¹ For the interpretation of the Romanian communist political culture, see: Ionescu, Ghiţa, Communism in Romania: 1944—1962, New York, Oxford University Press, 1964;Google Scholar Jowitt, Kenneth, Revolutionary Breakthroughs and National Development: The Case of Romania, Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1971;Google Scholar King, Robert R., A History of the Romanian Communist Party, Stanford, Hoover Institution Press, 1980;Google Scholar Tismaneanu, Vladimir, ‘Ceauşescu’s socialism’, Problems of Communism, 01—02 1985, pp. 50–66.Google Scholar

² See Haupt, Georges, ‘La genèse du conflit soviéto-roumain’, Revue Française de Science Politique, Vol. XVIII, No. 4, 08 1968, pp. 669–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

³ For the meaning of the Pauker-Luca affair, see Hodos, George H., Show Trials: Stalinist Purges in Eastern Europe, 1948–1954, New York, Praeger, 1987, pp. 93–106 and Ghiţa Ionescu, Communism in Romania, op. cit., pp. 196—218.Google Scholar

⁴ See Ghiţa Ionescu, op. cit., pp. 284—87; Tismaneanu, Vladimir, ‘Miron Constantinescu or the Impossible Heresy’, Survey, Vol. 28, No. 4 (123), Winter 1984, pp. 175–87.Google Scholar

⁵ See ‘Report of the delegation of the Romanian Workers’ Party which attended the 22nd Congress of the CPSU’, in Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, Articles and Speeches: June 1960-December 1962, Bucharest, Meridiane Publishing House, 1963, pp. 257–89.

⁶ See Declaranţe cu privire la poziţia Partidului Muncitoresc Román in problemele mişcării comuniste şi mucitoreşti internaţionale, adoptală la Plenara lţrgitţ a C.C. al P.M.R. din aprilie 1964, Bucharest, Editura Politicţ, 1964. For details on the Romanian-Soviet economic conflict, see Victor Frunzţ, Istoria Partidului Comunist Román, Vol. II, Arhus, Denmark, Nord, 1984, pp. 535–40.

⁷ See ‘Raportul cu privire la mâsurile de perfecjionare a conducerii şi planificării economiei nationale şi îmbunàtàşirea organizárii administrativ-teritoriale a României’, in Nicolae Ceaujescu, Opere álese, vol. 1, op. cit., pp. 387—8.

⁸ For the significance of the Pătràşcanu affair, see Ghiţa Ionescu, Communism in Romania, op. cit., pp. 151—6.

⁹ Not only did such a plenum never take place, but at the 10th RCP Congress in 1969, Ceausescu significantly blunted the edge of his anti-Dej pronouncements by expressing ‘high appreciation’ for his predecessor’s contributions to the cause of socialism. See Congresul al X-lea al Partidului Comunist Roman: 6—12 august 1969, Bucharest, Editura Politica, 1969, p. 67.

¹⁰ The Greek Communist Party’s Central Committee split in January 1968. Ceauşescu personally encouraged the leaders of the ‘independents’ and for a long time shunned contacts with the pro-Moscow party (KKE). It is worth mentioning that at the time of the split the Greek Central Committee as well as its radio station (the ‘Voice of Truth’) and journal (Neos Kosmos) were located in Bucharest.

¹¹ See Plenara Comitetului Central al Partidului Comunist Român, 3—5 nokmbrie 1971, Bucharest, Editura Politicá, 1971.

¹² For the composition of the ruling organs elected in 1974, see Congresul al Xl-lea al Partidului Comunist Român: 25—28 noiembrie 1974, Bucharest, Editura Politicá, 1975, pp. 834–42.

¹³ Emil Bobu’s wife, Maria, is herself a CC member and Minister of Justice.

¹⁴ See Lee, Gary, ‘Austerity leaves Romanians Short of Food, Fuel and Fun’, The Washington Post, 24 08 1987.Google Scholar

¹⁵ See Soulé, Veronique, ‘’, Libération, Paris, 25 11 1987.Google Scholar

¹⁶ See ‘Pogrom in Romania’, The Economist, 3 September 1988; Shafir, Michael, ‘The Historical Background to Rural Resettlement’, Radio Free Europe Research, Romanian SR/10, 23 08 1988, pp. 3–8. Referring to Ceaujescu’s ‘systematization’ programme, Hungarian Politburo member Imre Pozsgay went so far as to call it an ‘injury to European civilization, a crime against humanity’. See Banta, Kenneth W., ‘Where Glasnost Is Still a Dirty Word’, Time, 5 09 1988.Google ScholarPubMed There is no doubt that Ceausescu’s inordinate actions have greatly contributed to the heightening of the Hungarian-Romanian polemics in recent years. Ironically, Ceauşescu’s xenophobic attitudes allowed Hungarian communist leaders to project themselves as adamant defenders of their nation’s dignity.

¹⁷ See Bialer, Seweryn, Stalin’s Successors: Leadership, Stability and Change in the Soviet Union, New York, Cambridge University Press, 1980, p. 34.Google Scholar

¹⁸ See Shafir, Michael, ‘“Ceausescuism” Against “Gorbachevism”‘, Radio Free Europe Research, RAD Background Report 95, 30 05 1988, pp. 1–5.Google Scholar

¹⁹ For the functions of the personality cult in Soviet-style regimes, see Paltiel, Jeremy T., ‘The Cult of Personality: Some Comparative Reflections on Political Culture in Leninist Regimes’, Studies in Comparative Communism, Vol. XVI, No. 1 & 2, Spring/Summer 1983, pp. 49–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

²⁰ See Sampson, Steven, ‘Rumours in Socialist Romania’, Survey, Vol. 28, No. 4, Winter 1984, pp. 142–64.Google Scholar

²¹ For a telling account of the ambivalent American perceptions of Ceauţescu’s Romania in the 1970s, see Barnes, Harry G. Jr., ‘Impressions on Romania’, in Paul Quinlan, D. (éd.), The United States and Romania: American-Romanian Relations During the Twentieth Century, Woodland Hills,Google Scholar American-Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1988. Mr Barnes first served as a deputy chief of mission of the American Embassy in Bucharest (1968–1971) and later as ambassador between 1974 and 1977.

²² For a description of the Jiu Valley events based on an extensive account provided by Istvan Hosszu, a direct participant in the movement, see Vladimir Socor, ‘Eyewitness on the 1977 Miners’ Strike in Romania’s Jiu Valley’, RFER, RAD Background Report/110 (Romania), 13 August 1986.

²³ For a perceptive interpretation of the rise of the Communist ‘new right’ in Romania and its implications for the struggles within the power elite, see Shafir, Michael, ‘The Men of the Archangel Revisited: Anti-Semitic Formations among Communist Romania’s Intellectuals’, Studies in Comparative Communism, Vol. XVI, No. 3, Autumn 1983, pp. 223–43.Google Scholar

²⁴ See Lovinescu, Monica, ‘Augustin Buzura despre rolul scriitorului’, AGORA, Philadelphia, Vol. 1, No. 2, 05 1988, pp. 80–86;Google Scholar ştefánescu, Crisula, ‘Writer denounces Dictatorship’, Radio Free Europe Research, Romanian SR/4, 22 02 1985.Google Scholar

²⁵ For the dynamics of opposition in East-Central Europe, see: Jude, Tony, ‘The Dilemmas of Dissidence: The Politics of Opposition in East-Central Europe’, East European Politics and Societies, Vol. 2, No. 2, Spring 1988, pp. 185—240;Google Scholar Tismaneanu, Vladimir, The Crisis of Marxist Ideology in Eastern Europe: The Poverty of Utopia, London and New York, Routledge, 1988, pp. 108–83.Google Scholar

²⁶ For the emergence of the working-class opposition in Romania, see Berindei, Mihnea, ‘La Roumanie à l’heure polonaise: Le pouvoir face à l’opposition ouvrière’, L’Alternative, Paris, special issue on crisis and repression in Romania, supplement to no. 20, 01 1983, pp. 26–29.Google Scholar

²⁷ See Sieff, Martin, ‘Romania faces East Europe’s “deepest crisis”, dissident says’, The Washington Times, 5 01 1988.Google Scholar

²⁸ See Havel, Vaclav et al., The Power of the Powerless: Citizens Against State in Central-Eastern Europe, Armonk, N.Y., M.E. Sharpe, 1985, pp. 57–61.Google Scholar

²⁹ For the characteristics of Romanian ‘national-communism’, see Vladimir, Tismaneanu, ‘The Ambiguity of Romanian National Communism’, Telos, Summer 1984, pp. 65–79.Google Scholar

³⁰ For a vivid picture of Ceausescu’s ‘court’, see Pacepa, Ion Mihai, Red Horizons, Washington, Regnery Gateway, 1987.Google Scholar

³¹ Hinting at Romania’s refusal to embark on restructuring, during Ceauşescu’s visit to Moscow in October 1988, Mikhail Gorbachev argued that the general image of socialism reflects not only the successes, but also the failures of each communist country. See Scfnteia, 6 October 1988.

³² See Kamm, Henry, ‘East Bloc’s Wind of Change Now Blows from Moscow’, The New York Times, 5 01 1988.Google Scholar

³³ See Nicolae Ceausescu’s speech at the 29 April 1988 Political Executive Committee Meeting, Scîtnteia, 4 May 1988; for the Romanian leader’s opposition to reforms, see Lhomel, Edith, ‘Ceauşescu dit non’, Problèmes Politiques et Sociaux, Paris, no. 574., 25 12 1987, pp. 23–24;Google Scholar Tismaneanu, Vladimir, ‘Ceauseşcu gegen Glasnost’, Kontinent, Munich, Heft 3, 1988, pp. 48–53.Google Scholar

³⁴ See Socor, Vladimir, ‘Romanian-Soviet Relations on the Eve of Ceauşescu’s Visit to Moscow’, Radio Free Europe Research, Romanian SR/12, 14 10 1988, pp. 17–20.Google Scholar

³⁵ For plural checks in communist regimes, see Ionescu, Ghiţa, The Politics of the European Communist States, New York and Washington, Praeger, 1967, pp. 87–167.Google Scholar

³⁵ For Elena Ceairşescu’s role in Romanian politics, see Mary Ellen Fischer, ‘Women in Romanian Politics: Elena Ceausescu, Pronatalism, and the Promotion of Women’, in Wolchik, Sharon L. and Meyer, Alfred G., Women, State, and Party in Eastern Europe, Durham, N.C., Duke University Press, 1985, pp. 121–37.Google Scholar

³⁶ See , Iliescu, ‘Creaţtie si informaţie’, România Literarâ, no. 36, 3 09 1987, p. 19;Google Scholar for biographical details on Iliescu, see ‘Kluger Kopf, Der Spiegel, Hamburg, 9 November 1987.

³⁷ See Ion Shafir, Michael, ‘Former Defense Minister Appointed Ideological Chief,’ RFER, Romanian SR/8, 23 06 1988.Google Scholar

³⁸ See Maier, Anneli, ‘Another Personnel Reshuffle’, RFER, Romanian SR/10, 11 09 1986.Google Scholar

³⁹ For a penetrating discussion of succession scenarios in Romania, see Socor, Vladimir, ‘Toward a Post-Ceaus, escu Leadership in Romania’, RFER, RAD Background Report/5, Eastern Europe, 10 01 1986.Google Scholar

⁴⁰ The author would like to thank the National Council for Soviet and East European Studies for the grant that made research for this essay possible.