of greater
significance, there has been an effort to make sure that the system is
run by adequately qualified personnel. People's assessors, who need have
no legal education, may outnumber the judges on the lower courts.
Decisions of these courts may, however, be appealed and, if higher court
panels are not made up exclusively of professional judges, the judges
always outnumber the people's assessors. Judges must be lawyers and are
preferably doctors of law.
The court system under the Ministry of Justice consists of the Supreme
Court, _judet_ courts, and lower courts. The lower courts, which might
be considered lower municipal courts, are usually referred to only as
"the courts." Bucharest has a court that is an equivalent of a _judet_
court, and it has several of the lower courts (see ch. 8).
The lower courts are courts of first instance in all cases they hear.
This could include cases that had previously been heard by judicial
commissions. Such cases would not be considered to have been legally
tried and would require reinvestigation and altogether new prosecutions,
making sure that rights of the accused and all legal procedures were
properly observed.
Appeals from the lower courts are heard by _judet_ courts, which are
also courts of first instance in more serious cases. Final appeal is to
the Supreme Court. There is no appeal from its decisions, but it is not
totally free and independent. It is within one of the government's
ministries and is also responsive to the party leadership.
Judicial commissions function at a level below the formal court system.
Each such commission is composed of several members (usually five),
handles a wide variety of cases, and attempts to hear as many of them as
possible in public. Because the judicial commissions are not a part of
the court system, their cases are not included among criminal
statistics. Unless appealed, however, their sentences are binding.
Official documents describe the commissions as public organs for
exerting influence and legal control, organized so as to bring about
broad participation of the masses, providing them with a socialist
education in legality and promoting a correct attitude toward work and
good social behavior. The educational benefits are intended both for
those serving on the commissions and for those who are judged by them.
The commissions handle small damage or personal disagreement suits
between individuals--small first offense cases involving public
property, petty thefts, misuse of property when no willful abuse is
involved, negligence cases, and traffic violations. Judicial commissions
set up in enterprises or collectives handle minor labor disputes and
work-grievance cases. In all situations the commissions attempt to exert
the influence of public opinion and, in personal disputes, to achieve
reconciliations.
Penal Institutions
Depending upon the seriousness of a crime, its category, and the age and
occupation of the individual, until the mid-1960s a convicted person was
confined in a correction camp, a labor colony, a prison or, if subject
to military law, a military disciplinary unit. Prisons included
penitentiaries, prison factories, town jails, and detention facilities
of the security troops.
A majority of labor colony inmates were political prisoners and, if
there were a few of them that had not completed their sentences or were
not released in amnesties by the mid-1960s, they were probably
transferred to penitentiaries. Increased use of judicial commissions for
petty crimes and an accompanying change minimizing confinement in lesser
cases have further reduced prison populations and eliminated the need
for separate categories of correction institutions. As a result, the
1970 law on the execution of court sentences treats all places of
confinement as prisons or penitentiaries (under the authority of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs) or as military disciplinary units (under
the Ministry of the Armed Forces).
Place of detention vary, nonetheless. Maximum security prisons are
provided for those convicted of crimes against the state's security,
serious economic crimes, homicides or other violent crimes, and
recidivists. All convicted persons are obliged to perform useful work,
and an effort must be made to educate and rehabilitate the inmates.
Consequently, all but town jails and those facilities designed to hold
persons for short stays have labor and educational facilities.
A convict is paid according to the country's standard wage scales. He
receives 10 percent of his wages; the remainder goes to the penitentiary
administration as state income. The maximum working day is twelve hours.
If work norms are regularly exceeded, sentences are shortened
accordingly.
Inmates are segregated for various reasons. Women are separated from
men; minors, from adults; and recidivists and those convicted of serious
crimes, from those serving short terms. Drug addicts and alcoholics are
isolated whenever possible. Persons held in preventive arrest, not yet
convicted of a crime, are separated when possible from convicted
persons. Unless their conduct is considered intolerably uncooperative,
they are not denied the ordinary prison privileges.
Usual convict privileges include some visits, packages, and
correspondence. Privileges allowed vary with the severity of the
original sentence and may be increased, reduced, or done away with
altogether, depending upon the inmate's attitude and behavior.
Consistently good conduct may also earn parole. An inmate who performs
an exceptional service may be pardoned altogether; many were freed for
their work in combating the great floods during the spring of 1970.
Other disciplinary measures include reprimand, simple isolation, severe
isolation, or transfer to an institution with a more severe regimen.
All convict mail is censored, and correspondence whose content is
considered unsuitable is withheld. Conversation during visits is limited
to Romanian or to a language familiar to someone available to monitor
what is said.
Amnesties are granted periodically. Some, such as those that freed
political prisoners in 1964 and the one in late 1970, reduce prison
populations considerably. They may, as in 1964, free a particular
category of prisoner or, as in the December 30, 1970, amnesty, serve to
reduce sentences of all types but on a basis of the amount of the term
unserved. At that time full pardon was granted all who had less than a
year of their sentences to serve, even if an individual had been
sentenced but had not yet begun to serve the term. Full pardon was also
granted to pregnant women, women with children under five years of age
who had up to three years of their sentences remaining, and to all women
over the age of sixty. The amnesty even applied to cases in court.
Trials were to continue, but the amnesty would take effect if it were
applicable to the sentence. If, however, an amnestied person committed
another crime within three years, he would be confined for the unserved
portion of his commuted sentence in addition to the new one.
CHAPTER 13
ARMED FORCES
In 1971 Romania was a member of the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw
Pact), but it was not fully cooperating in its activities nor in total
agreement with the Soviet Union's interpretation of the organization's
mission. Romania saw little threat to its territorial boundaries or to
its ideology from the West. On the other hand, since the invasion of
Czechoslovakia in 1968 by other pact members, various Romanian leaders
have expressed concern about the danger to individual sovereignty from
within the pact itself.
Much of the nation's military history has been that of an alliance
partner. It has not fought a major battle in any other capacity. How
well it has fared at peace tables has depended in large part on the fate
of its allies or how the peacemakers believed that the Balkan area of
the continent should be divided. In this tradition Romania aligns itself
without significant reservation with the Warsaw Pact.
The military establishment consists of ground, naval, air and air
defense, and frontier forces. They are administered by a defense
ministry, which in turn is responsible to the chief of state. At topmost
policy levels, party leaders are interwoven into the controlling group.
Political education throughout the forces is supervised by a directorate
of the ministry, but the directorate is responsible to the Romanian
Communist Party.
Military service has become a national tradition, although the tradition
is based largely on the continuing existence of sizable armed forces.
The people accept the military establishment willingly enough even
though conscription removes a great part of the young male population
from the labor force for periods of from sixteen to twenty-four months.
The military services are not an overwhelming financial burden and, in
local terms, the forces undoubtedly have value to the regime. They
support it and give it an appearance of power. Also, the discipline and
political indoctrination given the conscripts during their military
service is considered beneficial to them and to the country.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The armed forces have been dependent on some major power for arms supply
during most of the country's independent history. Equipment and
assistance were furnished by Germany between 1870 and 1916. During that
time, although the country's population was hardly more than 10 million,
with German help it was able to support a large army. It fielded about
500,000 men against Bulgaria in 1913 during the Second Balkan War, for
example. In 1916 Romania joined the World War I Allies, but its forces
were defeated within a few months and were idled until a few days before
the armistice in November 1918. From then until just before World War II
they were assisted by France and, to a lesser degree by Great Britain
(see ch. 2).
Because of the political situation at the time, Romania was unable to
offer resistance when the Soviet Union, by terms of its agreement with
Germany in 1939, annexed Bessarabia and northern Bukovina. In June 1941,
however when Germany invaded the Soviet Union, Romania joined the
Germans. Its forces fought the Soviets until 1944 but, after the battle
for Stalingrad in 1943, they became too war weary to perform at their
best. In 1944, as the Germans were being pushed westward, Romania was
overrun by Soviet armies and joined them against Germany.
Nearly all of the military tradition cited by communist regimes since
World War II starts at this point. On occasions honoring the forces they
are reminded that they mobilized more than 500,000 men for this
campaign, suffered 170,000 casualties, and liberated 3,800 localities
while helping to push the German armies about 600 miles from central
Romania.
A postwar buildup of Romania's forces began in 1947. Since then all
major weapons and heavy equipment have been of Soviet design, and
organization and training largely followed the Soviet model.
When the Warsaw Pact was formed in 1955 its members were given alliance
responsibilities, and new procedures were introduced to enable them to
perform as an integrated force. More modern equipment was furnished,
basic units were brought closer to authorized combat strengths, and
training was undertaken on a larger and more exacting scale. Romania's
forces were expanded to nearly the maximum that could be readily
sustained by universal conscription. Strengths were greatest before
1964, especially during the Berlin and Cuban crises of the early 1960s.
Reduction of the tour of duty in 1964 to sixteen months for most
conscripts necessitated a slight reduction in the overall size of the
forces.
GOVERNMENTAL AND PARTY CONTROL OVER THE ARMED FORCES
The Ministry of the Armed Forces is the governmental agency that
administers the military forces, but policymaking is a prerogative of
the party hierarchy. Top ministry officials are always party members and
often concurrently hold important party posts. In 1971 Nicolae
Ceausescu--as president and chief of state, supreme commander of the
armed forces, and chairman of the Defense Council--was, in each case,
the immediate superior of the minister of the armed forces. At the same
time, the minister of the armed forces was an alternate member of the
executive committee of the party and, as such, not only was an important
party leader but was again responsible to Ceausescu, this time in the
latter's capacity as the party's general secretary.
One of the deputy ministers of the armed forces is secretary of the
Higher Political Council. Although administered within the ministry,
this council is responsible to the party's Central Committee. It is in
charge of political education in the military establishment and has an
organization paralleling, and collocated with, that of the regular
services. It penetrates into the lower service units to monitor the
content and effectiveness of political training in troop units.
The Union of Communist Youth (Uniunea Tineretului Comunist--UTC), the
junior affiliate of the Romanian Communist Party, has responsibility for
premilitary training and for active political work among the troops in
their duty organizations. The UTC's premilitary programs prepare youth
for military duty by introducing them to basic training and technical
skills in addition to political indoctrination. Within the military
organization, UTC work includes political educational programs conducted
on duty and sports, cultural, and recreational activities conducted off
duty (see ch. 12).
ORGANIZATION AND MISSION
The regular forces, which include the frontier troops, are under
administrative and tactical control of the Ministry of the Armed Forces.
The minister has a number of deputies, including the chiefs of the main
directorates for training, political affairs, and rear services
(logistics) and the chief of the general staff. The heads of operational
or major tactical commands are also immediately subordinate to the
minister. The highest level of the tactical organization includes the
headquarters of the naval and air forces, the frontier troops, and the
military regions (see fig. 10).
Area organization includes two military regions, with headquarters at
Cluj and Iasi, and the Bucharest garrison. Regional headquarters, which
are simultaneously corps headquarters of the ground forces, control
support facilities for all services.
[Illustration:
President
|
Defense Council
|
Council of
Ministers
|
Ministry of the
Armed Forces
|
---------------------------+---------------------------
| | | | |
General Staff Directorate for | Directorate for Directorate of
Political Affairs | Rear Services Training
| (Logistics)
|
---------------------------+---------------------------
| | | | |
| | Air and |
Ground Forces Naval Forces | Air Defense Frontier Troops
| Forces
|
------------------------+---------------------
| | |
Bucharest Garrison Cluj Military Region Iasi Military Region
_Figure 10. Romania, Organization of the Armed Forces, 1972._]
All commanders and force personnel subordinate to the minister are part
of the regular military establishment, although appointments to the
higher commands may be determined in varying degrees by political
considerations. The minister is a political appointee but, whether or
not he has had a military background, he assumes a senior military rank.
The Romanian practice deviates from the usual in such situations,
however, where the minister is expected to have an actual or honorary
rank superior to any officer in his forces. The minister of the armed
forces in 1971, for example, was appointed in 1966. He was promoted from
colonel general to army general after about four years in his position
and, during the early period, was technically subordinate in rank to an
army general who commanded the General Military Academy in Bucharest.
In 1972 there were about 200,000 men in the regular forces. About 75
percent were in ground force or in support units common to all services.
About 5 percent were naval; 10 percent, air force; and the remainder,
frontier troops. The air force percentage included air defense forces.
When the mission of the armed forces is being described in relation to
the Warsaw Pact, it is pointed out that the forces are structured and
trained for major operations in concert with their allies against a
common enemy. Because organized Romanian forces have not been involved
in a major conflict except as junior partners in an alliance force, this
experience makes the concept of participation in the Warsaw Pact mission
easy to accept. Since about 1960, however, leaders have expressed
ambitions to act somewhat independently of the Warsaw Pact. In this
context the pact mission is occasionally downgraded or passed over in
nonspecific terms. The forces' mission is then described as defense of
the country only, and their use is said to be allowable only to resist
aggression against Romania.
Ground Forces
The ground forces are commonly referred to as the army, although the
Romanian People's Army comprises all of the regular armed forces
administered by the Ministry of the Armed Forces. The ground forces
proper have two tank and seven motorized-rifle divisions and a few other
smaller combat units, including mountain, airborne, and artillery
outfits of varying sizes. Combat units are thought to be kept at about
90 percent of their full authorized strengths. Most of the support
agencies that provide services needed by all service organizations are
manned by ground force personnel. Strength of the ground forces in 1972
was estimated at between 130,000 and 170,000.
Divisions are organized on the same pattern as those in the other Warsaw
Pact countries. Tank divisions have one artillery, one motorized-rifle,
and three tank regiments. Motorized-rifle divisions have one tank, one
artillery, and three motorized-rifle regiments.
The division is the basic combat unit, and all of them have their own
essential service and support outfits. They are, however, subordinate to
corps headquarters of the military regions rather than directly to the
Ministry of the Armed Forces.
Air and Air Defense Forces
The commander of the air and air defense forces occupies a position
parallel to that of the commanders of the military districts and the
naval and frontier forces. His immediate superior is the minister of the
armed forces. His tactical units include about twenty fighter-bomber and
fighter-interceptor squadrons and a squadron each of transports,
reconnaissance aircraft, and helicopters. These units have a total of
about 250 aircraft; there are about the same number of trainers and
light utility planes.
Of the combat aircraft, MiG-17s would be used in the ground support
role; MiG-19s and MiG-21s are interceptors that would be used in
air-to-air combat. The reconnaissance squadron has Il-28 twin jet-engine
light bombers. These airplanes are obsolescent, if not obsolete, and
their crews are trained for reconnaissance only. A limited transport
capability is provided by about a dozen twin-engine, piston-type
transports. They are old and slow but are adequate for the
short-distance work required of them. The helicopter squadron is
equipped for air evacuation, for delivery of supplies to inaccessible
areas, and for short-range reconnaissance.
Interceptor squadrons are presumably integrated into the Warsaw Pact air
defense network, which is designed to function as a unit over all of
Eastern Europe. The small numbers of fighter-bombers are probably
capable of providing no more than marginal support for Romania's own
ground forces.
Air defenses include surface-to-air missiles, antiaircraft artillery,
and early warning and aircraft control sites. Surface-to-air missiles
and their launching equipment, larger antiaircraft guns, radars, and
most of the complex communication equipment are furnished by the Soviet
Union.
Air defenses in all of the Warsaw Pact countries are integrated into a
common network. Romania's are important because the southwestern border
with Yugoslavia is the point at which an attack from the western
Mediterranean Sea could be first detected. Within the country, Bucharest
and Ploiesti have point missile defenses.
Naval Forces
The naval organization includes headquarters, schools, a major base at
Mangalia, a minor base at Constanta, and stations on the Danube River.
Mangalia is a Black Sea port about twenty-five miles south of Constanta
and just north of the Bulgarian border. Naval personnel in 1972 numbered
somewhat fewer than 10,000. The force has almost 200 vessels, but they
are an assortment of old and miscellaneous ships that have little
capability outside their local environment. None of them is designed to
operate more than a few miles from the coast line and definitely not
beyond the Black Sea.
Ships include minesweepers, escort vessels, patrol and torpedo boats,
and a large assortment of small miscellaneous craft. Five of the patrol
boats are of the modern Soviet Osa class and carry a short-range
surface-to-surface missile. A few of the torpedo boats are fast,
although they are not the latest models. Minesweepers have limited
offshore capability but, if protected, could clear the Danube River and
essential parts of its delta.
Frontier Troops
Borders with Bulgaria and Yugoslavia have defenses and are guarded, and
there is some effort to patrol the Black Sea coastline. Borders with the
Soviet Union and Hungary are not controlled except at highway and rail
crossing points. Because the Danube River forms the greater share of the
controlled borders, much of the patrolling is done by boat.
During the 1950s and early 1960s frontier or border troops were
subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and were difficult to
distinguish, except in their deployment, from that ministry's security
troops. During the latter part of the 1960s authority over the border
forces passed to the Ministry of the Armed Forces, but the move was
apparently accomplished over a period of time, and the decree
formalizing the transfer was not published until September 1971. The
commander of the frontier troops is one of the major operational
commanders under the minister of the armed forces and is on a level with
the chiefs of the military regions, the air and air defense force, and
naval forces.
Regulations defining border areas to be controlled and describing the
authority of the forces were amended in late 1969. The border strip is a
prohibited area, which is fenced in some places and often patrolled. On
level, dry ground, it is sixty-five-feet wide but, where the borderline
crosses marshy or rugged terrain, it may be widened enough to afford the
troops easier access and control.
A border zone varies in width but extends into the country from the
strip and includes towns and communes. Frontier troops have overall
control within the zone. They are instructed not to interfere more than
necessary with usual human activities in it and to cooperate with the
local police, whom they do not supplant. Although they are paramount in
the zone, they are not restricted to it and may work fifteen or twenty
miles into the interior if necessary.
Troops are charged with controlling people, goods, and communications at
the border and preventing unauthorized passage and smuggling. The major
port city of Constanta, on the Black Sea coast, is listed as an
exception to most of the border control regulations. Its city territory
does not have a border strip, nor is it within a border zone. The
regulation is presumably intended to facilitate port and shipping
operations and to keep the more stringent controls inland from the port
so that they do not interfere with international trade or tourist
traffic.
FOREIGN MILITARY RELATIONS
Romania is a member of the Warsaw Pact, having joined when the pact was
created in 1955. It also has bilateral treaties of friendship,
cooperation, and mutual assistance with each of the other pact nations.
Since each pact member has signed one of these treaties with all other
members, all are bound to come to the assistance of any other that is
attacked. In practical terms all are bound to the defense of any pact
member in any conflict in which it might become involved since, no
matter how it started, the other country would be branded the aggressor.
Pact members commit a substantial portion, or all, of their fully
trained and equipped units to the pact's use. Committed units are
considered to be part of an integral force. Romanian forces have a role
in pact plans but, because they have failed to participate in several
recent pact maneuvers, Western observers have expressed doubt that the
organization would depend upon effective Romanian cooperation during the
first phase of a major conflict or for any participation in an action
such as the Czechoslovak invasion of 1968.
At the time of the pact's inception, leaders of the various member
states were preoccupied with the security of their countries and their
regimes. A threat from the new North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
was real to them, as was danger from dissident elements within their own
borders. It is doubtful whether in 1955 any one of the leadership groups
seriously considered that its regime might--by itself or in deference to
the wishes of its people--undertake economic or social practices or
deviate from the ideology in ways that could be considered dangerous to
the solidarity of the alliance. By 1965, however, Romania had embarked
upon an independent course, to the extent that it, like Czechoslovakia,
had reason to fear that it could be the object of retaliatory pact
action.
In his Bucharest Declaration of July 1966, Nicolae Ceausescu--who at
that time was head of the party but had not yet taken over as chief of
state--announced that he considered the Warsaw Pact a temporary alliance
and that it would lose its validity if NATO were to cease functioning.
Then, in 1968, Romania openly supported the Czechoslovak government,
denounced the pact's invasion of that country, and did not participate
in it. Since that time Romania has not permitted other Warsaw Pact
forces either to hold exercises on its soil or to cross it for maneuvers
in another country. As a result, Bulgaria can send forces to other
Eastern European countries only by air or by way of the Black Sea and
the Soviet Union. Pact exercises held in Bulgaria during the summer of
1971 were performed by Bulgarian troops; other countries, including
Romania, sent observers.
In addition to holding its military relations with the Warsaw Pact to a
minimum, Romania's armed forces have attempted to make contacts with the
military establishments in other countries. A military delegation
visited Yugoslavia in 1971, and feelers have been put out to arrange
other such conferences. A ranking military spokesman has stated that the
army was developing friendly relations with its counterparts in all the
countries of the socialist system in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. He
added that Romania is increasing its relations of cooperation and
collaboration with the nonsocialist states, as a contribution to the
development of mutual trust.
MANPOWER, TRAINING, AND SUPPORT
Manpower
There are approximately 4.86 million men in the military age group, that
is, the male population between the ages of eighteen and forty-nine.
About 3.4 million--70 percent--are considered physically and otherwise
fit for military service (see ch. 3).
A somewhat larger percentage, however, of the 180,000 young men who
reach the draft age annually are physically able to serve. The
preponderance of armed forces and most security troop personnel are
acquired during the annual draft calls. Because of the short duty tours
required of conscripts, it was necessary in 1971 to call up most of the
eligible group in order to maintain the forces' strengths.
Men released from active duty, whether they served voluntarily or
involuntarily, remain subject to recall until the age of fifty. Although
nearly 100,000 men have been released from the services each year since
about 1950, only a small portion of them are considered trained
reserves. Only those recently discharged could be mobilized quickly and
go into action without extensive retraining. There is insufficient
emphasis on periodic reserve training to keep many of the older men in
satisfactory physical condition or up to date on new weapons and
tactics.
Young men of draft age are potentially good soldier material. There is
almost no illiteracy within the adult population under fifty-five years
of age. A large percentage of conscripts have rural, village, or small
city backgrounds and are in better physical condition than the average
urban youth. On the minus side, because the country has a low standard
of living, conscripts have little familiarity with mechanical and
electronic equipment.
Based on the numbers of males in lower age groups, the size of the
annual military manpower pool will remain at about 1971 levels
throughout the 1970s. It will then drop by nearly 25 percent during the
first half of the 1980s but will rise sharply--and again temporarily--in
the latter half of that decade. With the exception of the high and low
periods during the 1980s, governmental population experts expect little
overall change in available manpower during the remainder of the
century.
Training
Since about the mid-1960s little public attention has been focused on
the armed forces. Their capabilities, reliability, and preparedness have
been taken for granted or have not been the subject of undue concern.
Unit training and small exercises have been given little coverage in
local media. Training programs, however, are dictated in large degree by
organization and equipment and have changed little since 1960.
With the standardization of units, weapons, and tactics accompanying the
formation of the Warsaw Pact, training was accomplished in Romania as
directed in translated Soviet manuals. In the Warsaw Pact system the
training cycle starts when a conscript arrives at his duty organization
for individual training. This includes strenuous physical conditioning,
basic instruction in drill, care and use of personal weapons, and
schooling in a variety of subjects ranging from basic military skills
and tactics to political indoctrination.
Individual training develops into small group instruction, usually
around the weapon or equipment the individual will be using. As groups
became more proficient with their equipment, they use it in exercises
with larger tactical units under increasingly realistic conditions.
Romanian forces have not participated since the late 1960s in the Warsaw
Pact exercises that are usually held at the conclusion of the training
cycle.
During early individual training, men are selected for a variety of
special schools. Short courses, in cooking and baking or shoe repairing,
from which a man emerges ready to work, do not require volunteers and do
not extend the mandatory duty tour. Longer courses may involve schooling
for most of the conscript tour or require time on the job after the
school is completed to develop a fully useful capability, leaving no
time for the newly acquired skill to be of value to the service. In such
cases, selections to a school are made from volunteers who are willing
to extend their period of active duty.
The most capable and cooperative conscripts are offered the opportunity
to attend noncommissioned officer schools. They must accept voluntarily
and agree to a longer period of service.
Frontier troops receive much the same individual training as ground
force conscripts. Their later instruction involves less large-unit
tactics and more police training and special subjects dealing with order
documents and regulations. Larger percentages of naval and air forces
personnel are required in mechanical or electronic work. Most of those
who attend technical schools are required to serve for two years.
Reserve training receives little publicity and probably has low
priority. A few reserves are sometimes called to active outfits for
short refresher training, but there is little, if any, formal reserve
training in local all-reserve types of units. The militia (a
paramilitary organization subordinate to the Ministry of Internal
Affairs) would probably be drawn upon to augment the services in an
emergency. It could be expected to provide better trained personnel, in
better physical condition, than would be acquired calling up untrained
reserves (see ch. 12).
The General Military Academy in Bucharest--usually called the Military
Academy--is a four-year university-level school whose graduates receive
regular officer commissions and who are expected to serve as career
officers. It also offers mid-career command and staff types of courses.
An advanced academy, the Military Technical Academy, requires that its
applicants have a university degree; they may be military officers, but
they are not required to have had military service or military education
of any sort. The academy offers advanced degrees in military and
aeronautical engineering and in a variety of other technical areas.
Morale and Conditions of Service
The mandatory tour of duty for basic ground and air force personnel was
set at sixteen months in 1964. Naval conscripts and some air force
personnel are required to serve two years. The length of extra service
required of those who apply and are accepted for special training or who
wish to become noncommissioned officers varies with the amount of
training required, with the rank attained, or with the added
responsibility of the new duty assignment; but it is accepted or
rejected on a voluntary basis.
Officers and noncommissioned officers serve voluntarily, and morale is
usually satisfactory within those groups. The service experience of the
noncommissioned-officer applicants and the long training period required
of officer candidates assure that both leadership groups understand and
freely accept the conditions of service before they assume their duty
responsibilities.
Conditions are reasonably good, and morale in the armed forces is not a
source of unusual concern to the national leadership. There are few
exhortations to put extra effort into political indoctrination; a
large, heavily armed security force to counter a possibly unreliable
army has not been created; and there are less elaborate ceremonial
affairs involving the forces than is typical of the Eastern European
countries.
Romania has had compulsory military service at all times within the
memory of the draft age group, and it is accepted as a routine fact of
life. Exemptions from the draft are few, and a large proportion of them
reflect upon the man because he cannot meet the qualifications for
service. The tour of duty is brief. The standard of living in the
country is low, and service life may offer some of the back-country
young men the best opportunities for travel and excitement that they
have yet experienced.
Medicine
Physicians required in the armed forces are ordinarily recruited from
medical schools but may be called from their practices or from hospital
residence assignments. They then attend a military medical institute in
Bucharest for specialized instruction in procedures and practices that
are peculiar to military medical work.
Emergency treatment is given military personnel in the most convenient
facility, whether or not it is a military clinic. The same is true for
the civilian population. Inasmuch as military facilities are equipped to
cope with wartime casualties, they are often better able to deal with
emergencies or disasters than nonmilitary hospitals, although they are
seldom kept at wartime strengths during peacetime. They were especially
commended for their assistance during the great floods that occurred in
the spring of 1970.
Military Justice
The national penal code enacted in 1968 applies both to military
personnel and to the public at large. A special section of the code,
however, deals with military crimes. These are crimes committed by
military personnel or by nonmilitary personnel on military installations
or infractions of military regulations. In theory, any court may pass
judgment on a military crime, but the military court system employs
specialists in military law who are better able to understand the
seriousness of crimes committed in relation to the military
establishment. Military courts seldom surrender cases over which they
have jurisdiction to civil courts.
There are two types of military courts: military tribunals and
territorial military tribunals. The former are the lesser of the two and
are established at major installations or are attached to large tactical
units. They are the courts of first instance in all cases that come
before them. The chairman, or judge, must be a major or higher ranking
officer and have a degree in law. The judge is assisted by two people's
assessors who, on military courts, are active duty officers. People's
assessors need have no legal training but, as is the case for civil
courts, they must be twenty-three years of age, have been graduated from
secondary school, have a good reputation, and have no criminal record.
In all military trials the judge and people's assessors must hold the
same rank as, or higher than, the accused.
The higher territorial military tribunals are the courts of first
instance for very serious crimes or the courts to which sentences of
lower courts are appealed. In cases in which they are the courts of
first instance, the court panel consists of at least two judges and
three people's assessors. When they are hearing an appealed case, the
panel has a minimum of three judges.
The Supreme Court of the land has final appeal jurisdiction over any
case it may decide to hear, and it may review any case it chooses or
that is sent to it by higher governmental agencies. It has a special
military section that is headed by an officer of major general or higher
rank. It may be the court of first instance for cases involving the most
serious crimes or in lesser situations when an important legal precedent
may be established.
Logistics
Military leaders state that their forces have adequate quantities of
excellent and modern equipment. As is the situation with all other
Warsaw Pact countries, Romania has received its heavy weapons and more
complex equipment from the Soviet Union. Initially the Soviets
distributed surplus World War II stocks. As these wore out or became
obsolete, nearly all items were eventually replaced by postwar models.
More complex and expensive weapons sometimes were used by Soviet forces
first and appeared in Eastern Europe only after they had been replaced
in the Soviet Union. In most circumstances, whether they were newly
manufactured or secondhand, items have been supplied to other forces
considerably after they were first issued to Soviet troops.
Equipment that is in short supply has not been distributed to each of
the pact allies on an equal priority basis. Distribution has depended
upon the strategic importance of the recipient, capability for
maintaining and using the equipment effectively, and probable
reliability as an alliance partner. Romania is located where it would
not be involved in first contacts with any potential enemy of the pact;
its conscripts' tour, and the resulting time to train individual
soldiers, is short; it is an underdeveloped country; and it has been
probing for ways to assert its independence from Moscow. It has not
therefore been the first to receive newer equipment. The distribution
of tanks is illustrative. Romania has received adequate numbers to equip
its combat units and has received all models that have been distributed
among the pact allies. Romania, however, has been authorized a smaller
ratio of armored, as compared with motorized-rifle, divisions than is
average for pact members. Poland and Czechoslovakia have many more
tanks, and larger percentages of them are modern.
Ground forces have Soviet-made artillery, antitank guns and antitank
wire-guided missiles, and some short-range surface-to-surface missiles.
Weapons manufactured locally for the ground forces include all types of
hand-carried weapons, antitank and antipersonnel grenade launchers, and
mortars. Ammunition and explosives for most weapons, whether or not the
weapon is locally produced, are manufactured in the country, as are
common varieties of communication equipment and spare parts.
All of the air forces' combat aircraft and nearly all of its training
and miscellaneous types are received from the Soviet Union. Romania
produces some small utility models. A new one, designed for spraying
forests and crops, was introduced in 1970 and can be used for military
liaison.
Approximately the same situation exists with regard to naval vessels.
The larger vessels and more complex smaller craft are built in the
Soviet Union or by other members of the pact. Romania produces river
craft and some smaller types, probably including the inshore
minesweepers that operate in the Black Sea.
Romania is attempting to reduce its dependence upon the Warsaw Pact by
producing more military matériel within the country. The armed forces
maintain the Military Achievements Exhibit, designed to show progress in
local production capability. The exhibit is visited periodically by
important party and government personalities. Much is made of these
visits, attempting to show all possible encouragement to the various
projects.
Ranks, Uniforms, and Decorations
Ranks conform to those in armies worldwide with a few minor exceptions.
There are the usual four general officer ranks. Field grades are
conventional and have the three most frequently used titles--major,
lieutenant colonel, and colonel. Company grade ranks include captain and
three lieutenant ranks. There are no warrant officers.
Enlisted ranks also have familiar titles when translated. Basic soldiers
hold the ranks of private and private first class. Conscripts serve their
entire tours as privates unless they acquire a speciality or are put in
charge of a small group. Corporal is the lowest noncommissioned officer
rank. Senior noncommissioned-officer grades include the ordinarily used
sergeant ranks, including one (and possibly more) that is seldom seen
but is equivalent to sergeant major or senior master sergeant.
Rank insignia tends to be ornate. All uniforms except the work and
combat types display it on shoulderboards. Those of general officers
have intricate gold designs with large gold stars. Other officer ranks
have smaller stars clustered at the outer ends and stripes running the
length of the boards. Stripes and borders on any one board are the same
color, but the various service branches have different colors to
identify them. For example, armored troops have black; frontier troops
have light green.
Enlisted men's shoulderboards have no borders, and the background color,
like the stripes and borders of the officers', indicates the service
branch. Rank is shown by stripes that run across the outer end of the
board. Privates have no stripes, corporals and privates first class have
yellow stripes, and sergeants have brass. Other devices that also
identify the service branch appear on the inward end of the
shoulderboard on all ranks except those of the general officers and
privates.
Cap insignia is more easily distinguished than that on the
shoulderboard. Enlisted men wear a large brass star. General officers
wear a star with a round blue center and red points mounted on an ornate
round background. Other officers wear the red and blue star but without
background.
There is less variety in uniforms than is common in Western and most of
the other Warsaw Pact forces. Other than for extreme weather and rough
work, enlisted men have one type of uniform for winter and one for
summer. Material for winter wear is olive-green wool; for summer it is
cotton and may be olive green or khaki.
Officers have a field or service uniform, which is similar to the
enlisted men's, and a blue uniform for dress. The dress blouse has no
belt, and shoes are low cut. The service uniform blouse is sometimes
worn with a Sam Browne belt. Overcoats, except for buttons and insignia,
are plain and conventional.
Service and dress uniforms are generally well tailored and made from
durable materials. Cloth in the officers' uniforms is more closely woven
and of finer texture; that in enlisted men's uniforms is warmer and more
durable, but it is bulkier and does not hold its shape as well. Combat
and extreme-weather clothing is heavy and loose fitting, reminiscent of
the Soviet World War II winter wear.
A variety of decorations may be awarded to service personnel; a number
of them may be given in three classes, and at least one of them is given
in five. About a dozen have been authorized by the communist regime
since 1948. Romanians may wear on their uniforms medals awarded by
other Warsaw Pact countries but not those of any other foreign country.
The highest decoration is the Hero of Socialist Labor--Golden Medal,
Hammer and Sickle. This is considered a dual award, although the parts
are always awarded together, and the medal itself is a single one. Other
awards that may be given to both military personnel and civilians
include the Order of the Star, Order of Labor, and a medal commemorating
"Forty Years Since the Founding of the Communist Party of Romania." The
third one of the group is given those who were active in the Communist
Party between 1921 and 1961 or those who did party work between the two
world wars or during the early days of the country's communist regime.
Decorations designed exclusively for the armed forces include the Order
of Defense of the Fatherland, the Medal of Military Valor, and the Order
of Military Merit. Others recognize service during specific events, such
as the Liberation from the Fascist Yoke medal and the Order of 23
August, both of which commemorate World War II service against Germany.
Despite the number of decorations authorized and the many classes
provided for in several of them, medals are awarded less profusely in
Romania's forces than in many armies, especially those that are made up
largely of conscripts or that serve in a largely internal security role.
Ceremonies that occur most often involve awards from foreign delegations
at the conclusion of their visits to the country or the retirement of
older, senior-ranking officers.
THE MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT AND THE NATIONAL ECONOMY
Although the labor force is smaller than the national leadership
considers adequate, almost all physically fit young men are conscripted.
Only a few, those who are essential to the support of a family or who
have other exceptional circumstances, are deferred or exempted. On the
other hand, the approximately 4 percent of men in the military age group
that serve in Romania's armed forces is about the European average and
is lower than average for the Warsaw Pact nations.
Some Romanian officials have suggested that the burden on the economy
may be greater than that indicated by a comparison of national
statistics arguing that, because labor productivity is low, the loss of
4 percent of the labor force may diminish total production. On the other
hand, some Western analysts have argued that, because most of the
conscripts are unskilled and underemployed, the military's drain on the
manpower pool entails no great loss to productive enterprise (see ch.
14).
In monetary terms the armed forces have been somewhat less of a burden.
Between 1967 and 1970 their costs averaged approximately 3.1 percent of
the gross national product (GNP), which is low when compared either with
the average for Europe or with the average of the other Warsaw Pact
members. Beginning in 1970, however, in an effort to reduce dependence
upon the Soviet Union, Romania began to stimulate local production of
military matériel and to purchase some items from other countries. This
resulted in a sharp increase in defense spending in 1970. Unless the
size of the armed forces is reduced, some continuing increase in
expenses over pre-1970 levels will be necessary if Romania chooses to
continue its policy of nondependence upon the Soviet Union.
The armed forces engage in construction projects on a scale that local
leaders say is an important contribution to the economy. They are
employed in industrial construction, roadbuilding, railroad maintenance,
and important agricultural and irrigation projects. Large numbers of
troops participated in the disaster relief efforts made necessary by the
great floods during the spring of 1970.
SECTION IV. ECONOMIC
CHAPTER 14
CHARACTER AND STRUCTURE OF THE ECONOMY
In 1972 Romania entered the second year of a five-year economic plan
that is intended by the leadership to advance the country on the road to
industrialization and to increase its economic potential sufficiently to
make the economy one of the most dynamic in the world. This goal is to
be attained mainly through a continued high rate of investment, a
significant improvement in productivity, and an expanded and more
efficient foreign trade. Although significant strides in industrial
development had been made in the past, this achievement entailed a
neglect of agriculture, an inadequate provision for consumer needs, and
a balance of payments deficit with Western industrial nations that
threatened to undermine the leadership's policy of political and
economic independence from the Soviet Union (see ch. 10).
Rigidly controlled by the PCR (see Glossary), the economy suffers from
the basic weakness common to all centrally controlled economies, that
is, a lack of adequate incentives for managers and workers. Rapid
industrialization since 1950, made possible by massive inputs of capital
and labor and aided by heavy imports of advanced Western industrial
plants and technology, has involved a waste of resources on a scale that
may hamper economic progress at the present stage of development. In
trying to evolve a system of incentives that would lead to a more
economic use of resources, the PCR is facing a dilemma. Greater
efficiency requires more flexibility, which, in turn, implies a greater
freedom of initiative at lower economic levels than the PCR has been
prepared to grant thus far. In the search for a solution numerous
administrative changes have been made since 1968 without basically
altering the nature of the system.
A major problem facing the economy is its heavy dependence on imports of
raw materials and equipment and the failure, thus far, to develop a
sufficient volume of exports salable in world markets. At the present
stage of development, Romanian industrial products compete poorly with
the output of advanced Western nations. Expansion of agricultural
exports, which have a ready market in many areas, has been hampered by
the slow development of the country's agricultural potential and by a
growing domestic demand. Although greater attention is to be devoted to
agriculture under the current Five-Year Plan (1971-75), the additional
resources to be allocated to this sector are not commensurate with the
magnitude of its needs. Instead, major emphasis is placed in the
five-year period on the development of the chemical, electronic, and
precision tool industries for domestic needs and export.
The state of the economy in the early 1970s was revealed by two Romanian
economists in articles evaluating their country's economic progress.
According to their calculations, the per capita national income in
Romania in 1975, provided that the economic targets for that year are
reached, will approach the level attained by Italy and Austria in 1968
and will be somewhat larger than half that in France and the Federal
Republic of Germany (West Germany) in the same year. At the same time
they estimated that, even with continued acceleration of the rates of
industrial modernization and growth of labor productivity, it will
require several more five-year periods to reach the 1971 economic level
of the more developed nations.
ORGANIZATION
The economy is highly socialized. The state owns virtually all industry
and shares with collective farms ownership of more than nine-tenths of
the farmland. Private artisan shops contribute only a fraction of 1
percent to the industrial output, and private farmers' limited holdings
are confined mainly to marginal lands. The state owns all natural
resources other than the collective and private farmlands; maintains
complete control over the country's physical resources, finances, and
labor; and has a monopoly of foreign trade and foreign exchange. The
functioning of the economy is directed by comprehensive long-term and
annual state plans, which are binding for all economic entities.
Control over the economy is strongly centralized, despite half-hearted
attempts since 1968 to grant more freedom of initiative to lower
management levels in the interest of greater flexibility and efficiency.
Supreme decisionmaking power rests with the Standing Presidium of the
PCR and the Council of State, the memberships of which are almost
identical (see ch. 9). Compliance with PCR decisions is enforced through
an administrative hierarchy that consists of three distinct levels: the
Council of Ministers, all of whose members hold high positions in the
PCR; economic ministries, which are responsible for specific sectors of
the economy; and trusts and combines, which group enterprises along
functional or territorial lines. Specialized committees with ministerial
rank administer certain aspects of economic activity; chief among these
are the State Planning Committee and the Committee for Prices (see ch.
8).
The organizational structure of the economy has undergone frequent
changes in efforts to resolve economic problems by administrative means.
Officially, the reorganizations have been declared necessary to keep
economic management abreast of the requirements of socialist economic
development. The frequency of the changes, however, and a lack of
clarity in many of the directives have brought about a blurring of
jurisdictional lines with consequent overlapping of functions and
conflicts of authority. The organizational problem has been compounded
by the contradictory nature of the motives that have prompted the
reforms--to grant more discretionary power to enterprise managers and,
at the same time, to strengthen central controls by enhancing the
directing role of the compulsory economic plans. In 1971 economic
officials considered important aspects of the economic organization to
be still in an experimental stage.
STRUCTURE AND GROWTH
Data on gross output and national income in absolute terms have not been
published. Official statistics on these social accounts have been
limited to a few index series for overall, productive sector, and per
capita values and a percentage breakdown of gross output and national
income by productive sector. The arbitrary nature of the pricing system
and differences in statistical treatment compared to Western practice
preclude a direct comparison of the published growth rates of the
economy and its components with similar rates in Western countries. The
same holds true for comparisons of economic structure. Independent
studies of the economy by Western scholars in Western statistical terms
yielded significantly lower rates of growth and a different structure of
economic activities from those officially announced.
According to official data, national income (net material product, which
excludes private and government services not directly related to
production) more than doubled between 1960 and 1970, and industrial
output more than tripled. Agricultural production, by contrast,
increased by less than one-third. The rates of economic and industrial
growth, even when translated into Western terms, have been relatively
high and among the highest in countries of Eastern Europe. Such high
growth rates have usually been associated with early stages of
industrial development. The high growth rates were made possible by an
official policy that allocated more than 30 percent of national income
to investment. Growth rates in the 1966-70 period were somewhat lower
than in the preceding five years, with the exception of agriculture, the
performance of which was slightly better.
The predominant growth of industry has been a direct consequence of the
leadership's policy. This policy was reflected in a disproportionately
large allocation of investment to industry at the expense of other
economic sectors. In the 1966-70 period, for instance, industry received
55 percent of total investment--60 percent if the construction industry
is included--compared to less than 13 percent granted to agriculture.
Within industry preponderant emphasis has been placed on the development
of the capital goods sector at the expense of consumer goods. Whereas
total industrial output increased at an average annual rate of 11.8
percent from 1966 to 1970, production of capital goods rose at a rate of
12.7 percent, and production of consumer goods grew by only 9.5 percent
annually.
As a consequence of the uneven sectoral growth, the structure of the
economy changed significantly between 1960 and 1970. According to
official data the contribution of industry to the net material product
rose from 44 to 61 percent, whereas that of agriculture declined from 33
to 20 percent (see table 4). The relative importance of construction and
transport rose slightly, but that of trade declined by half. A
strikingly different structure of the economy emerges in terms of the
Western concept of gross national product (GNP), which includes housing
and services and treats both taxes and subsidies in a different manner.
The contribution of industry was less than that of agriculture in 1960,
but by 1967 it had increased more rapidly than is indicated by the
official data (see table 5). The role of agriculture, on the other hand,
declined more rapidly.
_Table 4._ _National Income (Net Material Product) of Romania, by
Economic Sector, 1960, 1967, and 1970_ (in percent)
----------------------------------------------------------
Economic Sector 1960 1967 1970
----------------------------------------------------------
Industry and handicrafts 44.1 51.7 60.8
Construction 9.0 8.4 9.6
Agriculture 33.1 28.6 20.0
Transport and communications 3.8 4.2 4.2
Trade 6.5 4.6 3.2
Other sectors 3.5 2.5 2.2
----- ----- -----
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0
----------------------------------------------------------
Source: Adapted from _Anuarul Statistic al Republicii Socialiste
Romania, 1970_ (Statistical Yearbook of the Socialist Republic
of Romania, 1970), Bucharest, 1970; and U.S. Department of
Commerce, Office of Technical Services, Joint Publications
Research Service--JPRS Series (Washington), _Translations on
Eastern Europe: Economic and Scientific Affairs_, "Development
of National Income Discussed," _Probleme Economice_, Bucharest,
April 1971, (JPRS 53,521, Series No. 491, 1971).
Published labor statistics leave many serious gaps, and unofficially
reported data do not always agree with official figures in the annual
statistical yearbooks. Information released on the size of the
economically active population is limited to percentage changes over the
years.
The economically active population increased by only 3.5 percent from
1960 to 1967 and remained stationary thereafter to 1969. During the
ten-year period the number of persons active in industry increased by
half, whereas the number of those engaged in agriculture declined by 19
percent. Nevertheless, in 1970 about half the population was still
engaged in agriculture, and only 22 percent were active in industry.
Although there is no officially recognized unemployment, a substantial
amount of underemployment is reported to exist in industry and, even
more so, in agriculture. The reasons advanced by Romanian economists for
this situation are the duty and the right of every citizen to work and
the inability to achieve quickly full and efficient employment in a
country that inherited a backward and predominantly agrarian economy
with a large peasant population. Efforts toward obtaining full and
efficient employment have been handicapped by the rapidly rising volume
of investment needed to create new nonagricultural jobs. The average
investment per nonagricultural job increased almost fivefold to 324,000
lei (for value of leu, see Glossary) from the 1951-55 period to the
1966-70 period, and a further 40 percent rise in cost was projected for
the 1971-75 period.
_Table 5. Gross National Product of Romania, by Sector of Origin, 1960
and 1967_ (in percent)
-------------------------------------------------
Economic Sector 1960 1967
-------------------------------------------------
Industry and handicrafts 24.4 32.9
Agriculture and forestry 31.8 22.0
Construction 7.6 11.1
Transport and communications 7.6 8.8
Trade 6.5 5.4
Housing 9.2 7.0
Government and other services 12.9 12.8
----- -----
Total 100.0 100.0
-------------------------------------------------
Source: Adapted from U.S. Congress, 91st, 2d Session, Joint
Economic Committee, _Economic Developments in Countries of
Eastern Europe_, Washington, GPO, 1970.
PLANNING
As in all communist states, comprehensive economic planning has been a
basic element of the PCR's dogma. Planning is conceived of as an
indispensable tool for economic development. Traditionally, five-year
and annual plans for all segments and aspects of the economy have been
formulated by a central planning agency with the participation of
economic ministries, trusts, and enterprises. Planning has proceeded
from broadly defined goals set by the PCR to minute instructions for all
economic enterprises. In line with the established priorities, the main
planning effort has been devoted to industry.
The major problem in planning has been posed by the need to balance
supply and demand, not only with regard to the final consumers but also
at all stages of the production process and for each individual
enterprise. This task entails detailed decisions on the allocation of
thousands of different materials, machinery and equipment items,
specialized labor skills, energy, and investment funds. With the
expansion and growing complexity of the economy and, more particularly,
of industry, the balancing task has assumed dimensions that defy
solution by traditional means.
At the same time, the imposition of detailed operational prescriptions
deprived enterprises of the freedom to exercise constructive initiative
and of the flexibility needed to meet unforeseen contingencies. A
failure by an enterprise to fulfill its planned assignment necessarily
produces a chain reaction involving the production programs of
enterprises dependent upon the missing output. Failures of this nature
have been frequent.
The breakdown of the planning mechanism brought about a disorganization
of the material and technical supply for enterprises, with adverse
effects on productivity and output. It has been responsible for a
general lag in the economy's performance in relation to official plans.
The deficiency of the traditional system of central planning was
officially recognized in 1967, when a decision was made by the National
Party Conference to raise the quality of planning to the level demanded
by the needs of a modern industrial state. This aim was to be achieved
by granting a larger degree of autonomy to individual enterprises
while, at the same time, maintaining and even strengthening the
directing role of the central plan. The prolonged and intensive
discussion engendered by the PCR decision has brought to light many
flaws and proposals for change but has not provided a clear insight into
the current planning process.
Modifications of the traditional pattern have taken place as a result of
organizational and administrative changes introduced after 1967. The
intended adoption of a new system, however, that would take into account
market relationships and give greater weight to the needs of consumers
has been delayed by differences of views among economists and officials
on essential elements of the system, by disagreement on the nature of
such basic concepts as productivity, economic efficiency, and profit,
and by the need for a prior reform of the price system. A draft of a new
planning law was reported to be in preparation toward the end of 1971.
As a means of decentralizing planning and mastering the intractable
supply problem, the task of coordinating requirements with supplies was
delegated to the centrals (see Glossary), trusts, and other enterprise
associations and, ultimately, to the enterprises themselves by a law on
economic contracts enacted in December 1969. Under the law, industrial
and trade enterprises must enter into contracts with suppliers for all
products and services needed to fulfill the tasks of the next year's
economic plan. In theory, the demands of final consumers for consumption
and capital goods would determine the nature of the contracts through
all stages of production down to the producers of raw materials. This
has not been the case in practice.
Most contracts must be concluded at least six months before the
beginning of the plan year because they are supposed to serve as the
basis for developing the final version of the annual plan; they must
take into account the economic tasks set for that year by the five-year
plan. The central planning authorities formulate the ultimate annual
plan by modifying individual contracts, where deemed necessary, in the
light of official policies and anticipated availabilities of materials
and other inputs. Correction of original contracts was reported to be
essential because enterprises tended to exaggerate their true
requirements as determined by official norms and standards. In 1970
initial orders exceeded available resources of materials by from 20 to
200 percent.
In 1970 and 1971 a large number of inter-enterprise contracts were not
concluded on time and, despite legal provisions for financial and other
sanctions, thousands of contracts were not adhered to. This entailed a
disruption of supplies and production, nonfulfillment of export
obligations, and insufficient deliveries to the domestic market. In an
attempt to cope with the supply problem, the Ministry of
Technical-Material Supply and Control of the Management of Fixed Assets
was created in September 1971--yet another example of trying to solve
economic problems by administrative means.
The final stage in the planning process, as in the past, continues to be
the assignment to each enterprise of specific tasks bearing on all
aspects of its operations. These tasks, generally known as plan
indicators, spell out in minute detail such items as the production and
investment program, the size of the labor force and the wage bill, costs
of production, and profits. They also specify norms for the use of all
materials, equipment, and labor and set goals for raising productivity.
In the case of large enterprises the number of indicators runs into the
thousands. The indicators are also used to evaluate the performance of
enterprises in relation to the plan. The entire process has been said to
represent the application of democratic centralism to planning.
The number and type of indicators to be assigned to enterprises and
their associations and the nature of the system of indicators best
suited to stimulate greater efficiency and technological innovation have
been subjects of wide-ranging and intensive debates. No clarification of
the underlying issues, however, much less a consensus on appropriate
measures to be undertaken, had emerged by early 1972. Officials have
ascribed the lack of any significant progress in the planning reform to
general inertia, organizational confusion, bureaucratic interests, and a
reluctance on the part of many enterprise directors to assume the added
measure of responsibility that is inherent in a greater freedom to
exercise initiative. Most of the officials are aware, nevertheless, that
the basic problem lies in the absence of adequate incentives. The
reconciliation of an obligatory central plan with enterprise autonomy
has thus far proved elusive.
Planning in the field of collective agriculture has also been highly
centralized, at least through 1971, despite measures introduced at the
end of 1970 to reduce the number of plan indicators for individual
farms. Detailed instructions on crop and livestock production and on the
volume of farm products to be delivered to the state have been handed
down to farms by higher authorities insufficiently familiar with their
natural and economic conditions. This method of planning has entailed
significant losses through improper use of land and other resources.
The relatively minor relaxation of central controls beginning in 1971
was intended to eliminate this waste. The extent to which central
controls over farming operations were retained even after the announced
decentralization of agricultural planning was illustrated by the Grand
National Assembly's enactment of a law toward the end of 1971 concerning
correct methods of producing and using livestock fodder. Information on
the method of planning for state farms was not available.
PRICE SYSTEM
As in all centrally directed economies, prices are set by the
government. In 1967 the National Party Conference called for a reform of
the price system on the grounds that the prevailing prices failed to
ensure the desired balance in economic development or to promote greater
efficiency in production and foreign trade. After four years of
intensive debate, a new price law was enacted in December 1971.
Preliminary information on the provisions of the law indicated that
prices would continue to be fixed by the government, although the method
of calculating them had been modified. In contrast to the announced
policy of decentralizing economic management, the law provided for
strengthening central controls over prices.
Until March 1970 there was no unified control over prices. The State
Planning Committee and the Ministry of Finance administered industrial
wholesale prices, and the State Committee for Prices had jurisdiction
over prices of consumer goods and government procurement prices for farm
products. In 1970 the reorganized State Committee for Prices was given
authority to control all prices. Representation on the committee has
been provided for the State Planning Committee; the ministries of
finance, domestic trade, and foreign trade; the Central Statistical
Bureau; and the Central Council of the General Union of Trade Unions.
Participation by delegates from economic ministries and other organs is
to be ensured at all sessions in which problems of interest to them are
brought up for discussion.
The basic criticism leveled against the price system concerned its
tendency to undermine the government's drive for economic efficiency
through the failure of prices to reflect production costs, improper
relationships among prices, and price inflexibility. A comprehensive,
unified approach to price reform was considered beyond the capability of
the authorities; a piecemeal approach of dealing separately with
different types of prices was therefore decided upon. Priority in this
program was given to the improvement of industrial wholesale prices.
Wholesale prices for industrial products have been based on average
costs for each product in the relevant industrial branch. Prices have
therefore been profitable for enterprises having below-average costs,
whereas enterprises with costs above the average have had to rely upon
state subsidies for continued operation. Wholesale prices were last
fixed in 1963, and subsequent changes in technology and other aspects of
production magnified the dissociation of prices and costs. For political
reasons and because of general shortages the closing of uneconomic
enterprises was not considered feasible. Maintenance of fixed prices
over long periods of time has been deemed essential for purposes of
planning.
Under the prevailing price system, which assured high profits to many
enterprises and provided subsidies for unprofitable ones, there was no
incentive for enterprises to reduce costs. This tendency was reinforced
by the methods used to calculate costs and prices. The fact that cost
calculations did not include any charges for rent or capital induced
waste in the use of land and equipment. Prices included an element of
planned profit determined as a percentage of cost. In the price-setting
procedure it was therefore advantageous for enterprises to overstate
actual costs. This practice has been widely prevalent in fixing prices
for new products.
Prices for raw materials, including products of the extractive
industries and agriculture, were generally set below the cost of
production. This policy has been responsible for a wasteful use of many
materials in manufacturing. A price discrepancy also served to negate
the official fuel policy. Efforts to increase the use of coal in
electric power production were frustrated by the relatively much lower
price for natural gas. This led some economists to advocate that prices
for fuels be based on their caloric content. The price system has also
been reported to have produced various other inimical results, such as
inhibiting innovation and rewarding the continued production of obsolete
goods.
Procurement prices for farm products have been deliberately kept low in
relation to industrial prices; prices for farm requisites and consumer
goods, on the other hand, have been fixed far above cost through the
medium of a turnover tax channeled into the budget. In this manner the
price system has served to transfer resources from agriculture to
industry and to keep consumption low for the benefit of investment.
Pending the completion of price reform legislation, a provisional
measure was adopted in 1970 to lower wholesale prices for export goods
and to reduce excess profits through a so-called regularization tax on
domestic sales of the main products manufactured by state industry. The
measure involved a recalculation of wholesale prices, based on the
average cost of products within an industrial branch and a profit
allowance of only 10 percent of cost. The difference between the
recalculated prices and those in effect at the time was to be channeled
into the budget by the tax. In the case of high-cost producers who would
suffer losses under this procedure, the profit margin included in the
price could be raised to a maximum of 15 percent. The new price measure
put pressure on enterprises to lower the cost of production.
The comprehensive new law on prices for goods and services that will
come into effect in March 1972 will have no immediate impact on prices.
On the basis of criteria outlined in the law and upon approval by the
State Committee for Prices, economic ministries, central government
agencies, collectives, and other public organizations are supposed first
to issue norms for establishing and correlating prices within the areas
of their respective jurisdictions, in accordance with the specific
conditions of each producing branch, subbranch, or group of enterprises
and the specific features of each product and service.
The law makes provision for fixed and ceiling prices. Both types of
prices may be either uniform or differentiated. Uniform prices will
apply throughout the entire country and will be applicable to the main
products and to services of major importance to the economy and the
standard of living. Differentiated prices for a product may be set at
various levels depending upon territorial or seasonal factors and the
nature of the producers or buyers. These provisions will also apply to
agricultural procurement prices.
As in the past, uniform wholesale prices will be based on pre-calculated
average costs for each product at branch level. For the first time,
however, cost will also include taxes on capital and land (interest and
rent) and expenditures for the introduction of new technology. An
important change will also be made in determining the profit element of
the wholesale price. In the future the planned profit level for
enterprises, differentiated by branch and subbranch, will be calculated
in relation to the fixed and circulating capital employed rather than in
relation to cost.
The new law also contains provisions for pricing imports and exports and
for establishing retail prices of consumer goods. Retail prices will
include a profit for the trade organization and a variable turnover tax
applied to the wholesale price. The tax is to be relatively low on goods
produced for children and high on those manufactured in small quantities
and on luxury products. Changes in retail prices may be made only in
the light of planned provisions for the real income of the population.
Authority to set prices and control over the implementation of price
policy will be shifted from the Council of Ministers to the Council of
State and the Grand National Assembly. The Council of State will make
decisions not only concerning general price levels and price changes but
also about specific prices for products and services of particular
importance to the economy and the standard of living and on prices of
products earmarked exclusively for the defense sector. In an effort to
ensure a uniform price policy under a decentralized process of price
fixing, the law spells out the responsibilities of all entities
concerned with pricing, from the Council of State down to the individual
enterprise. Jurisdiction over prices for products and services is to be
allocated among the various sectors and levels of the economy, and the
State Committee for Prices will be responsible for the correct
application of the law.
In order to prevent further abuses in the formulation and changing of
prices, a state price control inspectorate is to be created within the
State Committee for Prices with power to supervise price control
agencies in each county. Penalties for infractions of trade regulations
have been increased to 2,000 lei, and persons guilty of price
irregularities will be subject to prosecution under sections of the
penal code on profiteering and fraud, which provide for imprisonment of
from six months to seven years.
The intricacy of price formulation, the complexity of the price law
(which contains 157 paragraphs), and disagreement among officials about
the efficacy of some of the law's provisions suggest that the new
measure may not be the final answer to the country's price problems. The
determination of the authorities to retain firm control over prices and
not to allow market forces to play any significant role in price
determination, however, was made clear in a statement by the chairman of
the State Committee for Prices to the effect that the building of
socialism cannot be directed by transferring the leadership and
decisionmaking to some self-regulating mechanism or to instruments that
cannot be controlled.
BUDGET
The annual state budgets are more comprehensive than budgets in Western
countries because they also cover economic activities that are the
province of private enterprise in the West. Information on the manner in
which budgets are formulated is not available, except that they are
closely related to the annual economic plans and are prepared under the
direction of the Ministry of Finance. Budgets must be approved by the
Council of Ministers, the PCR, and the Grand National Assembly. The
consolidated budget is divided into a central and a local budget; the
local budget is roughly one-fifth the size of the central budget.
Official statistics on the budget are deficient in that only summary
data are published on the major elements of revenue and expenditures and
the source of one-third or more of the revenue is not disclosed. The
published data show a small budgetary surplus each year, regardless of
the vicissitudes of the economy and unforeseen emergency outlays.
Information is not available on budgetary performance in 1970, when the
country suffered a disastrous flood. In the planned budgets for 1971 and
1972 revenues and expenditures were perfectly balanced.
Budgetary revenues increased steadily from about 58 billion lei in 1960
to 147 billion lei in 1969, and expenditures rose correspondingly from
about 55 billion lei to 143 billion lei. The budgets for 1971 and 1972
were planned to balance at a little more than 138 billion lei and 152
billion lei, respectively. Reasons for the decline in the size of the
1971 budget, the only decline reported in at least a decade, are not
known.
A turnover tax levied on consumer goods, farm products, and farm
supplies and a profit on the income of economic enterprises and
organizations constitute the main sources of budgetary revenue. The
relative importance of the two levies changed after 1966; the yield from
the profit tax approached that from the turnover tax in 1967 and grew
relatively larger in 1968 and 1969. Together, these two levies accounted
for from 50 to 56 percent of the annual revenues. Direct taxes on the
population yielded close to 6 percent from 1960 to 1969, except that in
the first and last years of that period their proportion approached 7
percent. The magnitude of direct taxes does not reflect the real tax
burden borne by the population, because the population ultimately pays
both the turnover and the profit tax through higher prices of consumer
goods.
Financing the national economy absorbed an average of 64.6 percent of
annual expenditure in the first half of the 1960s and 68.3 percent in
the second half of the decade. At the same time the proportion of
outlays for social and cultural purposes declined from an average of
24.9 percent to 23.2 percent, although the absolute amount of these
outlays more than doubled. Expenditures for defense declined from 6.1
percent of total outlays in 1960 to 4.4 percent in 1969.
BANKING
The banking system operative in early 1972 was the end product of
several institutional reorganizations, the last of which was completed
in May 1971. The main purpose of the reorganizations was to make bank
credit a more effective tool for promoting economic development and for
controlling the operations of economic enterprises and organizations.
Control through credit extension has been officially considered an
important means for inducing enterprises and trusts to attain the
targets of the economic plans. Little information is available on the
banks' operations beyond the formal statement of their functions. Data
relating to the money supply and foreign exchange reserves have also
been kept secret.
Banking Institutions
The banking system consists of the National Bank of the Romanian
Socialist Republic (referred to as the National Bank), the Investment
Bank, the Romanian Foreign Trade Bank, the Bank for Agriculture and the
Food Industry, and the Savings and Loan Bank. The functions of the
Romanian Foreign Trade Bank and of the Bank for Agriculture and the Food
Industry had been exercised to a more limited extent by the National
Bank until 1968. The Economy and Consignment Fund, a department of the
Savings and Loan Bank, makes credit available for the construction of
privately owned housing--a function exercised by the Investment Bank
until the end of 1969. Information on the interrelations between the
specialized banks and the National Bank or between the banks and the
Ministry of Finance was not available in early 1972.
The National Bank, as reconstituted in December 1970 with a
capitalization of 1 billion lei, is the country's central bank of issue,
but it also acts as a banker for the government, a bankers' banker for
the specialized financial institutions, and a short-term credit and
discount agency for economic organizations. The main functions of the
National Bank in the field of domestic finance include: the issue of
currency and control over its circulation; management of the budgetary
cash resources; coordination of all short-term credit and discount
activities; and participation in the formulation of annual and five-year
credit and cash plans, jointly with the State Planning Committee and the
Ministry of Finance.
The National Bank establishes official foreign exchange rates, engages
in foreign exchange operations directly or through the Romanian Foreign
Trade Bank and other authorized organizations, and participates in
working out the balance of foreign payments and in following up on its
execution. The National Bank also controls the production, processing,
and use of precious metals and gems and, together with the State
Planning Committee and the Ministry of Finance, develops plans for their
acquisition and allocation at home and abroad. The bank has exclusive
authority to purchase from individuals items made of precious metals or
stones and items of artistic, historic, or documentary value.
The National Bank is managed by an administrative council, the members
of which must be approved by the Council of Ministers upon the
recommendation of the bank's governor, who is also chairman of the
administrative council. In addition to the chairman, the administrative
council includes several vice presidents of the bank; the directors of
the bank's fourteen divisions; superintendents of some of the
subordinated units; delegates of the management of the Investment Bank,
the Bank for Agriculture and the Food Industry, and the Romanian Foreign
Trade Bank; experienced specialists from the bank's professional staff
and from the outside; and a delegate of the labor unions, designated by
the General Union of Trade Unions. The council as a whole and each
individual member are responsible to the Council of Ministers for the
entire activity of the bank.
The Investment Bank, created in 1948 and last reorganized in September
1971 with a capitalization of 700 million lei, serves to finance, and
exercise control over, investment projects of all state, collective,
consumer-cooperative, and other public organizations, with the exception
of collective farms and organizations subordinate to the Ministry of
Agriculture, Food Industry, and Waters. The control powers of the bank
extend not only to projects financed with its own resources but also to
projects financed through budgetary allocations and out of enterprise
profits. The bank's management is organized along the lines of the
administrative council of the National Bank.
The Investment Bank must participate in the preparation of draft plans
for the financing of all investment projects undertaken by central and
local state organizations from the ministerial down to the enterprise
level. During the formulation and implementation of these plans the bank
must ensure the most economical use of available resources. The bank is
also called upon to determine appropriate rates of depreciation for
fixed assets and to ensure that the required amortization payments to
the budget are made on time.
Two of the bank's main functions are the review of technical and
economic investment criteria submitted to it for approval by ministries
and other state agencies and the evaluation of the feasibility of
proposed investment projects on the basis of accepted standards; the
more important of these standards also require approval by the Council
of Ministers. Approval may be granted by the bank only for investment
projects that satisfy all legal requirements regarding need,
suitability, and adherence to prescribed norms; have an adequate raw
materials base and assured sales outlets; and serve to improve the
economic performance of the organization that undertakes the investment.
In the event of disagreement between the bank and the organization
seeking investment approval, appeal may be made to higher authorities.
The Romanian Foreign Trade Bank was established in July 1968. Its
principal functions are to facilitate exports and, through strict
controls over exchange allocations, to encourage import substitution by
domestic producers. In 1970 about 73 percent of the bank's credits were
devoted to exports, and only 21 percent were granted for imports. The
remaining 6 percent of the credits were used to finance internal
transport.
In July 1971 the Romanian Foreign Trade Bank and a group of eight French
financial institutions opened the Romanian-French Bank in Paris. This
bank was organized as a private limited-liability company with a capital
of 20 million French francs underwritten in equal parts by the Romanian
Foreign Trade Bank and the French bankers. In the second half of 1971
the Romanian Foreign Trade Bank acquired affiliates in London and Rome.
The Bank for Agriculture and the Food Industry was created in May 1971
by expanding the functions and changing the name of the Agricultural
Bank established three years earlier. This reorganization followed the
consolidation of previously independent ministries into the Ministry of
Agriculture, Food Industry, and Waters (referred to as the Ministry of
Agriculture). The bank was capitalized at 500 million lei and was
required to create a reserve out of profits equal to the amount of its
capitalization. The bank's function is to provide investment and
operating credits for enterprises under the jurisdiction of the Ministry
of Agriculture, including collective farms, and to finance the
distribution of their products within the country.
A few summary data on credits extended by the Bank for Agriculture and
the Food Industry to collective farms have been released to the
country's press in an obvious effort to publicize official concern for
this important but neglected farm sector (see ch. 15). Information on
other aspects of this bank's operations have not been disclosed.
The Savings and Loan Bank, an institution nationalized at an early stage
of communist rule, had 1,560 branches and agencies in 1971, most of
which were located in rural areas. The main function of the bank has
been to mobilize the cash resources of the population for investment,
through obligatory periodic transfers of deposited funds to the National
Bank. In the 1966-70 period subsidiary functions of the bank gained in
importance, including small-scale commercial bank transactions, personal
loans, and tax collections. Receipts from personal savings deposits
accounted for 70 percent of total cash receipts in 1970. Since the
beginning of 1970 the bank has also made loans for private housing
construction.
The schedule of payments to the National Bank has been sufficiently
stringent to induce the Savings and Loan Bank to mount special
educational programs for attracting savings, particularly in rural
areas, and to seek ways of stimulating cash collections from its other
activities. To this end the bank is giving special attention to finding
more effective means for identifying cash reserves held by the
population. One avenue the bank has been exploring is to gain greater
knowledge of the timing of income receipts and of the uses to which
incomes are put.
The volume of savings has been steadily mounting; it rose at an average
annual rate of more than 20 percent in the 1966-70 period and was 2.5
times larger at the period's end than at its beginning. In 1970, 13.6
percent of the population's cash income was deposited in savings
accounts, compared to 5.8 percent in 1960. More than 65 percent of the
population's cash assets in 1970 were on deposit in savings accounts, as
against 56.6 percent five years earlier. Under the economic plan for the
1971-75 period, savings deposits of the Savings and Loan Bank are
scheduled to increase by 87 percent--the equivalent of an annual 13.4
percent growth rate. An important reason for the growth of savings has
been a general shortage of consumer goods.
Loans granted by the Savings and Loan Bank for private housing
construction in 1970 amounted to 2.1 billion lei. In 1971 the bank
planned to provide construction loans totaling 2.9 billion lei.
Information on other bank transactions has not been published.
Credit Policy
Interest rates do not reflect the scarcity of money or the element of
risk. They are used by the government as one of the economic levers
intended to motivate enterprises toward greater efficiency. In 1969 the
average rate for short-term operating credits was 2.9 percent; actual
rates ranged from less than 1 percent to a level far above the average.
New regulations issued about mid-1970 raised the interest rates,
established greater uniformity among them, and introduced a
differentiation among penalty rates based on the length of time that
repayments remain in arrears or credits in excess of those planned are
used. As a result of these measures, National Bank officials expected
the average rate of interest to rise to 3.8 percent.
A uniform interest rate of 5 percent was established on all operating
credits for inventory and production purposes in economic sectors other
than agriculture. Preferential rates for artisans' collectives were
abolished on the grounds that the collectives had received enough state
support in the past to place them on an equal footing with state
enterprises with regard to credit. A rate of 3 percent was continued on
credits used in the distribution of goods. Interest rates of 4 percent
and 2 percent, respectively, were established for state and collective
farms.
The government attaches great importance to the penalty feature of the
credit system, which allows it to discriminate between efficient
enterprises that find themselves in temporary difficulties and
enterprises that are poorly managed. Enterprises that require operating
funds in excess of those prescribed by officially determined norms or
are unable to repay credits on time must pay progressively higher
interest rates. Excess and overdue credits carry an interest rate of up
to 10 percent for the first three months and up to 12 percent for the
next three months. Enterprises in the second stage are subject to a
searching examination by a committee of experts and may be denied
further credits. Information is lacking on the procedures followed in
the case of enterprises that would be declared bankrupt in a Western
economy.
According to a National Bank official, the new credit regulations were
to be rigorously applied in order to combat a rising trend in the volume
of overdue credits that became apparent in the first half of 1970. The
credit and interest policies were to be applied in a manner that would
protect the economy from the bad effects of mismanagement and that would
place the onus only on poorly run enterprises. This task was said to
demand a high level of competence from those called upon to resolve the
difficult problems of the enterprises.
CURRENCY
The currency unit of the country is the leu (plural, lei), divided into
100 bani. It is nonconvertible and usable only within the country. The
leu is officially defined to contain 148.112 milligrams of fine gold, so
that 5.53 lei are equivalent to US$1. This basic rate of exchange became
effective on December 23, 1971, in the wake of the agreement reached by
the United States with other major Western trading nations to devalue
the American dollar; before that date the rate was 6 lei per US$1. The
basic rate is used in foreign trade accounting and is also applicable to
nonresident accounts created by a transfer of foreign currencies into
Romania.
A wide range of official noncommercial or tourist exchange rates is in
effect for residents of other communist countries. These rates vary from
about one-third to more than double the basic rate. Tourist rates for
noncommunist country currencies embody a bonus of 189 percent over the
basic rate, making 16 lei equivalent to US$1. In addition to the
official exchange rates there are at least thirty-seven semiofficial
rates resulting from seven multilateral trade and payments agreements
with members of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) and
thirty bilateral agreements with other communist and noncommunist
states.
The state has a monopoly of foreign exchange. Control over currency and
foreign exchange is vested in the National Bank and administered by the
bank jointly with the Ministry of Finance and the Romanian Foreign Trade
Bank. All foreign exchange realized by state agencies from exports and
other foreign operations must be surrendered to the Romanian Foreign
Trade Bank, which also controls all exchange expenditures abroad.
Transferability of funds by private individuals is strictly limited.
Only 15 to 30 percent of inheritances, royalties, pensions, and support
payments derived from abroad may be used or retransferred; from 70 to 85
percent of the sums received must be surrendered at the tourist rate of
exchange. Residents may send small amounts and get travel allocations to
COMECON and some Western countries. Most currency transactions by
individuals with residents in Western states are prohibited. Residents
may not own foreign currencies or securities or have bank balances
abroad without official permission, nor may they import or export
Romanian banknotes. They are forbidden to own or trade in gold, to
export jewelry and diamonds, and to engage in foreign merchandise trade.
Controls over financial transactions by state agencies in domestic
currency and foreign exchange were tightened by a decree issued in
September 1971. A companion decree also provided for much stricter
border controls over foreign exchange, precious metals, and jewelry
carried by individuals entering or leaving the country. Violations were
more precisely defined, and penalties were substantially increased to
discourage illegal traffic.
FOREIGN TRADE
Foreign trade is of crucial importance to the country's industrial
development because imports must be relied upon for a large part of the
requirements for materials and equipment. Trade has been expanding at a
rapid rate, and imports have been growing faster than exports. In a bid
for economic and political independence from the Soviet Union, the
country's leadership succeeded in reorienting a substantial portion of
its trade toward the industrial nations of Western Europe during the
mid-1960s (see ch. 10). After 1967, however, the inability to generate
enough exports salable in Western markets to balance imports forced the
country to turn increasingly to the Soviet Union and other Eastern
European countries for its import needs.
Foreign trade is a state monopoly. Trade policy is established by the
PCR and the government, and its implementation is the responsibility of
the Ministry of Foreign Trade. Authority to engage in foreign trade
operations has been partially decentralized by a law enacted in March
1971, although initial steps in this direction were taken under
administrative regulations in the beginning of 1970. The main purpose of
the law has been to raise the efficiency of foreign trade and to help
expand exports. These ends are to be attained through greater exposure
of domestic producers to international competition and by providing
incentives for them to meet it. The law was also intended to create
favorable conditions in the country for the establishment of industrial
enterprises with foreign participation.
Before the adoption of the trade reform law, only specialized foreign
trade enterprises directly subordinated to the Ministry of Foreign Trade
were empowered to carry on trade activities. Producing enterprises were
completely divorced from foreign buyers. They delivered their export
goods to the foreign trade enterprises at domestic prices, without
knowing to whom or at what price the goods were sold abroad. Imports
were also obtainable only through foreign trade enterprises at domestic
prices, regardless of their acquisition cost. Foreign trade losses were
covered out of the state budget, and enterprises assumed no risk
whatever in foreign trade transactions. Producing enterprises had no
interest in marketing their output abroad or in making their products
competitive in world markets; neither were they interested in using
domestic substitutes to avoid the need for imports.
Under the new law authority to engage in foreign trade has been granted
to some of the industrial ministries, trusts, and enterprises. Others
must continue to trade through foreign trade enterprises. The delegation
of authority has not involved a transfer of basic decisionmaking powers,
and the continuance of central control is therefore assured. All trade
must be conducted in accordance with binding state plans and guidelines
issued by the minister of foreign trade. Every transaction requires
approval by the Ministry of Foreign Trade in the form of an import or
export license. Central controls have also been retained over foreign
exchange and over export and import prices. The main advantage of the
new regulation lies in the opportunity it provides for producers to
develop direct customer relations, thus enabling them to learn at first
hand the preferences of buyers and the nature of the competition they
must face. It also encourages them to exercise initiative in seeking out
potential customers.
Under the law production for export must be given priority. Failure by
economic units to discharge their export obligations adversely affects
their profits, even if they meet their total output target, because in
these circumstances the production plan is considered underfulfilled by
the value of the undelivered exports. This provision applies equally to
suppliers and subcontractors of export manufacturers. A positive
incentive to exceed export quotas has been provided in the form of
export bonuses. Export manufacturers, however, have a greater interest
than their suppliers in exceeding the export plan because they are
entitled to keep for their own use a portion of the above-plan foreign
exchange earnings, whereas their suppliers have no opportunity to do so.
This difference of interests has been interpreted by foreign observers
as a weakness in the law, in that it may hamper manufacturers' efforts
to maximize export production because the requisite supplies and
components may not be forthcoming.
The decentralization of foreign trade activities necessarily entails an
increased need for well-qualified specialists in foreign trade and
international finance, both at home and abroad. The shortage of experts
in these fields is to be alleviated through an intensive personnel
training program.
Western economists believe the new law to be a step in the right
direction in that it promotes an orientation of the economy toward
exports. They hold the view, however, also shared by some Romanian
economists, that, as long as the country's currency remains
nonconvertible and prices fail to reflect the relative scarcity of
goods, it will not be possible properly to calculate the profitability
of foreign trade nor to improve the structure of the trade on the basis
of such a calculation.
In the 1960-70 period the annual trade turnover increased by 2.8 times
to a volume of 22,8 billion lei. Exports rose at an average annual rate
of 10 percent to 11.1 billion lei, and imports grew by 11.7 percent per
year to 11.7 billion lei. From 1965 to 1970 the rise in trade was more
rapid; the rates of growth were 11 percent for exports and 12.7 percent
for imports.
Although trade relations were officially reported to have expanded from
twenty-nine countries in 1960 to 110 countries in 1970, the bulk of the
trade was carried on with members of COMECON and the industrial
countries of Western Europe (see table 6). Only 15 percent of the trade
in 1970 involved countries outside these areas. Between 1960 and 1967
trade with COMECON members increased by little more than half, whereas
trade with Western so-called capitalist countries rose almost fourfold.
The difference was even more marked in the case of imports from the
West, which increased ninefold, so that imports from this area in 1967
were larger than imports from COMECON. The trend was reversed after
1967, mainly because of increasing balance of payments difficulties with
Western trade partners.
With a turnover of 5.5 billion lei in 1969, the Soviet Union has been by
far the most important of Romania's trading partners. Czechoslovakia and
the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) were next in importance
within COMECON, with a trade volume of 1.5 billion and 1.2 billion lei,
respectively, in 1969. Among trading partners in Western Europe, West
Germany occupied first place, with a trade volume of almost 1.8 billion
lei, followed by Italy with a volume of 1.2 billion lei and France with
0.9 billion lei. The People's Republic of China has been the main
communist trading partner outside Europe, with an annual volume of about
0.5 billion lei in 1968 and 1969.
_Table 6._ _Foreign Trade of Romania, by Groups of Countries, 1960 and
1969_ (in millions of lei)[1]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1960[2] 1969[2]
------------------------- ------------------------
Country Group Exports Imports Total Exports Imports Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Western industrial states 918 913 1,831 2,980 4,432 7,412
COMECON[3] 2,821 2,636 5,458 5,042 4,819 9,862
Other communist states 318 206 524 781 506 1,286
Developing countries 245 131 376 996 686 1,682
----- ----- ------ ----- ------ ------
Total 4,302 3,887 8,189 9,799 10,443 20,242
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1: For value of leu, see Glossary.
2: Totals may not add because of rounding.
3: Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.
Source: Adapted from U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of
Technical Services, Joint Publications Research Service--JPRS
Series (Washington), _Translations on Eastern Europe: Economic
and Scientific Affairs_, "Foreign Trade Reform Analyzed,"
_Vierteljahresshefte zur Wirtschaftsvorschung_, West Berlin,
July-September 1971, (JPRS 54,691, Series No. 580, 1971).
Trade between Romania and the United States has been small because of
legal restrictions in the United States against trade with communist
countries. The trade volume doubled from about US$40 million in 1969 to
US$80 million in 1970 but declined to about US$65 million in 1971.
About 80 percent of the trade in 1969 and 1970 was accounted for by
Romanian imports; in 1971 the trade was more nearly balanced. Comparable
Romanian statistics are available only for 1969. They show a lower
volume of trade and a smaller trade deficit. No explanation of this
discrepancy is available.
Measures to exempt Romania from the restrictions directed against trade
with communist countries have been taken in the United States. In
November 1971 exports to Romania were made eligible for Export-Import
Bank financing. With support from the administration, legislation has
been introduced in both houses of the Congress of the United States to
accord Romania most-favored-nation treatment. Sources in the United
States, however, believe that Romania will not be able to balance its
trade with that country even in the event that the proposed legislation
is enacted into law.
Imports have been overwhelmingly weighted in favor of capital goods.
Machinery and equipment, fuels, and raw and processed materials
constituted about 90 percent of all imports in the 1960s. Manufactured
consumer goods accounted for from 5 to 7 percent of imports. Raw and
processed food products made up the small balance. Machinery and
equipment, including plant installations, were the major single import
category; the share of machinery and equipment in total imports rose
from about 33 percent in 1960 to 49 percent in 1967 but declined to 44
percent in 1969 because of payments difficulties. Imported machinery and
equipment covered about 30 percent of requirements in 1970.
Exports in the 1960s consisted mainly of raw and processed materials and
foodstuffs, about equally divided between products of agricultural and
industrial origin. As a result of progressive industrialization, the
proportion of these products in total exports declined from about 78
percent in 1960 to 63 percent in 1969. During the same period the share
of machinery and equipment rose from about 17 to 22 percent, and that of
manufactured consumer goods increased from about 6 to 16 percent.
Official foreign trade policy is directed toward increasing the
proportion of processed goods in total exports.
In the 1960-70 period the annual balance of trade was negative, with the
exception of the years 1960 and 1965. The cumulative trade deficit at
the end of 1970 amounted to about 5.1 billion lei--the equivalent of
about US$850 million. The overall deficit, however, obscured the
severity of the foreign exchange problem facing the country. Trade with
the communist and developing countries during the period produced an
export surplus that offset, in part, the deficit with Western trading
partners. This surplus, however, could not be used to reduce foreign
indebtedness because it did not generate hard currency earnings. The
cumulative hard currency trade deficit with the West reached US$1.2
billion in 1969 and an estimated US$1.5 billion in 1970.
Information on the country's balance of payments has been kept secret,
so that it is impossible to know how the trade deficit has been
financed. Hard currency receipts from tourism, which could be applied
toward repayment of the debt, equaled only a fraction of the annual
trade deficit. Western sources estimated Romania's indebtedness to her
Western industrial trading partners to have risen from about US$300
million in 1966 to US$800 million in 1968 and to have increased further
by 1970.
CHAPTER 15
AGRICULTURE
As a result of the government's industrialization policy, the relative
importance of agriculture in the economy has declined. During the decade
of the 1960s the contribution of agriculture to national income, in
terms of arbitrarily established official prices, dropped from about 30
to 20 percent, even though half the working population continued to be
employed on farms and farm output was gradually rising. The growth in
output, however, did not keep pace with official plans, mainly because
of a lack of income incentives for farmers under the government's low
farm-price policy and because of inadequate investment and fertilizer
inputs. The farm problem has been exacerbated by the generally low
qualifications of the farm labor force and by the prevalence of
widespread underemployment.
Various revisions in agricultural organization and methods of
compensation made from 1968 to 1971 did not produce any marked
improvement by the end of that period. The failure of agricultural
output, including livestock products, to advance according to plans
created economic difficulties by depriving the country of potential
exports urgently needed to pay for industrial imports. It has also
hampered the improvement of the population's protein-deficient diet.
Substantial advances in all phases of agriculture are planned for the
1971-75 period. In the light of past experience, attainment of the
established goals is uncertain. The full production potential of
agriculture remains largely unexploited.
AGRICULTURAL REGIONS
Natural conditions are generally favorable for agricultural development.
A varied topography has produced diversified regional weather and soil
conditions. The climate is basically continental, with warm summers and
cold winters, but the growing season is relatively long--from 180 to 210
days.
The amount of precipitation fluctuates from year to year, which results
in recurrent droughts. Rainfall averages about twenty-five inches,
ranging from only fifteen inches on the Dobruja plateau to forty inches
in the mountainous regions. In the principal farming regions, annual
precipitation averages about twenty-three inches in the fertile
southern plain but dips below twenty inches in the hilly regions of
Moldavia in the northeastern part of the country. Moisture is generally
sufficient during the spring growing period (see ch. 3).
Soils vary from mountain-type soils to heavy, relatively infertile
podzolic soils in the plateaus and rich chernozem (black earth) soils in
the plains. About 20 percent of the agricultural land is of the
chernozem type. Alluvial soils cover the flood plains of the Danube
River.
Topography and climate divide the country into five agricultural zones,
the most important of which is Walachia. Walachia includes the rich
southern plains, where half the country's grain is grown. Almost half
the vineyards and orchards are located in the foothills surrounding the
plains. Vegetable production is also important in this area, especially
near the city of Bucharest. Despite the fertility of this region's
soils, production in Walachia fluctuates because of recurrent summer
droughts.
Transylvania, the largely mountainous region in the central and
northwestern parts of the country, receives substantial rainfall but has
relatively infertile soils. Livestock production predominates on the
mountain pastures and meadows. Grain and potatoes are the major crops in
the central basin.
Moldavia in northeastern Romania has generally poor soils and receives
scant rainfall. Corn is the main crop in this zone, followed by wheat
and potatoes.
The Banat region on the country's western border has the most favorable
natural conditions for agriculture. Chernozem soils predominate, and the
seasonal distribution of rainfall is more propitious than in Walachia.
Grain, primarily wheat, is the principal crop; fruits and vegetables are
also important.
The Dobruja plateau in southwestern Romania is the country's least
important farming area. Although soils are generally fertile,
cultivation is limited by inadequate rainfall. Grain, sunflowers, and
legumes are grown in this area.
To combat the destructive effects of recurrent droughts, a large-scale
program of irrigation was undertaken by the government. Execution of the
program, however, has consistently lagged behind the plans.
LAND USE
In 1970 agricultural land comprised almost 37 million acres (63 percent
of the country), about two-thirds of which was arable. The balance was
devoted to pastures, meadows, vineyards, and orchards. During the decade
of the 1960s substantial additions to the agricultural area were made
through various land improvement measures. At the same time, however,
large acreages were diverted to industrial and residential uses,
particularly of the more valuable arable land. The net result was an
increase in the total farmland area, mainly in orchards and pastures,
and a decline in the arable acreage (see table 7).
_Table 7._ _Land Use in Romania, Selected Years, 1960-70[1]_ (in
thousands of acres)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
1960 1962 1969 1970
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Agricultural Land
Arable 24,268 24,515 24,146 24,050
Pasture 6,953 6,924 7,426 7,420
Meadow 3,427 3,447 3,506 3,499
Vineyard 768 744 857 857
Orchard 529 662 1,053 1,067
Total Agricultural Land 35,945 36,292 36,988 36,893
------ ------ ------ ------
Forest Land 15,822 15,807 15,607 15,604
-------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Agricultural land by type of use and forest area.
Source: Adapted from _Anuarul Statistic al Republicii Socialiste
Romania_, 1970 (Statistical Yearbook of the Socialist Republic
of Romania, 1970), Bucharest, 1970, pp. 246-247.
Forests occupied an area of 15,604,000 acres in 1970, the equivalent of
about 27 percent of the country's land surface. The forest acreage
declined slowly but steadily after 1961, for a total loss of almost
247,000 acres.
Slightly more than two-thirds of the more than 24 million acres of crop
area in 1969 was under grains. Technical crops for industrial uses,
consisting mainly of oilseeds and sugar beets, and fodder crops occupied
almost one-fourth of the sown area. The remainder of less than 10
percent was devoted to legumes, potatoes, vegetables, and melons and to
seed-producing and experimental plots. Half the grain acreage was
devoted to corn, which is used for food and feed by the farmers; and
more than two-fifths was under wheat, which is the staple food of the
urban population.
The grain acreage declined in absolute and in relative terms after 1960,
when it accounted for almost three-fourths of the sown area. All other
major crop acreages, excluding that under sugar beets, increased during
the 1960-69 period (see table 8). Romanian economists attributed the
shift in the crop pattern to the government's emphasis on adapting crop
production to the economic needs of the country and to the natural
conditions of individual farms. A severe flood in the spring of 1970,
the worst in the country's history, reduced the crop area by nearly 1.25
million acres below the level of 1969.
_Table 8._ _Cultivated Acreage in Romania, by Major Crops, 1960 and
1969_ (in thousands of acres)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Crop 1960 1969
--------------------------------------------------------------
Grain
Wheat 7,008 6,817
Corn 8,826 8,137
Other 1,626 1,263
------ ------
Total 17,460 16,217
Legumes 381 474
Technical crops (for industrial uses)
Oleaginous 1,396 1,576
Sugar beets 494 445
Other 252 341
------ ------
Total 2,142 2,362
Potatoes 722 754
Vegetables and melons 516 591
Fodder crops 2,711 3,356
Seed-producing and experimental plots 119 235
------ ------
Total Cultivated Acreage 24,051 23,989
--------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Adapted from _Anuarul Statistic al Republicii Socialiste
Romania 1970_, (Statistical Yearbook of the Socialist Republic
of Romania, 1970), Bucharest, 1970, pp. 306-307.
Encroachment by builders upon agricultural and, more particularly,
arable land was facilitated by the government's policy, pursued until
the spring of 1968, of treating land as a free good and assigning no
value to it in calculating the cost of industrial and housing investment
projects. Arable land was especially attractive to builders because it
required no expenditure for leveling.
In an attempt to prevent further waste of valuable farmland, a law for
the protection and conservation of agricultural land was passed in May
1968. The law prohibited the diversion of farm acreages to
nonagricultural uses, with the exception of special cases which,
depending upon the nature and location of the land involved, required
the approval of either the Council of State, the Council of Ministers,
or the Superior Council of Agriculture (a government agency that
functioned in lieu of a ministry for several years). Nonagricultural
state organizations that held land that they could not cultivate were
obligated to surrender it without payment to neighboring state or
collective farms.
The conservation law enjoined socialized (collective and state) farms
and private farmers to put all land to optimum use; called for a review
of the building code to reduce the land areas allowed to individual
construction projects; provided for the inclusion of the value of land
in construction costs; and spelled out various other measures to
safeguard and improve agricultural land. The law also directed the
establishment of a land register, excluding lands of the socialized
farms, to facilitate stricter controls over the remaining private
farmers, who held 9.2 percent of the agricultural land and 4.6 percent
of the arable acreage.
Heavy fines and criminal penalties, including imprisonment up to one
year, were provided for infringements of the conservation law by
enterprises and individuals. During the first year of the law's
operation, fines were also to be imposed upon holders of uncultivated
arable land, of improperly maintained orchards and vineyards, and of
meadows and pastures on which maintenance work did not comply with
agrotechnical rules. Like the establishment of the land register, this
provision was also aimed at private farmers. A further provision stated
that lands on which the described conditions continued after the first
year were to be assigned to socialized farms for cultivation. The
transferred land could be subsequently restored to the original owners
under conditions prescribed by the Superior Council of Agriculture. The
effect of the punitive regulations on private farm property was not
apparent from the official statistics for 1968 and 1969.
Shortly after the adoption of the conservation law, the deputy chairman
of the State Committee for Construction, Architecture, and
Systematization published an article in which he stated that mere
administrative regulations by the committee and the Superior Council of
Agriculture could not ensure the proper use of land, particularly on the
collective farms. He called for the development of appropriate economic
levers based on an adaptation of "the systems that limit land waste in
some capitalistic markets." This official's concern about the efficacy
of the new legislation was well based. By 1970 the arable acreage had
declined by 158,000 acres, at an average annual rate more than half
again as large as the annual losses during the 1962-68 period.
ORGANIZATION
Collective and state farms are the principal types of farm organization
(see table 9). Substantial areas of state agricultural land are also
operated as subsidiary farms by various industrial and other economic
organizations. Small private farms survive mainly in the mountainous
regions where collectivization is impractical. In 1970 the state owned
30 percent of the farmland, about half of which was cultivated by state
farms. Almost 61 percent of the land belonged to collective farms,
including 6.6 percent in plots for the personal use of their members.
The collective farm population consisted of almost 3.5 million families,
including more than 10 million collective members. About 9 percent of
the farmland was in the possession of private farmers.
_Table 9. Agricultural Land in Romania, by Type of Ownership, 1969_ (in
thousands of acres)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arable Pasture Meadow Vineyard Orchard Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
State agricultural
units 4,959 5,545 264 148 173 11,089
(State farms) (4,129) (688) (170) (133) (148) (5,218)
Collective farms 18,075 1,315 1,712 682 692 22,476
(Private plots) (1,969) (20) (54) (262) (121) (2,426)
Private farms 1,112 566 1,530 27 188 3,423
------ ----- ----- --- ----- ------
Total 24,146 7,426 3,506 857 1,053 36,988
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Adapted from _Anuaral Statistic al Republicii Socialiste
Romania, 1970_ (Statistical Yearbook of the Socialist Republic
of Romania, 1970), Bucharest, 1970, p. 253.
In order to raise agricultural productivity and output, the state and
collective farm sectors underwent frequent organizational changes, the
latest of which went into effect in February 1971. There was not
sufficient evidence in early 1972 on the extent to which they had been
put into practice and even less information on their economic effects.
Collective Farms
At the beginning of 1971 there were 4,626 collective farms, officially
called agricultural production cooperatives, comprising more than 22
million acres of farmland, about 18 million acres of which were arable.
Their number had declined by 1,800 through consolidation during the
preceding decade. The farms had an average of about 750 families and
1,000 able-bodied members each.
The average acreage of collective farmland per family in 1970 amounted
to 6.4 acres, including a private family plot of about 0.7 acres.
Although the family plots constituted only 6.6 percent of the country's
farmland and 8.2 percent of the arable acreage, they accounted for a
substantially larger share in the output of various crops and livestock
products.
Information on the organization of individual collective farms and of
the collective farm sector as a whole is inadequate, particularly with
regard to the range of responsibilities and authority of the various
administrative entities. The organizational framework has been
complicated by the proliferation of new measures and regulations since
1967. Farm operations are carried out in common, under the direction of
an administrative and management body theoretically accountable to the
general assembly, composed of all the members of a collective farm.
Groups of workers are organized into so-called brigades for the
performance of specialized tasks. The farm management includes a
chairman, a director, a management council, brigade leaders, and trained
technicians specialized in various aspects of farm operation.
Intercooperative councils are charged with responsibility for improving
collective farm management by initiating and coordinating cooperation on
various levels among neighboring farms for better use of their physical
and human resources. Collective farms are subordinated to the National
Union of Agricultural Production Cooperatives and are also subject to
the direction of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Industry, and Waters
(referred to as the Ministry of Agriculture) and of county authorities.
Collective farm associations are organized for various types of
specialized production.
In theory and according to law, but not in actual practice, collective
farms are jointly owned by their members. The ownership supposedly
extends to the land, other productive resources, and the annual farm
output. About 11 percent of the collective farm land, however, is
allocated for the personal use of members, and almost half the livestock
other than horses is individually owned. No information is available on
the existence of any provision for the compensation of members who are
authorized to leave the farms for employment in other sectors of the
economy.
Regulations concerning the allocation of their income by collective
farms among investment funds and various social and other obligatory
funds and distribution to members were modified in late 1970 or early
1971 with a view to stimulating the members' interest in raising the
efficiency of production. Under the old system, distribution to members
was made from residual funds remaining after all statutory public and
social obligations were met. The revised farm statutes authorize the
farms' general assemblies to allocate net income in ratios ranging from
18 to 25 percent for investment and from 75 to 82 percent for
consumption. In actual practice, however, income distribution is
reported to follow a somewhat different pattern, which tends to reduce
the share available for distribution to members. The new regulations
have not altered the generally acknowledged fact that farm incomes
remain very low, particularly on the poorer farms.
The system of remuneration for collective farmers was also modified in
1970 with a view to strengthening work incentives. The new method
provides for monthly payments on account, in cash and in kind, based on
the farms' planned annual receipts and for a share of profits in excess
of those planned. Payment to individual members is to be based on
centrally established work norms and rates of pay for various categories
of operations, similar to the practice in industry and construction. The
system is intended to relate individual remuneration more closely to the
quantity and quality of the work performed and thereby to eliminate
inequities of the earlier method. It is also meant to provide a steady
and assured income to all members who contribute a specified minimum of
workdays per month. If, for reasons beyond its control, a farm's
receipts turn out to be lower than the amount legally distributed to its
members during the year, the shortage may be covered by a long-term bank
credit. As a further inducement for farmers to remain on the land, their
social security benefits, generally much lower than those of industrial
workers, were substantially liberalized.
The extent to which the new pay system has been put into practice is not
known. Effective January 1, 1971, a minimum wage of 300 lei (for value
of leu, see Glossary) per month was to be paid to all male farmers who
worked regularly at least twenty days and to all women who worked
fifteen days. A survey published by a collective farm organ in March of
that year found that within a single county twenty-one out of twenty-two
farms had not taken the trouble to forward the necessary documents to
the Agricultural Bank and apply for the funds with which to pay their
members. Various excuses were offered by the farm chairmen for their
lack of action. The chairmen, farm directors, and brigade leaders,
however, were reported to have taken appropriate steps to secure their
own minimum pay.
The marketing of farm products by collective farms is based on
officially fixed prices and monopoly-buying powers of state procurement
agencies and the food-processing industry. Products move into government
stocks through contracts between the farms and state agencies for
quantities specified by the government; through payments in kind for
services rendered by agricultural mechanization stations, flour mills,
and other specialized government agencies; and, in the case of meat and
wool, in the form of compulsory deliveries. Any products remaining after
the obligations to the state have been met may be sold in open markets.
State Farms
Through consolidation of 370 previously existing state agricultural
enterprises, the farm reorganization of February 1971 created 145 larger
enterprises subordinated to the Department of State Agriculture in the
Ministry of Agriculture. In addition, seventy-four state agricultural
enterprises for fattening hogs, raising poultry, and producing feeds and
hothouse vegetables were subordinated to four specialized trusts. The
consolidation increased the average size of the state enterprises from
16,000 acres to 34,600 acres of farmland. The enterprises comprised
about 3,000 state farms on an area of over 5 million acres. Romanian
sources reported that the reorganization was intended to bring
management closer to production, to ensure improvement in all aspects of
farm operation, to intensify concentration and specialization of
production, and gradually to attain agro-industrial integration.
In official terminology, state agricultural enterprises will operate on
the principle of economic self-administration. The enterprises will be
responsible for their subordinate farms and will supervise operations
according to the principle of internal economic administration. Briefly,
this means that the agricultural enterprises and the farms must be
financially self-sustaining, that directors of enterprises and farms are
accorded a certain measure of discretion in planning and organizing
production and in the use of resources, and that financial rewards
beyond the normal pay accrue to each farm's managerial personnel and
workers in accordance with the farm's own performance, regardless of the
results obtained by other farms within the enterprise or by the parent
enterprise itself.
Individual state farms, nevertheless, have no juridical status or bank
accounts, nor may they enter into direct relation with other economic
entities outside the state agricultural enterprise of which they are a
part. In large measure, they remain subject to the direction of the
enterprise management. Information on the division of authority between
the agricultural enterprises and the Department of State Agriculture in
the ministry is not available. Complaints have been voiced in the
Romanian press about unwarranted interference by higher authorities in
the management of both the farms and the agricultural enterprises.
Workers on state farms and other state agricultural units are salaried
employees of the state, entitled to paid annual vacations, social
security and medical assistance, allocations for children, age or
disability pensions, and various other benefits provided by law for
employees of state enterprises. During slack periods, workers may be
allowed up to 120 days of unpaid vacation per year, without losing
seniority or other rights.
State farms are the best endowed agricultural units in the country.
Although they included only about 17 percent of the arable land in 1969,
they possessed almost 28 percent of the tractors, 24 percent of the
grain combines, and similar proportions of other major types of farm
machinery. Moreover, they received more than 37 percent of the chemical
fertilizers delivered to agriculture and farmed almost 33 percent of the
irrigated land. As a consequence, per-acre yields on state farms have
been generally higher than yields on collective farms.
Agricultural Mechanization Enterprises
The bulk of the mechanized operations on collective farms has been
performed for payment in cash and in kind by specialized state
enterprises for the mechanization of agriculture, which control a large
share of the country's farm machinery and tractors. This policy has
provided the state with an added lever of control over the farms; it was
used in the past to extract a substantial volume of farm produce for the
state through payments in kind for services rendered. For political
reasons, and also because of the weak financial position of many
collective farms, the government has not followed the example of other
Eastern European states that disbanded their machine-tractor stations
and sold the equipment to the farms.
In 1969 the agricultural mechanization enterprises controlled 70 percent
of the available farm tractor power and an even larger share of the
tractor-drawn and self-propelled farm machinery. State farms owned
virtually all the balance. Collective farms, which cultivated 75 percent
of the arable land, possessed only 1.6 percent of the tractor power and
a still smaller proportion of major farm machinery items.
As of January 1, 1971, the system of agricultural mechanization
enterprises was reorganized with a view to improving the quality of
their operations. Forty enterprises were established throughout the
country--one in each of the thirty-nine counties and one in the
Bucharest area--with 772 subordinate stations to service an equal number
of farm associations and about 4,500 sections to work with individual
collective farms. The main stated task of the mechanization sections is
to introduce and expand the mechanization of plant and animal production
on the farms.
To accomplish the task, each mechanization section is to coordinate the
use of its own equipment with that belonging to the collective. Within
the framework of this cooperation, the state mechanization enterprises
were made increasingly responsible for the agricultural production
process. The planning of mechanized farm operations, the allocation of
equipment for specific purposes, and the timing and supervision of all
operations are joint responsibilities of the section chief and the
farm's chief engineer. Close cooperation and a smooth working
relationship between them is therefore needed for effective performance.
Mechanized work on farms is carried on by permanent teams composed of
agricultural mechanics and collective farm members. They take over
assigned areas in all sectors of the farm and are in charge of all
relevant operations until the crops have been stored. In slack period
the mechanization sections work outside the cooperative farms in order
to utilize more fully their manpower and equipment.
The reorganization of the agricultural mechanization enterprises was
accompanied by a change in the system of pay for mechanics and
maintenance men to provide for greater incentives. For work done on the
farms, these workers receive 80 percent of their annual salary, and the
remainder is paid at the end of the year, in whole or in part, depending
upon the degree to which the production plans of the farm on which they
work are fulfilled. Provision was also made for bonus payments in the
event of over-fulfillment of production plans. The shift in wage policy
was accompanied by a raise in the rates of pay for mechanics,
maintenance men, and personnel operating the equipment in the field on
a piecework basis. This measure increases the burden on the already
strained budgets of many collective farms.
FARM LABOR
The agricultural labor force presents a paradox of substantial
underemployment associated with widespread labor shortages, particularly
of more productive, skilled personnel; the shortages are especially
prevalent during the planting and harvesting seasons. This phenomenon is
an outgrowth primarily of a progressive qualitative deterioration of the
agricultural manpower pool, owing to a continuing transfer of
predominantly young male workers into nonagricultural occupations.
Maldistribution of the labor force and poor management of the available
manpower resources have been important contributing factors. The
outmigration from agriculture has been spurred by a wide disparity in
urban and rural incomes and by the relatively inferior living conditions
on the farms. At the beginning of the 1970s the average income of
farmworkers was only half as high as that of industrial workers.
Only fragmentary information relating to the farm labor force has been
published in official statistics. Agricultural employment in 1969
constituted 51 percent of total employment, compared with 65.4 percent
in 1960 and 74.1 percent in 1950. Published absolute figures bear only
on employment by the state; in 1969 the state employed 431,200 persons,
including 290,000 on state farms and 93,500 in agricultural
mechanization enterprises. Data published in connection with a
conference held by the Romanian Academy of Social and Political
Sciences, however, implied that total agricultural employment in 1968
amounted to 5.2 million persons, including 4.3 million able-bodied
collective farm members. The proportion of women in the collective farm
labor force was reported to be 57.5 percent in 1966; the proportion was
much larger in highly developed industrial zones. More than 70 percent
of the collective farm workers, but only about 10 to 15 percent of the
workers on state farms, were engaged in crop production.
Not all the collective farm members participate in the work of the
collective. Some are permanently employed in nonagricultural branches of
the economy. Others--as many as 25 percent of all farmers in 1969--work
as day laborers in industry and construction, on state farms, and in
other occupations. Housewives with small children and wives of salaried
farm employees also take no part in the collective work. Members who do
participate generally work only a portion of the year because there is
not sufficient work for them to be fully occupied. In the years 1967 to
1969, these members, on the average, contributed only from 139 to 142
man-days per year. In 1968, for example, 22 percent of all collective
farmers put in not more than forty man-days, and 55 percent of the
farmers worked fewer than 120 days. Many farmers work only the minimum
number of days required to keep their personal plots. There are wide
variations in the degree of labor participation between geographic
regions, between individual farms, and among production sectors of a
single farm. At the beginning of the decade of the 1970s about 40
percent of the income of collective farm families was derived from
nonagricultural pursuits.
Underemployment in agriculture is expected to continue at least
throughout the 1970s. Industry, though growing very rapidly, will not be
able to absorb any significant numbers of farmworkers because of the
government's emphasis on mechanization and automation of production. In
the 1971-75 period industrial manpower requirements will be met almost
entirely through natural population increase. Relieving agricultural
underemployment through an expansion of the services sector is not being
given serious consideration on the grounds that "no further expansion of
this sector can be undertaken at the expense of achieving a high level
of productivity in the branches of material production and hence in
agriculture, too."
Raising the low productivity level of collective farm labor through
greater capital inputs, and thereby increasing the incomes of members,
presents a difficult problem not only because of a shortage of
investment funds but also because the magnitude of the collective farm
labor cannot be adjusted to the needs of production, as in the case of
state farms; it is determined by the number of families living on the
farm. The collective farm cannot limit the number of members who may
participate in the work. Each member has the right and, at the same
time, the duty to participate in the work performed for the collective,
and the collective has the duty to provide equal opportunities for all
its members to work and to earn adequate incomes; yet modernization of
production necessarily brings with it an ever smaller need for manpower.
A solution of the farm manpower problem was not in sight by late 1971.
There was general agreement among Romanian economists concerned with the
matter about a need to improve the utilization of the available labor
resources, to increase farm incomes and, above all, to stop the
migration of young people from villages to towns. No concrete program
for attaining these ends, however, emerged from a national conference on
farm labor held in mid-1970. Proposals advanced by a number of
economists to expand industrial activities in the villages,
particularly cottage industries and the processing of farm products,
were questioned by others who feared that these activities would tend to
drain some of the remaining productive elements from the collective farm
labor force.
As expressed by one of the conferees, the search was on for a hybrid
solution that would ensure full employment of the redundant labor force
despite the process of farm modernization--a policy that inevitably
leads to the maintenance of low earnings on many farms because the
available work must be spread among an excessive number of members. In
this context, foreign observers adopted a wait-and-see attitude toward
the changes in collective farm organization and in the method of payment
to farmers introduced in January 1971 (see Organization, this ch.). They
nevertheless expressed doubt about the ultimate efficacy of these
measures because the income of farmers would still remain far below that
of industrial workers.
INVESTMENT AND CREDIT
Investment
Investment in agriculture has been rising steadily, reaching an annual
volume of almost 13 billion lei in 1970. The share of agriculture in
total investment, however, declined from 19.5 percent in the 1961-65
period to 15.8 percent in the years 1966 through 1969. In relation to
industrial investment during the same periods, investment in agriculture
declined from 40 to 30 percent. Under the Five-Year Plan (1971-75),
agriculture is to receive investments of at least 100 billion lei--an
amount that is twice as large as the actual investment in the years 1966
through 1970 and that represents a somewhat larger share of total
investment than was allocated to agriculture in that period.
No information is readily available on the proportion of the total
investment used for the replacement of wornout assets and for the
expansion of productive facilities. In the 1966-69 period replacement
capital constituted about 30 percent of investments; in 1969 alone the
proportion was as high as 46 percent.
The largest part--and a rising proportion--of the agricultural
investment has been financed by the state; collective farms supplied the
balance out of their own income. The share of state funds in the total
agricultural investment increased steadily from about 66 percent in 1963
to 80 percent in 1969; this proportion is to be maintained during the
Five-Year Plan (1971-75). Investment in collective farms has also been
increasingly financed by the state through long-term credits; the share
of government credits rose from 13 percent in 1965 to 35 percent in
1969. Investment out of the collectives' own funds remained stable
during this period, at from 2.2 billion lei to 2.4 billion lei per year.
State farms have received a disproportionate amount of investment--38
percent in the 1965-69 period, as against 34 percent for collective
farms. The investment share of collective farms during this period
declined from about 38 to 30 percent of the total. On the basis of
farmland acreage, investment in collective farms in 1969 amounted to
only 18 percent of the funds invested in state farms. If the state
investment in agricultural mechanization enterprises is included as
investment for the benefit of the collective farms, the ratio of
collective to state farm investment per acre was still only 25 percent.
Collective farm statutes require the farms to devote from 18 to 25
percent of their annual gross income to investment. Some Romanian
economists consider net income to be a more equitable base; under such a
system more of the farms' income would remain for distribution to
members. In calculating gross income, amortization of fixed assets is
generally not included as an expense, which further raises the base used
for the computation of the compulsory investment fund. An official of
the Agricultural Bank reported that, in the last few years of the 1960s,
one-fourth of all collective farms set aside for investment up to 10
percent more than the maximum legal requirement.
Only partial information is available on the use of investment funds.
Roughly 40 percent of the investment in the 1962-69 period was devoted
to construction and assembly work, and 33 percent was used to increase
farm mechanization. It has not been made clear whether land improvement
and irrigation are included in construction, but it seems likely that
this is the case. Substantial funds were also invested in the expansion
of orchards, vineyards, and livestock. Although significant advances
were made in most of these areas, the level of farm mechanization and of
irrigation remained low. In 1969 the equivalent of one fifteen-horsepower
tractor was available for every 136 acres of arable land, and irrigated
acreage constituted 6 percent of the arable area. The use of fertilizers
lagged by comparison with other Eastern European countries.
Credit
Farm credit has been provided by the government through the Agricultural
Bank, which was reconstituted as the Bank for Agriculture and the Food
Industry in May 1971. Available information on the credit operations of
the bank is limited to a few summary data on credits to collective
farms. Information on the financing of state farms is lacking.
As expressed by the bank's president, long-term credits for investment
and short-term credits for production needs have been used by the state
as levers for the economic and organizational development and for the
consolidation of collective farms. Long-term credits granted during the
1962-69 period amounted to 6.4 billion lei, or an average of 800 million
lei per year. During the same period the farms received about 30 billion
lei in short-term production credits, or about 3.75 billion lei per
year. The annual volume of investment credits increased sharply after
1967; it was reported to have reached 1.8 billion lei in 1970 and to
have been planned at more than 2 billion lei for 1971. A rise was also
reported in the yearly volume of production credit.
Investment credits generally carry an annual 3-percent interest charge,
but the interest rate may be reduced to 2 percent for economically
weaker farms. Comparable information on production credit is not
available, except for an official statement that a large part of it has
been granted free of interest.
Postponement of scheduled long-term credit repayments may be authorized
by the bank with the approval of the Ministry of Finance for periods of
up to one year in the case of collective farms that are unable to meet
the due date for reasons beyond their control, such as a crop failure.
At the same time the bank may discontinue credits or demand repayment
before the due date in the event that borrowed funds are improperly or
inefficiently used. Penalties are also provided for short-term borrowers
who fail to respect contractual obligations. As a measure of assistance
to poor cooperatives, the repayment of loans in the amount of 1.15
billion lei, contracted before 1968 and due in 1972, was remitted by
decision of the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party in
December 1971.
The distribution of long-term credits to collective farms among
different types of investment projects changed significantly during the
1960s. In 1962 and 1963 more than half the credits were granted for the
expansion of livestock production, and one-fourth of the credits were
devoted to the construction of farm buildings. In the last two years of
the decade, however, only 5 percent and 3 percent of the credits,
respectively, were earmarked for these purposes. Emphasis shifted in the
mid-1960s to land improvement, the extension of orchards and vineyards,
and vegetable production. In the 1967-69 period 83 percent of the
investment credits were used for these projects. A lack of significant
progress in the livestock production of collective farms, despite the
heavy investment, was the main reason for the drastic reduction in
credits to this farm sector.
In mid-1971 the bank was authorized to grant credits to private farmers
and to individual members of collective farms for periods of up to five
years at an annual interest rate of 3 percent. These credits may be used
to purchase for breeding and production purposes a limited number of
cattle, sheep, bee colonies with hives, and fruit tree seedlings for
orchards up to 7.4 acres in size. Credits may be granted up to 70
percent of the purchase value of these items. To ensure repayment of the
loans, recipients must conclude contracts with state procurement
agencies or collective farms for the sale of their products.
Procedures for granting credits to collective farms were tightened in
1969 in a move to ensure a more effective use of borrowed funds and the
timely repayment of outstanding debts. Under the new regulations,
credits may be granted only for investment projects and production
expenditures that guarantee the attainment of planned returns and
unconditionally ensure loan repayment on the due date. The principal
criteria for granting long-term credits are the need for, and the
economic effectiveness of, the investment projects and the outlook for
completing the projects within prescribed time limits. Economic
effectiveness is analyzed in terms of production growth, increase in
output per acre or per head of livestock, and rise in labor productivity
and revenues.
Despite increasingly close supervision by the bank of its borrowers'
activities, the effectiveness of investment credits in many instances
has not measured up to expectations. Inadequate project analysis,
construction delays, cost overruns, dissipation of funds, program
changes that made partially or fully completed projects obsolete, and
various other shortcomings have been cited by bank officials as the
major reasons for this situation. As a means of resolving the problems,
the officials have stressed the need for more profound project
evaluation, greater stringency in granting loans, and increased firmness
in the supervision of borrowers. They have also emphasized the criterion
of ability to repay as being one of basic importance.
PRODUCTION
Total Farm Output
Official statistics on total farm output are limited to a percentage
distribution of the output between crop and livestock production. In the
1965-69 period, for which comparable data are available, crop production
accounted for 62 to 63 percent of output; and livestock production, for
the remaining 37 to 38 percent. This ratio is reported to have prevailed
throughout the 1950-70 period, even though the government has
consistently sought to raise the contribution of the livestock sector to
total output. An increase in the proportion of livestock products to
40.6 percent in 1970, reported by another source, was attributable
mainly to the damage sustained by crops from the spring flood in that
year.
Total gross agricultural output was unofficially reported to have
reached 72.4 billion lei in 1969 and to have fallen to 68.7 billion lei
in 1970 as a result of disastrous spring floods. The 1969 output volume,
equal to that of 1967, represented the highest level attained through
1970. According to official index data, farm output in 1967 and in 1969
was 31 percent larger than it had been in 1960; the 1970 output was only
24 percent larger. These figures are equivalent to annual growth rates
of 3.9 percent for the 1960-67 period and 2.2 percent for the years 1969
through 1970.
Net farm output increased much more slowly because the cost of material
outlays per unit of output was steadily rising. In the 1963-68 period
the increase in material costs amounted to 33 percent.
The growth of farm output during the 1960s was well below the planned
levels of 70 to 80 percent for the years 1960 through 1965 and 26 to 32
percent for the 1966-70 period. Instead of more than doubling, output
increased by barely one-fourth. Unfavorable weather conditions during
some of the years were only partly responsible for the nonfulfillment of
the agricultural output plans. Other major factors included the
government's failure to provide the planned volume of inputs and an
apathetic attitude on the part of farmers owing to inadequate
incentives.
The shortfall in fertilizer deliveries during the 1966-70 period alone
amounted to 1.3 million tons of nutrients, or one-third of the planned
tonnage. For the decade as a whole, the shortfall approached 2 million
tons. Deliveries of tractors and farm machinery also lagged behind
schedule. Although an area of almost 2 million acres was to be irrigated
by 1965 and, under revised plans, an acreage of from 1.6 million to 1.7
million acres by 1970, only 550,000 acres had been actually irrigated by
1965 and 1.45 million acres by 1969. A careful and sympathetic Western
student of Romanian economy concluded that the production targets for
1965 could not have been achieved even if all the planned inputs had
been provided on schedule.
In the view of some Western observers, an attitude of indifference on
the part of farmers, based on the inadequacy of returns from farming,
particularly on the collective farms, was an important contributing
cause for the failure of agriculture to realize its growth potential.
The real income of farmers was scheduled to rise by 20 to 25 percent
during the 1966-70 period; the official announcement of the plan
results, however, merely noted an increase in income, without citing any
figure--a clear indication that the target was missed by a wide margin.
The negative effects of the disparity in incomes on the collective
farmers' sense of responsibility and, hence, on agricultural production
were officially recognized. This recognition led to a revision of the
system of compensation for collective farm work and to a reduction of
farm taxes in early 1971 but did not significantly alter the position of
agriculture within the economy (see Organization, this ch.). The
possibility of alleviating the situation by raising farm incomes through
a general increase in farm prices was rejected on the grounds that such
an increase, without a corresponding rise in productivity per worker and
per acre, would constitute a redistribution of national income
incompatible with the best interests of the economy.
Crop Production and Yields
Production of major crops and of fruits was larger during the 1960s than
it had been in the preceding decade. The greatest advances were made in
the output of industrial and fodder crops, and the smallest were in
potato and vegetable production (see table 10). In large measure, the
rise in output was achieved through greater yields per acre, owing to an
increased use of fertilizers; the introduction of improved varieties;
and some improvement in crop production methods, particularly on state
farms. Crop yields, nevertheless, remained among the lowest in Eastern
Europe.
Livestock and Livestock Products
Livestock numbers increased slowly from 1961 to 1970 but, except for
poultry, were generally lower at the end of that period than the peak
levels reached for the different types between 1965 and 1968. From 1961
to 1965 the number of cows declined but increased steadily thereafter,
without, however, fully regaining the level of 1961.
Development of the livestock economy has been hampered by an inadequate
feed base, poor quality of livestock and livestock breeding, and
inefficient production methods. Significant improvements in the
livestock sector are planned for the 1971-75 period and beyond to 1980.
Although livestock production failed to increase as a proportion of the
total farm output, the volume of livestock products, nevertheless, rose
significantly during the 1960s (see table 11). Compared with the average
annual outputs of individual products attained in the 1962-65 period,
increases in average annual production for the years 1966 through 1969
ranged from 18 percent for wool to 24 percent for meat.
_Table 10. Production of Major Crops in Romania, Selected Years,
1960-69_ (in thousand metric tons)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Crop 1960 1963 1966 1967 1968 1969
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Grain[1]
Wheat 3,450 3,799 5,065 5,820 4,848 4,349
Corn 5,531 6,023 8,022 6,858 7,105 7,676
Other 845 614 812 834 817 799
----- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
Total 9,826 10,436 13,899 13,512 12,770 12,824
Oilseeds
Sunflower 522 506 671 720 730 747
Other 93 54 63 61 41 59
----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Total 615 560 734 781 771 806
Sugar beets 3,399 2,298 4,368 3,830 3,936 3,783
Tobacco 16 40 40 35 33 24
Potatoes 3,009 2,692 3,352 3,096 3,707 2,165
Vegetables 1,831 1,702 2,177 2,000 2,296 1,963
Fodder Crops
Hay 2,105 1,872 3,182 3,223 2,472 3,268
Green feed 1,222 2,922 4,749 4,380 3,995 3,885
Silage[2] 4,601 5,296 3,538 2,830 3,728 3,491
Root crops 276 293 371 269 302 420
----- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
Total 8,204 10,383 11,840 10,702 10,497 11,064
Fruits 829 1,048 1,390 1,206 1,054 1,677
Grapes 874 937 954 910 1,167 1,189
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Grain production in 1971 was unofficially reported to have reached
about 14.5 million metric tons.
2. Roughly 90 percent corn.
Source: Adapted from _Anuarul Statistic al Republicii Socialiste
Romania, 1970_ (Statistical Yearbook of the Socialist Republic of
Romania, 1970), Bucharest, 1970, pp. 312 315.
_Table 11. Output of Livestock Products in Romania, Selected Years
1960-69_
------------------------------------------------------
Meat[1] Milk[2] Eggs[3] Wool[4]
------------------------------------------------------
1960 969 856,472 2,355 21,850
1965 1,116 859,061 2,630 25,410
1966 1,265 987,531 2,814 26,072
1967 1,356 1,089,320 3,011 28,626
1968 1,297 1,012,628 3,113 30,583
1969 1,271 992,762 3,315 30,752
-----------------------------------------------------
1: Thousand metric tons live weight.
2: Cow, goat, and buffalo in thousand gallons.
3: In millions.
4: In metric tons.
Source: Adapted from _Anuarul Statistic al Republicii Socialiste
Romania, 1970_ (Statistical Yearbook of the Socialist Republic of
Romania, 1970), Bucharest, 1970, pp. 430 431.
Data on the contribution of the different types of farms to the total
farm output are lacking, but detailed figures are available for
individual products. The most noteworthy aspect of these data is the
light that they shed on the importance of the collective farmers'
personal plots and of the private sector in the production of the higher
valued farm products. On their small personal plots, the collective
farmers in 1969 produced roughly one-third of the wool, vegetables, and
potatoes; two-fifths of the meat, milk, and fruit; and three-fifths of
the eggs (see table 12). Together with the small number of private
farms, they accounted for 35 to 80 percent of the output of these items.
Foreign observers have interpreted this phenomenon as clear evidence of
the inadequacy of incentives for work on state and collective farms.
Exports
Substantial quantities of farm products have been exported in raw and
processed form. In the 1965-69 period exports of grain, fruits,
vegetables, and eggs ranged from 10 to 13 percent of output. Exports of
wool reached almost two-thirds of the total production volume. A wide
range of other vegetable and livestock products were also exported,
including pulses; sugar; sunflower seeds and oil; live cattle; fresh,
frozen, and canned meat; butter; wine; and tobacco (see ch. 14).
_Table 12. Crop Production and Livestock Products in Romania, by Type of
Farm, 1969_ (in percent)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
State
Product Agricultural State Collective Personal Private
Units Farms[1] Farms Plots Farms
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grains 24.5 23.6 63.4 9.0 3.1
Fiber plants 5.2 4.7 92.1 0.6 2.1
Oilseeds 29.2 28.9 70.8 ---[2] ---[2]
Sugar beets 0.4 0.3 99.6 0 0
Tobacco 0.2 0 99.8 0 0
Potatoes 7.1 6.5 39.1 36.4 17.4
Vegetables 11.6 10.6 52.9 29.6 5.9
Perennials for hay 30.2 28.3 64.7 3.2 1.9
Annuals for hay 23.5 19.4 58.9 13.9 3.7
Annuals for green
feed 38.0 35.6 60.1 1.6 0.3
Fodder roots 53.8 50.9 39.8 4.8 1.6
Silage crops 44.5 42.8 55.4 0.1 0
Fruits 11.7 9.9 19.3 40.9 28.1
Meat 27.0 24.2 21.2 39.3 12.5
Milk 16.7 16.0 28.2 38.2 16.9
Eggs 17.0 16.7 3.2 60.0 19.8
Wool 17.7 16.8 38.4 33.1 10.8
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Breakdown included within state agricultural units.
2. Less than 0.1 percent.
Source: Adapted from _Anuarul Statistic al Republicii Socialiste
Romania, 1970_ (Statistical Yearbook of the Socialist Republic of
Romania, 1970), Bucharest, 1970, pp. 329-345, 406, 430-431.
CHAPTER 16
INDUSTRY
Stimulated by a high rate of investment and an infusion of Western
technology, industry has expanded at a rapid rate. A qualitatively
inadequate labor force, poor organization, and insufficiently
experienced management personnel, however, have not been able to attain
levels of efficiency and quality acceptable to the Romanian Communist
Party and the government. Lowering the cost of production and improving
quality are considered to be essential prerequisites for expanding
exports, which are needed to pay for imports of materials and equipment.
Various measures introduced since 1967 have not achieved the
government's objectives. Economic plans for the 1971-75 period call for
raising productivity through greater specialization of production and
better utilization of plants and materials. To this end, several new
economic laws were passed in December 1971, the contents of which were
not yet known in early 1972.
NATURAL RESOURCES
Though widely varied, the country's mineral and agricultural resources
are generally inadequate to maintain the current and planned levels of
industrial production and exports. Natural gas is a major exception.
Formerly plentiful supplies of crude oil are falling off, and the
likelihood of discovering new deposits is considered poor by oil
industry officials. The heavy dependence on outside sources of raw
materials led the government to provide economic and technical
assistance to several developing countries for the exploitation of their
mineral resources in return for shipments of mined products. This
dependence has also been a major determinant of the country's political
relations with other members of the Council for Mutual Economic
Assistance (COMECON), particularly the Soviet Union, and with
noncommunist industrial nations of the West (see ch. 10).
Minerals and Metals
Information on the extent of most mineral reserves is unavailable. A
delegation of Western petroleum experts who surveyed the petroleum
industry at the end of 1970 made a tentative estimate that oil reserves
would be exhausted in roughly eleven years at the current annual
production rate of about 13 million tons. With a view to ensuring
long-term crude oil supplies for the planned expansion of the domestic
petroleum refining and petrochemical industries, the government has
entered into economic cooperation agreements with several small
petroleum-producing countries. The government has also discussed the
possibility for joint exploration of offshore petroleum deposits in the
Black Sea and elsewhere in the world with oil interests of various
countries. In the meantime the government has been importing crude oil
from Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Libya in exchange for industrial machinery
and equipment. Oil imports from these countries in 1970 amounted to 2.1
million tons.
The major natural gas deposits that were exploited in 1970 are located
in the Transylvanian basin and outside the Carpathian arc (see ch. 3).
According to Romanian officials, the annual addition to reserves has
been double the volume of annual production. Gas output has expanded
steadily from about 365 billion cubic feet in 1960 to 845 billion cubic
feet in 1969. Natural gas has been used for electric power production in
thermal plants, for space heating, and as a raw material for the
chemical industry. Less than 1 percent has been exported through a
pipeline to Hungary.
Western observers believe that imports of natural gas from the Soviet
Union may be initiated in the early 1970s. This belief is based on
information that a gas pipeline to be built from the Soviet Union to
Bulgaria will pass through eastern Romania, fairly close to the major
port of Constanta, which is far removed from domestic sources of gas.
Negotiations to this effect are not known to have taken place.
Deposits of coal are small and, with few exceptions, low grade. Known
reserves in 1970 were reported to include less than 1 billion tons of
bituminous and anthracite coal and 3.5 billion tons of lignite. Fields
at Petrosani in the Jiu Valley of the southern Transylvania Alps contain
98 percent of the bituminous coal reserves; 90 percent of the lignite
reserves are located in Oltenia, in the southwestern part of the
country. Open pit mining is possible in much of the lignite area.
In order to conserve crude oil and natural gas, production of coal and
lignite has been substantially increased and is scheduled to rise
rapidly in the 1971-75 period. From 1950 to 1970 total coal output
increased at an annual rate of 9.2 percent, including a growth of more
than 15 percent per year in lignite output. By 1975 coal output is to
reach from 37 million to 38.5 million tons, which corresponds to a
planned annual increase of about 10.6 percent from the level of 22.8
million tons mined in 1970. The production of lignite is scheduled to
advance more rapidly than that of bituminous and anthracite coal.
Two-thirds of the mined coal tonnage with 56 percent of its caloric
content was used in 1970 to fuel electric power plants. Only 1.3 million
tons were usable in the manufacture of coke, in large part as an
admixture to imported coking coals of superior quality. The severe and
growing shortage of domestic coke supplies poses a major obstacle to the
expansion of the iron and steel industry. In 1969 it was necessary to
import 2.1 million tons of metallurgical coke and 633,000 tons of coking
coal.
Workable deposits of iron ore are situated in the vicinity of Resita and
Hunedoara in the southwest. Other known deposits, particularly those at
Ruschita and Lueta, have a low metal content and harmful radioactive
admixtures. Suitable mining and processing methods to handle these ores
have not been developed and are not believed to be economically
feasible. Domestic mines provided about 32 percent of requirements in
1965 but only 17 percent in 1970; by 1975 the importance of native iron
ores will have further declined. Imports of iron ores almost quadrupled
in the 1960s and reached a volume of 3 million tons in 1969. Most of the
imports came from the Soviet Union.
Information on basic nonferrous ore reserves is tenuous and, in part,
conflicting. The tenor of published reports points to a scarcity of
reserves, low metal content of ores, and difficulties in ore processing.
The great majority of existing mines are said to have only enough
reserves left for a few years' production. Consideration has been given
to the recovery of nonferrous metals from industrial wastes, such as
blast furnace slag and metallurgical dross. For the time being, domestic
reserves appear adequate to cover the needs of lead and zinc production
and a portion of the requirements for smelting copper and aluminum. The
bulk of bauxite and alumina and a substantial quantity of copper must be
imported.
Romania is reported to be extracting small amounts of gold and silver.
It is also mining uranium ore, which has been exported to the Soviet
Union in exchange for isotopes and enriched uranium for use in
experimental nuclear installations.
Timber
The country's 6 million acres of forests constitute a valuable source of
raw material. Information on the volume of the annual tree harvests has
not been published. Substantial quantities of lumber and, increasingly,
of lumber products and furniture have been exported, although at the
expense of domestic consumption.
In a program to conserve and rebuild this important resource, which was
severely overexploited during World War II, a strict limitation was
placed in the early 1950s on the annual volume of timber cut. A further
reduction in the amount of timber felling was decreed for the 1971-75
period. Through a more efficient utilization of the timber and the
expansion of wood processing, including the manufacture of plywood,
chipboard, and furniture, the value of the output, nevertheless,
increased substantially. Exports of lumber and wood products accounted
for 13.4 percent of total exports in 1970, but this ratio is scheduled
to decline to 6 percent in 1975, not because of a reduction in the
volume of these exports but as a result of a planned expansion of other
industrial and food product exports.
ELECTRIC POWER
Electrical power development has proceeded at a rapid pace. The
installed generating capacity of 7.3 million kilowatts in 1970 was four
times larger than the capacity available a decade earlier. Eighty-four
percent of the installed capacity in 1970 was in thermal power plants,
and the remaining 16 percent, in hydroelectric stations. Hydroelectric
capacity development had been relatively more rapid, with a sixfold
increase during the decade.
The production of electrical energy increased even faster than installed
capacity because newly built plants operated at greater efficiency. The
output of 35 billion kilowatt-hours in 1970 was 4.6 times greater than
output in 1960. Power output is scheduled to reach 58 billion to 60.8
billion kilowatt-hours in 1975. These figures imply an average annual
increase in power production of 10.5 to 11.7 percent, compared with an
average increase of 16.5 percent in the 1960-70 period. Thermal power
plants accounted for 92 percent of the output in 1970, and hydroelectric
stations, for only 8 percent. Output per unit of thermal capacity was
more than double that of hydroelectric generators. The total
hydroelectric power potential that could be economically developed has
been estimated at 24 billion kilowatt-hours per year.
The Romanian power grid is connected to the power grids of Bulgaria,
Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. This tie-in makes possible a more
efficient use of available power through mutual exchanges to equalize
the load and provides some insurance in the event of regional power
failures.
Almost two-thirds of the thermal energy output in 1970 was based on
natural gas fuel, and one-third, on coal--mostly coal of very low
quality. Less than 3 percent of the fuel used was accounted for by oil.
The proportion of natural gas in the fuel balance was roughly the same
as in 1960 but ten percentage points lower than in 1965. The share of
coal, particularly of low-grade coal, has been rising, in line with the
government's policy of conserving natural gas for use in the
petrochemical industry.
In 1971 construction was virtually completed of a huge hydroelectric
station at the Iron Gate on the Danube River, built jointly with
Yugoslavia and equipped, in part, with turbines made in the Soviet
Union. The station's twelve turbines have a total capacity of 2.1
million kilowatts and are planned to produce about 11 billion
kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. The output is to be evenly
divided between the two participating countries. Nine of the twelve
turbines were reported to have been in operation in September, and six
were reported to have been connected to the Romanian national power grid
in November. Completion of the Romanian portion of the project almost
doubled the country's hydroelectric capacity and increased its power
output potential by about 15 percent.
A second, much smaller, hydroelectric station with a capacity of 400,000
kilowatts and a planned output of 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours per year is
to be built jointly with Yugoslavia on the Danube River below the Iron
Gate plant. Plans for this station were to be initialed by the
negotiators before the end of 1971, but information on the dates for the
start and completion of construction is not available. Plans for the
construction of yet another power station on the Danube River, as a
joint venture with Bulgaria in the Cernavoda-Silistra area, were
announced in the fall of 1971. This station is to have a capacity of
760,000 kilowatts and an annual output of about 3.8 billion
kilowatt-hours. Construction is apparently scheduled to begin in 1975.
An agreement with the Soviet Union to build a 440,000-kilowatt nuclear
power station, using a Soviet reactor, was signed in May 1970.
Construction of the plant is to begin in 1972, and completion is
scheduled for 1978. The agreement culminated extensive negotiations with
the Soviet Union and several noncommunist countries. The ultimate choice
is believed by Western observers to have been dictated primarily by
political considerations.
Initial plans for nuclear power plants called for an installed capacity
of 1 million kilowatts by 1975 and 2.4 million kilowatts by 1980.
Construction was to begin in the 1966-70 period, but this target was not
met. A subsequently revised plan for the 1971-80 period envisaged the
construction of nuclear plants with a total capacity of from 1.8 million
to 2.4 million kilowatts. Construction of the plants was to begin
between 1971 and 1975, and their commissioning was to take place in the
1976-80 period. No information has been made public on the contemplated
source or sources of the equipment for these plants, other than the
agreed-upon Soviet unit. Romania must rely on foreign technical
assistance for its nuclear energy program.
ORGANIZATION
In 1969 industry, excluding construction and small private artisan
shops, comprised 1,151 enterprises employing almost 2 million persons.
Seventy percent of the enterprises, which included 92 percent of the
employed persons, were owned and operated by the state, and the
remaining were run by collectives, including collective farms. State
industry produced 95.7 percent of the gross output; collective
enterprises contributed 4.1 percent; and private establishments
accounted for only 0.2 percent of total production.
Seventy percent of the state industrial enterprises, which included 89
percent of the persons employed by the state, were administered by
central authorities; the remaining were subject to the jurisdiction of
local government bodies. Collective enterprises are subject to
governmental controls; their activities are covered by the annual and
five-year economic plans, and many of the enterprises act as suppliers
of tools, spare parts, and miscellaneous equipment to state enterprises
on a contractual basis. Their main function, however, is to provide
consumer goods and services for the population.
Centrally administered enterprises include the largest and most
important industrial units. A consolidation of these enterprises in 1969
reduced their number by half and correspondingly increased their average
size. Employment per enterprise in 1969 averaged 2,860 persons; it
ranged from 800 persons in printing to more than 8,000 persons in the
leather and footwear industry. Individual enterprises may be composed of
more than one plant, which accounts, in part, for the large number of
workers. Over 60 percent of the enterprises under central government
administration had more than 1,000 workers each, and almost 27 percent
employed more than 3,000 workers per enterprise.
Enterprises under local government jurisdiction were generally
smaller--95 percent of these employed from 200 to 2,000 workers
each--but even in this group there were some enterprises with more than
5,000 workers. Collective enterprises were still smaller--77 percent
employed no more than 500 workers per unit. One collective enterprise,
nevertheless, employed between 2,000 and 3,000 workers.
Employment in construction totaled 648,000 persons in 1969. Information
on the number and organization of construction enterprises is not
available.
The internal management structure of state enterprises has undergone a
transformation. By decision of the party's Central Committee in April
1968, amplified by another decision in May 1970, the principle of
collective management replaced that of one-man management in all
enterprises and state economic organizations. Management committees are
chaired by enterprise directors and consist of the following members:
the managerial personnel, appointed by the ministry; the chairmen of the
trade union, as legal representatives of the enterprise trade union
committees; the secretaries of the party committees and of the communist
youth organizations in the enterprises; and a number of employee
representatives.
The secretaries of the two party organizations were given full
membership in May 1970 in a move to strengthen the control by the party.
Before that date the secretaries of the party committees merely
participated in the discussions, and the secretaries of the communist
youth organizations played no role at all. County and municipal party
organs also provide direction for the management committees' work.
According to party decisions, the management committees are deliberative
organs with powers to make decisions concerning the conduct of the
technical, economic, and social activities of the enterprise. Two-thirds
of the membership constitutes a quorum, and decisions can be adopted by
a simple majority of those present. In cases of disagreement between the
committee chairman (the enterprise director) and a majority of the
management committee, the matter is submitted for resolution to the
higher administrative body.
A lack of legislation to legalize the institution of the management
committees and conflict of the new party directive with earlier
legislation that established the principle of one-man management
hampered the introduction of the new management system. No clear-cut
guidelines were provided for the scope of the management committees'
competence or the numerical strength of employee representation. The
function of the management committees was also undermined by higher
administrative echelons through continued imposition of detailed
directives concerning the work of the enterprises--contrary to the
announced party policy of loosening central controls. Confusion
prevailed about the relationships between management, management
committees, and higher economic bodies.
There is no evidence on the effectiveness of the supplemental party
decision of May 1970 in resolving the problems besetting the functioning
of the management committees. A new law on the organization and
management of state enterprises and institutions was passed by the
General Assembly toward the end of 1971, but information on the
provisions of that law was not available in early 1972.
Another new element in the management of enterprises is the general
assembly of employees, introduced in 1968 along with the management
committees in accordance with the principles of collective management
and socialist democracy. Adequate legislation to formalize the new
institution had not been passed by late 1971, but an appropriate
provision may have been included in the new law on industrial
organization.
As described by a high government official, the general assembly of
employees or, in the case of large enterprises, of employee
representatives is a forum that will assure effective participation by
workers and specialists in the organization and management of the
economy and in decisionmaking concerning the fulfillment of enterprise
plans. General assemblies are supposed to exercise control over the
activities of management committees. Their authority extends beyond the
discussion of problems and evaluation of performance to recommending and
adopting decisions.
General assemblies are convened twice a year. On these occasions the
enterprise management committee must present to the assembly reports on
the committee's activities, on the results of enterprise operations, and
on the fulfillment by the enterprise of its economic and social
obligations. Together with the trade union committee of the enterprise,
the management committee must also present to the assembly for
discussion and approval the draft of a new collective contract listing
mutual obligations of the management committee and of the employees.
Decisions reached by the general assembly are obligatory for the
management committee. Decisions on measures that require action by
higher authorities must be handled by the relevant bodies responsibly
and expeditiously.
Representatives of superior economic organs, including the ministries,
and of county and local party committees participate in the work of the
general assemblies of employees. The reason given for this participation
is the opportunity that it provides for the management to become more
familiar with problems of interest to the enterprise.
Available evidence indicates a wide variation among enterprises in the
degree of influence exercised by the general assemblies of employees.
Toward the end of 1971 some management committees were still reported to
be disregarding or downgrading general assembly proposals, but such
instances were said to be growing progressively fewer.
Industrial enterprises are grouped into combines, trusts, and, since
1969, so-called industrial centrals. The centrals were created in an
attempt to improve the organizational structure of industry, reduce
control by the ministries and other central government agencies, and
provide greater flexibility, in order to increase industrial
efficiency. A major task assigned to the centrals is to introduce
specialization of production.
Neither the organizational forms of the centrals nor their authority and
responsibility vis-à-vis the enterprises and ministries have been
clearly defined or legally established. The resultant uncertainty,
experimentation, and bureaucratic disharmony have created considerable
confusion in the administration of industry, which has been inimical to
the attainment of the efficiency goal. At the same time, a variety of
factors, including a shortage of investment funds, an inflexible price
structure, and the method of evaluating enterprise performance, have
militated against the expansion of specialization. Industry officials
believe that it may require from three to five years to resolve the
organizational problems posed by the creation of the centrals and that
many other problems will have to be solved before specialization can
become a reality.
Industrial combines, trusts, and centrals function under the
jurisdiction of industrial ministries, of which there were eleven at the
end of 1971 (see ch. 8). Industrial ministries have undergone an almost
continuous process of reorganization. New ministries have been created;
old ones, abolished; still others, amalgamated and split. Spheres of the
ministries' activities have been reshuffled, and their internal
structures have been modified--all in the interest of improving
socialist industrial organization and raising the efficiency of
production. One foreign observer remarked that, whenever something went
wrong in the economy, reorganization in one form or another was
undertaken in an effort to solve the problem through administrative
means.
LABOR
The average number of persons employed in industry in 1969 was
1,980,000, or about 40 percent of total employment excluding those
employed on collective farms. Industrial employment had increased by
725,000 persons in the 1960-69 period. Employment in construction grew
more rapidly--from 372,000 persons in 1960 to almost 648,000 in 1969. At
the end of 1969 women constituted 43 percent of employment in industry
and less than 9 percent in construction. In industry, the proportion of
women in blue-collar and white-collar jobs was about equal. In
construction, however, women occupied one-third of the white-collar
positions and only 5 percent of the blue-collar jobs.
A distribution of employment by industry branches is available only for
enterprises under the direct jurisdiction of the central government. Of
these, machine building and metalworking absorbed 27 percent of the
employed; fuels and metallurgy, 15 percent; forestry and woodworking,
15 percent; textile production, 12 percent; and chemicals and food
processing, 7 percent each. Several less important industry branches
accounted for another 11 percent of industrial employment, and an
unlisted residue of fifty enterprises employing almost 100,000 persons,
presumably constituting the defense industry, made up the balance of 6
percent.
The growth of employment in the 1960-69 period varied widely among the
different industry branches. Whereas the number of employed rose by 60
percent for centrally administered industry as a whole, it increased by
almost 2.4 times in the chemical branch, somewhat more than doubled in
the production of cellulose and paper, and grew by 80 percent in
nonferrous metallurgy and in machine building and metalworking. The
lowest increases in employment occurred in the production of fuels, in
ferrous metallurgy, and in the manufacture of glass and china. The
increases in employment did not necessarily correspond to the priority
ratings of the individual branches; high priority branches received
relatively much larger investment.
The labor force is numerically redundant but qualitatively inadequate
for the needs of modern industry. Despite the existence of labor
training programs, there is a shortage of skilled personnel at the
intermediate level, such as technicians and foremen. Few workers have
professional school training; most acquire their skills through short
courses or on-the-job training. The number of skilled workers is too
small to allow efficient two-shift operation of plants throughout most
of industry. The lack of adequate skills and the associated inept
handling and poor maintenance of imported sophisticated machinery have
been responsible for frequent breakdowns. The resultant work stoppages
and the under-utilization of available capacity have had a deleterious
effect on productivity.
Because of a high rate of investment and large-scale imports of advanced
Western technology and equipment, productivity per worker nevertheless
has been rising at a relatively rapid rate. According to official data,
productivity in industry increased by an annual average of 7.5 percent
in the 1960-69 period, but the increase in 1969 was less than 5 percent.
Official plans for the 1971-75 period call for an annual growth in
productivity of at least 7.3 percent. Western economists, however,
estimated the rise in productivity to have been only 5.6 percent per
year in the 1960-67 period, compared to an official figure of 8 percent.
Despite the impressive gains, productivity in industry remains low,
mainly because of the inadequate qualifications and work habits of the
labor force and the shortcomings of industrial organization and
management.
Industrial labor discipline has been a subject of continuing concern to
party and government. Both labor turnover and absenteeism have been
high. During the first nine months of 1969 almost 455,000 workers left
their jobs in centrally administered enterprises, in many instances
without the requisite official permission. During the same period
worktime losses from absenteeism amounted to about 12 million man-hours.
Abuse of the provision for leave without pay and loafing on the job have
also contributed significantly to losses of worktime. For centrally
administered industry as a whole, the loss of worktime from all causes,
including stoppages caused by deficiencies of the supply and
distribution system, amounted to almost 47 million man-hours in the
third quarter of 1969--the equivalent of about 74,400 workers.
Poor labor discipline was officially blamed on the failure of the
prevailing wage system to provide adequate work incentives. After some
experimentation in the food-processing industry during 1968 and 1969 a
new wage system was introduced throughout industry on March 1, 1970,
still on an experimental basis. Some of the changes brought about by the
highly complex new system included: a reduction in the spread between
wage rates in different industry sectors and between the upper and lower
limits within certain wage categories; the establishment of in-grade
wage differentials depending upon the personal achievement of the
worker; a rise in the proportion of basic wages to total pay (which also
includes bonuses); and a tightening of the provisions concerning the
payment of bonuses. Provision was also made for withholding a portion of
the pay in the event that production targets are not fulfilled.
Downgrading the importance of bonuses was intended to stimulate the
raising of skill levels by making higher earnings dependent primarily
upon promotion to higher wage categories, based on qualification rather
than on surpassing quantitative production norms. As a means of reducing
labor turnover, a seniority system was introduced, with wage increases
based on length of service in the same unit. The reform of the wage
system was accompanied by a general rise in wages averaging 12.3
percent.
A further increase in wages is planned for the 1971-75 period. The
minimum wage of 800 lei (for value of leu, see Glossary) is to be raised
to 1,000 lei in September 1972 and to 1,100 lei in 1975. The average
wage is scheduled to reach almost 1,500 lei in 1972 and 1,805 lei at the
end of the five-year period. In accordance with past policy, the rise in
wages will be kept well below the increase in productivity (see ch. 14).
Along with the modification of the wage system, legal measures were
enacted to tighten labor discipline. These measures provide for the
imposition of fines up to 10,000 lei for violations of economic
contracts and fines of from 50 to 1,000 lei for negligence while on
duty; they oblige employees to make good the full amount of any damage
for which they are responsible; and they enable the enterprise
management to reduce workers' wages when standards of social behavior
are not met. Penalties may be imposed by the enterprise director or the
management committee. The only recourse open to workers is an appeal to
the higher administrative bodies.
The broad concept of standards of behavior offers a wide latitude for
the exercise of individual judgment by management. No criteria have been
provided for determining the conditions under which wages may be cut or
the maximum permissible amount of the wage cuts. The new rules thus
introduced an element of discretionary exercise of punitive authority.
They also deprived the accused of recourse to the courts, which had been
available to them under earlier legislation.
INVESTMENT AND CONSTRUCTION
Industry has consistently received more than half the total investment
in the economy. In the 1966-70 period industrial investment out of the
state budget (centralized investment) amounted to 162.1 billion lei--a
volume almost as great as that invested during the preceding fifteen
years. Additional investment out of enterprise resources was only about
1 percent of the total and had been even less in earlier years. From 86
to 90 percent of the industrial investment was channeled into branches
producing capital goods. Centralized investment in industry during the
1971-75 period is planned at 281.2 billion lei, or about 60 percent of
the total planned investment.
Industries producing fuels and energy absorbed the largest share of
investment, but their share declined from 51 percent in the 1951-55
period to 31 percent in the 1966-70 period. The high priority accorded
to the development of the chemical industry was reflected in a doubling
of that industry's investment share from less than 7 percent in the
former period to 14 percent in the 1960s. Similarly, a drive for
qualitative improvement in machine building and metalworking was
accompanied by an increase in the proportion of investment devoted to
that industry from a level of 7 to 8 percent in the 1951-65 period to 14
percent in the second half of the 1960s. Ferrous metallurgy absorbed
about 10 percent of the investment in the fifteen-year period that ended
in 1970. A need to expand exports of manufactured goods and to provide
material incentives for the working population stimulated a rise of
investment in the light and food industries to 13 percent of the total
in the 1966-70 period, compared to a share ranging from 7.5 to 10
percent in earlier five-year periods.
About 48 percent of the industrial investment was absorbed by building
construction and installation work, 37 percent was spent on machinery
and equipment, and 15 percent was devoted to the increase of working
capital. One-third of the investment in machinery and equipment from
1966 to 1969 was used for procurement abroad, that proportion having
increased from about one-fifth in the 1956-60 period.
Although substantial progress has been made in the expansion of
industrial capacity, construction of new industrial plants has been
beset by many problems and has consistently lagged behind official
plans. Inadequate planning, poor design, disregard of the limitations of
the materials base and of potential markets, improper location,
excessive size of projects, and long delays in project development and
in construction have been among the difficulties most frequently
discussed in the country's press. Completed plants often require years
to attain the projected output level, and many plants have never reached
it.
Large losses to the economy have also been caused by long delays in
installing new equipment, much of it imported at a heavy cost in foreign
exchange. At the end of 1969 the Grand National Assembly was officially
informed that the volume of unused equipment amounted to 3.5 billion
lei; some of the equipment had been lying idle for from ten to twelve
years. Government officials realize the urgent need to improve
investment performance, particularly in view of the large investment
program planned for the 1971-75 period.
PRODUCTION
Industrial production in 1970 was 3.8 times larger than it had been ten
years earlier, according to official data. This increase is equivalent
to an average annual growth rate of 12.8 percent. A rise of 11.2 percent
in industrial output was unofficially reported for 1971. In terms of
Western statistical concepts and methods, the annual increase in
industrial output was estimated at 11.5 percent for the 1960-68 period,
compared to an officially reported growth rate of 13.2 percent.
Industrial growth in Romania has been among the highest in countries of
Eastern Europe.
In line with the government's priorities, production of capital goods
increased at an annual (official) rate of 14.2 percent, and that of
consumer goods advanced by 10.2 percent. The proportion of capital goods
in the total output therefore increased from 62.9 percent in 1960 to
70.6 percent in 1970; it is scheduled to reach 72.8 percent by 1975.
Although the output of consumer goods increased 2.6 times during the
ten-year period, the availability of goods to consumers did not rise
proportionately because an increasing volume was exported to pay for
imports of machinery and raw materials. Shortages of consumer goods,
including foodstuffs, were not eliminated by 1971. The output of newly
introduced products, such as chemicals and television sets, increased
more rapidly in the 1960s than did the output of traditional items (see
table 13).
Improving the quality of manufactured products has been a major concern
of the party and government, particularly from the point of view of
competitiveness in foreign markets. With some exceptions, such as men's
and women's knitwear, a lack of competitiveness was clearly demonstrated
in mid-1971 by the results of a giant Romanian trade exhibition in
Duesseldorf, West Germany. This exhibit was reported to have achieved
just the reverse of what was intended and to have demonstrated the
inferiority of Romanian goods compared to Western European and Japanese
products. Quality considerations, however, did not inhibit an attempt to
market a Romanian-built motor vehicle of the jeep type in the United
States.
_Table 13. Output of Selected Industrial Products in Romania, 1960 and
1969_
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Product Unit of Measure 1960 1969
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pig iron thousand metric tons 1,014 3,477
Steel do 1,806 5,540
Coal and lignite do 6,768 16,976
Crude oil do 11,500 12,346
Natural gas billion cubic feet 365 850
Electricity million kilowatt-hours 7,650 31,509
Fertilizers[1] thousand metric tons 71 720
Artificial fibers do 4 56
Plastics do 12 137
Synthetic rubber do 0 55
Tires thousand units 743 3,166
Paper thousand metric tons 140 398
Tractors units 17,102 24,895
Motor vehicles do 12,123 56,998
Cement thousand metric tons 3,054 7,515
Timber million cubic feet 139 186
Textiles million square yards 393 672
Footwear million pairs 30 63
Radios thousand units 167 428
Television sets do 15 221
Sugar thousand metric tons 391 428
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. In terms of plant nutrients.
Source: Adapted from _Anuarul Statistic al Republicii Socialiste
Romania, 1970_ (Statistical Yearbook of the Socialist Republic
of Romania, 1970), Bucharest, 1970, pp. 186-195.
By decrees issued in 1970 and 1971 the State Inspectorate General for
Product Quality was established as an organ of the Council of State with
wide powers to establish and enforce quality standards, including the
imposition of economic and criminal sanctions. At the same time, the
decrees provided that extra payments be made to individuals and groups
of workers who turn out products of superior quality. In announcing the
creation of the new agency, Romanian commentators remarked that an
administrative approach to the solution of the quality problem was made
necessary by the failure of other measures.
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"Adult Education Program Examined," _Lupta de Clasa_,
Bucharest, August 1970. (JPRS: 51,572, Series No. 272, 1970.)
"Adult Education Program, Examined, Praised," _Munca_,
Bucharest, September 3, 1970. (JPRS: 51,745, Series No. 283,
1970.)
"Better Coordination Between Specialized Schools and
Production," _Scinteia_, Bucharest, April 20, 1971. (JPRS:
53,539, Series No. 377, 1971.)
"Care in Criticism of Past Culture Urged," _Scinteia_,
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"Center for Education Information and Documentation," _Buletinul
Oficial al Republicii Socialiste Romania_, Bucharest, April
15, 1971. (JPRS: 53,289, Series No. 364, 1971.)
"Changes in the Social Structure, 1960-1969," _Viata Economica_,
XVI, Bucharest, April 16, 1971. (JPRS: 53,159, Series No. 356,
1971.)
"Changes Urged in Policy of Admitting Students to Higher
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52,452, Series No. 317, 1971.)
"Decree Governing Assignment of Graduates," _Buletinul Oficial
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"Delays in Providing Modern School Equipment Cited," _Scinteia_,
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1969.)
"Development of School System Discussed," _Scinteia_, Bucharest,
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"Economy Modernization Discussed in Relation to
Socioprofessional Mobility," _Lupta de Clasa_, V, Bucharest,
May 1970. (JPRS: 50,830, Series No. 308, 1970.)
"Equality at Law for National Minorities," _Scinteia_,
Bucharest, April 11, 1971. (JPRS: 53,155, Series No. 355,
1971.)
"Government Revises Setup of Education," _Buletinul Oficial al
Republicii Socialiste Romania_, Bucharest, December 29, 1968.
(JPRS: 47,447, Series No. 68, 1969.)
"Harmful Influence of Religion Stressed," _Romania Libera_,
Bucharest, May 9, 1969. (JPRS: 48,249, Series No. 105, 1969.)
"Law on Education in Rumania," _Romania Libera_, Bucharest, May
15, 1968. (JPRS: 45,795, Series No. 8, 1968.)
"New Secondary School Class Program Discussed," _Gazeta
Invatamintului_, Bucharest, August 28, 1968. (JPRS: 46,589,
Series No. 32, 1968.)
"New Stage in General Education Discussed," _Revista de
Pedagogu_, Bucharest, September 1969. (JPRS: 49,412, Series
No. 162, 1969.)
"Organization, Operation of the Department of Cults," _Buletinul
Oficial al Republicii Socialiste Romania_, Bucharest, August
15, 1970. (JPRS: 51,850, Series No. 289, 1970.)
"Political Education at Universities, Examined," _Scinteia_,
Bucharest, January 29, 1969. (JPRS: 47,585, Series No. 75,
1969.)
"Position of First Deputy Minister of Education Established,"
_Buletinul Oficial al Republicii Socialiste Romania_,
Bucharest, August 4, 1971. (JPRS: 54,004, Series No. 409,
1971.)
"Program for the Advanced Training of Teachers Explained,"
_Scinteia Tineretului_, Bucharest, January 11, 1971. (JPRS:
52,487, Series No 318, 1971.)
"Proper Training of Teachers Stressed," _Scinteia_, Bucharest,
January 24, 1969. (JPRS: 47,598, Series No. 76, 1969.)
"Reorganization of Ministry of Education," _Buletinul Oficial al
Republicii Socialiste Romania_, Bucharest, January 14, 1969.
(JPRS: 47,598, Series No. 76, 1969.)
"Role of Intelligentsia in Socialist Society," _Lupta de Clasa_,
Bucharest, April 1971. (JPRS: 53,730, Series No. 393, 1971.)
"Role of Science Education in Economic Development," _Probleme
Economice_, Bucharest, April 1971. (JPRS: 53,289, Series No.
364, 1971.)
"Role of Technical Schools in Preparing Labor Force,"
_Invatamintul Professional si Technic_, Bucharest, June 1970.
(JPRS: 52,243, Series No. 249, 1970.)
"Romania Starts 10-Year Compulsory Education," _Scinteia_,
Bucharest, June 4, 1969. (JPRS: 48,448, Series No. 115, 1969.)
"Rumanian Education Growth, Improvement Noted," _Scinteia_,
Bucharest, September 16, 1968. (JPRS: 46,737, Series No. 37,
1968.)
"School-Workshops Planned for General and Secondary Education,"
_Scinteia_, Bucharest, August 10, 1971. (JPRS: 53,970, Series
No. 408, 1971.)
"Shortcomings in Workers' Universities Examined," _Scinteia_,
Bucharest, September 17, 1968. (JPRS: 46,697, Series No. 36,
1968.)
"Social Mobility, Stratification, Examined," _Lupta de Clasa_,
Bucharest, October 1970. (JPRS: 52,070, Series No. 298, 1970.)
"Social Responsibility of Schools Stressed," _Scinteia
Tineretului_, Bucharest, January 11, 1971. (JPRS: 52,487,
Series No. 318, 1971.)
"Special Secondary Schools Train for Jobs," _Lupta de Clasa_,
Bucharest, February 1971. (JPRS: 50,552, Series No. 216,
1970.)
"A Study of Rumanian Family Life, I, II," _Munca_, Bucharest,
August 29, 1967. (JPRS: 42,826, Series No. 427, 1967.)
"A Study of Rumanian Family Life, III, IV, V," _Munca_,
Bucharest, September 9, 1967. (JPRS: 42,881, Series No. 473,
1967.)
"Training of Labor Force, Vocational Guidance of Youth," _Lupta
de Clasa_, Bucharest, December 1970. (JPRS: 52,420, Series No.
315, 1971.)
"Unity of Rumanians and Ethnic Minorities Stressed," _Scinteia_,
Bucharest, November 6, 1968. (JPRS: 47,118, Series No. 51,
1968.)
"Working Class Role in Modern Romania Sketched," _Probleme
Economice_, Bucharest, December 1969. (JPRS: 49,942, Series
No. 188, 1970.)
U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Office of
Education. _Education in the Rumanian People's Republic_ by
Randolph L. Braham. (Bulletin OE-14087, I, pp 1-229.) Washington:
GPO, 1964.
U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Public Affairs. _Background Notes:
Socialist Republic of Romania._ (Department of State Publication
7890.) Washington: GPO, 1970.
Vali, F.A. "Transylvania and the Hungarian Minority," _Journal of
International Affairs_, XX, No. 1, 1966, 32-44.
Wardle, Irving. "Rumanian Theatre Plays Vital Part in Daily Life,"
_New York Times_, June 12, 1971, 18.
Warnstrom, Bennett. "With TV Camera Through Rumania," _East Europe_,
XVIII, No. 10, October 1969, 11-16.
"Wheeling and Dealing in Rumania," _Newsweek_, LXXVII, No. 14, April
5, 1971, 39.
Wolff, Robert L. _The Balkans in Our Time._ Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1956.
_World Population Data Sheet, 1970._ Washington: Population Reference
Bureau, 1970.
"Writer's Block," _Newsweek_, March 2, 1970, 38-43.
Section II. POLITICAL
Andrews, Colman Robert. "The Rumanian Film Today," _East Europe_,
XVIII, Nos. 8-9, August-September 1969, 21-24.
_Anuarul Statistic al Republicii Socialiste Romania, 1970_
(Statistical Yearbook of the Socialist Republic of Romania, 1970).
Bucharest: Directia Centrala de Statistica, 1970.
Bromke, Adam (ed.). _The Communist States at the Crossroads._ New
York: Praeger, 1965.
Brown, J.F. "Rumania Today I: Towards Integration," _Problems of
Communism_, XVIII, No. 1, January-February 1969, 8-17.
----. "Rumania Today II: The Strategy of Defiance," _Problems of
Communism_, XVIII, No. 2, March-April 1969, 32-38.
Brzezinski, Zbigniew K. "Communist State Relations: The Effect on
Ideology," _East Europe_, XVI, No. 3, March 1967, 1-5.
Byrnes, Robert F. (ed.) _The United States and Eastern Europe._
Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1967.
Ceausescu, Nicolae. "Romania's Foreign Policy," _East Europe_, XX, No.
1, January 1971, 28-34.
Cretzianu, Alexandre (ed.). _Captive Romania._ New York: Praeger,
1956.
Davis, Fitzroy. "East Europe's Film Makers Look West," _East Europe_,
XVII, No. 5, May 1968, 27-31.
_Editor & Publisher International Yearbook, 1970._ New York: Editor &
Publisher, 1970.
Farlow, Robert L. "Romanian Foreign Policy: A Case of Partial
Alignment," _Problems of Communism_, XX, No. 6, November-December
1971, 54-63.
Farrell, R. Barry. _Political Leadership in Eastern Europe and the
Soviet Union._ Chicago: Aldine, 1970.
Fischer-Galati, Stephen. _The Socialist Republic of Rumania._
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1969.
----. _Twentieth Century Rumania._ New York: Columbia University
Press, 1970.
Fischer-Galati, Stephen (ed.). _Romania._ New York: Praeger, 1957.
Griffith, William E. (ed.) _Communism in Europe_, I and II. Cambridge:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 1967.
Ionescu, Ghita. _Communism in Rumania 1944-1962._ London: Oxford
University Press, 1964.
Jowitt, Kenneth. "The Romanian Communist Party and the World Socialist
System: A Redefinition of Unity," _World Politics_, XXIII, No. 1,
October 1970, 38-60.
Matley, Ian M. _Romania: A Profile._ New York: Praeger, 1970.
Olson, Kenneth E. _The History Makers._ Baton Rouge: Louisiana State
University Press, 1966.
"Romania." Pages 1068-1092 in _Europa Yearbook, 1971_, I. London:
Europa Publications, 1971.
"Romania." Pages 241-250 in M. Sachs (ed.), _Worldmark Encyclopedia of
the Nations_, V: Europe. New York: Harper and Row, 1967.
Schöpflin, George (ed.). _The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe._ New
York: Praeger, 1970.
Special Operations Research Office. The American University. Pages
1-69 in _Mass Communications in Eastern Europe-Romania_, VII.
Washington: GPO, 1958.
Stanley, Timothy W., and Whitt, Darnell M. _Detente Diplomacy: United
States and European Security in the 1970s._ Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1970.
_The Stateman's Year Book, 1971-1972._ (Ed., J. Paxton.) New York:
Saint Martin's Press, 1971.
_Statistical Pocket Book of the Socialist Republic of Romania, 1970._
Bucharest: Central Statistical Board, 1970.
Stebbins, R., and Amoia, A. _Political Handbook and Atlas of the
World._ New York: Simon and Schuster, 1970.
Steele, Jonathan. "The Maverick of Eastern Europe," _Manchester
Guardian Weekly_ [Manchester, England], CVI, No. 1, January 1, 1972,
6.
----. "Problems of an Old-Style Pedagogue," _Manchester Guardian
Weekly_ [Manchester, England], CVI, No. 1, January 1, 1972, 6.
"Television in Eastern Europe," _East Europe_, XV, No. 4, April 1966,
12-16.
Triska, Jan F. (ed.) _Constitutions of the Communist Party-States._
Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, 1968.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
_World Communications._ New York: 1970.
_United Nations Statistical Yearbook._ New York: United Nations
Statistical Office, 1970.
U.S. Congress. 80th, 2d Session. Senate. Committee on Foreign
Relations. _The Warsaw Pact: Its Role in Soviet Bloc Affairs._
Washington: GPO, 1966.
U.S. Congress, 91st, 2d Session. Committee on the Judiciary. _World
Communism, 1967-1969: Soviet Efforts to Re-establish Control._
Washington: GPO, 1970.
U.S. Department of Commerce. Office of Technical Services. Joint
Publications Research Service--JPRS (Washington). The following
items are from the JPRS Series _Translations on Eastern Europe:
Political, Sociological, and Military Affairs_.
"Ceausescu on Film Industry Shortcomings," _Scinteia_,
Bucharest, March 7, 1970. (JPRS: 52,712, Series No. 330,
1971.)
"Cultural Responsibility of Editors," _Scinteia_, Bucharest,
August 18, 1971. (JPRS: 54,448, Series No. 437, 1971.)
"Culture, Ideology and Current Events," _Luceafarul_, Bucharest,
May 11, 1968. (JPRS: 45,815, Series No. 9, 1968.)
"Current Publishing System Described," _Carti Noi_, Bucharest,
August 1971. (JPRS: 54,538, Series No. 443, 1971.)
"Democracy Equated with Worker Participation," _Lupta de Clasa_,
Bucharest, May 1971. (JPRS: 53,722, Series No. 391, 1971.)
"Draft Law on Establishing Judicial Commissions," _Romania
Libera_, Bucharest, November 3, 1968. (JPRS: 47,085, Series
No. 54, 1968.)
"Favoritism Hampers Bucharest Film Enterprise," _Munca_,
Bucharest, March 15, 1970. (JPRS: 50,335, Series No. 206,
1970.)
"Fight Against Immoral Foreign Films Urged," _Scinteia_,
Bucharest, July 9, 1971. (JPRS: 53,927, Series No. 406, 1971.)
"Judicial Commissions Seen as Development," _Munca_, Bucharest,
November 7, 1968. (JPRS: 47,118, Series No. 55, 1968.)
"Mass and Public Organizations Studied," _Revista Romana de
Drept_, Bucharest, Vol. VI, June 1968. (JPRS: 46,478, Series
No. 30, 1968.)
"Measure Related to Operative of State Committee for Culture and
Art," _Buletinul Oficial al Republicii Socialiste Romania_,
Bucharest, July 24, 1970. (JPRS: 51,561, Series No. 271,
1970.)
"Membership in State Committee for Culture and Art Presented,"
_Buletinul Oficial al Republicii Socialiste Romania_,
Bucharest, July 25, 1970. (JPRS: 51,507, Series No. 269,
1970.)
"Membership of Romanian National Radio-Television Council,"
_Munca_, Bucharest, March 9, 1971. (JPRS: 53,052, Series No.
349, 1971.)
"National Sovereignty, Internationalism Discussed," _Lupta de
Clasa_, Bucharest, Vol. 4, April 1970. (JPRS: 50,631, Series
No. 221, 1970.)
"New Rules Govern State Radio-TV Committee," _Buletinul Oficial
al Republicii Socialiste Romania_, Bucharest, September 21,
1971. (JPRS: 54,687, Series No. 453, 1971.)
"Organization of Planning Commissions," _Buletinul Oficial al
Republicii Socialiste Romania_, Bucharest, Part I, No. 87,
July 20, 1970. (JPRS: 51,690, Series No. 280, 1970.)
"Party Initiative in Perfecting Socialist Law," _Munca_,
Bucharest, April 17, 1971. (JPRS: 53,499, Series No. 376,
1971.)
"Party-Minded Principles Govern Ideology," _Lupta de Clasa_,
Bucharest, October 1971. (JPRS: 54,641, Series No. 450, 1971.)
"Popescu Speaks at Party Conference on TV Problems," _Presa
Noastra_, Bucharest, April 1970. (JPRS: 50,854, Series No.
231, 1971.)
"Problems in Publishing Sociopolitical Literature," _Scinteia_,
Bucharest, November 30, 1971. (JPRS: 54,835, Series No. 461,
1972.)
"Responsibilities of Editors Outlined," _Scinteia_, Bucharest,
May 16, 1969. (JPRS: 48,291, Series No. 107, 1969.)
"Socialist Unity Front National Council Members," _Romania
Libera_, Bucharest, November 20, 1968. (JPRS: 47,202, Series
No. 59, 1969.)
"Textbook Publication Schedule Lags," _Scinteia_, Bucharest,
January 16, 1971. (JPRS: 52,347, Series No. 311, 1971.)
"Training of Cadres in Local Administration and Economy,"
_Romania Libera_, Bucharest, April 17, 1971. (JPRS: 53,499,
Series No. 376, 1971.)
"Trofin Attacks Radio-TV Producers for Indecent Attitudes,"
_Munca_, Bucharest, August 11, 1971. (JPRS: 53,958, Series No.
407, 1971.)
"Work of Association of Jurists in Developing Socialist
Awareness," _Revista Romana de Drept_, Bucharest, May 1971.
(JPRS: 53,722, Series No. 392, 1971.)
Urbanek, Lida. "Romania." Pages 714-727 in Richard F. Staar (ed.),
_Yearbook on International Communist Affairs, 1969._ Stanford:
Hoover Institution Press, 1970.
----. "Romania." Pages 75-84 in Richard F. Staar (ed.), _Yearbook on
International Communist Affairs, 1970._ Stanford: Hoover Institution
Press, 1971.
Wolfe, Thomas W. _Soviet Power and Europe 1965-1969._ Santa Monica:
Rand Corporation, 1969.
_World of Learning, 1970-1971._ London: Europa Publications, 1970.
_World Radio-TV Handbook, 1971._ (Ed., J.M. Frost.) Hvidovre, Denmark:
World Radio-TV Handbook, 1971.
(Various issues of the following periodicals were also used in the
preparation of this section: _Current History_ [Philadelphia], April
1967; _East Europe_ [New York], January 1967-December 1971;
_Economist-Foreign Report_ [London], August-December 1971;
_Manchester Guardian Weekly_ [Manchester, England], January 1, 1972;
_Newsweek_ [New York], July 20, 1970, and August 9, 1971; _New York
Times,_ November 5, 1971-January 1972; _Washington Post_, October
19-December 27, 1971.)
Section III. NATIONAL SECURITY
Baldwin, Godfrey (ed.). _International Population Reports._ (U.S.
Department of Commerce, Series P-91, No. 18.) Washington: GPO,
1969.
Blumenfeld, Yorick. _Seesaw: Cultural Life in Eastern Europe._ New
York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968.
Bromke, Adam (ed.). _The Communist States at the Crossroads._ New
York: Praeger, 1965.
Dupuy, T.N. _Almanac of World Military Power._ Dun Loring, Virginia:
T.N. Dupuy Associates, 1970.
Fischer-Galati, Stephen. _The New Rumania._ Cambridge: Massachusetts
Institute of Technology Press, 1967.
Liber, Benzion, M.D. _The New Rumania: Communist Country Revisited
After Sixty Years._ New York: Rational Living, 1958.
Mackintosh, May. _Rumania._ London: Robert Hale, 1963.
_The Military Balance, 1970-1971._ London: Institute for Strategic
Studies, 1970.
"Rumania." Pages 726-746 in _Encyclopaedia Britannica_, XIX. Chicago:
William Benton, 1969.
_Statistical Pocket Book of the Socialist Republic of Romania, 1970._
Bucharest: Central Statistical Board, 1970.
U.S. Department of Commerce. Office of Technical Services. Joint
Publications Research Service--JPRS Series (Washington). The
following items are from the JPRS Series _Translations on Eastern
Europe: Political, Sociological, and Military Affairs_.
"Border Guards Removed from Ministry of Internal Affairs,"
_Buletinul Oficial al Republicii Socialiste Romania_,
Bucharest, September 25, 1971. (JPRS: 54,397, Series No. 429,
1971.)
"Collaboration with Armies of All Socialist Countries
Stressed," _Scinteia_, May 9, 1971. (JPRS: 53,397, Series No.
370, 1971.)
"Decree on Border Protection System Passed," _Scinteia_,
Bucharest, November 14, 1969. (JPRS: 49,241, Series No. 156,
1969.)
"Decree Organizes Office of Prosecutor General," _Scinteia_,
Bucharest, September 29, 1971. (JPRS: 54,361, Series No. 432,
1971.)
"Draft Law Established Judicial Commissions," _Romania Libera_,
Bucharest, November 3, 1968. (JPRS: 47,085, Series No. 54,
1968.)
"Law Concerning Public Prosecutor's Office Passes," _Scinteia_,
Bucharest, December 28, 1968. (JPRS: 47,551, Series No. 73,
1969.)
"Law on Execution of Penalties Adopted," _Buletinul Oficial al
Republicii Socialiste Romania_, Bucharest, November 18, 1969.
(JPRS: 49,760, Series No. 180, 1970.)
"Law on Police Organization, Functions Adopted," _Buletinul
Oficial al Republicii Socialiste Romania_, Bucharest, November
18, 1969. (JPRS: 49,760, Series No. 180, 1970.)
"Law Passed on Organization of Court System," _Scinteia_,
Bucharest, December 28, 1968. (JPRS: 47,551, Series No. 73,
1969.)
"Mass and Public Organizations Studied," _Revista Romana de
Drept_, No. 6, Bucharest, June 1968. (JPRS: 46,478, Series No.
30, 1968.)
"New Law on Identification Cards, Moving, Residence," _Romania
Libera_, Bucharest, March 19, 1971. (JPRS: 53,014, Series No.
347, 1971.)
"Provisions of the New Penal Code Explained." _Revista Romana de
Drept_, Bucharest, December 1968. (JPRS: 47,525, Series No.
72, 1969.)
"Rumanian Code of Criminal Procedure," _Buletinul Oficial al
Republicii Socialiste Romania_, Bucharest, November 12, 1968.
(JPRS: 47,556, Series No. 74, 1969.)
"Statute of Union of Communist Youth," _Scinteia Tineretului_,
Bucharest, February 27, 1971. (JPRS: 52,726, Series No. 331,
1971.)
"Supreme Court Chairman Discusses Laws, Freedom," _Scinteia
Tineretului_, Bucharest, February 5, 1971. (JPRS: 52,726,
Series No. 331, 1971.)
"Training Youth for Military Described," _Viata Militara_,
Bucharest, July 1969. (JPRS: 48,913, Series No. 136, 1969.)
"Training Youth for National Defense," _Sport si Technica_,
Bucharest, February 1971. (JPRS: 52,888, Series No. 340,
1971.)
"Warsaw Pact Defends Against Imperialism," _Romania Libera_,
Bucharest, May 7, 1971. (JPRS: 53,454, Series No. 374, 1971.)
Section IV. ECONOMIC
_Anuarul Statistic al Republicii Socialiste Romania, 1970._
(Statistical Yearbook of the Socialist Republic of Romania, 1970).
Bucharest: Directia Centrala de Statistica, 1970.
Montias, John Michael. _Economic Development in Communist Romania._
Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 1967.
U.S. Congress. 91st, 2d Session. Joint Economic Committee. _Economic
Developments in Countries of Eastern Europe._ Washington: GPO, 1970.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. _The
Agricultural Economy and Trade of Romania._ (ERS-Foreign 320.)
Washington: GPO, 1971.
U.S. Department of Commerce. Office of Technical Services. Joint
Publications Research Service--JPRS Series (Washington). The
following items are from the JPRS Series _Translations on Eastern
Europe: Economic and Scientific Affairs_.
"Activities of Romanian Foreign Trade Banks Noted," _Finante si
Credit_, Bucharest, August 1971. (JPRS: 54,541, Series No.
568, 1971.)
"Antiquated Methods Hinder Conclusion of Economic Contracts,"
_Scinteia_, Bucharest, June 13, 1971. (JPRS: 53,695, Series
No. 506, 1971.)
"Better Use of Economic Potential," _Probleme Economice_,
Bucharest, April 1971. (JPRS: 53,416, Series No. 485, 1971.)
"Development of National Income Discussed," _Probleme
Economice_, Bucharest, April 1971. (JPRS: 53,521, Series No.
491, 1971.)
"Development of Trade with Socialist Countries Detailed," _Viata
Economica_, Bucharest, March 12, 1971. (JPRS: 53,001, Series
No. 459, 1971.)
"Economic Planning Process Described," _Lupta de Clasa_,
Bucharest, July 1971. (JPRS: 53,945, Series No. 524, 1971.)
"Foreign Trade, 1966-1970 Reviewed," _Viata Economica_,
Bucharest, February 12, 1971. (JPRS: 52,736, Series No. 441,
1971.)
"Foreign Trade Reform Analyzed," _Vierteljahresshefte zur
Wirtschaftsvorschung_, West Berlin, July-September 1971.
(JPRS: 54,691, Series No. 580, 1971.)
"Improvement of Wholesale Prices Discussed by Specialists,"
_Viata Economica_, Bucharest, September 11, 1970. (JPRS:
51,680, Series No. 368, 1970.)
"Improvement of Wholesale Price System," _Viata Economica_,
Bucharest, September 18 and 25, 1970; October 2 and 16, 1970.
(JPRS: 52,117, Series No. 398, 1970.)
"Interest Rates in New Credit System," _Viata Economica_,
Bucharest, October 9, 1970. (JPRS: 52,001, Series No. 389,
1970.)
"Local Budgetary Problems, Proposed Measures Cited," _Finante si
Credit_, September 1971. (JPRS: 54,748, Series No. 584, 1971.)
"Manpower Distribution Analyzed," _Revista de Statistica_,
Bucharest, November 1970. (JPRS: 52,236, Series No. 407,
1970.)
"Measures for Increasing Foreign Trade Efficiency," _Gazeta
Finantelor_, Bucharest, December 22, 1970. (JPRS: 52,510,
Series No. 426, 1970.)
"Modernization of Planning Advocated," _Probleme Economice_,
Bucharest, December 1970. (JPRS: 52,614, Series No. 434,
1970.)
"National Income in 1966-1970, 1971-1975," _Probleme Economice_,
Bucharest, May 1971. (JPRS: 53,755, Series No. 510, 1971.)
"New Methods for Planning Agriculture Discussed," _Agricultura_,
Bucharest, December 10, 1970. (JPRS: 52,324, Series No. 413,
1970.)
"Profits Termed Essential Indicator of Economic Efficiency,"
_Scinteia_, Bucharest, November 27, 1971. (JPRS: 54,748,
Series No. 584, 1971.)
"Relationship of Domestic, Foreign Prices Influences Export
Efficiency," _Finante si Credit_, Bucharest, June 1971. (JPRS:
54,056, Series No. 531, 1971.)
"Significance of Accumulation Rate Analyzed," _Probleme
Economice_, Bucharest, October 1971. (JPRS: 54,558, Series No.
570, 1971.)
"Socialist Planning in Light of World Planning," _Probleme
Economice_, Bucharest, April 1971. (JPRS: 53,392, Series No.
484, 1971.)
"Structural Changes in Manpower Distribution in 1966-1970,"
_Viata Economica_, Bucharest, March 12, 1971. (JPRS: 52,942,
Series No. 454, 1971.)
GLOSSARY
centrals--Industrial associations that group enterprises engaged in
the same or similar lines of production or enterprises at
successive stages of production as, for example, iron mines and
steel mills.
COMECON--Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. Founded in 1949;
headquartered in Moscow. Members are Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East
Germany, Hungary, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union.
Purpose is to further economic cooperation among members.
_judet_ (pl., _judete_)--Local administrative division corresponding
to county or district. There are thirty-nine such counties plus the
municipality of Bucharest, which is administered as a judet. There
is no intermediate level between the central government and the
_judet_ government.
leu (pl., lei)--Standard unit of currency. Officially rated at the
level of 1 leu to US$0.18, the actual exchange rate varies according
to specific transactions, such as tourist exchange, foreign trade
exchange, hard currency purchase, or black-market transaction.
PCR--Partidul Comunist Roman (Romanian Communist Party). Founded in
1921. Declared illegal in 1924; operated underground until 1944.
Known as Romanian Workers' Party from 1948 until 1965.
UGSR--Uniunea Generala a Sindicatelr din Romania (General Union of
Trade Unions). Official organization incorporating all labor unions
of blue- and white-collar workers. Estimated membership in 1972 was
4.6 million.
UTC--Uniunea Tineretului Comunist (Union of Communist Youth). Official
organization that functions as the youth branch of the PCR (_q.v._).
Membership open to young people between ages fifteen and twenty-six.
Membership estimated in early 1972 at 2.5 million.
Warsaw Treaty Organization--Formal name for Warsaw Pact. Military
alliance of communist countries founded in 1955, with headquarters
in Moscow. The Soviet minister of defense is traditionally the
supreme commander of Warsaw Pact forces. Members are Bulgaria,
Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the
Soviet Union.
INDEX
abortion: 39, 57
administrative divisions: viii, 38
adult education: 7, 86-87
Africa: 156, 163, 168, 171, 172, 182, 183
Agerpres. _See_ Romanian Press Agency
Agricultural Bank: 261, 267
Agricultural Mechanization Enterprises: 262-264, 267
agriculture (_see also_ collective farms; livestock): v, viii, 8, 30, 31,
36, 41, 227, 229, 231, 232, 233, 236, 237, 241;
Commission, 117;
education, 76, 85, 87, 145;
labor, viii, 61, 233, 253, 262, 264-266;
production, 269-273, 274
aid foreign (_see also_ Council for Mutual Economic Assistance): 26, 103,
167, 169, 279;
military, 211-212, 216, 223
air forces: ix, 7, 211, 213, 214, 215-216, 219, 221, 224
air transport: ix, 45, 46-47, 196, 216
Albania: 27, 39, 42, 158, 166, 167, 172
Alecsandri, Vasile: 105
Alexandrescu, Grigore: 104
Allied Control Commission: 21, 24
Allies. _See_ World War I; World War II
Aman, Theodor: 97
Anti-Comintern Pact: 21
anti-Semitism: 17, 19, 56
anti-subversion. _See_ counter-subversion
Antonescu, Ion: 21, 175
Apostol, Gheorghe: 130, 131, 134, 136
Arad: 44, 193
archaeology: 94, 95, 99
architecture: 76, 99-100
Arghezi, Tudor: 106
aristocracy: 6, 12, 56, 75
armed forces (_see also_ military): ix, 7, 15, 16, 119, 120, 121, 133,
161, 200, 203, 211-216, 221-227;
command, 112, 116, 173, 213;
training, 220-221, 223
army (_see also_ ground force): ix, 7
arts and the artists: 7, 91, 92-94, 135, 152, 180;
education, 76, 81, 84, 85, 97;
union, 135
Asachi, Gheorghe: 104
Asia: 156, 163, 168, 171, 182, 183, 219
Aslan, Ana: 107
atheism: 5
Aurelian, Emperor: 11, 50
Austria (_see also_ Austro-Hungarian Empire): 20, 24, 33, 46, 54
Austro-Hungarian Empire (_see also_ Habsburgs; Hungary): 9, 13, 14, 18,
33, 37
automobiles (_see also_ traffic): 42, 203-204, 288
Avars: 11
Baia-Mare: 44, 52
Balaga, Lucian: 106
Balcescu, Nicolae: 104
Balkans: 22, 29, 163, 167, 170, 171, 185, 211;
history, 3, 9, 10
Banat: 10, 11, 32, 254;
population, 52, 53, 55
Banks for Agriculture and the Food Industry: 242, 243, 244, 267-268
banks and banking (_see also_ individual banks): 110, 242-246
Bessarabia: 18, 20, 37, 54, 55, 212
Bihor Massif: 30, 31
birth control: 39
birth rate: 39-40, 57
Black Forest: 34
Black Sea: vii, xiv, 29, 32, 33, 34, 35, 38, 46, 47, 48, 216, 217, 218,
224, 276;
history, 10
Bokassa, Jean Bebel, president of the Central African Republic: 172
Book Central: 187, 188
Boris, Tsar: 11
boundaries, national (_see also_ individual neighboring countries):
vii, xiv, 9, 29, 32, 37-38, 211
Braila: 48
Brancusi, Constantin: 98
Brasov: 38, 44, 53, 102, 182
Brezhnev, Leonid: 165;
doctrine, 28, 159, 160, 164, 165
Brincoveanu, Constantin, Prince: 100
Bucharest: viii, xiv, 10, 15, 31, 32, 34, 35, 38, 67, 70, 147, 148, 155,
163, 207, 214, 221, 254, 263;
cultural, 67, 91, 96, 97, 98, 104, 107;
government, 122, 123, 125;
history, 16, 18, 19, 21;
information, 177, 181, 182, 186, 188, 189;
politics, 139, 141, 142, 147;
population, 38, 41, 54;
security, 195, 213, 216;
transport, 43, 44, 47
Bucharest Declaration: 168, 218
budget: 41, 112, 116, 120, 240-241, 248, 286;
local, 126
Bukovina: 10, 18, 20, 33, 37, 71, 72, 212
Bulgaria: 7, 37, 165-166, 167, 172, 182, 218, 219, 276, 278, 279;
border, vii, xiv, 10, 29, 32, 48, 216, 217;
history, 11, 20, 212
canals: ix, 29, 31, 46
Cantemir, Dimitrie: 104
capital punishment: 205
Carol I, King: 16, 17, 18
Carol II, King: 19, 20, 21, 175
Carpathian Mountains: vii, 29, 30, 31, 47, 94;
history, 11, 50
Ceausescu, Nicolae: 1, 2, 3, 27, 28, 93, 109, 113, 118, 119, 124-125,
127, 129, 130, 131-134, 136, 139, 140, 142, 144, 148, 149, 150, 151,
152, 153, 154, 184, 206, 213;
foreign relations, 7-8, 28, 132, 155, 156, 159, 160, 162, 164, 165,
166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172-173
censorship (_see also_ freedom of expression): 176
census: 54, 55;
(1930), 79;
(1956), 54, 79;
(1966), 39, 49, 52, 143
Central European System: 185
cereals: 254, 255, 256, 272, 273, 274
Cernavoda: 43, 44
Cernavoda-Silistra: 279
Charles of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. _See_ Carol I
chernozem: 35, 254
children (_see also_ students): 6, 14, 40, 57, 58, 183, 187, 199, 200;
care, 80, 82-83;
education, 74, 75, 76, 79, 82
Christianity (_see also_ Protestants; Roman Catholicism; Romanian
Orthodox Church): introduction of, 11, 67
church-state relations: viii, 4, 5, 66-67, 68, 69, 70
civil rights (_see also_ freedom of expression; ownership; religion;
suffrage): 3, 16, 66, 111-112, 113, 146, 150, 151, 176, 194, 201, 206
clergy: 5, 14, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70;
training, 66, 69, 72, 112
climate: vii, 29, 33, 34-35, 36, 253, 254
Cluj: 44, 52, 71, 72, 91, 102, 182, 186, 189, 213
coal: 238, 276-277, 288
_cobza_: 100
Codreanu, Corneliu: 20
collective farms: 24, 41, 58, 87, 194, 230, 236, 244, 257-261, 262, 263,
266, 267, 273, 280;
labor, vii, 264
College of Saint Sava: 104
commerce (_see also_ trade): 15
Communists and communism (_see also_ Romanian Communist Party): v, 3,
56, 127, 157;
and culture, 91, 92-94, 98, 101, 102, 103, 106, 107;
and economy, 8, 24, 49, 132, 133, 149-150, 229, 234, 275;
and education, 73-74, 76-77, 78;
government, 2-3, 24-28, 38, 110;
and information, 176, 183, 185, 189;
and religion, 4, 5, 65, 68, 70;
rise to power, 9, 22-24;
and social structure, 6, 49, 58-62
Concordat (1927): 69
Congress of Paris: 16
conscripts and conscription (_see also_ military): 7, 212, 219, 220,
221, 223
Constanta: 4, 44, 47, 182, 216, 217, 276
Constitution: 3, 5, 116;
(1866), 16, 17;
(1923), 18; (1938), 20;
(1948), 5, 110, 111;
(1952), 5, 110, 112, 119, 150;
(1965), vii, 5, 28, 66, 109, 110, 113-114, 117, 119, 120, 121, 122,
124, 125, 126, 146, 160, 161, 163, 206;
Commission, 116, 117;
development, 110-113
construction: 227, 232, 256, 257, 279, 280, 283, 287;
private, 242, 245;
youth, 201
consumer goods: 149, 229, 232, 235, 237, 239, 241, 251, 287-288;
export, viii;
production, 8, 30, 42
cooperatives: 82, 85, 114, 126, 127;
agricultural, 59, 153
Council of Ministers: 109, 110, 112, 114, 115, 116, 118, 119-121, 123,
124, 133, 140, 147, 161, 162, 176, 195, 198, 200, 214, 230, 240,
241, 243, 244, 256
Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON): iv, 1, 2, 8, 26, 27,
150, 156, 157-158, 159, 161, 164, 168, 169, 172, 173, 174, 247,
249-250, 275
Council of Romanian Radio and Television: 182, 184
Council on Socialist Culture and Education: 94, 120, 176, 181, 186, 189
Council of State: vii, 109, 112, 114, 115, 116, 117-119, 121, 122, 124,
125, 133, 140, 161, 162, 230, 240, 256, 289
Council of State Security: 119, 120, 121
counter-subversion: ix, 194, 202, 205
county. _See judet_
courts: viii, 115, 122-124, 194, 200, 205, 206-207;
military, 223
credit policies: 242, 245-246, 260, 266, 267-269
crime (_see also_ penal system): 193, 194, 196, 199, 201-203, 205, 206,
223, 257
Crimean War: 16
_Crisana_: 10, 32, 179
cultural activity (_see also_ architecture; arts and the artists; folk
culture; literature; music; painting; sculpture): 4, 7, 12, 14, 41,
52, 53, 54, 85, 87, 91, 92, 152
cultural influences: 4, 7, 12, 14-15, 50, 51, 62, 63, 69, 76, 93, 95,
96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 104, 105, 106;
nationalism, 7, 92, 97, 102, 104
currency (_see also_ exchange): 246-247
Cuza, Alexander: 16
Cyrillic alphabet: 14
Czechoslovakia: xiv, 20, 21, 30, 46, 163, 165, 172, 182, 190, 218, 224,
250, 278;
invasion of, 7, 9, 28, 119, 135, 150, 154, 159, 164, 165, 166, 170,
172, 211, 218
Dacia (_see also_ Dacians): 3, 11, 50, 67, 99
_Dacia Literata_: 104
Dacians (_see also_ Dacia; Daco-Romans): 2, 10, 11, 14, 50
Daco-Romans: 3
Danube River: 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 41, 43, 45-46, 47, 48, 55,
167, 216, 217, 254, 279;
history, 10, 11, 12, 99
death rate: 39
defense (_see also_ armed forces; security): 116, 195, 241;
Commission, 117
Defence Council: 115, 118, 121, 133, 135, 140, 173, 213, 214
Densus: 99
Department of Cults: 5, 66
_Description of Moldavia_: 104
divorce: 57, 58
Dobruja: vii, 31, 32, 33, 34, 72, 99, 253;
history, 10, 20, 37;
population, 41, 55
Dogmatic Period: 92, 93
Dragan, Mircea: 103
Draghici, Alexandru: 130, 131, 134
droughts: 254
Dubcek, Alexander: 165
Eastern Europe: v, 8, 68, 94, 110, 155, 156, 158, 165, 166, 169, 172,
173, 182, 216, 218, 262;
economic relations, viii, 26, 170, 248
Eastern Orthodox Church (_see also_ Romanian Orthodox Church): 11, 13,
14, 53, 67, 99
Economic Council: 115, 119
economic development (_see also_ Five Year Plan): viii, 6, 8, 17, 61,
73, 119, 149-150, 156, 161, 242;
plans, 234-237, 242
economy (_see also_ agriculture; economic development; finance;
industry): v, viii, 8, 24, 25, 26, 42, 112, 113, 116, 120, 132,
133, 149, 158, 174, 226-227, 229-237;
Commission, 117
education (_see also_ adult education; indoctrination; schools;
technical/vocational education; universities): viii, 4, 6-7, 14, 15,
16, 60, 61, 62, 66, 73-83, 126, 200;
Act (1964), 74;
Commission, 117;
curricula, viii, 7, 74, 75, 77, 78, 82;
higher, 6, 59, 61, 73, 74, 76, 77, 80, 84, 85-86, 107-108;
law (1948), 77;
law (1968), 78, 87;
traffic, 204
Eforie Nord: 100
elections: vii, 23, 116, 117, 126-127;
(1937), 19;
(1948), 24;
(1969), 127, 135
electricity: ix, 277, 278-279, 288;
hydro, 29, 36, 167, 278, 279
elite class: 6, 60
emigration: 40-41, 53, 71;
illegal, 203;
Jews, 4, 72
Eminescu, Mihail: 105, 106
employment (_see also_ labor; wages): 41, 59, 84, 154, 195, 233-234,
253, 265, 266, 280, 284-286
Enescu, Georghe: 101
English language: 83, 181, 183
ethnic groups (_see also_ individual groups; minority ethnic groups):
vii, 3, 49-50, 55-56
European Recovery Program (Marshall Plan): 26, 157
Everac, Paul: 102
exchange, foreign: ix, 187, 230, 242, 244, 247
expenditure: 241
export: 236, 239, 244, 248-249, 251, 253, 286;
agricultural, viii, 36, 230, 273
Export-Import Bank: 251
family: 49, 56-58, 226, 257, 259
fauna. _See_ wildlife
Federal Republic of Germany: 28, 34, 43, 53, 159, 164, 165, 168-170,
190, 288
Ferdinand, King: 18, 19
films: 103, 175, 177, 189-190
finance (_see also_ budget; foreign exchange; investment; taxation;
trade): viii-ix
fishing and fisheries: 33
Five-Year Plan: viii, 8;
(1960-65), 26;
(1971-75), 8, 149-150, 229, 230, 245, 266, 275
floods: 43, 173, 208, 222, 227, 255, 270
folk culture: 65, 91, 94-96, 98, 100-101, 105
foodstuffs: 42-43; export, viii, 30
foreign exchange. _See_ exchange
foreign relations: 1, 2, 7, 25, 27, 28, 63, 118, 134, 136, 139, 154,
155, 162-174;
Commission, 117;
diplomatic representation, 118, 155, 159, 162, 163, 164-172;
economic. _See_ trade;
policy, 116, 120, 133, 152, 156-162, 175
forests and forestry: 29, 30, 32, 33, 35, 36, 85, 233, 255, 277-278, 284;
Commission, 117
France: 16, 20, 103, 168, 171, 212, 250;
cultural influence, 15, 62, 63, 76, 101, 104, 105, 106, 107, 190;
language, 83, 181, 183
freedom of expression (_see also_ press): 91-92, 111, 113, 175, 176
frontier troops: ix, 7, 211, 213, 214, 217, 221
fruit (_see also_ orchards and vineyards): 254, 272
Galati: 44, 48
gems: 243, 247
General Military Academy, Bucharest: 214, 221
General Regulation for Religious Cults (1948): 66, 70
General Union of Trade Unions: 120, 121, 133, 134, 136, 147, 148-149,
178, 198, 237, 243
geology: 30-32
Georgescu, Ion: 98
German Democratic Republic: 165, 172, 182, 190, 250
German ethnic group (_see also_ German language): vii, viii, 3, 4, 18,
49, 51, 53-54, 55, 56, 57, 69, 71, 102, 127, 135, 143, 151;
history, 11, 99
German language: vii, 51, 53, 54, 69, 83, 89, 180, 181, 183
Germany (_see also_ Federal Republic of Germany; German Democratic
Republic; Nazis): 18, 71, 101, 107, 212
Gheorghiu-Dej, Gheorghe: 3, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 47, 110, 112, 130, 131,
134, 168;
foreign relations, 156, 157, 158, 159, 165
Giurgiu: 43, 44
gold: 277
Goths: 50
government (_see also_ Constitution; local government): vii, 17,
109-110, 115,
central, 114-124, 126
Grand National Assembly: 88, 109, 110, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 121,
122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 133, 140, 151, 161, 162, 173, 237, 240, 241
Great Britain: 20, 23, 158, 171, 190, 212
Greater Romania: 18
Greece: 170-171
Grigorescu, Nicolae: 97
gross national product (GNP): 227, 233
ground force: 215, 224
Groza Petru: 23
Habsburgs (_see also_ Austro-Hungarian Empire): 14
handcrafts: 94-96
health: 42, 126;
Commission, 117;
education, 85
Heinemann, Gustav, president of the federal Republic of Germany: 170
Higher Political Council: 213
_History of the Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire_: 104
Hitler, Adolf: 20
Holy See. _See_ Vatican
housing: 40, 41, 42, 57, 58, 59, 61, 99, 195, 201, 233, 245, 256
Hungarian Autonomous Region (Mures-Magyar): 52, 111, 114, 150
Hungarian ethnic group (Magyars) (_see also_ Hungarian language): vii,
viii, 3, 4, 18, 49, 51, 52-53, 55, 56, 57, 69, 71, 72, 102, 111,
127, 135, 143, 151, 166;
history, 3, 11, 13, 37, 52, 63, 99
Hungarian language: vii, 51, 53, 69, 83, 89, 180, 181, 183
Hungarian People's Union: 23
Hungary (_see also_ Austro-Hungarian Empire): 37, 43, 46, 54, 163, 165,
166, 167, 172, 182;
border, vii, xiv, 10, 29, 38, 52, 203, 217;
history, 11, 19, 20, 21, 52, 53, 55, 67;
revolt, 26, 157
Iasi: 15, 105, 182, 186, 189, 213
ideological campaign: 152, 153, 154, 175, 178, 184
imports: 229, 239, 248, 249, 251, 253, 277, 284, 287;
substitute, 244
income: 40, 41, 59, 60, 61, 153, 240, 260, 264;
church, 66;
national, 231, 232, 253;
per capita, 230
independence: 15-17, 113, 135, 160;
'declaration of', 1, 2, 27
indoctrination, political (_see also_ propaganda): viii, ix, 132, 133,
139, 141, 144, 145, 146, 175, 176, 178, 183, 191, 201;
armed forces, 211, 221-222;
youth, 7, 73, 76, 77, 78-79, 80, 83, 84, 87, 132, 148, 180
industrialization (_see also_ industry): v, 6, 8, 15, 17, 18, 26, 41,
43, 49, 77, 85, 150, 161, 229, 247, 251, 253
industry (_see also_ construction; electricity; industrialization;
investment; nationalization): viii, 25, 110, 149, 157, 229-230, 232,
233, 275-283, 287-289;
commission, 117;
labor, vii-viii, 61, 264, 275, 283-286
information (_see also_ newspapers; periodicals; press; radio;
television): ix, 65, 175-177, 190-191;
foreign, 132, 152, 175, 181-182, 184, 185, 186, 189, 190
Institute of Historical and Social-Political Studies: 139, 145
intelligentsia (_see also_ arts and the artists; professionals): 59, 60,
62, 142, 148
international commitments (_see also_ individual pacts): v, ix, 121,
160, 172-174, 218-219
Intervision: 185
Investment Bank: 242, 243-244
investment, capital: 30, 42, 229, 233, 243, 268;
in agriculture, viii, 266-267; foreign, 18;
in industry, viii, 232, 275, 286-287
Ionescu, Eugene: 102
iron: 277, 288
Iron Gate: 31, 34, 55;
hydroelectricity, 167, 279
Iron Guard: 19, 20, 21
irrigation: 201, 227, 254
Islam: 4, 72
Israel: 4, 28, 41, 72, 159, 164, 171
Italy: 20, 21, 101, 168, 171, 190, 250
Jalea, Ion: 98
Japan: 21
Jews and Judaism: 3, 4, 17, 18, 19, 41, 54, 56, 72, 199
Jiu Valley: 276
journalists: 7
_judet_: 109, 110, 114, 124, 148;
courts, 122, 123, 124, 207;
political, 137, 141, 142;
security, 195
judges: 122, 206, 223
judiciary (_see also_ courts; military): 122-124, 194, 202, 206
Junimea: 105
justice (_see also_ courts; judiciary; military; penal system): viii
Justinian, patriarch: 70
Khrushchev, Nikita, premier of the Soviet Union: 2, 25, 26, 156, 157, 166
Kingdom of Romania: v, vii, 16, 18, 19
Kiselev, Pavel, Count: 15
Koenig, Cardinal: 70
Kogalniceanu, Mihail: 104, 105
labor force (_see also_ labor unions): vii-viii, 43, 57, 73, 149, 211,
226, 230, 233, 253, 262, 264-266, 269, 280, 282, 283-286;
code, 197;
conditions of, 111;
disputes, 123
labor unions (_see also_ General Union of Trade Unions): 5, 22, 80, 87,
123, 126, 127, 132, 135, 144, 176, 180, 199, 243
lakes: 32, 33-34
land (_see also_ forests and forestry; marshland; reform): viii, 237;
agricultural, 33, 36, 254-257;
conservation, 256, 257;
ownership, 230
languages (_see also_ individual languages): vii, 4, 83, 87, 88, 177,
181, 183
_lautari_: 100
leu: viii, 246, 305
Liberal Party: 18, 19, 23
libraries: 188-189
life expectancy: 39, 42
Lipatti, Dinu: 101
literacy: 6, 68, 73, 76, 79, 219
literature: 7, 14, 93, 103-107, 152, 187
livestock: 260;
products, 253, 254, 268, 269-270, 271, 272, 273, 274
living standards: 17, 30, 41-43, 57, 59, 60, 61, 88, 149, 153, 202, 239,
240, 264
local government: viii, 6, 38, 109, 110, 111, 114, 124-126, 198
_Luceafarul_: 105
Luchian, Stefan: 97
Lupescu, Magda: 19
Magyars. _See_ Hungarian ethnic group
Mairescu, Titu: 105
Mamaia: 100
Manescu, Corneliu: 162
Manescu, Manea: 140
Mangalia: 48, 100, 216
Maniu, Iuliu: 19
Maramures: 10, 32
marriage: 57, 195
Marshall Plan. _See_ European Recovery Program
marshland: 31, 32, 34, 35, 41, 43
Marxism-Leninism: v, 5, 76, 83, 107, 146, 147, 148, 151, 155, 160, 184,
187, 189
mass organization (_see also_ labor unions; women; youth): 145, 146-149,
178, 198-201
Maurer, Ion Gheorghe: 112, 127, 130, 131, 134, 135, 158, 162, 169
medical services: 42;
military, 222
merchant marine: ix, 30, 47-48
metallurgy: 283, 286
Michael the Brave (1593-1601): 12, 13
Michael, King (son of Carol II): 19, 21, 23, 176
Middle East (_see also_ Israel): 46, 171, 276
migration, historical: 3, 11, 13, 50
military (_see also_ aid; armed forces): 7, 8, 118-119, 134, 198;
foreign, 167, 171, 173;
honours, 226;
justice, viii, 122, 123, 205, 207-208, 222-223;
personnel, 195, 213, 219-220;
service, 7, 112, 211, 212;
volunteers, 220
Military Achievement Exhibit: 224
militia: 194, 195-197, 200, 203, 204, 206, 221
minerals (_see also_ coal; iron; natural gas; oil): 36-37, 275
ministries and ministers (_see also_ Council of Ministers; individual
ministries): 115, 119, 120, 133;
economic, 231, 234, 282, 283
Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Industry and Waters: 243, 244, 259, 261,
262
Ministry of the Armed Forces: 7, 121, 145, 195, 208, 212, 213, 214,
215, 217;
minister, 119, 121, 213-214
Ministry of Defense: 211
Ministry of Education: 75, 80-82, 84, 86
Ministry of Finance: 237, 241, 242, 243, 247
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: 162, 163;
minister, 119
Ministry of Foreign Trade: 162, 163, 248
Ministry of Internal Affairs: ix, 145, 195, 196, 208, 217, 221;
minister, 119, 121, 195
Ministry of Justice: 122, 123, 203, 207;
minister, 122
Ministry of Technical Material Supply and Control of the Management of
Fixed Assets: 236
Ministry of Transportation: 43, 46
Ministry of Youth Problems: 147;
minister, 200
minority ethnic groups (_see also_ individual ethnic groups): vii, 3-4,
49-50, 54-55, 91, 135, 139, 149, 150-151, 166;
education, 78, 88-89;
rights, 111
missiles: 216
Mobutu, Joseph, president of Zaire: 172
Moldavia: vii, 30, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 254;
cultural, 95, 96, 99, 103, 104;
history, 3, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 33, 37, 67, 74;
population, 41, 54
monarchy, constitutional: 19, 23
mountains (_see also_ individual ranges): ix, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 36,
41, 253, 254
_Munca_: 178
Muntenia: 31
music: 100-101, 184;
education, 75, 83
Muslims (_see also_ Islam): 4
Mures-Magyar. _See_ Hungarian Autonomous Region
National Bank of the Romanian Socialist Republic: viii, 242, 243, 245, 246
National Center for Cinematography: 189
National Democratic Front: 22, 23
National Peasant Party: 19, 22, 23
National Popular Party: 23
National Renaissance Party: 20
National Union of Agricultural Production Cooperatives: 133, 259
nationalism: 2, 3, 7, 9, 14, 25, 56, 67, 92, 97, 102, 104, 129, 130,
132, 154
nationalization: 24, 55, 58, 110, 244
natural gas: ix, 29, 30, 36, 37, 47, 275, 276, 278, 288
navy: ix, 7, 48, 211, 213, 214, 216, 221
Nazis: 9, 19, 20-21, 37, 54, 157, 168
Negruzzi, Constantine: 104, 105
news agencies: 175, 181-182
newspapers: 53, 54, 104, 175, 176, 177-180, 182
Niculescu-Mizil, Paul: 140
Nixon, Richard M., president of the U.S.A.: 159, 170
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): 8, 161, 171, 218
nuclear free zone: 167, 171
nuclear power: 279
Official Bulletin of the Socialist Republic of Romania: 117
oil: ix, 29, 36, 47, 275-276, 288
Old Catholics: 72
Old Church Slavonic: 67, 103
Old Kingdom. _See_ Kingdom of Romania
Olt River: 31
Oltenia: 10, 11, 31, 95, 276
Oradea: 52
orchards and vineyards: 31, 32, 36, 254, 255, 257, 268
Ottoman Empire and the Turks: 9, 12, 13, 16, 32, 55, 63, 67, 72, 91
ownership (_see also_ private sector): 110, 113-114, 259, 260
PCR. _See_ Romanian Communist Party
Paciurea, Dimitrie: 98
painting (_see also_ arts and the artists): 95-98
Pana, Gheorghe: 140
Pann, Anton: 101
party politics (_see also_ individual parties): 14, 17, 20, 22, 175;
single party, 2, 5
pasture: 32, 33, 36, 254, 255, 257
Patrascanu, Lucretiu: 131, 134
Pauker, Ana: 22, 24, 25
peasantry (_see also_ folk culture, working class): 53, 58, 61, 62, 68,
74, 148, 153;
history, 12, 13;
revolt, 17
penal system: 201-202, 257;
code, 194, 205-206, 222;
institutions, 207-209
people's councils: 111, 114, 115, 116, 124, 125, 126, 196;
Commission, 117
People's Democratic Front: 24, 127, 135
People's Republic of China (_see also_ Sino-Soviet issue): 1, 27, 157,
158, 164, 167, 168, 250
periodicals: 53, 176, 180-181, 182;
library, 105, 107, 152
Peter, tsar of Russia: 2
petroleum: ix, 17, 20, 29, 37, 47, 276, 278
Petrosani: 276
Phanariots: 12-13, 15
Pioneers Organization: 77, 80, 198, 199, 201
pipelines: ix, 29, 47
Ploiesti: 37, 41, 44, 47, 216
Plowmans Front: 22, 23
Poland: xiv, 165, 172, 182, 224
police (_see also_ militia): ix, 24, 195, 196, 197, 198, 202, 203;
secret, 3, 25, 193, 197
pope: 14, 67, 68, 70, 71
Popescu-Gopo: 103
population: vii, 3, 30, 35, 38-41, 74
ports (_see also_ individual ports): ix, 17, 48, 196, 217
president, office and functions: 117, 118, 161, 214
Presidium: 110, 112
press: ix, 23, 93, 139, 176;
freedom, 16, 113, 153, 176
prices: 237-240, 249, 283
prime minister, office and functions: 110, 119, 120
private sector: 113-114, 230, 258, 268-269, 273, 280
professionals (_see also_ intelligentsia): 6;
unions, 94
propaganda (_see also_ indoctrination): v, 92, 139, 141, 153, 175, 176,
184, 190
Prosecutor General: 112, 115, 116, 118, 122, 123-124, 202
Protestants (_see also_ religion): viii, 4, 5, 13, 53, 71-72
Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam
(VietCong): 163, 171
Prut River: 29, 30, 31, 33, 38, 46
publishing: 147, 175, 176, 177, 185-187
purges, political: 3, 24, 25, 77, 142, 156
Radescu, Nicolae, General: 22, 23
radio: ix, 54, 101, 175, 176, 177, 182-184, 191, 288
Radulescu, Ehade: 104
railways: ix, 16, 29, 43-45, 194, 196, 227
reform: 14, 16, 19, 132, 133, 153;
economic, 8, 19, 231, 237, 248, 285;
education, 73, 77-79;
land, 16, 17, 18, 55, 58
religion (_see also_ church-state relations; clergy; Protestants; Roman
Catholicism; Romanian Orthodox Church): viii, 4, 5, 62, 65-66, 127;
education, 4, 14, 66, 69, 72, 75, 76, 112;
freedom of, viii, 5, 65, 68, 111;
persecution of, 4, 65, 68, 70
Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam): 170, 171
research: 107-108
revenue (_see also_ taxation): 241, 269
riparian rights: vii
rivers (_see also_ individual rivers; riparian rights; waterways): ix,
29, 31, 33-34, 36
roads and highways: ix, 29, 43, 44, 99, 203, 227
Rodin, Auguste: 98
Roman Catholicism (_see also_ church-state relations; religion): viii,
4, 13, 53, 67, 69-71
_Romania Libera_: 178, 179
Romanian Academy of Social and Political Sciences: 82
Romanian Air Transport (TAROM): ix, 46
Romanian Communist Party (Partidul Comunist Roman, PCR): vi, vii, 1, 3,
5, 6, 7, 8, 19, 22, 27, 55, 84, 92, 94, 98, 101, 109, 110, 111,
114, 118, 123, 125, 126, 127, 129, 130, 132-134, 135, 136-146, 147,
149, 153, 160, 161, 164, 167, 168, 169, 171, 174, 176, 177, 196,
198, 211, 226, 229, 234, 235, 237, 248, 275, 280;
Central Auditing Committee, 133, 137, 140;
Central Collegium, 140;
Central Committee, 26, 27, 118, 119, 121, 125, 131, 132, 133, 134,
136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 143, 145, 153, 158, 162, 176, 178, 180,
181, 182, 213, 268;
Executive Committee, 120, 121, 131, 138, 139, 140, 152, 198;
membership, 61, 129, 142-144, 153, 281;
organization, 137-142;
policies, 149-153;
Secretariat, 119, 138, 139, 140, 152;
Standing Presidium, 8, 119, 131, 133, 138, 139, 155, 160, 162, 230
Romanian ethnic group: 3, 17, 18, 33, 49, 50-52, 52-53, 55, 57, 143;
history, 13-14
Romanian Foreign Trade Bank: 242, 243, 244, 247
Romanian language: vii, 2, 4, 11, 14, 51, 54, 67, 75, 83, 103, 104, 209
Romanian Orthodox Church (_see also_ church-state relations; clergy
religion): viii, 4, 65, 67-69
Romanian People's Army. See armed forces
Romanian People's Republic: v, vii, 5, 24, 110, 111, 131
Romanian Press Agency (Agentia Romana de Presa, Agerpres): 181, 182
Romanian Workers' Party: 23, 27, 111, 112, 130, 137, 142
Romans and the Roman Empire: 3, 10-11, 14, 50, 67, 91, 99
rural society (_see also_ villages): 38, 41, 57, 62, 65, 68, 79, 87,
153, 154, 183, 187, 264;
population, 17, 52, 53
Russia (_see also_ Soviet Union): history, 2, 9, 15, 16, 18, 37, 54;
revolution, 19, 37
Russian language: 2, 27, 83, 181
Sadoveanu, Mihail: 106
sanitation: 42
Sarmizegetusa: 99
Savings and Loan Bank: 242, 244, 245
schools (_see also_ education; religion; students; universities): 2, 14,
27, 53, 54, 57, 65, 73, 74, 75, 77, 80, 81, 82, 83-88, 89, 97, 104,
148, 200, 201, 204
_Scinteia_: 178, 179
_Scinteia Tineretului_: 178-180
sculpture: 98
security (_see also_ crime; defence; police): 133, 139;
internal, 116, 120, 193-201;
national, ix, 20
security troops: 193, 194, 197-198, 203, 206, 219
services: 232, 239
Sibu: 53
Sighisoara: 53
Sino-Soviet issue: v, 1, 27, 158, 164, 166, 167
Siretul River: 30, 31, 41
size and location (_see also_ boundaries): vii, xiv, 3, 29, 32
Slavs: 2, 4, 9, 11, 12, 49, 51, 55, 127, 151;
language and culture, 50, 51, 67
social benefits: 88, 260, 262
Social Democratic Party: 19, 22, 23, 137, 142
social structure: 6, 17, 58-62
socialism (_see also_ collective farms; nationalization; Socialist
Realism): v, 5, 73, 105, 151-153, 154, 198, 207, 230, 240
Socialist Party: 142
Socialist Realism: 7, 92, 93, 106
Socialist Republic of Romania: v, vii, 1, 3, 5, 28, 66, 113, 131
Socialist Unity Front: 126, 127, 135, 151, 177, 198
soils: 29, 35-36, 253, 254
Soviet Union (_see also_ Czechoslovakia; Sino-Soviet issue): 22, 23, 33,
34, 37, 54, 131, 159, 163, 164-165, 167, 172, 182, 199, 212, 216,
218, 223, 224, 275, 279;
border, vii, xiv, 10, 29, 46, 217;
Communist Party, 137, 156, 166;
Constitution (1936), 5, 111;
independence of, 1-2, 3, 5, 8, 25, 26, 27, 28, 63, 113, 129, 134, 136,
154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 161, 164, 169, 211, 227, 248;
influence over Romania, v, viii, 1, 5, 7, 9, 24, 76, 92, 110, 111,
137, 152, 156, 158, 198;
trade, viii, 190, 250, 276, 277;
World War II, 9, 20, 21
Stalin, Joseph (_see also_ Stalinism): 2, 7, 9, 25, 156
Stalinism: 2, 25, 156;
de-Stalinization, 7, 92, 134-136, 157
State Committee for Prices: 115,120, 237, 239, 240
state enterprises: 80, 82, 87, 119, 120, 126, 141, 188, 194, 230, 231,
234-237, 238, 239, 242, 243, 246, 248, 281, 283;
farms, 257, 258, 261-262, 267, 273;
industry, 280, 283
State Inspectorate General for Product Quality: 289
State Planning Committee: 119, 120, 121, 237, 242, 243
State Security Council: 195, 197, 198
Stephan Gheorghiu Academy of Social-Political Education and the
Training of Leading Cadres: 139, 144
Stephen the Great (1457-1504): 12
Stoica, Chivu: 130, 131, 133, 136
Storck, Carol: 98
Storck, Karl: 98
students (_see also_ schools): 73, 80, 86, 87, 148;
organizations, 77, 78, 80, 87, 199, 200
suffrage: 126
sugar beet: 255, 256, 272
Superior Council of Agriculture: 256, 257
Supreme Court: viii, 109, 112, 116, 118, 122, 124, 201, 223
Szeklers: 13, 52, 53
Szekelys. _See_ Szeklers
_tambal_: 100
TAROM. _See_ Romanian Air Transport
Tatars: 3, 4, 11, 12, 50, 51, 72
Tattarescu, Gheorghe: 97
taxation: 233, 239, 241, 245
teachers: 78, 79, 82, 83, 88, 154;
training, 75, 76, 77, 82, 84, 85, 87-88, 89, 144
technical/vocational education: viii, 6, 7, 73, 74, 75, 76, 78, 80, 81,
84, 85, 87, 145, 284
television: ix, 54, 101, 152, 175, 176, 177, 182, 184-185, 288
text books: 2, 78, 80, 82
textiles: 95, 284, 288
theater: 53, 101-102, 105, 152
Thracians. _See_ Dacians
timber: 277-278, 288
Timisoara: 44, 193
Tirgu Mures: 44, 52
Tisza River: 31, 33, 46
Tonitza, Nicolae: 97
topography (_see also_ mountains; rivers): vii, 31, 253
tourists and tourism: 33, 217, 252;
exchange rate, ix, 247
trade (_see also_ export; import; individual countries): 232;
balance, viii, 8, 169, 173, 229, 242-243, 248, 251-252;
domestic, 236;
foreign, viii, 27, 155, 162, 163, 164, 167, 168, 170, 171, 172, 173,
217, 229, 230, 237, 246, 247-252
traffic, vehicular: 203-204
Trajan, Column of: 14
Trajan, Emperor: 11, 50, 99
transport (_see also_ air transport; pipelines; railways; roads and
highways; traffic; waterways): 43-48, 110, 216, 232
Transylvania (_see also_ Transylvanian Alps): vii, 3, 4, 32, 34, 35, 37,
47, 68, 99, 166, 254, 276;
cultural, 94, 95, 99, 103;
history, 3, 10, 11, 13-14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 37, 50, 55, 67, 70;
population, 41, 52, 53, 54, 56;
transport, 43, 47
Transylvanian Alps: vii, 30, 31-32, 33, 35, 47, 276
travel: 61
Treaty of Berlin (1878): 16
'Tudor Vladimirescu': 21
Turkey (_see also_ Ottoman Empire and the Turks; Turks): vii, 15, 16,
170, 171
Turks (_see also_ Ottoman Empire and the Turks): 3, 4, 15, 50, 53, 55
Turnu Severin: 44, 99
UTC. _See_ Union of Communist Youth
underemployment: 233, 253, 264, 265
Uniate Church: 4, 13, 67, 68, 69
Union of Communist Youth (Uniunea Tineretului Comunist, UTC): 77, 78,
80, 87, 120, 133, 147-148, 178, 181, 198-199, 200, 201, 213
Union of Student Associations: 77, 80, 198, 200
Unitarians: 4, 5, 13, 53, 73
United Nations: ix, 155, 168, 170, 172
United Principalities: 16
United States: 23, 167, 170, 190;
trade, 158, 246, 250-251
universities (_see also_ University of Bucharest): 75, 76, 80, 81, 84,
85-86, 88, 199, 200, 221;
foreign, 15;
teachers, 116;
workers, 87
University of Bucharest: 107
uranium: 277
urban society: 4, 15, 17, 38, 41, 49, 54, 57, 62, 75, 87, 102, 141,
255, 264;
government, 124, 125, 126
Vacarescu, Iancu: 104
Valbudea, Stefan Ionescu: 98
values and traditions: political, 153-154;
social, 49, 62-63, 65
Vatican (_see also_ pope): 69, 71
vegetables: 254, 256, 261, 268, 270, 272, 273
vegetation (_see also_ forests and forestry): 36
Vietnam (_see also_ Provisional Revolutionary Government of South
Vietnam; Republic of Vietnam): 158
villages: 38, 41, 91, 100;
justice, 194
Vlachs: 11, 12, 50
Vyshinsky, Andrei: 23
wages (_see also_ income): 88, 149, 260-261, 263-264, 285;
prisoners, 208
Walachia: vii, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 43, 47, 254;
cultural, 96, 97, 99, 103;
history, 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 37, 67, 74;
population, 41, 54
Warsaw Pact. _See_ Warsaw Treaty Organization
Warsaw Treaty Organization (_see also_ Czechoslovakia): ix, 1, 2, 7, 8,
28, 46, 135, 136, 156, 159, 161, 164, 166, 167, 168, 171, 172, 203,
211, 212, 215, 216, 218, 219, 220, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227
waterways: ix, 29, 44, 45-46, 48
West Germany. _See_ Federal Republic of Germany
Western nations (_see also_ individual nations): 163, 164, 169, 171, 182;
cultural influence (_see also_ France), 91, 93, 95, 98, 99, 100, 101,
104, 105, 107, 132, 152, 168, 187, 189, 190;
economic relations, 8, 25, 27, 158, 168, 229, 230, 246, 247, 248,
250, 251, 275
wildlife: 32-33
women: viii, 39, 40, 57, 79, 141, 143, 180, 181, 208, 209;
labor, 56-57, 58, 264, 283;
organizations, 5, 126, 127, 135, 147, 199
working class (_see also_ peasantry): 6, 17, 58, 59-60, 61, 86, 92,
126, 142, 143, 148, 149, 152
World Council of Churches: 72
World War I: 3, 4, 9, 17-18, 32, 37, 40, 74, 212
World War II: 9, 20-21, 32, 33, 37, 40, 41, 54, 72, 113, 226, 277
youth (_see also_ students; Union of Communist Youth): 7, 73, 76, 78,
82, 141, 152, 180, 193, 199-201, 203, 219;
organizations, 5, 57, 77, 78, 105, 126, 127, 132, 135, 144, 147, 152,
198, 199, 200, 201, 281
Yugoslavia: 3, 33, 39, 46, 164, 166, 167, 182, 219, 278, 279;
border, vii, xiv, 10, 29, 34, 37, 216, 217
Zhivkov, Todor: 166
PUBLISHED AREA HANDBOOKS
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+---------------------------------------------------+
| Transcriber's Note: |
| |
| Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the |
| original document have been preserved. |
| |
| Typographical errors corrected in the text: |
| |
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| Page 12 fuedal changed to feudal |
| Page 17 entrepreneuers changed to entrepreneurs |
| Page 42 quantitites changed to quantities |
| Page 45 neglible changed to negligible |
| Page 54 inincluding changed to including |
| Page 100 intruments changed to instruments |
| Page 142 it changed to its |
| Page 142 propanda changed to propaganda |
| Page 150 comisssions changed to commissions |
| Page 150 leaderwhip changed to leadership |
| Page 159 indepedence changed to independence |
| Page 160 spokemen changed to spokesmen |
| Page 161 vaild changed to valid |
| Page 164 Doctine changed to Doctrine |
| Page 165 Relatons changed to Relations |
| Page 166 Romaian changed to Romanian |
| Page 171 agressive changed to aggressive |
| Page 171 statement changed to statements |
| Page 172 vistied changed to visited |
| Page 177 to changed to a |
| Page 185 snd changed to and |
| Page 186 them changed to then |
| Page 187 hisotrical changed to historical |
| Page 188 principlally changed to principally |
| Page 190 documenaries changed to documentaries |
| Page 193 investigaton changed to investigation |
| Page 193 trails changed to trials |
| Page 200 informaton changed to information |
| Page 201 trail changed to trial |
| Page 207 miltary changed to military |
| Page 208 rehabilitiate changed to rehabilitate |
| Page 229 indequate changed to inadequate |
| Page 238 pecentage changed to percentage |
| Page 238 indistry changed to industry |
| Page 253 urgenly changed to urgently |
| Page 255 peroid changed to period |
| Page 270 yars changed to years |
| Page 280 som changed to some |
| Page 186 earier changed to earlier |
| Page 291 Prager changed to Praeger |
| Page 291 Fisher changed to Fischer |
| Page 301 Bulentinul changed to Buletinul |
| Page 302 Spetember changed to September |
| Page 307 archaelogy changed to archaeology |
| Page 308 chernozen changed to chernozem |
| Page 316 TARCM changed to TAROM |
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