The ancient history of any state is distinguished by the presence of blank spots and mysteries, but it is difficult to imagine a country with greater secrets and mystical manifestations than this one. It is necessary to start with the fact that the history of Romania began earlier than in all of Europe. Findings of archaeologists and researches of scientists testify to this fact.

Mystical history of Romania

The found remains of an ancient man date back forty thousand years ago. Scientists have found that Neanderthals and intelligent people existed in Romania at the same time, which is very unexpected. Mysterious history of romania replete with such facts from the beginning to the present day.

At different periods of time, the Scythians and Cimmerians, Dacians and Thracians, Romans and Slavs, as well as the Mongol-Tatars, who in the thirteenth century conquered vast territories in all directions, were in charge of the country. rich story state was gained through the suffering of the common people.

During the Middle Ages, Romania was divided into separate principalities, and most of it belonged to other states. The unification process began in the middle of the nineteenth century and successfully ended with the formation of the kingdom Romania at the end of that century. The state was weak after the revolutionary events, therefore it could not resist the onslaught of the Entente in the First World War. Its small size and Antanescu's policies brought the country closer to Hitler's regime in the second war of the twentieth century. All these vicissitudes of history were not in vain. undergone changes and Romanian culture, which tried to maintain its identity throughout all the conquests and periods of colonization.

Capital of Romania

The city of Bucharest traces its history back to the Stone Age. The sites of the first people were found on its territory. The city itself dates back to the fourteenth century. For a long time it was a fortress and protected the frontiers from enemy attacks. Since 1859, Bucharest received the status of “but even after that it was occupied during the First and Second World Wars of the twentieth century.

Population of Romania

The whole is about twenty-two million people. Most live in cities and this is more than fifty percent. The largest metropolis is Bucharest, with about two million people living in it. Almost ninety percent of the total are Romanians, the remaining ten are Hungarians, Germans, Russians, Turks, Croats and smaller diasporas.

State of Romania

On the territory of South-Eastern Europe is located, which is the largest in this region. The eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula is washed by the waters of the Black Sea, which makes it possible to develop the tourism and hotel business. Profits from production are growing at an accelerated pace.

Politics of Romania

The country has a presidential system of government. The modern one is based on the division of power into three branches, as in many other countries of the world. In 2003, amendments were made to the Constitution, and at the moment the state is a democratic, social republic. The President of Romania is Klaus Iohannis.

Language of Romania

Despite numerous conquests, the country has retained its originality, and the culture has not lost its flavor. This also affected the official language Romania. Everyone in the country speaks Romanian, which has its own dialects. On the territory of Romania, or rather, in its individual regions, residents use the Wallachian, Moldavian and Crishan dialect. Knowledge of other world languages ​​is not mandatory, and they are studied as additional ones.

state on the Yu.-V. Europe. In the first centuries A.D. e. territory modern Romania was the outskirts of Rome. empire, where the local population, mixed with Rome. settlers, called Romani (from latin. romanus- "Roman") . In 1861 G. first formed state, named after this people Romania (Romania) , Russian traditional .

Geographical names of the world: Toponymic dictionary. - M: AST. Pospelov E.M. 2001 .

Romania

(Romania), a country in the SE. Europe, pl. 237.5 thousand km², the capital - Bucharest ; other large cities: Constanta, Iasi , Cluj-Napoca , Timisoara , Galati , Brasov , Craiova , Ploiesti . In the 7th-5th centuries BC e. on the app. Greek colonies appeared on the Black Sea coast; at the end of the 1st century n. e. on the territory of R., the state of the Dacians arose, which in 106-271. became the Roman province of Dacia. In the X-XI centuries. the principalities of Banat and Transylvania arose in the west (in the 12th–13th centuries they began to be settled by Germans from Saxony and Swabia), in 1324 Wallachia in the south, and in 1359 Moldavia (Moldova) in the east. After 1526 The territory of R. was in the sphere of influence of the Ottoman Empire: in 1541, the author was created. The Transylvanian Principality, which became its suzerain, and Wallachia and Moldova were included in its composition. In 1691, the Transylvania , in 1775 - Bukovina; in 1812 to Russia - east. part of Moldova ( Bessarabia ). In 1829 Wallachia and Moldova received autonomy, in 1862 they were merged into the state of Romania. In 1918–19 R. includes Bukovina, Transylvania, Banat, Bessarabia, and Maramuresh. In 1940, Bulgaria was ceded to Yuzh. Dobruja, Hungary - North. Transylvania, USSR - North. Bukovina, all of Bessarabia, and in 1945 - Gertsaevsky district ( Chernivtsi region Ukraine). In 1945, R. received back Sev. Transylvania. In 1947, the monarchy was abolished, and instead proclaimed Romanian People's Republic . After the fall of the Ceausescu regime (1989), the head of state is the president, the parliament consists of 2 chambers - the Assembly of Deputies and the Senate.
Occupies SW. Balkan Peninsula and from the East it is washed by the Black Sea (the coastline is 245 km long). Sev. and center. parts of the country are Carpathians (Moldoveanu in the mountains Fagaras , 2544 m); to the west are the Bihor Mountains from the Mt. Traskau and Metalifer. Inside the Carpathian arc lies Transylvanian plateau . On the extreme west, the outskirts enter the river Middle Danube Plain , plains are located in the south Lower Danube and Baragan, plateau Dobruja . To the south and southwest. there are strong earthquakes. The main river flows from west to east. Danube with left tributaries Cherna, Jiu, Olt, Argesh, Ialomitsa, Siret , Rod . To the east of the city of Tulcea, the Danube splits into Kilian, Sulinskoe, Georgievskoe; there are many lakes and islands in the delta. The climate is temperate continental. The steppes on the plains are plowed up. The foothills are covered with oak and beech forests; above 1200 m - spruce and fir forests, on the peaks - subalpine meadows. In the Transylvanian Alps - nat. Retezat Park (south of Hunedoara).
Population approx. 22.4 million people (2001), density 95 people. per 1 km²; urban 56%. Romanians 80%, Hungarians 8%, Gypsies 9%, Germans 0.5% (1992); Serbs, Ukrainians, Lipovans (Russian Old Believers), Tatars, Turks, Bulgarians. Official language - Romanian; Romanians are Orthodox, Germans are Lutherans, Hungarians are Catholics and Calvinists; there are Uniate believers; Old Believers. Oil production, natural gas, stone and brown coal, iron, manganese, polymetallic ores and gold; barite, sulfur. Ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, shipbuilding; oil processing, automotive, chemical, electrical engineering, pharmaceutical, building, cement, glass, woodworking, cello-paper, leather-shoes, text, food. prom. Corn, wheat, sugar are grown. beets, sunflowers, potatoes, grapes, plums, apples, gourds, tobacco. Winemaking, orchard. Breeding large horn. livestock, sheep, pigs, birds, fish (sea, river). Seaports - Constanta, Mangalia, Sulina; intl. airports. The main areas of tourism and recreation are the Black Sea coast ( Mom, I , Constanta , Eforie, Mangalia ), mountains of Transylvania and the Carpathians. Balneo-climatic and ski resorts; Wed-century. castles (including Bran, Count Dracula), royal palaces, monasteries (in Bukovina), cathedrals, churches, mosques, synagogues. Cash unit - lei.

Dictionary of modern geographical names. - Yekaterinburg: U-Factoria. Under the general editorship of Acad. V. M. Kotlyakova. 2006 .

until 1990 officially called the Socialist Republic of Romania, an independent state in southeastern Europe. The population, which believes that they are descended from the Romanized Thracian people - the Dacians, retained the language of the Romance group despite the fact that they lived in a region with a predominance of Slavic languages. Romania borders Ukraine to the north, Moldova to the northeast, Hungary and Yugoslavia to the west, and Bulgaria to the south.
The modern state of Romania was recognized as completely independent at the Berlin Congress in 1878. The historical core of the country consisted of Wallachia and Moldavia, which in 1859 united under the rule of the ruler. The country also included northern Bessarabia and Northern Dobruja, while southern Bessarabia was transferred to Russia by the Berlin Congress, and Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria. As a result of the Balkan Wars, on the eve of the First World War, Romania received Southern Dobruja from Bulgaria. The First World War, which led to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, as well as the Russian and Ottoman empires, allowed Romania to annex additional territories: the southern part of Bessarabia from Russia, Bukovina from Austria; Transylvania, Krishanu-Maramures and part of the Banat from Hungary (the rest of the Banat went to Yugoslavia). The vicissitudes of the Second World War and post-war agreements led to the fact that the southern part of Dobruja was returned to Bulgaria, and Northern Bukovina and all of Bessarabia went to the Soviet Union.
NATURE
The main physical and geographical feature of Romania is the Carpathian mountain system. This complex chain of mountains runs across the country from the Ukrainian border in the north to the border with Yugoslavia in the southwest in the form of a horseshoe, closing west of the Apushen mountains, and consists of a curving line of the Eastern Carpathians and an east-western line of the Southern Carpathians (Transylvanian Alps) . These interconnected mountain ranges are part of the Alpine folded mountain system that stretches from Western Europe into Asia. The mountains themselves consist of parallel ridges with steep ledges, covered with forest up to the very peaks, which reach a height of 2300 m in the Carpathians and 2544 m (Mount Moldoveanu) in the Transylvanian Alps. In the west, the Transylvanian Alps stretch south, reaching the Danube at the Iron Gates, and continuing into Yugoslavia.
On the outer side of this mountain arc are the historical regions of Moldavia (to the east) and Wallachia (south of the Transylvanian Alps up to the Danube). Both are hilly plains with fertile and intensively cultivated lands. The only area located south of the Danube - Dobruja - has low hills and is partially swampy.
Inside the mountain arc of the Carpathians is Transylvania (called Erdeli by the Hungarians) - a hilly, highly fertile and very beautiful territory. On its western outskirts, inside the Apushen mountains, there is an unevenly forested Bihor massif. Behind them, along the western edge of the country, stretches a narrow lowland strip, which is part of the Middle Danube Plain.
From most of Transylvania and Apuseni, the waterways stretch westwards into the Middle Danube Lowland, where the rivers Someshul, Mureshul and Krishul-Alb merge with the Tisza and the Danube. Rivers flow through Wallachia with sources in the Transylvanian Alps, they merge with the Siret and the Danube. Moldavia is drained by the Siret and Prut rivers, which flow into the Danube near the city of Galati.
Climate. The climate of Romania is continental, characterized by hot summers and cold winters; most of the precipitation falls in the summer. The average temperature in January in Bucharest is -3° C, and in July +23° C. Temperatures in the mountains are mild; summers are cooler in the upper parts of the Transylvanian basins, and winters are very cold and snowy. The plains of Moldavia and Dobruja are dry, in some places they resemble the steppe. They are subject to strong winds that blow from the East European Plain.
Soils and flora. The soils of the mountain regions are infertile and highly alkaline, with the exception of Transylvania, where there are rich chernozems. In the lowlands, fertile soils, similar in composition to chernozems, are the basis of arable land, accounting for about 44% of the entire country. Alpine meadows are located at an altitude of more than 1520 m. Coniferous forests, consisting mainly of fir and spruce, grow in the altitudinal zone at least 1370 m; deciduous forests, predominantly beech and oak, descend to a height of about 490 m. Below they are replaced by a zone of high grass (semi-steppe zone), which borders on a zone of low grass (steppe), extending along the Danube and extending north to Moldova and south to Dobruja. Mountain areas are suitable only for grazing; hills and plateaus are favorable for all kinds of agriculture; the lowlands are most suitable for growing crops.
Animal world. A large number of wild animals live in the forests: bears, wolves, lynx, wild boars and deer; on the plains - only foxes, hares, badgers and squirrels. There are birds of many kinds, including eagles, hawks and falcons. The rivers are rich in fish. Carp and sturgeon, once abundant in the lower Danube, are threatened with extinction due to pollution of the river water.
POPULATION
At the end of the 1930s, the population of Romania exceeded 19 million people. After the reduction of the country's territory after the Second World War (excluding Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia, annexed by the USSR, and Southern Dobruja, transferred to Bulgaria), its population in 1930 was 14.2 million people. By 2004, it totaled about 22.36 million people. The average life expectancy in Romania is 70.62 years (67.63 for men and 74.82 for women).
The modern territory of Romania was inhabited in the pre-Christian era by a tribe of Thracians, whom the Romans called the Dacians, and the Greeks called the Getae. The Dacians adopted and retained many of the main features of the Roman way of life and the Latin language, which appeared here after the conquest by the Romans in 105–106 AD. They borrowed some customs, rules and elements of material culture from the Slavs or Byzantines through the Slavic tribes.
Romania has become home to many minorities, the most important of which are the Hungarians and the Szeklers, who live predominantly in Transylvania. The ancestors of the Szeklers were settled in the area by the Hungarian kings to guard the frontier from attacks from the Ottoman Empire. Ukrainians, Russians and Bulgarians, who were the main national minorities in Romania before World War II, now live in areas annexed by the Soviet Union and Bulgaria. Jews were settled in Romania by the Turkish authorities after their expulsion from Spain at the end of the 15th century. The rest of the Jews, mostly of Polish and Russian origin, entered the country during the 19th century. Starting from the 12th century. and until the Second World War, Germans periodically moved into the country, mainly from Saxony and Swabia.
Many Romanian Jews, like most Gypsies, were exterminated by the German Nazis during World War II. After the annexation of Bessarabia by the Soviet Union, the number of Jews in Romania decreased by about one third compared to the pre-war period. Between 1945 and 1990, the large German minority was reduced by two-thirds after forced repatriation or voluntary emigration to Germany.
According to the 2004 census, 89.5% of the country's population were ethnic Romanians. The most numerous national minority was the Hungarians - 6.6% of the total population (2.5% are gypsies). There were about 0.3% Germans. There are also small ethnic communities of Ukrainians (0.3%), Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Tatars, Turks (0.2%), Slovaks, Russians (0.2%) and other ethnic groups (0.4%). (In 1950-1990, about 80% of all Romanian Jews emigrated, mainly to Israel. The Jewish population in 1992 was 3455 people).
Religion. About 86.8% of Romanians belong to the Romanian Orthodox Church, an autocephalous church associated with the Patriarch of Constantinople. After 1945, the Orthodox Church was under vigilant state supervision and lost all its wealth and power. The Romanian Uniate Church in 1948 was forcibly integrated into the Orthodox Church. There are the following minority religious communities: Roman Catholics, Calvinists, Lutherans, Unitarians, Baptists, Muslims and Jews.
Cities. In the post-war period, according to censuses, a clear trend of urbanization can be traced. The largest cities in the country are (population in 1992) after Bucharest (2,354,000 people) Brasov (in the post-war period it was called Stalin) - 329,000, Constanta - 350,000, Timisoara - 334,000, Iasi - 314,200, Cluj - 328,000, Galati - 326,000.
STATE AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION
According to the constitution adopted by the parliament in November 1991 and approved in December of the same year at a national referendum, Romania is a national, unitary, legal, democratic and social state with a republican form of government. The head of state is the president, elected by the population for a term of 4 years. He has broad powers in political matters, comparable to those of the President of the French Republic. Since 2000, the president of the country is Ion Iliescu, who already held this post in 1990-1996.
Iliescu was born in 1930 in the family of a prominent Communist Party activist, studied at the Energy Institutes in Bucharest and Moscow. In 1956-1960 he headed the Union of Students of Romania, then he worked in the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party, and in 1967-1971 he was the first secretary of the Romanian Komsomol. In 1971, the leader of the country, Nicolae Ceausescu, appointed him secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party for propaganda, but in the same year, due to disagreements with Ceausescu, he was removed from this post and sent to the province as secretary of the district party organization. Later, Iliescu was returned to Bucharest and led the government's Water Management Council. In 1984, he again fell out of favor, lost his post as a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and worked as a director of a publishing house. Since 1987, Iliescu has openly spoken out in favor of the implementation of perestroika in Romania on the Soviet model. In 1989, after the overthrow of Ceausescu, he led the National Salvation Front.
Legislative power is exercised by the Parliament, which consists of two chambers - the Assembly of Deputies and the Senate. Both are elected by the people for a term of four years by popular vote.
The highest administrative body is the government headed by the prime minister. It is approved by Parliament and is accountable to it.
Romania is subdivided into 41 counties and the metropolitan area. In cities with a population of more than 50 thousand inhabitants, municipalities have been created - elected bodies of local self-government.
Communist power. 1945–1989 Theoretically, the RCP was organized in such a way that all decision-making bodies were elected from below and all issues were discussed freely before the party congress. In 1988, 3.77 million people (16% of the population) were members of the RCP. The party congress was convened every five years, it elected a central committee, which in turn elected an executive political committee, whose permanent bureau of 15 members made the most important political decisions. After the death in 1965 of G.Georgiou-Deja, the permanent leader since 1952, Nicolae Ceausescu became the general secretary of the party. In 1988, the number of seats in the permanent bureau was reduced from 15 to 7. One of the seats was occupied by Ceausescu's wife, Elena, relatives and children of the Secretary General were appointed to other important government posts.
According to the Constitution of 1965, the main organs of state power were the Grand National Assembly and the State Council. The National Assembly - Parliament - was popularly elected for a term of five years. Since 1975, several candidates began to stand for candidates in the elections of many local assemblies, although all candidates, as before, went through the approval process by the Front for Democracy and Socialist Unity (FDSE), created and controlled by the RCP. The State Council consisted of 20 people and was headed by the president. All its members were elected by the national assembly from among the deputies. The council was nominally subordinate to the national assembly, but the functions of both branches of power consisted only in the ratification of proposals submitted for consideration by the RCP. The Council of Ministers, elected by the National Assembly and answerable to it and the Council of State, was the main institution of executive power. Also headed by Ceausescu, he had broad powers in the economic, legal, military and cultural spheres.
Local and regional affairs and problems that were not directly related to the central government were the responsibility of the people's councils. The chain of command made them accountable to the district councils and ultimately to the Council of Ministers, although the people's councils were popularly elected.
The highest judicial authority was the Supreme Court, whose members were appointed by the national assembly; his activities were controlled by the prosecutor general, who was also appointed by this assembly and combined the posts of a high official of justice and a public prosecutor, who in fact always won all court cases. The lower courts were hierarchically subordinate to the supreme court, usually approving the recommendations of the prosecutor.
post-communist state. The Ceausescu regime fell on December 22, 1989. Power passed into the hands of the interim government of the National Salvation Front (FNS). The FNC was the main political force in the Council of National Unity, a provisional parliament that included more than a dozen other parties, most of which were anti-communist. The FNS was headed by Ion Iliescu, former secretary of the RCP, who won the presidency, and Petre Roman, a former figure in higher education. Elections were held in May 1990. Iliescu received 85% of the vote; Roman became prime minister and formed a 23-member cabinet. A new bicameral parliament was created, consisting of 387 seats in the lower house, the national assembly; 119 seats in the upper house - the Senate. The FTS achieved a majority in winning 67% of the seats in each of the chambers. Other parties accused him of pressuring the media and intimidating his opponents during the election campaign, during which the Federal Tax Service promised to build a democratic society and a free economy. The drafting of a new constitution began. Some forms of suppression have survived, not without the assistance of the apparently vanished secret police, the "securitate." Anti-communist demonstrations in February and June 1990 were suppressed.
The Legislative Assembly of Romania adopted a new post-communist constitution, which was approved in late 1991 in a popular referendum. The constitution, which was based on the French model, established a mixed presidential-parliamentary system. The legislative branch of power within this system consists of two chambers: the highest - the Senate and the lowest - the Chamber of Deputies.
The second general elections in Romania in September 1992 strengthened the role of President Ion Iliescu in the political life of post-communist Romania. With 47% of the vote in the first round and 61% in the second round, Iliescu once again dominated the candidates. Emil Constantinescu, candidate of the opposition Democratic Convention, managed to attract more than 31% of the vote in the first round, but received only 7% additional votes in the second round and lost the election with 39%. The results of the legislative vote reflected much more significant changes. Still holding the largest number of seats in the Chamber of Deputies, the DFNS (Democratic National Salvation Front), the immediate successor to the FNS, won just 28% of the vote. At the same time, support for the parties that were part of the Democratic Convention dramatically increased, which in 1992 won more than 20% of the vote.
Having succeeded in the electoral campaign, President Iliescu and his political allies failed to implement the reform agenda. Governments led by his political allies were mired in scandals; the economic situation in the country was not conducive to raising its international status. The situation was exacerbated by accusations against the ruling party and its close ties with former communists, as well as with extremist nationalist parties - the Romanian National Unity Party (PNER) and the Romania Mare party. As a result, by the time of the third post-communist elections in the country, held in 1996, the rating of Iliescu and his party (once again renamed and given the name Party of Social Democracy of Romania - PSDR) had fallen to such an extent that the Democratic Convention was able to take power into its own hands. In the final round of the presidential election, her candidate Emil Constantinescu received 54% of the vote, compared to 46% for Iliescu. In the Chamber of Deputies, the Democratic Convention garnered 30% of the vote, clearly outperforming the PSDR with 21% of the vote, and was able to form a new government headed by Prime Minister Viktor Ciorba. (In April 1998, Radu Vasile became prime minister.)
Political parties. From the late 1940s and early 1950s until the end of 1989, Romania had a one-party system. Power was undividedly held by the Romanian Workers' Party, which was officially created in 1948 as a result of the merger of the Communist (established in 1921) and Social Democratic (established in 1893) parties of Romania under the auspices of the former. In 1965, the RRP was renamed the Romanian Communist Party (RCP). After the overthrow of President Ceausescu in December 1989, the RCP ceased to exist. Since 1990, a multi-party system has developed in the country.
Social Democratic Party (SDP) - ruling, founded in June 2001 as a result of the merger of the Romanian Social Democracy Party (PSDR) and the Romanian Social Democratic Party (RSDP). The PSDR arose in the spring of 1992 on the basis of the left wing of the National Salvation Front (FNS), a political group that overthrew Ceausescu in 1989. Until 1993, it was called the Democratic Federal Tax Service and was in power from 1992-1996. The RSDP, which had existed since the late 19th century and dissolved in 1948, was re-established in 1990.
The SDP is the "modern party of the centre-left". She advocates building in Romania a "social and democratic state of law", relying on "modern social democratic doctrine" with its principles of freedom, social justice, equality of chances and solidarity. The SDP supports the development of a social market economy and private property, which it considers "an essential factor in the economic progress of society and individual well-being." The party promises to continue privatization, modernization and decentralization of the economy. At the same time, she advocates a "rational correlation" of public and private property based on efficiency criteria, for mitigating the consequences of market reforms with the help of specific programs for the social protection of the population. The state should, from the point of view of the SDP, play the role of a “force of balance”. An important place in the ideology of the SDP is played by the slogans of "preserving the independence, national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Romania"; while the party seeks Romania's accession to the European Union.
In the parliamentary elections of 2000, the Social Democratic Pole bloc, which included the PSDR, the RSDP and the small Humanist Party of Romania , collected about 36.6% of the vote in the elections to the Chamber of Deputies (155 out of 346 seats) and 37.1% in the elections to the Senate (70 out of 143 seats). Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nestasse is the chairman of the PSD.
The consignment« Greater Romania» (PVR) - an extremely nationalist party created in the spring of 1991 at the initiative of the editors of the newspaper Romenia Mare (Greater Romania), which previously supported the ruling National Salvation Front. In its program, it proclaimed itself a “center-left” party that defended the synthesis of social democratic and Christian democratic values, national ideals and the socio-economic interests of Romanian citizens, advocated strong presidential power and promised to control the course of reforms in order to prevent the destruction of the national economy and falling living standards. The PVR advocated the annexation of Bessarabia (the modern Republic of Moldova) and Northern Bukovina "by political and diplomatic means."
In fact, party leaders are conducting fierce anti-Hungarian, anti-Semitic and anti-Gypsy propaganda and are calling for Romanians to become "masters in their own home." Supporting the "Europe of Nations" slogan, the PVR maintains close ties with the French far-right nationalist organization Front National, led by Le Pen. The leader of the TAP is Corneliu Vadim Tudor. In 2000, the PVR became the second most powerful party in the country: it won 19.5% of the vote in the elections to the Chamber of Deputies (84 seats out of 346) and 21% in the elections to the Senate (37 out of 143).
Democratic Party (DP)- formed on the basis of the right wing of the National Salvation Front, which split in the spring of 1992. Considers itself a social democratic party and advocates a rapid transition to a free market economy and European integration. In 1996 she joined a bloc with the right-wing opposition and in 1996-2000 she was a member of government cabinets. In 2000, she received 7% in the elections to the Chamber of Deputies (31 seats) and 7.6% in the elections to the Senate (13 seats). Currently in opposition.
National Liberal Party (NLP)- the oldest political party in Romania, formed in 1875 and subsequently reorganized several times. In the late 1940s, it ceased to exist, but was restored in 1990. The NLP declares itself to be "the defender of individual, social, economic and political freedoms". In the field of economics, the NLP stands for "capitalism" and the maximum development of "free initiative". In subsequent years, the NLP split into a number of factions: some of them entered the right-wing opposition bloc "Democratic Convention" (DC), others acted independently. In 2000, the PNL, which left the DC, collected 6.9% in the elections to the Chamber of Deputies (30 seats) and 7.5% in the elections to the Senate (13 seats). In 2002, the liberal group "Alliance for Romania" joined the NLP (4.1% of the vote in the elections to the Chamber of Deputies and 4.3% to the Senate). The PNL faction led by R. Campeanu received 1.4% of the votes and has no representation in the Parliament.
Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania(VDSR) is a Hungarian minority party, especially strong in Transylvania. In its current form, it was formed in December 1989 - January 1990 as a result of the merger of 13 different Hungarian parties and groups. The WDSR stands for the rapid implementation of economic reforms and privatization, for the expansion of the powers of local authorities and the speedy integration into the EU. In the 1990s, the VDSR entered the right-wing opposition "Democratic Convention" and in 1996-2000 participated in government offices. In 2000, he collected 6.8% of the vote in the elections to the Chamber of Deputies (27 seats) and 6.9% (12 seats) in the elections to the Senate. Went into opposition.
National Tsaranist Christian Democratic Party of Romania (NTsHDP) - successor to the historic National Tsaranist Party that existed until the late 1940s. It was re-established in 1990. The NCHDP, a conservative party demanding a return to Christian values, advocated careful reforms and the gradual transfer of nationalized land to the peasants. Monarchist and nationalist sentiments are strong in the party. The National Tsaranists headed the right-wing opposition bloc "Democratic Convention" and in 1996-2000 were the main support of government offices. In the elections of 2000, under the auspices of the NCHDP, a new bloc was formed - the "Romanian Democratic Convention - 2000", which also included the conservative-liberal Union of Right Forces(established in 1995 as the Romanian Alternative Party), association " National Christian Democratic Alliance» (created in 1999 by the former leader of the National Center for the Arts V. Chorbya, in 2002 he joined the National Center for the Arts), Environmental Federation of Romania and Moldavian Party. The bloc collected 5% of the vote in the elections to the Chamber of Deputies and 5.3% to the Senate; has no representation in Parliament.
Party National Alliance- formed before the elections of 2000 on the basis of the Party of Romanian National Unity (PRNU), which was created in 1990 by supporters of the extremely nationalist Romanian cultural association in Transylvania Vatra Romaneske, considered itself centrist, demanded a return to the borders of 1919 and led a sharp anti-Hungarian agitation. In 1994–1996, the PRNE participated in the Romanian government led by the PSDR. Since 1996 - in opposition. In 2000, the National Alliance collected 1.4% of the vote in the elections for the Chamber of Deputies and 1.2% for the Senate. Not represented in Parliament.
Socialist Labor Party (SPT)- a socialist party founded in late 1990 as the successor to the RCP. He advocates parliamentary democracy and a "socialist market economy" in which the state protects the social interests of citizens and social justice. The party proclaims ideological and political pluralism and refers to the democratic traditions of the Romanian socialist and labor movement.
In addition to the main parties, there are political organizations of national minorities in Romania. 19 of them are represented in the Chamber of Deputies: Roma Party,Democratic Forum of the Germans of Romania,Union of Armenians in Romania. Italian Community of Romania,Union of Bulgarians Banat,Union of Greeks of Romania,Federation of Jewish Communities of Romania,Community of Russian Lipovians of Romania,Union of Croats of Romania,League of Albanians of Romania, Democratic Union of Turkish-Muslim Tatars of Romania,Union of Ukrainians in Romania,Association of Slavic Macedonians of Romania,Union of Serbs in Romania,Cultural Union of Ruthenians of Romania,Turkish Democratic Union of Romania,Democratic Union of Slovaks and Czechs in Romania, Union of Poles in Romania, General Union of Hutsul Ethnic Associations of Romania.
Military establishment. The number of combat-ready armed forces in Romania is more than 200 thousand people, including more than 130 thousand conscripts. The Ministry of Defense exercises direct control over three types of troops - ground (113,000), naval (22,100) and air force (46,300). In addition, under the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are the border service (3 thousand people) and the gendarmerie (more than 50 thousand people). Since 1997, reforms have been carried out in the armed forces.
Foreign policy. In World War I, Romania sided with the Allies against the Central Powers. After the outbreak of World War II, she herself joined Germany in 1940, but in 1944 she joined the Allies at the moment when Soviet troops entered the country. In 1948, an agreement on mutual assistance was signed with the Soviet Union for a period of 20 years. Romania was diplomatically recognized by the Soviet bloc states in Europe and Asia. In 1949, Romania joined the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, created by the Soviet Union, and in 1955, the Warsaw Pact. It was admitted to the UN on December 14, 1955.
Romania has been striving for a relatively independent course since the early 1960s. After 1961, this course was characterized by growing rapprochement with the West, especially France and the United States, and neutrality in the ideological discussion between the communist parties of China and the Soviet Union. Romania condemned the Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia in 1968 and Afghanistan in 1979, maintained relations with Israel.
Since 1989, vigorous efforts have been made in Romania to revise the foundations of foreign policy, mainly in the direction of improving relations with the West and joining Western European economic unions and security structures - while maintaining good neighborly relations with other states in the region. Romania is a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, has the status of an associate member in the European Union and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Romania has ratified bilateral agreements with Hungary and Ukraine and is an active member of the Black Sea Economic Development Consortium. Despite the fact that Bucharest's requests for NATO membership in 1997 were not granted, Romania received assurances that this issue would be considered in the future.
ECONOMY
The milestones in the economic history of Romania after the Second World War were the monetary reform of 1947, the nationalization of industry in 1948, the beginning of agricultural collectivization ("cooperation") in 1949, which ended in 1962. The entire financial structure was reorganized and a state monopoly on foreign trade was introduced.
Economic planning began in 1949 through the adoption of economic plans of varying duration, but usually for five-year periods. All plans gave priority to industrialization, with particular emphasis on the development of heavy industry. Special attempts were made to introduce modern technology in order to diversify the output of industrial products. Unlike other countries of Central Europe, Romania did not get rid of the previous Stalinist development strategy. This orientation was manifested in the fifth 5-year plan for 1971–1975, according to which the rate of economic development was envisaged to almost double as compared to the economies of other socialist countries. However, the goals set by the leadership turned out to be overly ambitious, and at the end of the decade, the forced industrialization of Romania failed. As a result, in the 1980s, Romania faced a serious crisis in international payments. Ceausescu's simplistic response to this crisis was an emergency program to eliminate foreign debt, sharply reducing consumption while intensifying attempts to increase output. By 1985, the debt to the West had decreased from $10.35 billion to $5 billion. However, reducing debt to this level had disastrous consequences for the country's economy. According to Western sources, the level of consumption of Romanian citizens by the mid-1980s compared with 1980 decreased by about 25%. By the end of the decade, the economic regression did not stop. The plans for the annual increase in industrial output were not achieved in almost all indicators; as a result, there was no growth in income, investment, or labor productivity. In 2003, the country's GDP was $155 billion, or $7,000 per capita. The population on the verge of poverty in Romania is about 44.5%.
Mining and other industries. Along with oil and natural gas, gold, silver, salt, bauxite, manganese ore, and coal are also the most important natural resources. In 1996, oil production dropped to about 135 barrels a day. Natural gas is produced on the Transylvanian plateau and in the foothills of the Carpathians. In 1996, 680 billion cubic meters were produced. foot. compared to 1340 billion cubic meters. foot. in 1986. The main area of ​​oil production is in the foothills of the Carpathians. The largest oil refineries in Romania are located in the cities of Ploiesti, Gheorghe Georgiou-Dej, Darmenesti, Brasov and Rimnicul Sarat. Hard coal is mined in Comanesti in the northeast and near Cluj in the northwest; there are brown coal (lignite) mines near Craiova and Ploiesti in south-central Romania. Coal production in 1995 reached 43.92 million tons. Although some iron ore is mined (3.3 million tons with 30–35% grade in 1974), especially in the west and northwest, it is not enough to meet domestic needs.
The Bucharest-Ploiesti region is the main industrial zone, where the oil, chemical, construction and heavy engineering industries are located. Metallurgy is concentrated in the west (between Hunedoara and Timisoara) and in the southeast (Galati Braila). Large shipyards are located in Braila and Galati near the Danube Delta. There is a jointly operating industrial complex in Giurgiu () and Ruse (Bulgaria), which are opposite each other on opposite banks of the Danube. This complex was built for the production of devices and equipment for the mining, metallurgical, chemical and petrochemical industries.
By 1996, electricity generation in Romania amounted to 19,400 megawatts. Thermal power plants were the most important source, followed by hydroelectric power plants and nuclear power plants.
In 1996, about 43% of the total area of ​​the country was arable land used for planting annual crops, and 3.6% for growing perennial crops, mainly orchards and vineyards. About 70% of arable land is given to wheat and corn. The plains of Moldavia and Wallachia are the main granary of the country. In 1996 Romania produced 6 million tons of wheat and 6 million tons of corn. Other important crops are potatoes (3.9 million tons in 1996), sugar beets (3.3 million tons) and sunflowers (0.93 million tons).
Extensive vineyards grow on the Transylvanian plateau, in the foothills of the Carpathians and Dobruja. In 1996 Romania produced 1.5 million hectoliters of wine. Orchards are located mainly in the southern foothills of the Carpathians, on the Dobruja plateau and in the Danube Delta. About 60% of fruits are plums and 30% are apples. In Romania, fruits such as pears, cherries, and apricots are also grown. Fruit gardening centers are located around several large cities such as Bucharest, Craiova, Timisoara, Iasi and Cluj.
About one fifth of the country's territory is pasture. The main livestock areas are the southern foothills of the Carpathians, the southwestern part of the Transylvanian Plateau and the northern part of the Carpathian Mountains. Sheep graze mainly in the southeast, and pigs in the south (from Banat to Bucharest). In 1996, there were 3.7 million cattle, 10.4 million sheep and goats, and more than 8.2 million pigs in the country.
Forests covered about 3.7 million hectares in 1996 (24% of the territory of Romania). The most important timber resources are located in the Eastern Carpathians. Beginning in the mid-1950s, a reforestation program was launched to replace timber stocks severely depleted during World War II.
State economic policy. In 1989, with the fall of the Ceausescu regime in Romania, the economic restructuring of the national economy began. In general, by the mid-1990s, the legal prerequisites for the introduction of a market economy appeared.
Reforms in Romania, after initial successes, stalled in the mid-1990s. Privatization did not affect most of the heavy industry - about 50% of the assets of industrial enterprises passed into private ownership (compared to 70% or more in the former socialist countries). At the same time, due to a sharp decline in the share of public funds, infrastructure development fell sharply behind, and the foreign trade balance turned out to be in deficit due to falling exports and the collapse of the trading system controlled by the Soviet Union.
After the 1996 elections, the new leadership of the country - President Constantinescu and Prime Minister Chorbia - tried to resume attempts at reform, but during 1997 they failed to overcome the decline in production in the main industries. The unemployment rate has risen from 6 to 9%, and the rate of inflation has risen sharply.
Transport . The transportation of goods is mainly carried out by trucks and by rail. In 1994, the country had 11,365 km of railways and 88,117 km of highways.
The main ports on the Danube are Turnu Severin, Giurgiu, Braila, Galati. The most important port on the Black Sea is Constanta. 80% of the country's sea freight and 65% of foreign trade cargo passes through it. In 1984, a shipping channel was opened connecting Constanta with the port on the Danube Cernavoda. In 1996, the cargo marine fleet of Romania consisted of 234 ships and had a total carrying capacity of all ships of 2,445,810 reg. t.
Foreign trade and payments. The volume of Romania's foreign trade in 1997 was $19.704 million; imports accounted for $11,275.9 million and exports for $8,428.9 million. The main consumers of Romanian exports are Germany, Italy, France, Turkey and the USA. Italy, Russia and France are the main importing countries.
In 1996, the main export items were textiles, metals, and products of mechanical engineering and the chemical industry. The main import items were fuel, engineering products and equipment, textile and agricultural products.
SOCIETY AND CULTURE
The social structure of society. Before World War II, the vast majority of the population lived in rural areas. At the end of the 1930s, there were 13.8 million peasants in the country, i.e. 72% of the total population. In 1930, 0.4% of all landowners owned 28% of all agricultural land, the same amount of land was owned by 75% of the peasants; 75% of the peasants had land plots of less than 5 hectares each.
Most of the smaller urban communities, despite their higher standard of living, were not cities in the conventional sense in the pre-war years. Economically, they were rather intermediaries between the village and the internal urban and external markets for bread, meat, eggs, fruits and vegetables. In a social sense, they were predominantly middle-class communities, and culturally they retained the atmosphere of the late 19th century. A dozen large cities contrasted sharply with the villages and these semi-urban communities. The largest among them was Bucharest, the capital of the state, a cosmopolitan city similar in many respects to Western European capitals. In general, the structure of employment in the country was as follows: 20% worked in cities and 80% in the agricultural sector.
Religion. During the Communist Party years, freedom of religion was officially recognized, but in practice, religious organizations functioned only with the full support of the regime. 15 varieties of religion had the right to practice their faith. Along with the dominant Romanian Orthodox Church, the Romanian Catholic, Calvinist and Lutheran churches were also the most influential. There were small communities of churches of Old Believer Christians, Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, Evangelicals, and Pentecostals. Under the strict supervision of the regime were the Jewish, Armenian-Gregorian and Muslim religious communities.
With the fall of communism, a revival of religious activity began in the country. In 1997, 86.8% of the population belonged to the Orthodox Church, 5% were Catholics, Protestant Reformists, Baptists and Pentecostals, 1% were Uniates, and less than 0.1% was the Jewish religious community.
CULTURAL LIFE
Over the centuries, Romanians have been exposed to various cultures, each of which has contributed to the formation of modern Romanian culture. The influence of the ancient Romans was replaced after a few centuries by the influence of the culture of the Slavs, Greeks, Turks and Hungarians. In the Middle Ages, Romanians were strongly influenced by Byzantium, especially in terms of church rituals, architecture, iconography and frescoes. In the 16th and 17th centuries many works of church literature were written in Romanian. Modern Romanian culture is a synthesis of these medieval influences, ancient folklore and music (which was important for maintaining ethnic unity) and various foreign influences.
Romanian literature and art reached their maturity at the end of the 19th century. Among the outstanding writers of that time were M. Eminescu, the talented storyteller I. Creanga, the playwright I. L. Caragiale, literary critics T. Maiorescu and C. Dobrodzhanu-Gherea. The most famous artists were the portrait painter T.Aman, the landscape painters N.Grigorescu and I.Andreascu, as well as the painter S.Lucian.
The best writers of the interwar period are the poet T. Arghezi and the novelists M. Sadoveanu, L. Rebryanu and C. Petrescu.
Post-war Romanian literature is still influenced by the writers who became famous during the interwar period. Patriotic, democratic and pro-peasant inclinations in literature were developed already before the First World War by the literary movement "Semenatorul" ("The Sower"). These writers argued that the development of art should be ideologically driven, and easily adapted to the philosophy and goals of the communist regime. The non-communist T. Arghezi was recognized by the authorities as the most outstanding Romanian poet, and M. Sadoveanu, without any effort, was able to become the patriarch of post-war Romanian literature. Argesi, known even before the Second World War for his deeply original poems, began to write optimistic poems about peasant uprisings. Sadoveanu, an imaginative writer and creator of a broad historical panorama, added to his historical novels new works on the awakening of the proletariat; his Return talks about the achievements of the communist regime. However, after 1965, the regime also began to patronize nationalist writers.
Among the post-war writers, one should note such poets as M. Benyuk, E. Zhebelianu, V. Porumbaku, A. Toma, C. Teodorescu, M. Dragomir, D. Deshliu. The novelists E. Kamilar, A. Zhar, Z. Stanku gained fame; playwrights - A. Baranga, R. Boureanu, M. Davidoglu, L. Demetrius and M. Banush (also a poetess). A feature of post-war literature was the publication of books and magazines in the languages ​​of national minorities, especially in Hungarian. Among the Hungarian writers, I. Horvath and I. Astalos are the most famous.
Before the First World War, there were several notable works in the Romanian visual arts. In the interwar period, one can hardly note any outstanding achievements in this area, with the exception of the work of artists who were under strong Western, mainly French, influence. These include such artists as S. Petrescu, G. Petrashka, C. Ressu, J. Steriade, Iser. The most famous artists of the communist period were P. Atanasiou, Sh. Barabas, L. Agricola, G. Lazar.
In music, most state prizes were awarded to works such as Folk holiday Sabina Dragoy. In the 1960s and 1970s, the regime began to encourage the revival of the Romanian classics, including the works of D. Enescu, and the imitation of classical Romanian and modern Western works.
STORY
Early history. Ancient people appeared on the territory of modern Romania no less than 300 thousand years ago. About 4 thousand years BC Neolithic cultures are established here, which created numerous settlements. As a result, which began over 2 thousand years BC. a mixture of a settled agricultural population and invading pastoral tribes, the Thracian tribes of the Dacians (Getae) arose, which in 1800–1000 BC. lived in the Bronze Age. In the 7th century BC. Greek colonies arose on the Black Sea coast. Later, the Dacian region became the object of invasions by the Scythians from the east and the Celts from the north. It was the period of the Iron Age. In the 3rd century BC. the first Dacian states appeared. The most prominent Dacian king, Birebista (70-44 BC), created a vast power that stretched from present-day Slovakia to the Black Sea. The Dacian territories then come to the attention of the Roman Empire.
At the end of the 1st c. AD the Romans conquered the current Dobruja, and in 106 the Roman emperor Trajan, having overcome almost a century of Dacian resistance, defeated the army of King Decebalus and conquered Dacia north of the Danube. The Roman Empire exported gold and other metals from this province. By decree of Trajan, the resettlement of colonists from all over the empire began in Dacia. The settlers quickly mixed with the local population, who learned the Latin language and many Roman customs. However, already in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. uprisings began against Roman power, during which the Dacians united with the "barbarian" peoples invading the Danube. In 271-274 the Romans were forced to leave Dacia and retreat across the Danube.
The subsequent era of the "great migration of peoples" completely changed the face of the former Roman province. Through Dacia, having devastated it, the tribes of Goths, Vandals, Huns, Gepids, Avars and Bulgarians passed. Slavs began to settle here in the 6th century. At the end of the 9th c. a significant part of the territory of present-day Romania was captured by the Hungarians. In the 11th-13th centuries. the Pechenegs migrated to the Danube from the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region, then the Polovtsians. In 1241 this region was subjected to a devastating invasion by the Mongols.
The details of Romanian history during this period are still unknown. It is assumed that between the 7th and 10th centuries. on the basis of the previously Romanized population of Dacia, the ancestors of modern Romanians appeared, speaking "vulgar Latin", from which the Romanian language later developed. At the same time, the population was subjected to tangible influence from neighboring peoples. Christianity penetrated from Bulgaria according to the Byzantine rite, church literature spread in the Church Slavonic language, which then for a long time was the official language of the ancient Romanian principalities.
In the 10th-11th centuries. in various parts of Dacia, small principalities began to arise - banates.
In Transylvania and along the river Tisza, these possessions were from 1000 under the supreme authority of the Kingdom of Hungary. The kings settled here the Hungarian and German colonists. The territory of Transylvania (Semigradya) served as the eastern border outskirts of Hungary. Powerful peasant uprisings often broke out here (the largest in 1437-1438 and in 1514). After the Turkish troops completely defeated the Hungarian forces at the Battle of Mohacs in 1526, the Kingdom of Hungary disintegrated, and Semigradje became an independent principality. In 1541 it came under the supreme power of the Ottoman Empire.
The formation of the Romanian principalities on the Danube dates back approximately to the 11th-12th centuries. According to chronicles, the principality (state) of Wallachia was founded in 1290 by the Semigrad governor Radu Negru, and the Bassarab dynasty he created ruled until 1654. 1365). Wallachia and Moldova were feudal principalities of strong landowners - boyars.
Both states fought a hard struggle for independence with Poland, Hungary, and then the Ottoman Empire. The Wallachians took part in the unsuccessful battles for the Europeans with the Turks on the Kosovo field (1389) and Nikopol (1396). In 1410 Wallachia and in 1450 Moldova were forced to recognize the supreme power of the Ottoman Empire and pay tribute to it.
Ottoman dominance. The resistance to the power of the Ottoman sultans was led by the ruler of Moldavia, Stefan the Great (1457–1504), who made an alliance with the ruler of Wallachia and tried to rely on the support of the Muscovite state, intermarrying with its princes. During his reign, there was a significant flowering of Moldovan culture. However, after his death, Moldova again had to submit to the Ottomans. A policy independent of the Ottomans was pursued by the Moldavian prince Petar Rares (1527–1546).
He tried to strengthen princely power in Wallachia in the middle of the 15th century. Lord Vlad Tepes. He brutally suppressed unauthorized boyars, ruthlessly cracked down on political opponents and the population of recalcitrant cities, and executed Turkish ambassadors. Gospodar Vlad conquered the Danube fortresses from the Ottomans and led his army to the Black Sea. Overthrown by the Hungarians, he was in a Hungarian prison for 12 years, and then returned to the throne and resumed the war with the Turks. This time he was defeated and executed.
Under Michael the Brave (1593–1601), Wallachia briefly managed to regain its independence. He defeated a hundred thousandth Turkish army and temporarily united Wallachia, Moldova and Transylvania under his rule. Mihai was assisted by the Russian Tsar Boris Godunov. However, the united state lasted a little over a year. In 1601, the Transylvanian Germans, with the help of the Austrian army, expelled Mihai from Semigradje, and in 1601 the prince was killed.
Shortly thereafter, real power in Wallachia and Moldova passed into the hands of the boyars. The nobility chose the governor-governor, intrigued, trying to put their proteges on the throne. From the second half of the 16th c. rulers were elected from persons pleasing to the Ottomans and paid a large bribe. Second half of the 16th century and the whole 17th century. filled with continuous boyar strife and frequent change of rulers.
At the beginning of the 18th century The Russian Tsar Peter I concluded an alliance with the Wallachian ruler Constantin Brancoveanu and the Moldavian ruler Dmitry Cantemir. With the help of Russian troops, the rulers tried to overthrow the Ottoman rule. Dmitry recognized Russian suzerainty, but Constantine went over to the side of the Turks at the last moment, and the Prut campaign of Peter I ended in failure. After that, the Moldavian ruler fled to Russia, and the Wallachian was executed. In 1711, the Ottoman government began to appoint rulers from among foreigners - wealthy Greek merchants from Constantinople (Phanariots). They received a post for a three-year term, bought it for bribes, and brutally exploited the country; the enslavement of the peasants sharply intensified.
Russian-Turkish wars in the 18th and 19th centuries. favored the struggle of the Romanian principalities for autonomy. The Kyuchuk-Kainarji peace treaty (1774) granted an amnesty to their inhabitants, confirmed the freedom of the Christian religion and returned the confiscated lands to their former owners. These rights were confirmed by the Treaty of Jassy (1791) and the Treaty of Bucharest (1812). A peasant uprising led by former Russian army officer Tudor Vladimirescu in 1821 was directed against the boyars, but at the same time put forward a demand to restore the ancient rights of the principalities and grant them a constitution. Although the uprising was suppressed, the Phanariot regime was abolished. The Ottoman Empire returned the boyars the right to elect rulers from their midst. According to the Akkerman peace treaty between Russia and Turkey (1826), the rulers were elected by the boyar assembly - divan for a seven-year term and appointed by the Ottoman government. Finally, in accordance with the Treaty of Adrianople (1829), the Ottoman Empire was forbidden to have fortresses on the left bank of the Danube, and Muslims were forbidden to live in Moldova and Wallachia. Russia was declared the patroness of the principalities, although the payment of tribute to Constantinople continued. The reign of the rulers became lifelong.
In 1828-1834 Moldova and Wallachia were occupied by Russian troops. In 1829, Count Pavel Kiselev became their de facto ruler (chairman of the sofas). Under him, in 1831, the principalities received a constitution - an "organic statute", recognized in 1834 by the Ottoman Empire. The election of the rulers was entrusted to meetings of representatives of the boyars, the higher clergy, county deputies from local owners and city deputies from merchants. Townspeople were not allowed into the legislature. The position of the peasants, on the contrary, worsened: feudal duties increased significantly, and the freedom of movement of the peasants was significantly curtailed. On the other hand, the commercial independence of the Danubian principalities contributed to the development of their economy: handicraft enterprises were built, the export of grain, timber and honey increased, and a local bourgeoisie was formed.
In 1848 unrest broke out in the Danubian principalities. In Moldova, the liberals successfully demanded the introduction of a new constitution from the ruler, but then the movement quickly fizzled out, and repressions began. In Wallachia, the rebellious liberals and democrats formed a Provisional Government, forced the ruler to grant a constitution, and then abdicate. The constitution gave the peasants the right to own part of the land on which they lived, with payment of compensation to the boyars at the expense of the state. In response, Turkish troops were introduced into Bucharest, and then the Russian army occupied the principalities. The performance was suppressed. In 1849, Russia and the Ottoman Empire agreed to abolish the election of rulers and to appoint them jointly by the two countries. The "Organic Statute" of 1831 was restored.
In the period after 1849 the economy of the principalities developed rapidly. Trade and handicraft flourished, new handicraft and industrial enterprises arose. This gave new impetus to the independence movement.
In 1853, during the next war with the Ottoman Empire, Russia again occupied the principalities, but in 1854, under pressure from Austria, Russian troops were withdrawn, and they were replaced by Austrian ones. The Vienna Conference of 1855 and the Paris Treaty of 1856, which put an end to the Crimean War, abolished the Russian protectorate over Moldova and Wallachia. They received a constitution and became autonomous territories under the supreme authority of Turkey and the protectorate of European states.
The Paris Conference of European Powers in 1858 decided to unite the principalities into "united provinces" with separate rulers. But in 1859, the representative assemblies of Moldova and Wallachia elected a single ruler - the boyar Alexandru Ion Cuza. In 1861, both principalities officially united into the state - Romania, while maintaining Turkish suzerainty and paying tribute to the Ottoman Empire.
Romanian state. Prince Cuza enjoyed the support of Russia and France. During his reign, a number of important reforms were carried out: a new constitution was issued, serfdom was abolished, part of the land was given for ransom to the peasants, the peasantry received voting rights. In political actions, Cuza sought to imitate Napoleon III. All this caused dissatisfaction with both conservatives and liberals, who united in the "Monster Coalition". In 1866, the opposition overthrew Cuza and formed a provisional government. The German prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, a relative of the king of Prussia, was elected to the princely throne.
The new constitution of 1866, drawn up by the liberals, provided for the creation of a government responsible to parliament, but severely limited the voting rights of the peasantry. In May 1877, having concluded an alliance with Russia, Romania declared its complete independence from the Ottoman Empire. The Treaty of San Stefano, which ended the new Russian-Turkish war, as well as the Berlin Congress of 1878, confirmed this act. Romania received Northern Dobruja and the port of Constanta, but had to transfer Southern Bessarabia to Russia. This caused the discontent of the Romanian authorities and the cooling of relations with Russia. Romania began to draw closer to Germany and Austria-Hungary. In 1883 the country joined the Triple Alliance.
In 1881 Romania declared itself a kingdom. King Carol I was on the throne from 1881-1914. Under him, the rapid economic development of the country continued. The most important branches of industry were created, railways were built, modern economic institutions were created, mainly on the basis of German capital. Political life was characterized by the struggle between the Conservative and Liberal parties, which alternately formed the government. Thus, in 1876–1888 the liberal cabinet of Ion Brătianu was in power, in 1891–1895 the conservative cabinet of L. Catargiu, in 1895–1899 the liberal government of D. Sturdza, in 1899–1907 the conservative government of G. G. Cantacuzino.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a socialist movement began to emerge in Romania. At first, it developed under the strong influence of Russian populism, but then it moved to the positions of European social democracy.
Having suppressed a major peasant uprising in 1907–1908, the liberal government of Sturdza (1907–1911) began to carry out further reforms in agriculture. Laws were adopted on agricultural contracts, on an agricultural bank, and on the abolition of a number of natural duties of peasants. The landlords were asked to voluntarily sell part of their land to the peasants. In 1911-1913, the conservatives were again in power (the government of T. Maiorescu). Under them, the country took part in the Balkan wars in 1912–1913 and received part of Dobruja.
In 1914, the liberals returned to power, promising to introduce universal suffrage and carry out land reform. But all the transformations had to be postponed due to the outbreak of the First World War. In the Romanian ruling circles there was a struggle between the supporters of the German-Austrian coalition and the Entente. After the death of Karol I in 1914, his nephew, King Ferdinand I (1914–1927), began to lean towards the side of the Entente. In 1916 Romania entered the war on her side, but her troops were quickly defeated. The armed forces of Germany and Austria-Hungary occupied three-quarters of the country, including Bucharest. The king and the government of "national unity" fled to Moldova under the protection of the Russian army. In January 1918, the new prime minister, General Averescu, agreed with the Central Powers on a truce. Taking advantage of the revolution in Russia, Romania captured Bessarabia in March 1918. In May 1918, a new, conservative cabinet signed a peace treaty with Germany and Austria-Hungary.
Accession of new lands. The defeat of Austria-Hungary and Germany in the First World War and the rapid collapse of the Habsburg monarchy radically changed the situation. At the end of 1918, the Romanian army went on the offensive in Transylvania and Bukovina, and by February 1919 captured these regions. Having demanded that Hungary recognize these acquisitions, Romania launched military operations against the Hungarian Soviet Republic. In August 1919, Romanian troops occupied Budapest, and remained until November. Under the terms of the Saint-Germain, Neuilly and Trianon peace treaties of 1919-1920, Transylvania, Bukovina, Eastern Banat and Southern Dobruja joined Romania. The new Romanian kingdom turned out to be significantly larger than the pre-war one. Its stability was complicated by the heterogeneous nature of the country's population. The increase in the number of national minorities contributed to the growth of Romanian nationalism and anti-Semitism. At the same time, the accession of new, economically developed territories contributed to the progress of industry and trade.
In the autumn of 1919, the provisional military government carried out a reform of the suffrage and new elections; in parliament, the majority of deputies now represented the annexed territories. In December 1919, a government was created headed by the leader of the Transylvanian Romanians, Alexandru Vaida-Voevod. It relied on the peasant (tsaranist) party, national democrats and deputies from the new territories. The government proposed a draft agrarian reform, but the king vetoed it.
In March 1920, a new government came to power, created by the leader of the new People's Party, General Averescu. Dissolving parliament, he appointed local prefects and held new elections, which brought victory to his party. Averescu's cabinet struggled with the growing labor movement and carried out an agrarian reform, which turned out to be, first of all, in the interests of large landowners. Already in December 1921, King Ferdinand removed the government of Averescu, replacing it with the cabinet of T. Ionescu, and in January 1922 with the government of the National Liberal Party, headed by I. Bratianu. Having abolished the autonomy of the newly annexed regions, dismissed the Aurescian prefects, and narrowed the electoral system, the liberals won the general elections in 1922. In foreign policy, the national liberals oriented themselves towards France. In the economic sphere, they issued laws to encourage national industry and established protective export duties on agricultural products. In Romania, the process of industrialization unfolded. The cabinet of I. Bratianu banned the activities of the Communist Party, founded in 1921, and in 1924 suppressed the Tatarbunary peasant uprising in Bessarabia. The 1923 constitution defined Romania as a constitutional monarchy. The National Liberals also passed a new electoral law that gave the party with a relative majority of votes an absolute majority in parliament.
However, the elections of 1926 brought the National Liberals a heavy defeat. They collected only 8% of the votes. Averescu's People's Party (53%) won. 28% of the votes went to the National Caranist Party, formed in 1924 as a result of the merger of the old Caranist Party and the National Party of the Romanians of Transylvania.
Having formed the government, Averescu began to focus on Italy in foreign policy. He ruled with complete disregard for the opinions of other political parties. In June 1927, King Ferdinand deposed him and appointed a "national" government of Barbu Stirbey, which soon fell due to the withdrawal of the liberals from it. In the new elections, the National Liberal Party (63%) returned to power. However, the government of I. Bratianu, who was striving to develop the national industry, ran into dissatisfaction with the Western financial circles, who refused Romania a stabilization loan. In 1926-1928 new peasant uprisings were suppressed.
After the death of King Ferdinand I in 1927, the throne was transferred to his young grandson Mihai (the king's son and Mihai's father, Prince Carol was expelled from the country in 1925). National Liberals dominated the regency council. But Prince Carol was supported by army circles and the nationalists, who managed in November 1928 to create a government headed by Iuliu Maniu. In the 1928 elections, the Tsaranists collected 79% of the votes. In 1930, the prince returned to Romania and was proclaimed king under the name Carol II (1930–1940).
The economic development of Romania was interrupted by the agrarian crisis that began in the late 1920s and reached its peak in the 1930s. It was caused by the failure of the agrarian reform and the low competitiveness of Romanian grain in the world market. The national-tsaranist cabinets of Maniu, Mironescu, and Vaida-Voevoda were in power until 1931, when their party lost the elections and, after winning the elections of 1932, until the end of 1933. In 1933, the government suppressed mass demonstrations of workers (railroad workers, oil workers, etc.). At the end of 1933, the National Liberals returned to power, promising to save the country from the crisis and receiving 52% of the vote in the elections. The post of prime minister in January 1934 was taken by G. Tatarescu. The government began to militarize the economy. In 1936-1937, laws were passed that expanded the powers of the executive branch, strengthened censorship, and prohibited the propaganda of "principles of the class struggle." Political trials were transferred to the jurisdiction of military tribunals. The rights of the local police authorities increased. Pursuing a nationalist policy, the authorities waged a campaign against the “dominance of alien elements” in Romanian society, limited the entrepreneurial activities of representatives of national minorities and expelled them from the state apparatus. Anti-Semitism and anti-Hungarian sentiments intensified.
On this wave, ultra-right and fascist organizations strengthened, first of all, the Iron Guard, created in 1930, headed by Corneliu Codreanu, which promoted anti-Semitism and racism and was oriented towards Nazi Germany. In 1937, this movement concluded a "non-aggression pact" with the National Tsaranists, the opposition faction of the National Liberals, and so on. The general elections in December 1937 brought the government list headed by G. Tatarescu, who was supported by the king, only 36.5% of the votes. 21% went to the nationalists. Fascist and ultra-right organizations have grown significantly: the Iron Guard won 16% of the vote, the anti-Semitic National Christian Party - more than 9%. Under these conditions, King Carol II carried out a coup d'état and appointed an extra-parliamentary government headed by the leader of the National Christians, Octaviano Goga, and then by the Orthodox Patriarch Miron Kristea. In March 1938, a new dictatorial constitution was adopted, the parliament was dissolved, the activities of pariahs were effectively suspended, the opposition press was suppressed, and a repressive law "on the protection of state security" was introduced. A new administrative system was introduced. At the same time, the royal dictatorship cracked down in November 1938 on a competitor, the Iron Guard. The leader of the "guards" Codreanu was shot. In February 1939, the authorities established a single pro-government political group - the National Renaissance Front.
In March 1939, the new government was headed by Armand Calinescu. In foreign policy, the cabinet tried to maneuver, trying to adapt to the rapidly changing international situation. To neutralize the growing Hungarian claims to Transylvania, Romania entered into an economic agreement with Nazi Germany, but delayed its ratification, seeking security guarantees from Britain and France, which they were given. After the outbreak of World War II, the country declared its neutrality. Germany exerted ever-increasing pressure on Rumania. In September, Prime Minister Calinescu, who had angered the Nazis, was assassinated in an Iron Guard coup. The rebellion was suppressed, and the arrested "guards" were shot.
G. Tatarescu, who was appointed head of government in November 1939, yielded to pressure from Germany, ratified the economic agreement and granted amnesty to members of the Iron Guard. In 1940, the National Renaissance Front was transformed into the Party of the Nation.
In June 1940, Soviet troops occupied Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. Tatarescu announced the rejection of British guarantees, and then resigned. The new government was headed by Ion Gigurtu. In August-September 1940, Germany forced Romania to cede half of the territory of Transylvania to Hungary, and Bulgaria - Southern Dobruja.
Carol II appointed General Ion Antonescu as head of government, who became the de facto dictator of the country (conductor) and also included members of the Iron Guard in the cabinet. He then abdicated in favor of Mihai.
Antonescu finally repealed the constitution, made arrests among British supporters, and stripped Jews of their Romanian citizenship. Fully oriented towards Germany, he added Romania to the German-Italian-Japanese pact. This alliance was not prevented by the suppression of a new rebellion by the Iron Guard in 1941 and the execution of 10,000 of its supporters. Following Germany, Romania entered the war with the USSR, but its troops on Soviet territory were defeated.
In August 1944, the Red Army entered Romania, and King Mihai announced the country's withdrawal from the war. Antonescu was removed, and the government of General Constantin Sanatescu was formed with the participation of the National Caranists, National Liberals, Social Democrats and Communists. In September, the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition signed an armistice with Romania, and in December 1944 the new government was headed by Nicolae Radescu. The left-wing parties, oriented toward the USSR, formed the National Democratic Front and in March 1945 took power into their own hands. The leader of the Farmers' Front, Petru Groza, formed a cabinet with the participation of communists, social democrats, and certain factions of the Tsaranists and liberals.
In March-April 1945, the authorities carried out an agrarian reform, confiscating land from the landlords and distributing it among the poor and landless peasants. In 1946-1947, the National Bank was nationalized, state control over the credit sector, production and distribution was introduced, and a state monopoly of foreign trade was established. The parliamentary elections of 1946 were still held on a multi-party basis. But in subsequent years, the factions of the Tsaranists and liberals were crushed, the Social Democratic Party was purged and in 1948 was forced to merge with the Communist Party, and the Farmers' Front ceased to exist. King Mihai was removed from the throne, and on December 30, 1947, Romania was proclaimed a People's Republic. The undivided dominance of the Communist Party was established in the country, which adopted the official name of the Romanian Workers' Party (RRP).
Communist regime in Romania. Formed officially in 1948 as a result of the unification of communists and social democrats, the WRP became the only and ruling party in the country. In Romania, the creation of a society on the model of the USSR was begun. In 1948, the nationalization of industry was carried out, during 1949-1962 the collectivization of collectivization was carried out. The Romanian economy developed on the basis of state five-year plans, which put forward industrialization and the primary development of heavy industry as the main task. The concentration of all forces and resources in the hands of the state made it possible at first to achieve fairly high rates of economic growth. Some progress has also been achieved in the cultural field.
According to the constitutions of 1948 and 1952, the supreme body of power in the Romanian People's Republic (PRR) was the Great People's Assembly, which was elected by popular vote for a term of four years. Between sessions of the meeting, its Presidium, headed by the chairman, acted. This post was held in 1948–1952 by K. Parhon, in 1952–1958 by Petru Groza, and in 1958–1961 by Jon Gheorghe Maurer. Executive power belonged to the government - the Council of Ministers. It was headed until 1952 by P. Groza, in 1952-1955 by the leader of the WRP Georgiou Georgiou-Dej, and in 1955-1961 by the Kivu Stance. In fact, the head of the RRP was the first person in the state. At the same time, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Romania was under the complete control of the USSR. When an anti-Semitic campaign unfolded in the USSR in the late 1940s, the leader of the Romanian communists Ana Pauker (a Jew by origin) was removed and repressed as part of it. Gheorghiu-Dej became General and then First Secretary of the WRP. Belonging to the Soviet bloc, the RNR joined the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance in 1949 and the Warsaw Pact in 1955.
Under the conditions of "de-Stalinization", which Nikita Khrushchev carried out in the USSR since 1956, the Romanian leadership preferred to focus on its own "path to socialism." In 1957, Soviet troops were withdrawn from the country. In 1964, Gheorghiu-Dej announced that Romania would be independent from the USSR in all matters relating to its sovereignty. In 1959–1962 collectivization was completed. As part of strengthening the powers of the leader of the WRP, in 1961 a new body of state power was formed - the State Council, headed by Georgiou-Dej, the Council of Ministers was headed by J.G. Maurer. In an effort to strengthen the regime, the country's leaders announced a number of social measures: they raised wages and pensions in 1959 and 1964, lowered prices, and introduced child benefits.
After Georgiou-Deja's death in March 1965, changes took place in the country's leadership system. The new first secretary of the WRP, Nicolae Ceausescu, became the leader of Romania; from July 1965, the RRP was renamed the Romanian Communist Party (RCP), and Ceausescu became its general secretary. Kivu Stoica was appointed Chairman of the State Council, JG Maurer was appointed Chairman of the Council of Ministers. In 1967, Ceausescu also took the post of chairman of the Council of State, and in 1974 became president of Romania.
In August 1965 Romania was proclaimed a Socialist Republic (SRR). The new constitution consolidated the leading role of the RCP. The main organs of the state officially remained the Grand National Assembly elected for five years and the Council of State. Since 1975, several candidates were allowed to stand as candidates at local meetings, although all candidates, as before, were subject to approval by the Front for Democracy and Socialist Unity (FDSE), created and controlled by the RCP. Members of the State Council were elected by the national assembly from among the deputies. The State Council was nominally subordinate to the national assembly, but the functions of both branches of power consisted only in the ratification of proposals submitted for consideration by the RCP. The Council of Ministers, elected by the National Assembly and answerable to it and the Council of State, was the main institution of executive power. Its chairmen were: JG Maurer (1965–1974), Manya Menescu (1874–1979), Ilie Verdec (1979–1982), Constantin Desquelescu (1982–1989).
Beginning in 1968, the principle was introduced according to which party leaders at all levels were to simultaneously head the relevant organs of state power.
Under Ceausescu, Romania continued to pursue an independent foreign policy. She refused to take one side or the other in the Soviet-Chinese conflict, in 1967 she maintained diplomatic relations with Israel, and in 1968 she did not support the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia. Romania defiantly declared its support for the Non-Aligned Movement.
In domestic politics, a tough course was pursued. Any manifestations of opposition were mercilessly suppressed. Since the 1970s, the Ceausescu personality cult has grown. In 1983, when he turned 65, he was called the "genius of the Carpathians". He was spoken of as a "conductor" (leader). The wife of the Romanian leader, Elena, was also a member of the permanent bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP, and the children and relatives of the leader received various government posts.
In the second half of the 1960s, a number of economic measures were adopted, providing, in particular, for expanding the financial and economic independence of enterprises and increasing the material interest of workers. All this did not in any way limit the system of state planning “from above”. Economic growth continued throughout the 1970s. However, in the early 1980s, there was a shortage of food, then there were interruptions in the production of electricity as a result of the depletion of oil reserves.
Prestigious programs to modernize production, improve the quality and competitiveness of Romanian products have failed. Structural disproportions in the economy reached crisis proportions, underutilization of industrial capacities reached 30%. Romania tried to finance its development with Western loans, and the debt to the West exceeded 10 billion dollars. Debts were repaid by reducing imports and boosting exports of goods, including food and consumer goods. In an effort to gain economic independence, the Ceausescu regime began to accelerate the payment of external debt through the implementation of "austerity" and "belt tightening". Between 1975 and 1989, Romania paid $21 billion with interest. The patience of the masses began to wear thin. Protests and strikes (of miners, etc.) were suppressed by the government by force. Ceausescu categorically rejected all calls for "perestroika" following the example of Mikhail Gorbachev in the USSR.
In December 1989, protests broke out in the city of Timisoara against the deportation of a Hungarian pastor. By order of President Ceausescu, the army opened fire and hundreds of people were killed. But the protests spread to other cities, including the capital. The army leadership refused to support Ceausescu. On December 22, 1989, the president and his wife fled from Bucharest by helicopter. They were captured and executed on 25 December.
Romania after Ceausescu. multi-party democracy. Power in the country passed to the Council of the National Salvation Front, created during the uprising and representing, first of all, supporters of reforms. Its chairman was Ion Iliescu, who entered into a confrontation with Ceausescu back in the 1970s. The Council dissolved the former state structures. By his decision, from December 29, 1989, the SRR became known simply as Romania. The RCP ceased to exist. The new authorities proclaimed the transition to political pluralism, the transformation of the economy with the rejection of the command-administrative system, the principles of respect for the rights and freedoms of individuals and national minorities. The activities of the "historical" parties - the National Tsaranists, the National Liberals and the Social Democrats - resumed their activities. Many new political parties also emerged. In February 1990, the Provisional Council of National Unity was established. Half of the seats in it were assigned to the National Salvation Front (FNS), representatives of newly created or recreated political organizations received three seats each. On May 20, 1990, general elections were held in Romania. In the presidential elections, Ion Iliescu won a landslide victory (85% of the vote), ahead of the National Liberal (11%) and National Caranist (4%) candidates. The Federal Tax Service won 263 out of 387 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 92 out of 119 seats in the Senate. The new government of the country was formed by the representative of the Federal Tax Service, Petru Roman.
Opposition parties continued their attempts to oust the former leaders of the RCP from power. In February and June 1990, right-wing political groups and student activists organized protest camps in the center of Bucharest demanding the removal of former communists. In June, the protests were crushed after thousands of miners who arrived in the capital attacked the oppositionists, who smashed party bureaus and newspaper editorial offices. But the rapid deterioration of the economic situation, falling production, rising inflation to 25% and the liberalization of prices for many goods contributed to a new explosion of discontent. In November 1990, demonstrations and blockades resumed in the capital; the opposition created the Civil Forum. The government received from Parliament emergency powers in the economic field, purged disloyal officers, and embarked on economic reforms. In early 1991, the authorities announced the liberalization of food prices; in February, a law was adopted on the partial privatization of agricultural cooperatives, and in July, on the privatization of state-owned enterprises in industry, trade and services.
In September 1991, a 10,000-strong mining demonstration in Bucharest demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Roman, whom the protesters accused of skyrocketing prices. During street clashes, five people were killed and over 400 were injured. President Iliescu ousted Roman and in October appointed Teodor Stolojan, a nonpartisan specialist, a former finance minister, as prime minister. The new cabinet included not only members of the ruling FNS party, but also representatives of the National Liberal Party (NLP). At the end of 1992, a new constitution was adopted in Romania, which consolidated the existence of a presidential system with a multi-party system and a market economy.
In the meantime, most of the main opposition parties formed the Democratic Convention (DC) bloc. In February 1992 they managed to win local elections in Bucharest and other major cities. Opposition representative Professor Emil Constantinescu became the mayor of the capital.
The beginning of 1992 was marked by a split in the ruling FTS party. During the confrontation with President Iliescu, former Prime Minister Roman managed to win the support of the FNS congress in March. Supporters of President Iliescu left the party and formed a political organization called the Democratic National Salvation Front (DFNS).
In September 1992, in accordance with the new constitution, presidential and parliamentary elections were held in Romania. In the first round, Iliescu collected 47.3% of the vote, his main rival E. Constantinescu from the Democratic Convention - 31.2%, and G.Funar from the extremely nationalist Party of Romanian National Unity (PRNE) - 10.9%. In the second, decisive round, Iliescu won, receiving 61.4%. The DFNS also enjoyed success in the parliamentary elections, winning 117 out of 341 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 49 out of 143 in the Senate. The Democratic Convention, which included the PNL, the NCHDP, the Civic Alliance and other opposition parties, won 82 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 34 seats in the Senate. The Federal Tax Service party, led by Roman, got 43 deputy and 18 Senate seats. The Hungarian Democratic Union (UDSD), which also sided with the opposition, had 27 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 12 in the Senate.
Under these conditions, the DFNS could only stay in power with the support of the left-wing Socialist Labor Party (13 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 5 in the Senate), a small centrist Democratic Agrarian Party (5 seats in the Senate) and two extremely nationalist parties - PRNE (30 deputies and 14 senators) and Greater Romania (16 deputies, 6 senators).
In November 1992, the president appointed the non-partisan economist Nicolae Vacaroia as prime minister, who formed a government of members of the DFNS and persons who were not members of any political party. It continued with cautious and slow economic reforms, fearing that "shock therapy" would cause a massive outburst of protest. By March 1994, 470 state-owned enterprises were privatized, employing 135,000 people.
At the same time, the Romanian authorities developed ties with the European Community, signing in February 1993 an association agreement between the country and the EU. In October of the same year, Romania was admitted to the European Council.
In 1993, the economic situation improved somewhat compared to the previous goal. The fall in gross domestic product (by 15% in 1992) was stopped. However, unemployment continued to rise, exceeding the level of 10%, while price liberalization and the introduction of a value added tax caused a jump in inflation (256%). The real incomes of the population fell. In February 1994 the unions organized a general strike against the economic policy.
In October 1993, the government set maximum food prices and took control of imports. In 1994, it reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund: in exchange for a $454 million loan, Romania pledged to implement austerity measures, cut spending, lower inflation, and privatize 6,300 enterprises employing 3.8 million people within two years. workers. To strengthen the position of the government in parliament, the prime minister included in 1994 two ministers from the PRNE.
New economic measures immediately ran into public protests. In July 1994, thousands of demonstrators in the capital demanded the resignation of the government, the abolition of restrictions on wage growth and the introduction of a ban on price increases. In the summer of 1994, 64,000 miners went on strike, and they managed to achieve a significant increase in wages. In October 1995, student protests against the deteriorating financial situation escalated into heavy clashes with the police.
In the field of national policy, the Romanian government pursued a tough course. The proposals of the Hungarians to grant them autonomy in Transylvania were rejected by Parliament. In July 1995, a law on education was adopted, which significantly limited the rights of national minorities and caused protest demonstrations. In October 1995, after numerous anti-Semitic statements by representatives of the Great Romania party, the ruling DFNS was forced under international pressure to break the coalition with this nationalist party, which deprived the majority in parliament of power. In March 1996, the union of the DFNS with the Socialist Labor Party collapsed, which, together with the nationalists, demanded the rehabilitation of the former dictator Ion Antonescu and the refusal to return state property to the former owners of Jewish nationality. When in September 1996 the Romanian government signed an agreement with Hungary on the inviolability of borders and the rights of national minorities, the PRNE left the ruling coalition.
The general elections in November 1996, held in an atmosphere of general dissatisfaction with the rule of the DFNS, brought a landslide victory for the opposition. Iliescu was still in the lead in the first round of the presidential elections (32.3%), beating E. Constantinescu from the Democratic Convention (28.2%) and P. Roman (20.5%), supported by the Social Democratic Union led by the Democratic Party ( former FTS). But in the second round, Constantinescu scored 51.4% and was elected head of state.
The former ruling party also lost the parliamentary elections. She managed to win only 91 seats in the Chamber of Deputies (out of 343) and 41 in the Senate (out of 143). The Democratic Convention (DC) received 122 deputy and 53 Senate mandates, another 25 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 11 in the Senate received its allied WDSR. The Social Democratic Union won 53 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 23 in the Senate. Finally, the PRNE and Greater Romania nationalist parties accounted for 37 deputies and 15 Senate seats.
The new president appointed Viktor Chorby, a former mayor of the capital and a member of the NCDC, as prime minister. The government included representatives of the DC, the Social Democratic Union and the VDSR. It promised to cut income taxes, encourage foreign investment, introduce a minimum guaranteed pension, and develop agriculture. The government program provided for accelerated privatization of state-owned enterprises, large-scale closure of factories and plants, the adoption of austerity measures, and price liberalization. Reducing the budget deficit and inflation. The poor were promised social "compensations". In exchange, the IMF and the World Bank provided loans to the country in the amount of $1.4 billion. In August 1997, the government closed 17 large enterprises and laid off about 30,000 workers.
The Chorby government applied for Romania's accession to NATO, but this request was not accepted in 1997. However, the country continued to align itself with the Western bloc. During the Kosovo conflict in 1998-1999, Romania granted NATO aircraft the right to fly over its territory and expressed its readiness to take part in peacekeeping operations in this area (but not in military operations). In 2000, negotiations began on Romania's accession to the EU.
Having come to power, the opposition began to settle scores with their political opponents, accusing them of corruption. The authorities arrested the popular mining trade union leader Miron Kozma, who was involved in the crackdown on opposition demonstrations in 1990 and protests against the Roman cabinet in 1991. The union demanded the immediate release of the arrested man, but the government did not make concessions (Kozma was released only in the summer of 1998). In August 1997, the miners' protests resumed. Until the beginning of 1999, the authorities fired about 90,000 miners.
In early 1998, the Chorby government fell due to sharp disagreements within the ruling coalition. The leader of the Democratic Party (DP), Roman, hoped to retake the post of prime minister, but in April 1998 the president appointed NCCDP member Radu Vasile as head of government, who formed a new coalition cabinet.
The new government continued the previous course, but was never able to achieve a serious improvement in the economic situation. Gross domestic product, which fell by 6.5% in 1997, fell another 7.3% in 1998; Unemployment has risen and life expectancy has fallen. The country's foreign debt exceeded its foreign exchange reserves, and the IMF's recommendations to increase tax collection turned out to be unrealistic. The ruling coalition began to fall apart. The VDSR left the government, dissatisfied with the refusal to open a Hungarian university in Cluj. Romanian nationalism intensified.
In early 1999, the government announced its intention to close another 30 unprofitable enterprises and mines and thus lay off 90,000 people. In January, a strike of 20,000 miners led by Kozma began. Ten thousand miners marched on Bucharest demanding an end to mine closures, higher wages and compensation for layoffs. Thousands of locals joined the procession along the way; the situation threatened to turn into an uprising. The frightened government hurried to give in and sign an agreement with Kozma, promising to refuse to close part of the mines and increase the wages of the miners. But it quickly became clear that the authorities only wanted to buy time. In February 1999, the Supreme Court sentenced Cozma to 18 years in prison for participating in a riot against the Roman government in 1991. The arrest of a trade union leader and three of his supporters sparked a new miners' campaign against Bucharest, which involved up to 4,000 people. This time, the authorities prepared better and suppressed the uprising; 2 people died in the process. (M. Kozma was released only after the victory of the opposition in the elections).
In the conditions of further aggravation of the social situation, the struggle for power intensified in the leadership of the largest government party, the NCHDP. In December 1999, twelve of the 17 ministers resigned in protest against the actions of Prime Minister Vasile. Accusing him of delaying reforms, President Constantinescu ousted the head of government and appointed the former director of the National Bank, Mugur Isarescu, in his place. The main positions in the cabinet were taken by representatives of the NCCDP, NLP, DP and DSVR. The government promised to achieve EU accession, complete the privatization process by 2001, reduce inflation and the budget deficit, and achieve a resumption of economic growth. But already in the spring of 2000, it received a new heavy blow, when, due to the collapse of the National Investment Fund, the worst financial crisis since 1989 flared up, at least 500 thousand people suffered from it. In June, the opposition PSDR won a landslide victory in local elections. In the run-up to the 2000 general election, the ruling coalition began to fall apart. The NLP left the DC and announced its intention to speak at them on its own. On the contrary, the opposition consolidated its forces. The PSDR agreed to cooperate with the Greater Romania party.
The general elections in November-December 2000 were won by the Social Democrats and Nationalists. Iliescu was re-elected president. In the first round, he won 36.4% of the vote, ahead of Greater Romania leader Corneliu Tudor (28.3%), PNL candidate Stolojan (11.8%), leader of the Romanian Democratic Convention-2000 Isarescu (9.5%), DP leader Roman (3%), etc. In the second round, Iliescu won a landslide victory over Tudor (66.8%). In the parliamentary elections, the Social Democratic Pole bloc (PDSR, Romanian Social Democratic and Humanist Parties) won, although it did not achieve an absolute majority in parliament. The reorganized Democratic Convention failed to get a single candidate into parliament at all.
After the elections, a government was formed led by PSDR representative Adrian Nastasse.
In subsequent years, the Romanian party system underwent some changes. Both the government and the opposition are trying to consolidate their forces. In June 2001, the PDSR and the RSDP merged into a new ruling party, which elected Prime Minister Nastasse as its chairman. In turn, in 2002, the Alliance for Romania entered the NLP, and the right-wing conservative National Christian Democratic Alliance, founded by former Prime Minister V. Ciorbea. returned to the NCHDP. In 2003, the NLP and DP Romana entered into an alliance agreement.

Encyclopedia Around the World. 2008 .

ROMANIA

State in southeastern Europe. In the north it borders with Ukraine, in the east - with Moldova, in the south - with Bulgaria, in the southwest - with Serbia, in the west - with Hungary. In the southeast it is washed by the Black Sea. The area of ​​Romania is about 237,500 km2. The central part of the country is occupied by the Transylvanian basin, almost completely surrounded by mountains: in the north and east - by the Carpathians; in the south - the Transylvanian Alps, where the highest point of the country is located - Mount Moldoveanul (2544 m), in the west - the small mountains Vikhor. The rest of the territory of Romania is mostly flat. The most extensive plains are located on the border with Serbia - the Tisha valley; between the Transylvanian Alps and Bulgaria - Wallachia; to the east of the Carpathians - Moldova and on the Black Sea coast - Dobruzha. Romania's main river is the Danube, which forms part of the border with Serbia and almost entirely with Bulgaria. The Mures, Prut, Olt and Siresh rivers are part of the Danube system and are its tributaries. There are many small freshwater lakes in Romania, but the largest are the salt lakes-lagoons of the Black Sea, the largest of them is Lake Razelm.
The population of the country (estimated for 1998) is about 22395800 people, the average population density is about 94 people per km2. Ethnic groups: Romanians - 89.1%, Hungarians - 8.9%, Germans - 0.4%, Ukrainians, Jews, Russians, Serbs, Gypsies, Croats, Turks, Bulgarians, Tatars, Slovaks. Language: Romanian (state), German, Hungarian, Turkish, Serbo-Croatian, Yiddish. Religion: Romanian Orthodox Church - 70%, Catholic Church - 6%, Protestants - 6%, Jews, Muslims. The capital is Bucharest. Largest cities: Bucharest (2,090,000 people), Constanta (350,500 people), Iasi (343,000 people), Timisoara (334,000 people), Cluj-Napoca (328,000 people), Galati (326,000 people), Brasov (324,000 people), Craiova (303,500 people), Ploiesti (252,000 people). The state structure is a republic. The head of state is President E. Constantinescu (in office since 1996). The head of government is Prime Minister V. Chorbya (in office since 1996). Monetary unit - lei. Average life expectancy (for 1998): 67 years - men, 73 years - women. The birth rate (per 1,000 people) is 9.3. Mortality rate (per 1000 people) - 11.6.
The territory of modern Romania in 106 was conquered by the Roman emperor Trajan and annexed to the Roman Empire as the province of Dacia. Starting from the 3rd century, the territory of Dacia was subjected to constant raids by neighboring tribes of Goths, Huns and Bulgars. In the 9th century, Romania was under the rule of Bulgaria and at that time was baptized into Orthodoxy. In the XIII century, two Romanian principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia were formed, which were in vassal dependence on the Hungarian and Polish kings. In 1526, Hungary was defeated by the Ottoman Turks and Wallachia and Moldavia came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. After an unsuccessful attempt to free themselves from the power of the Ottoman Empire, at the end of the 16th century, the system of government of the Phanariots was established in Wallachia and Moldavia, where the Greek rulers appointed by the Turks ruled. At that time Greek became the official language of Romania. In the middle of the 18th century, as a result of the Russian-Turkish wars, the influence of the Ottoman Empire was significantly weakened and the Phanariot system was abolished, Moldavia and Wallachia received greater autonomy, and Russia became the de facto overlord of these states. After the defeat of Russia in the Crimean War, its influence on Wallachia and Moldavia weakened. In 1859, both states crowned a common prince, and in 1861 they united and were recognized by the Turkish Sultan as an autonomous principality of Romania. In 1878 Romania declared independence, and in 1881 the Kingdom of Romania was proclaimed. In the 30s of the 20th century, a pro-fascist regime was established in Romania, led by Corneliu Gelea-Codreanu, the leader of the Iron Guard, and later by Antonescu. In 1947, a republic was proclaimed in Romania, and on April 13, 1948, a new constitution was adopted based on the constitution of the USSR. The communist regime of Ceausescu was in power in the country until December 1989. On December 22, 1989, power in the country passed to the National Salvation Council; on December 25, 1989, Ceausescu and his wife Elena were executed. In 1993, Romania received an official invitation to join the EU, but the formal entry of Romania into this organization is not expected before 2000. Romania is a member of the UN, World Bank, IMF, GATT.
The Transylvanian basin, the Carpathians and the western valleys have warm summers and cold winters. The temperature in summer sometimes reaches 38°C, and in winter it drops to -32°C. In Wallachia, Moldavia and Dobruja, summers are warmer and winters are not so cold. Vegetation is sparse in the Moldavian and Wallachian steppes, only fruit trees grow on the slopes of the hills. At the foot of the mountains there are deciduous forests dominated by oak, birch and beech. Above are coniferous forests, mostly pine and spruce. Large wild animals - wild boar, wolf, lynx, fox, bear, chamois, mountain goat and deer - live mainly in the Carpathian mountains. Squirrel, hare, badger and ferret live in the valleys. There are many birds in the country, and migratory birds stop in the Danube Valley, which is partly a nature reserve. There are a lot of fish in the rivers: pike, sturgeon, salmon, perch, eel.
There are quite a few museums in Romania, the most interesting of which are the following: Art Museum of Romania with a fine collection of Romanian, Western and Eastern art; National Historical Museum - both in Bucharest. An ethnographic museum located in the house where the Hungarian king Matt Corvinus was born in the 15th century in the city of Cluj-na-poka. The oldest museum in Romania (opened in 1794) in the city of Alba Iulia. Historical Museum in a 15th century building in Brasov. Among the architectural historical sights in Bucharest are the Palace of Justice (1864), the Stirbey Palace (1835), the building of the National Bank (1885), the presidential palace in the building of the 17th century; Konstakudilo Palace (1900), Royal Palace (1935). Triumphal Arch (1920), Antim Monasteries (1715); Patriarchal Church (1665). In Iasi - a cathedral and two churches of the XV century. In Oradea - the parish church in which the Hungarian king Laszlo I the Holy is buried. In Cluj-Napoca, the Church of St. Michael (1396-1432), Reformed Church of 1486, Batanui Palace - the former residence of the Transylvanian princes. In Targu Mures - Gothic church of the 15th century, the Teleki Palace. In Alba Iulia, the citadel built by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI in 1716-1735; cathedral of the 2nd century, rebuilt in the 15th century in the Gothic style. Timisoara has an 18th century castle; Orthodox Cathedral; a pseudo-Gothic column in the center of the city, erected in 1851 by the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I as a sign of the tenacity of the Timisoars who held out for 107 days against the army of the Hungarian revolutionaries in 1849. In Brasov - the remains of the citadel of 1553, the church of the XIV century in the Gothic style; church of st. Bartholomew (XIII century), the town hall of 1420.

Encyclopedia: cities and countries. 2008 .

Romania is a state in southern Europe, in the Lower Danube basin. In the east it is washed by the Black Sea. Romania borders Ukraine (cm. Ukraine), Moldova (cm. Moldova), Hungary (cm. Hungary), Yugoslavia (cm. Montenegro) and Bulgaria (cm. Bulgaria). The area of ​​the country is 237.5 thousand square kilometers, the population is 22.2 million people. The capital of Romania is Bucharest. Romania gained its independence in 1877, after having been ruled by the Turkish Ottoman Empire for 300 years. After the First World War, Transylvania, which had previously been part of Austria-Hungary, was included in Romania. Romanians make up almost 90% of the total population. But there are also large national minorities in the country, primarily Hungarians and Germans, living in compact groups in a number of regions of Transylvania. The state language is Romanian (it belongs to the Romance group of languages, but it contains a lot of Slavic borrowings and words inherited from the languages ​​of the most ancient inhabitants of these places - the Dacians and Thracians). Orthodox believers predominate.
natural conditions
On the territory of Romania, approximately equal areas are occupied by mountains, hilly uplands and lowlands. The main mountain system of the country is the Carpathians, they are arched through the entire central part of Romania, cut by deep river valleys and crowned with sharp rocky ridges.
The highest point in Romania is Mount Moldoveanu (2543 m). A strip of hilly foothill ridges stretches along the Carpathians, and in the south of the country there is a vast Lower Danube Plain. About half of the territory of Romania has been plowed up (fields, orchards, vineyards), forests have been preserved only in the mountains and in floodplains. The largest tributaries of the Danube in Romania - Olt, Argesh, Ialomitsa, Siret, Mures (a tributary of the Tisza) - originate in the Carpathians. The climate of Romania is temperate continental, droughts occur on the Lower Danube Plain. The swimming season on the Black Sea coast lasts from the end of June to the end of September.
The largest cities in Romania are Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Iasi, Brasov, Craiova, Constanta, Galati. Their architectural appearance was formed under the influence of the neighboring Orthodox countries - Byzantium, Serbia, Bulgaria. The architecture of Transylvania is heavily influenced by the Gothic.
Economy
Romania is an industrial-agrarian country. GDP per capita $9,100 (2006). Leading industries: mechanical engineering (transport, agricultural, electrical engineering, production of industrial equipment) and metalworking, ferrous and non-ferrous (aluminum, zinc, lead, copper smelting), metallurgy, chemical (production of acids, alkalis, mineral fertilizers, etc.) and petrochemical.
The woodworking, pulp and paper, furniture, textile, clothing, and food industries are well developed. Grain-based crop production prevails in agriculture, the main grain crops are corn and wheat, technical crops are sugar beet, sunflower; vegetable growing, viticulture, fruit growing. In livestock breeding cattle, pigs, sheep, poultry. Beekeeping.
The main ports on the Danube are Galati, Braila, Giurgiu. The main seaport is Constanta.
Story
In the 1st century BC e. - 3rd century AD e. the Geto-Dacian tribes inhabiting the territory of modern Romania fought against Rome. At the beginning of the 2nd century A.D. e. the Dacian settlement area fell under the rule of Rome and was turned into a Roman province. Dacia. After the departure of the Romans (271), the tribes of Goths, Gepids, Avars settled on the territory of Romania, in the 6th-7th centuries. Slavs settled.
In the 14th century, the states of Wallachia and Moldova were formed, which fell under the Ottoman yoke in the 16th century. These principalities, which achieved autonomy in 1829 with the help of Russia, united in January 1862 into a single state - Romania (the Romanian principality; it was in vassal dependence on the Ottoman Empire). During the war of 1877-78. Russia with Turkey, Romania became independent (since 1881 - a kingdom). Romania participated in the 2nd Balkan War (1913), in 1916, on the side of the Entente, entered the First World War.
In 1918, Romania occupied Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina (withdrew to the USSR in 1940). Romania, which joined the Berlin Pact in 1940, on June 22, 1941, together with Germany, entered the war against the USSR. In the context of the defeat of the German and Romanian troops by the Soviet Army in 1944, the fascist military dictatorship was also overthrown in the course of the uprising. The Paris Peace Treaty of 1947 established the modern borders of Romania. In December 1947, the monarchy was abolished and Romania was proclaimed a People's Republic. In February 1948, as a result of the unification of the CPR (founded in 1921) and the Social Democratic Party, the Romanian Workers' Party was created (in 1965 it was renamed the Romanian Communist Party, RCP). In 1965-1989 the official name is the Socialist Republic of Romania (SRR). The President of the SRR (since 1974) N. Ceausescu gradually established a regime of personal power, which in the 1980s. became totalitarian. As a result of the uprising on December 21-22, 1989, the dictatorship of Ceausescu was liquidated. The RCP has ceased to exist. The Council of the National Salvation Front was in power, since February 1990 - the Provisional Council of National Accord. In December 1991, the constitution was approved. President of Romania in 1990-1996, 2000-2004 - I. Iliescu, since the end of 2004 - Traian Basescu. Romania has been a member of NATO since 2004 and became a member of the EU in 2007.
Tourism
Numerous resorts are located on the Black Sea coast. The most famous and visited of them are Mamaia and Costinesti. In the Carpathians there are centers for winter recreation and skiing - Sinaia, Predeal, Poiana Brasov. Romanians' favorite dishes include: soup with meat balls and vegetables, tripe soup, stewed vegetables, meat stewed with onions, stuffed peppers, peppered meat balls fried over a fire, stuffed cabbage or grape leaves, smoked goat meat. Romanian corn porridge goes with literally everything. For dessert are typical: semi-circular pie with filling and brioche. Turkish sweets are common. But in a restaurant, most likely, you will be offered pork cutlets with fried potatoes or a Balkan salad (cucumbers, tomatoes and white cheese).

Encyclopedia of Tourism Cyril and Methodius. 2008 .

. Art Encyclopedia

- (Romania), state in the South East. Europe. From the 15th century part of the Ottoman Empire, Russia and Austria challenged dominance in the region. In 1812, Russia established control over the North. Vost. Moldova (Bessarabia), and over the past 40 years ... ... The World History

Known in the grotto of Stynka Ripiceni (on the right bank of the Prut), the lower layers of which belong to the Aurignacian and Solutrean times.

Already in the Eneolithic era (c. 4000 BC), the first Indo-Europeans (Cernavoda Culture), who were familiar with horse breeding, penetrated the territory of Romania from the east.

At the end of the Bronze - Early Iron Age (4th century BC), the Hallstatt culture spread here, dominated by the Celts, and with which the beginning of the formation of the Thracian community is associated. In the later La Tène culture, the Thracians played the role of a cultural component equal in rights with the Celts.

ancient era

A new unification and strengthening of Dacia occurred during the reign of Decebalus (- AD). Decebalus tried to organize a strong kingdom with a capital in Sarmizegetus and waged three wars with Rome (-, -, - AD). The first, with the emperor Domitian, proved to be relatively successful, the second ended with the defeat of the Dacians by the emperor Trajan, and the third, also with Trajan, with the complete conquest of Dacia by the Romans, the capture of Sarmizegetusa and the suicide of Decebalus. On the territory of Dacia, the Roman province "Dacia" was organized. The center of the latter was the city of Ulpia Trayana, which under Adrian also received the name of Sarmizegetus, but was built 50 km from the old center. Napoca (now Cluj) stood out from other cities of Roman Dacia. Dacia remained a Roman province until 271, when the emperor Aurelian, unable to defend it from the onslaught of the Goths and Sarmatians, left it, evacuating the population of cities across the Danube. Middle Ages Slavs lived on the territory of modern Romania in the Middle Ages, whose principality in the future Ugrovlachia is mentioned in the sources in the 6th century; Proto-Bulgarians, Avars, Kutrigurs also penetrated here. The Ipoteshti-Kyndesht culture of the early Slavs (V-VII centuries) was formed by the Ants - carriers of the Penkov culture, together with the local Romanized population and the Slavs of the Prague-Korchak group that seeped into the region of the lower Danube. In the 9th century, part of this territory became part of the Slavic state of Great Moravia, then the Hungarians and Pechenegs settled. In the 10th century, part of the territory of ancient Dacia fell under the rule of the Old Russian state, then the Polovtsians, the Principality of Galicia; Mongol-Tatars and Vlachs in the XIII century. The events of 1600 are reported differently by Moldavian sources. The Moldavian chronicler Miron Kostin noted that the detachments of the Muntyan governor Mihai captured the capital of the Moldavian principality Suceava for several days, then laid siege to Khotyn, where the Moldavian governor Yeremia-voda fortified, but soon retreated, as the Polish regiments headed by the hetman Konetspolsky and Chancellor Zamoyski. Soon, the Moldavian-Polish troops ousted the detachments of Mihai from Moldavia, who was killed in the same year. In 1699, 1718 and 1739 different parts of what is now Romania, such as Wallachian Oltenia in 1718, were divided between Austria and the Ottoman Empire. In 1775, Bukovina (the northern part of the Moldavian principality) was annexed to Austria, and in 1812 the lands between the Prut and the Dniester became part of the Russian Empire. A significant part of the medieval history of Romania is set forth in the writings of Constantin Kapitanul (Filipescu), a Romanian chronicler of the 17th century. Unification of the Danubian Principalities As in many European countries, in the 19th century, a national liberation movement unfolded in the Danubian principalities, which aimed at uniting the Romanian principalities and creating a strong independent national state. The revolution of 1848 also captured the Danubian Principalities, but was crushed there by a joint Turkish-Russian intervention. On February 5, 1859, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, who had been elected to the throne of Moldavia a few weeks before, was elected Prince of Wallachia. In 1861, it was officially recognized by the Ottoman Porte, which had previously strongly opposed the unification of the principalities. As a result, the creation under Ottoman sovereignty of the United Principality of Wallachia and Moldavia was proclaimed, which Cuza led with the title of Domnitor. The new ruler decided to carry out agrarian reforms. They did not suit the boyars, as they provided for the reduction of their land holdings. In 1864, Cuza carried out a coup d'etat, expelling the boyars dissatisfied with his rule from the National Assembly, and taking full power into his own hands. The boyar opposition responded by forming the Monstrous Coalition, which in turn organized a palace coup. On the night of February 11, 1866, a group of officers broke into Cuza's bedroom, which forced the ruler to abdicate and leave the country. Carol I of the German dynasty of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was elected as the new Domnitor. Independence and formation of the Kingdom of Romania In the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-78. Romania actually fought on the side of Russia. On May 9 (21), 1877, the parliament proclaimed the complete independence of Romania. According to the decision of the Berlin Congress of 1878, Romania received international recognition as an independent state. Under the same treaty, Russia again occupied the southern regions of Bessarabia, however, in return, Romania received Northern Dobruja with Constance, which still belonged to Turkey. In 1881 Romania was proclaimed a kingdom. Kingdom of Romania Romania in World War I The beginning of the war found Romania in a very difficult position. Caught between the warring parties, she had little chance of maintaining neutrality. True, by that time it had not yet been finally decided which side to take. Both the Entente and the Central Powers promised Romania, if they entered the war on their side, to transfer to it enemy territories inhabited by ethnic Romanians, and the country fully understood the need to participate in the war to unite the nation. But, given the very weak equipment of the Romanian army in relation to the great powers, the government decided to remain neutral for the first time. Until 1916, the breathing space granted was used to secure economic, military and diplomatic conditions for the outbreak of hostilities. By this time, due to the entry into the war of Bulgaria and Turkey, Romania was completely surrounded by the warring countries, which made it very difficult for foreign trade, including the import of weapons and ammunition. As a result, by the middle of the year, the government finally decided to enter the war on the side of the Entente, whose members recognized the rights of Romania to the territories of Austria-Hungary inhabited by Romanians, although Russia's position on this matter, for military and political reasons, did not inspire optimism. Rapprochement with the Third Reich Involvement in World War II Building socialism The value of property exported by Romania from the USSR during the occupation of Soviet territories amounted to 950 billion lei. A third of this amount, after the entry of the Red Army into Romania, was decided to be considered paid in the form of requisitions and in other forms. Of the remaining 600 billion lei, half was “forgiven”, and Romania was charged with paying reparations for 300 billion lei. On December 30, 1947, the People's Republic of Romania was proclaimed, which set a course for building socialism along the Soviet lines. In 1965, after the death of Gheorghiu-Deja, Nicolae Ceausescu was elected as the first secretary of the RCP. Ceausescu uncontrollably took loans from Western countries, which quickly brought the Romanian economy to the brink of collapse. In an attempt to rectify the situation in the country, a referendum was held on a legislative ban on attracting foreign loans, and since 1980, the payment of debts on loans has become the main priority of the Romanian economy. As a result, by 1989 - in fact, a few months before the overthrow of the Ceausescu regime - Romania managed to pay off almost all Western creditors. By this time, Romania, according to some estimates, became perhaps the poorest country in the Eastern Bloc. The revolution On December 16, 1989, unrest began in Timisoara, troops were brought into the city. The next day, the unrest spread to Bucharest, where the authorities tried to arrange a rally in their support. Ceausescu fled the city in a helicopter, but was later caught in the city

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Formation of the state of Romania

The influence of the "Russian party" in Moldova and Wallachia greatly decreased, the eyes of the supporters of the unification of the two Romanian principalities (unionists) again turned to France, its emperor Napoleon III. During the Crimean War of 1853-1856. the principalities were first occupied by Russian troops, and then by Austrian and Turkish. According to the Paris Peace Treaty, Russia lost its protectorate over this territory, lost the right to maintain a fleet on the Black Sea, and lost South Bessarabia, annexed to Moldova "under the supreme authority of the Sublime Porte."

The main issue for the principalities remained the problem of unification, which would facilitate the struggle for independence, as well as the formation of a single market, monetary system, and legislation. The struggle for the unification of the Danubian Principalities has become an acute issue of international relations. The Ottoman Empire opposed this process, Britain and Austria sympathized with it, seeking to strengthen their influence in the region. Russia, France, Prussia and Sardinia supported the unification. The diplomatic confrontation ended with the signing in Paris in August 1858 of a compromise "Convention regarding the structure of the Danubian Principalities", henceforth bearing the name of the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The convention provided for the introduction of almost powerless general government, all local power remained concentrated in the hands of the princes and the ruling elite of the principalities. A new election system with a high property qualification was introduced. Out of 5 million people, only 4 thousand voters could participate in the voting process. In January 1859, Alexander Jon Cuza was elected to the throne in both principalities, which paved the way for the unification of the country into a single state.

In 1861, the guarantor powers agreed to the unification of the Danubian principalities, in January 1862 a single National Assembly was convened and a nationwide government was created. The Danubian principalities united, the new state was called "Romania". It began the process of reform. Cuza and his first minister, M. Kogalniceanu, dissolved the National Assembly, secularized the monastic lands, which accounted for about a quarter of the arable land in the country, and an agrarian reform law was passed that provided for the abolition of serfdom. For a large ransom, the peasants received land. The activities of the reformers embittered the big landlords, and they did not satisfy the peasants either. The result was the overthrow of Cuza from the throne in February 1866 by political forces, the bloc of which was called the “Monstrous Coalition” for the seemingly unnatural alliance of former irreconcilable opponents - liberals and conservatives.

Charles (Karol) I of the Hohenzollern dynasty became the new prince of Romania. A new constitution was adopted, which reflected the principle of separation of the branches of power, declared the responsibility of the government to parliament, as well as various civil liberties. True, in relation to the Romanian reality, all this remained only a declaration. Charles I supported the Germans, which caused discontent, especially during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871. Opposition speeches were suppressed. In 1875, a trade agreement with Austria-Hungary, unfavorable for the Romanian bourgeoisie, was concluded, reducing and even partially abolishing duties on certain Austrian goods imported into Romania. In 1877, an agreement was signed on the passage of Russian troops through Romanian territory in the event of a Russian-Turkish war, which soon began. In 1877 independence was proclaimed by the Romanian Parliament. The country took part in hostilities against the Ottoman Empire, in the siege and capture of the fortress of Plevna. By decision of the Berlin Congress of 1878, Romania was recognized as an independent state, having received Northern Dobruja instead of Southern Bessarabia, returned to Russia (without part of the mouth of the Danube, left behind Romania). In 1881 Romania was proclaimed a kingdom. The liberals came to power, broke off an unfavorable trade agreement with Austria-Hungary, introduced high customs tariffs in 1886, and adopted in 1887 a law on the protection of national industry. The acceleration of industrial development (oil production, food and light industry) contributed to the breaking of traditional relations in the countryside. The situation of the workers and peasants remained disastrous, which led to railroad strikes and a major peasant uprising in 1888.

ROMANIA, officially called the Socialist Republic of Romania until 1990, is an independent state in southeastern Europe. The population, which believes that they are descended from the Romanized Thracian people - the Dacians, retained the language of the Romance group despite the fact that they lived in a region with a predominance of Slavic languages. Romania borders Ukraine in the north, Moldova in the northeast, Hungary and Yugoslavia in the west, and Bulgaria in the south.
The modern state of Romania was recognized as completely independent at the Berlin Congress in 1878. The historical core of the country consisted of Wallachia and Moldavia, which in 1859 united under the rule of the ruler. The country also included northern Bessarabia and Northern Dobruja, while southern Bessarabia was transferred by the Berlin Congress to Russia, and Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria. As a result of the Balkan Wars, on the eve of the First World War, Romania received Southern Dobruja from Bulgaria. The First World War, which led to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, as well as the Russian and Ottoman empires, allowed Romania to annex additional territories: the southern part of Bessarabia from Russia, Bukovina from Austria; Transylvania, Krishanu-Maramures and part of the Banat from Hungary (the rest of the Banat went to Yugoslavia). The vicissitudes of the Second World War and post-war agreements led to the fact that the southern part of Dobruja was returned to Bulgaria, and Northern Bukovina and all of Bessarabia went to the Soviet Union.
Early history. The history of the Romanian people begins in the second century AD, when the legions of the Roman emperor Trajan settled down in the territory where the Thracian tribes of the Dacians lived. The formation of the Romanian people took place through the merging of the Romans and the local population in a territory that almost coincides with the territory of present-day Romania. However, this merger was not completed, since at the end of the third century, in view of the impending threat of the invasion of the barbarians, the Roman legions were withdrawn back. Few Roman social and cultural institutions have survived, although Christianity, introduced by the Romans, began to embrace more and more people in the second century AD. The departure of the Romans left the Romanians, a partially Christianized Daco-Roman people, face to face with the invasion of the barbarians.
The next millennium is the darkest page in Romanian history. In the 6th c. Slavic tribes settled on the territory of present-day Romania. In the 7th and 8th centuries. Bulgarians migrated here, who settled south of the Danube. At the end of the 9th c. many parts of what is now Romania were taken over by the Hungarians. During the second half of the 13th c. they established their suzerainty over Wallachia and Moldavia, which became semi-autonomous provinces. Some historians claim that during these invasions, the indigenous Daco-Roman population was completely destroyed. Others believe that part of the Daco-Romans survived and are the ancestors of modern Romanians.
Turkish dominance. The next period of Romanian history began with the creation of the Romanian principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. respectively. The society of that time had characteristic feudal features: the prince was surrounded by courtiers and nobles who owned the land; distribution of small parts of the boyar estates to the military petty nobles was carried out; serfdom developed rapidly.
From 1415 until the creation of the Phanariot regime in 1711, Wallachia and Moldavia were ruled by law by local princes, but in fact by Turks and boyars. The boyars wove intrigues with the Porte (the government of the Ottoman Empire) in order to keep the Wallachian and Moldavian thrones for members of their families. Whenever, however, an outstanding military or political leader appeared, such as Mihai the Brave in Wallachia (1593-1601) or Peter Rares in Moldavia (1527-1546), the conflicting parties temporarily reconciled and acted together against the Turks, supporting the ruler. But at the same time, the boyars were also responsible for most of the political chaos that manifested itself in the succession of 112 princes in Moldavia and Wallachia in the 16th and 17th centuries.
At the very beginning of the 18th century. Greek merchants from Constantinople, who were called Phanariots, replaced the princes and boyars and began to rule the principalities, establishing control over all economic resources. Princely posts were auctioned off in Constantinople to the highest bidders, usually Phanariotes. The reign of the Phanariotes is regarded by most historians as the most disastrous period in the history of the country. Probably the most characteristic of this period of 1711-1821 was the extremely large turnover of Phanariot princes - in both principalities, the posts of princes were occupied by about a hundred rulers.
The conquest of national independence. The next important stage in Romanian history began in 1821, when the Romanian princes again returned to the Moldavian and Wallachian thrones, and ended in 1878 with the achievement of state independence. Russian interests in the Romanian principalities were revealed even under Peter the Great, the first tsar, who tried to establish active contacts with the Romanian princes against the Turks at the beginning of the 18th century. By the end of this century, Russian influence increased even more after Catherine the Great formulated the doctrine that Russia was the main protector of Orthodox Christians living in the territory of the Ottoman Empire, and was especially interested in protecting the Romanian principalities. Supported by anti-Greek members of the Romanian nobility, she viewed the Romanian principalities as a natural sphere of Russian influence.
Russia became the first defender of the national, anti-Fanariot revolution, which culminated in the restoration of the power of the Romanian princes in 1821. This revolution was led by Tudor Vladimirescu, an officer in the Russian army, a Romanian by nationality. After the Russo-Turkish War of 1826–1828, Russia received a protectorate over the Romanian principalities under the Treaty of Andrianopol (1829). The ensuing Russian occupation (1828–1834) had serious consequences. During the reign of the talented and enlightened Count Pavel Kiselev, the foundations of the new Romanian state were laid. The first constitutional meetings, called sofas, became the beginnings of future ministries. An educational system was created, the construction of roads began. Moderate industrialization and the creation of a fairly active system of foreign trade in grain, timber and honey led to the growth of a small middle class and ensured the continued dominance of the boyars. In 1848–1849, Russian troops suppressed nationalist uprisings in the principalities and the revolutionary spirit that had developed here under the previous Russian occupation, thanks in part to Kiselyov's liberalism.
The revolutionary movement in Romania was mainly the product of French liberal ideas adopted by young boyars returning to the country after studying in France. Despite the unsuccessful outcome of the revolutions and the opposition of the Russian occupation authorities, who remained here until the Crimean War (1853-1856), the desire for independence dominated among young intellectuals and politicians. Their efforts, as well as the participation of Russia and France at the end of the Crimean War, finally led to the creation in 1859 of autonomous United Principalities, or Romania.
Prince Alexandru Ion Cuza, leader of the boyars, was elected in 1859 as the first ruler of the joint administration of both provinces. The path to independence lay through internal reforms, primarily the agrarian reform and the emancipation of the serfs in 1864. The boyars overthrew Cuza even before he had time to implement his program, and in 1866 elected the German prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as prince of Romania, who was crowned in 1881. Romania gained its final freedom from the Turks in 1878, when at the end of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), European countries recognized Romania's unilateral declaration of independence of May 10, 1877.
Independence and territorial expansion. Some important steps were taken between 1878 and 1918, during the reign of Carol I (1866-1914). Mainly thanks to the efforts of Karol, Romania entered the path of rapid economic development: the most important industries were created, railways were built, modern economic institutions were created, mainly on the basis of German capital. During his reign, the first constitution was adopted (1866), political parties and state institutions were created, including a bicameral parliament.
During this period, the first signs of the imperialist ambitions of Romania appeared. After the Berlin Congress of 1878, King Carol I, with the support of the conservatives, maintained a pro-German and pro-Austrian orientation, and in 1883 Romania became a member of the Triple Alliance. Its territorial claims became apparent during the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, after which Romania acquired part of Dobruja.
After the Balkan Wars, a split emerged between the pro-German policy of the monarchy and the pro-French nationalist sentiments of the majority of the population. The cabinet forced the aging king to keep Romania neutral at the start of World War I. Karol died in 1914, and his nephew ascended the throne under the name of King Ferdinand I. In 1916, Romania entered the war on the side of the Entente. This move paid off at the end of the war: the old kingdom was greatly expanded through the acquisition of Transylvania, Bessarabia, Bukovina and Banat.
Romania's difficulties in the interwar period were due to the heterogeneous nature of its population. The acquisition of minorities such as Jews and Hungarians led to the rise of Calvinism and the growth of traditional anti-Semitism in Romania, which was reflected in the creation of the fascist Iron Guard party.
However, the annexation of the provinces had its positive aspects. In the 1920s, the institution of parliamentarism strengthened, and the number and activity of political parties increased. New industries emerged and trade expanded. However, economic progress was interrupted by an agrarian crisis that began in the late 1920s and reached its peak in 1930. The agrarian crisis was caused by the unsuccessful agrarian reform of 1917, which deprived many peasants of their land, and the low competitiveness of Romanian grain on the world market.
Ferdinand's son, crowned Prince Karol, was deprived of the right to the throne and left the country in 1925. A year before Ferdinand's death, in 1926, a regency was created to rule the country on behalf of Karol's infant son, Mihai, until he came of age. Karol returned to the country in 1930, received the throne and was crowned as King Carol II with the support of Prime Minister Iuliu Maniu, leader of the National Tsaranist (People's Peasant) Party, who achieved agreement between all major political parties.
Fearing the capture of Transylvania by Hungary, which was supported by Germany, Carol II signed a trade agreement with Germany, which gave the latter many advantages and the possibility of significant influence on Romania. The elections of December 1937 showed the political rise of the Iron Guard; the moderate National Liberal Party was defeated. The fascist nature of the government of a coalition of far-right parties led by Octavian Gog, leader of the ultra-nationalist and anti-Semitic National Christian Party, forced the king to decide to remove the prime minister, dissolve parliament and declare a royal dictatorship in April 1938. Karol also tried to ban the Iron Guard and maintain neutrality with respect to to the Soviet Union and Germany.
After the conclusion of the Soviet-German alliance in 1939, Romania lost Bessarabia and Bukovina, transferring them to the Soviet Union after the Soviet ultimatum in June 1940. In August 1940, almost half of Transylvania was transferred to Hungary, and in September 1940 southern Dobruja was transferred to Bulgaria. The loss of these territories forced Karol to abdicate in favor of his son Mihai in September 1940. General Ion Antonescu formed a new cabinet, proclaimed himself the leader of the Romanians and became an ally of Germany.
In August 1944, after the entry of Soviet troops into the country, King Mihai announced the withdrawal of Romania from the war on the side of Germany and its accession to the Allies. Nevertheless, Romania was occupied by the Soviet Union, and in 1947 a communist dictatorship was established here.
The governments of Generals Constantin Sanatescu and Nicolae Radescu, who were replaced in August 1944 - March 1945, were unable to resist the subversive activities of the communists and opened the way for the government of Petr Groza, created on orders from Moscow in March 1945. In December 1947, King Mihai was forced to abdicate, and was proclaimed Romanian People's Republic.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Romania was a satellite of the Soviet Union. Decisions were made in Moscow and implemented in Bucharest by the Communist Party, led by the Romanian Stalinists. The social and economic order were rebuilt according to Soviet designs. In 1949, the collectivization of agriculture began, and economic planning was introduced. The foreign policy of Romania was also regulated by the Soviet Union. In 1952, the first secretary of the Communist Party, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, became Prime Minister of Romania.
The death of Stalin in 1953, the coming to power of N.S. Khrushchev and the easing of tension in relations between the Soviet Union and the West seriously influenced further events. Khrushchev's determination to remove the Stalinists from power in the satellite countries of Eastern Europe forced Gheorghiu-Deja to seek protection from the Romanian nationalists. In the 1950s, Romania declared its right to "its own road to socialism". Economic and political efforts in this direction allowed Georgiou-Dejo in 1964 to officially declare the country's independence from the Soviet Union on all matters relating to its sovereignty. His successor, the general secretary of the party, Nicolae Ceausescu, confirmed the course for independence. Romania used the Sino-Soviet conflict that began in 1961 to declare its neutrality in cases of conflict between communist countries. It did not join other Warsaw Pact countries during the occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
Ceausescu regime. Economic growth continued throughout the 1970s. However, food shortages emerged in the early 1980s, followed by power outages as a result of oil depletion.
Ceausescu's "personality cult" that arose in the 1970s reached its peak after his 65th birthday in 1983, when he began to be called the "genius of the Carpathians" and so on. The political opposition united against the plan he announced in 1988 to demolish 7,000 villages and relocate their inhabitants to 550 "agro-industrial centers" consisting of residential neighborhoods and factories.
In March 1989, six oppositionists sent an open letter to Ceausescu, accusing him of human rights violations, violating the constitution, and destroying the economy. The President replied that Gorbachev-style perestroika was not needed and continued to press his "systematization" plan.
In December 1989, an uprising broke out in the city of Timisoara to protest the deportation of a Hungarian pastor, which ended in the death of hundreds of people when Ceausescu ordered the army to fire on the crowd. The next day, protests began in most cities, and five days later, on December 22, 1989, the Ceausescu couple were forced to flee by helicopter from the headquarters of the RCP. Soon they were captured and, after a quick trial, they were executed (December 25). Power was immediately transferred to the six authors of an open letter in March 1989 and other ex-communists who united in the National Salvation Front (FNS). In May 1990, the Federal Tax Service successfully won the elections, a government was created under the leadership of Petre Roman. Ion Iliescu won the presidential election. In June 1990, thousands of miners marched on Bucharest, probably instigated by agents of the secret police "Securitate", beating demonstrators and passers-by, they smashed the offices of opposition parties and newspapers. After that, the government banned the continuation of the protests and took measures to liberalize the economy.
The beginning of 1998 in Romania was marked by an internal political crisis, the source of which was the desire of the Democratic Party to once again play the role of "kingmaker" in the hope that its leader, Petru Roman, would succeed in taking the post of prime minister. Despite the political maneuverings of Prime Minister Viktor Ciorba, who was oriented towards continuing the course of reforms, he had to give up his post in early April to Radu Vasile, also a representative of the NCDC, who did not abandon any of the points of his predecessor's program; he gave a number of key ministerial posts to representatives of the DP. The new prime minister - a man of pragmatic orientation and common sense - advocated a more balanced relationship between Romania and the countries of not only Western, but also Central Europe. However, such replacements did not accelerate the course of reforms, and the standard of living of the population did not increase; in fact, in the 10 years since the abolition of communist rule, the country has not advanced along the path of economic development.
Dealing with worsening economic difficulties (gross national product decreased by 6.6% in 1997 compared to 1996, and in 1998 by 5.2% compared to 1997; unemployment increased, life expectancy decreased), difficult negotiations with the IMF (country debt exceeded its foreign exchange reserves, and recommendations to increase tax collection turned out to be unrealistic), a line to strengthen the ruling coalition, even despite the withdrawal of the Hungarian national parties from it (this ethnic minority in the amount of 1.7 million people demanded the opening of their university in Cluj; the activities of the Szeklers intensified - Magyarized descendants of the Turkic people, who number 700,000 people), increased activity of nationalist-oriented forces (which was also reflected in the struggle to open the archives of the Securitate - internal security forces - for reprisals with the help of lustration against political opponents, primarily representatives of the PSDR, as well as in support for manifestations of extremism), - all this contributed to the activation of the mining movement, not supported by other social forces. Ex-communists and nationalists were unable to strengthen their positions; since the former were held responsible for curbing the pace of the country's economic development and striving to preserve the remnants of totalitarianism, the popularity of the latter increased dramatically.
In January and February 1999, the fifth and sixth "miners' trips" to Bucharest took place under the leadership of Miron Cosma, who claims to be the Romanian Lech Walesa; the first was crowned with success for them and the government made concessions, the second ended with the effective blocking of the strikers by internal troops. In June 1998, Kosma was sentenced to an 18-month prison term, and by a February 1999 sentence, to an 18-year one (however, he was never arrested). Thus, the protocol signed in January 1999 by the mining leaders and Prime Minister Radu Vasile at the Cozia Monastery was in jeopardy.