Former Vietnamese Ambassador to Romania talks about the reasons for the fall of the Romanian Communist Party

Reporter:  The Romanian Communist Party lost its ruling position the fastest, in just 10 hours. It took only 5 days from the incident to the execution of the Ceausescu couple. Can you talk about the historical reasons and Ceausescu’s role in this collapse?

Nguyễn Kim: Since the establishment of the socialist system in Romania , the Romanian people have made historic achievements in socialist construction. This adjective is not an exaggeration or flattery. Compared with several satellite countries of the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe during the same period, Romania is undoubtedly the most eye-catching star among them.

From July 19 to 24, 1965 , Romania held the Ninth National Congress of the Romanian Communist Party . At the meeting , a comprehensive program for continuing the socialist construction cause at the advanced stage was discussed and passed . The General Secretary of Romania at that time was named Ceausescu . Yes, that was Nicolae Ceausescu !

At the Ninth Congress, (1965) the party still determined that “industrialization” was the central goal of economic policy , and also emphasized other aspects such as agriculture. At this moment, the policy of the Romanian Supreme Central Committee was still moving along the “correct path”.

At the same time, the country’s name was also changed: it was officially changed from the “Romanian People’s Republic” to the “Romanian Socialist Republic” . The reason was very simple. At that time, many party members believed that Romania’s socialism had developed into the next stage (that is, the stage of pursuing communism, which turned out to be too early…)

Based on past achievements and the resolutions of the Ninth Congress, the Romanian Communist Party has indeed brought the Romanian Communist Party into a new stage, but there is a hidden danger behind it that is not easy to detect…

1966-1970

Due to the correct leadership of the Communist Party and a series of policies that were in line with reality, Romania made great achievements in social material and spiritual life between 1966 and 1970, which were mainly reflected in:

1. Productive forces and production relations continue to improve;

2. The national wealth was increasing;

3. Improved living standards;

4. Significant progress in technology, science, culture and education

In fact, in accordance with the spirit of the Ninth Congress , Romania’s industrialization has developed significantly in recent years, a large number of industries have been modernized, and productive forces had increased significantly.

With the development of economy, Romania’s urbanization had been continuously improved, the population has also grown, mass culture has been popularized, and cultural communication has been vigorously promoted. It can be said that Romania has entered its rare “golden age” , which makes many people think that the so-called new era of Romanian socialism has arrived …

So what then? How should Romania develop after having made these great achievements?

 In 1969, the Romanian Communist Party faced new problems. In order to solve these problems, the 10th Congress of the Romanian Communist Party was held.

Nicolae Ceausescu rises to power

From August 6 to 12, 1969 , the 10th Congress of the Romanian Communist Party was held in Bucharest . Because the overall situation in the world was delicate at the time, the Romanians summarized the achievements and work of the party and the entire people at the meeting and formulated a new program for the comprehensive development of socialist Romania from 1971 to 1975 . The delegates agreed that Nicolae Ceausescu possessed the outstanding character of a revolutionary fighter and politician, as well as a high degree of loyalty to the people, and thus unanimously elected him as the General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party.

To be fair, Nicolae Ceausescu was still a respectable revolutionary and politician at this time . His achievements and brains still belonged to the people. He had not yet become the “dictator” who engaged in personality cult and family rule in the future.

So, under the leadership of its driver, Nicolae Ceausescu, the Romanian chariot drove towards its golden age . However, few people realized that after the peak of Romania’s golden age, there was a bottomless cliff…

Under the subsequent leadership of Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania held high the banner of independence and national self-esteem in diplomacy and vigorously carried out industrialization in the economy . Romania’s national economy developed rapidly, its comprehensive national strength continued to increase, and finally came Romania’s “Golden Age”. Many people may be curious: if Romania is so brave , why is it said to be heading for the end of socialism?

Nicolae Ceausescu (1918-1989)

Nicolae Ceausescu in Romania’s modern history was very special: on the one hand, Nicolae Ceausescu  led Romania into the “Golden Age” as a national leader and was deeply loved; on the other hand, he promoted personality cult and family rule and made mistakes in decision-making, which led to the collapse of the domestic economy and the fall of the regime, making him a national sinner.

Nicolae Ceausescu joined the Romanian Communist Party in 1933. He was arrested and imprisoned many times for participating in revolutionary struggles and anti-fascist activities . He was rescued from prison in 1944 and served in the new Romanian democratic government, starting his political career.

Later, he served as Secretary of the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Youth League , Secretary of the Dobruja and Oltenia Provincial Committee , State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture , Deputy Minister of the Armed Forces and Director of the General Political Department of the Armed Forces . In 1952, he was awarded the rank of Lieutenant General and was elected member of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee and Secretary of the Central Committee in 1955 .

1965 was a turning point for Nicolae Ceaușescu. Yes, it was the year of the Ninth Congress of the Romanian Communist Party . That’s why we say that it was a turning point for Romania.

 In March 1965, Romania’s top leader Gheorghe Dej died. Subsequently Ceaușescu was elected as the first secretary of the Romanian Workers’ Party . After becoming the General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party, Ceausescu concurrently served as Chairman of the Council of State of the Socialist Republic of Romania in 1967 , officially becoming the head of state . During Ceausescu’s administration, Romania deliberately kept a considerable distance from the Soviet Union in both politics and diplomacy.

For example, when the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968, Ceaușescu condemned the Soviet Union, which earned him some recognition at home and in the West.

With the efforts of the Romanian Communist Party in domestic policies and the correct  economic guidelines, thus Romania achieved remarkable development . Therefore, in March 1974, Ceausescu was elected President of the Socialist Republic of Romania .

However, this president is a little different from an ordinary president: Nicolae Ceausescu not only has executive power as president, but also has the power to directly promulgate laws and appoint and dismiss cabinet members!

After that, Ceausescu served as the general secretary, president, chairman of the National Defense Council, supreme commander of the armed forces, commander-in-chief of the Patriotic Guard, chairman of the Supreme Council for Economic and Social Development, and other top positions in the party, government, and military!

Ceausescu became the ultimate ruler of everything in Romania! And the end of Romanian socialism followed…

Dead end

As Ceausescu ‘s prestige grew, he gradually gained control of Romania’s state power . At the same time, he became increasingly arbitrary, implementing patriarchal rule and one-man rule. What followed was a change in his personal style: he became more and more subjective and arbitrary, and could not tolerate any different opinions, and eventually gradually embarked on the path of personal centralization …Later, Ceausescu concentrated all the powers of the party, government, military, economy, and the masses in Romania in one person’s hands , becoming the world’s most part-time national leader ! The result was predictable:

Because he held multiple positions, all of which were important ones, Ceausescu eventually found it increasingly difficult to satisfy them. Ceausescu began to enjoy the people’s praise for him and became keen on the grand scenes of formalism.

Thus, after being baptized by power, Ceausescu , a former communist fighter and a servant of the people, eventually began to move towards personality cult : he began to inspect all parts of the country, not to understand the people’s sentiments, but to enjoy the satisfaction brought by the people coming out in droves to welcome him with grand etiquette.

In fact, although Romanian society was generally stable during this period, there were already signs of falling into a dark cliff. As the Romanian official’s evaluation of his history became increasingly high, Ceausescu was gradually portrayed as the greatest leader of Romania in a thousand years.

Ceausescu got deeper and deeper into trouble, and even placed his wife, children and other relatives in important positions, so that in the end more than 30 members of the Ceausescu family served in important departments such as the party, government, military, and economy, thus forming a family rule in socialist Romania that was only seen in the feudal monarchy era !

Ceausescu couple

“If God wants to destroy someone, he must first make him crazy.” In this way, Ceausescu promoted personal superstition and family rule , which eventually led to profound political, economic and social contradictions in Romania, causing dissatisfaction among the majority of party members and the masses. Workers’ strikes and anti-Ceausescu leaflets appeared frequently. Finally, coupled with Nicolae Ceausescu’s policy mistakes and stubbornness in the later period , an uprising finally came…

In December 1989, a revolution finally broke out in Romania . Ceausescu’s rule was eventually overthrown , and Ceausescu himself was executed. Finally, the Socialist Republic of Romania collapsed in 1989. This socialist country, which had created many great achievements, disappeared in the long river of history. Romania later chose capitalism and gradually developed into the Romania of today…

Reporter: In the timeline of the Communist parties losing power in Eastern Europe, the Romanian Communist Party lost its ruling position the fastest, in just 10 hours. It took only 5 days from the incident to the execution of the Ceausescu couple. The speed of the drastic change is shocking. Can you talk about the situation at that time and the attitude of the Romanian Communist Party members?

Nguyễn Kim: Romania’s dramatic changes in December 1989 began with unrest in the western city of Timisoara . Hungarian priest Laszlo Tokos was a dissident who defended the interests of Romania’s Hungarian minority. Laszlo Tokos had publicly criticized the government and its policies in the news media.

For this reason, the authorities dismissed him from his priesthood and ordered him to move out of his public housing. The local court also made a ruling to order him to move out of his public housing. On December 12, law enforcement agencies enforced the relocation ruling. On the evening of the 16th, hundreds of citizens formed a human chain around the church to oppose the forced relocation. On the 17th, the protests continued and developed into a march of thousands of people, shouting slogans such as “Down with Ceausescu” and “We want freedom”, storming the city hall building, smashing glass, overturning cars, and clashing with the police, and the situation further deteriorated.

After the riots in Timisoara , the Political Executive Committee of the Romanian Communist Party (i.e. the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party) held an emergency meeting to discuss the situation in Timisoara and believed that tough measures must be taken immediately to stop the spread of the situation. Ceausescu ordered the Ministry of Defense to send tank troops and motorized troops to suppress the riots by force. It is said that many people died at that time, including women and children. In fact, this is a scam. I will talk about this issue in detail at the end of this topic. On the 18th, the Romanian party newspaper ” Spark” and other major central newspapers published editorials and articles, emphasizing that opposing the court’s verdict is a “criminal” act and the perpetrators should be severely punished according to law. On the 19th, a demonstration of tens of thousands of people broke out in Timisoara.

On the 20th, Ceausescu interrupted his visit to Iran and returned to his country. Ceausescu delivered a televised speech, pointing out that the riots in Timisoara were instigated by gangsters and thugs, condemning the “terrorist acts” of “attacking party and government organs”, and accusing “foreign opposition forces” of “attempting to disrupt Romania’s political situation and economy”. At the same time, a state of emergency was declared in Timisoara. On the 21st, the authorities organized a mass rally in the Republic Square in the center of the capital Bucharest. Ceausescu delivered a speech at the meeting on the development of the situation in Bucharest, intending to create momentum and win the support of the masses. Unexpectedly, the crowd booed, and some even shouted “Down with Ceausescu”. The military and police fired warning shots and the TV broadcast was interrupted.

As soon as the rally ended, tens of thousands of people began to demonstrate. The authorities dispatched police, troops, armored vehicles, tanks, blocked the scene, released tear gas and fired warning shots to try to disperse the crowd. The march dispersed for a while, but soon regrouped and set up roadblocks to confront the police and the army.

Subsequently, conflicts broke out, resulting in casualties. On the 22nd, the march and strike spread to other places. At 11 o’clock, Ceausescu issued a decree declaring a state of emergency in the country. But the military leaders refused to execute the order, saying that the Ministry of Defense troops would no longer shoot at the crowd and evacuate the soldiers guarding important departments.

At 11:45, the crowd gathered in the Republic Square rushed into the Romanian Communist Party Central Building. At 12:15, the Ceausescu couple left the building by helicopter and their whereabouts are unknown. At 13:00, the radio and television stations were occupied by the masses and broadcast by the masses. At 15:00, the first deputy minister of defense and chief of staff, the commander of the chemical defense force and commander of the capital garrison, the commander of the air force, etc. appeared on the TV station one after another to express their support for the demonstrators. At the same time, the Ceausescu couple was arrested in Targovishte, about 70 kilometers from the capital . At 19:00, near the Republic Square and the TV station in the capital, the security forces supporting Ceausescu, including the special forces, began to exchange fire with the troops of the Ministry of Defense that supported the demonstrators, and the fighting was very fierce.

At 14:00 on the 25th, the Ceausescu couple were transferred to a secret military facility to be tried in secret by a temporary “special military court”. During the trial, the Ceausescu couple always rejected all the charges against them, and pointed out with confidence that this was a coup, the “trial” was illegal, and they did not recognize any court other than the Romanian Grand National Assembly. Finally, the special military court declared the defendants guilty of massacre, endangering the state power, destroying state property, destroying the national economy, depositing more than 1 billion US dollars abroad, and attempting to flee. All the defendants’ property was confiscated, and the death penalty was immediately executed, depriving them of the right to appeal. At 16:00, the Ceausescu couple were executed.

On the evening of December 22, the 39-member ” Romanian National Salvation Front ” was established, taking over all powers of the Romanian Council of State and the government, and announcing its policy program. On the 24th, the National Salvation Front issued the second announcement, demanding an immediate ceasefire across the country, announcing that the army was the only department with the right to control the armed forces, and that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Security Forces were incorporated into the Ministry of National Defense to protect important institutions and maintain public order. The Romanian Socialist Republic was renamed Romania, the national anthem was changed, and the former Romanian Communist Party property was nationalized. After Ceausescu was executed, he was buried in a common graveyard.