History, Romania Under Communism

By the terms of the armistice agreement, Romania lost northern Bukovina and Bessarabia to the USSR and recovered northern Transylvania from Hungary. The agreement also limited the strength of the Romanian armed forces and stipulated that the Romanian people should enjoy all personal liberties. On December 30, 1947, the monarchy was abolished, and King Michael was forced to abdicate. The People’s Republic of Romania was then proclaimed, with a constitution similar to that of the USSR, and power passed to the Communist Party.

In 1948 and 1949 Romanian cultural and political institutions were reorganized to conform with Soviet models. This process, known as Sovietization, also included frequent purges of dissidents (political protestors). In 1949 the United States and the United Kingdom twice accused Romania of systematically violating the human rights provisions in the post-World War II peace treaty. In November 1950 this charge was upheld by the United Nations General Assembly. New constitutions adopted in 1952 and 1965 were both patterned after the Soviet Communist government. Throughout the postwar period Romania’s leadership remained stable. Gheorghe Gheorgiu-Dej, head of the Communist Party since 1945, replaced Groza as premier.