Area Handbook For Romania - free ebook by Donald W. Bernier

Co-Authors Eugene K. Keefe Donald W. Bernier Lyle E. Brenneman William Giloane James M. Moore, Jr. Neda A. Walpole

DA Pam 550-160...

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FOREWORD

This volume is one of a series of handbooks prepared by Foreign Area 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 presen

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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 o

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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

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LIST OF TABLES

Figure 1. Romania....

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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 throu

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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 larg

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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

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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

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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 com

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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

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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 cu

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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. Constitutiona

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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,

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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 relation

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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 est

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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 p

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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 withi

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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 ha

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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

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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 need

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Section I. SOCIAL Andrews, Colman Robert. "The Rumanian Film Today," East Europe , XVIII, Nos. 8-9, August-September 1969, 21-24. Appleton, Ted. Your Guide to Romania. London: Alvin Redman, 1965. Baldwin, Godfrey (ed.). International Population Reports. (U.S. Department of Commerce, Series P-91, No. 18.) Washington: GPO, 1969. Basdevant, Denise. Against Tide and Tempest: The Story of Romania. (Trans., F. Danham and J. Carroll.) New York: Speller and Sons, 1965. Bass, Robert. "East European Commu

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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 administrativ

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