View source for Romanian Communist Party

{{Short description|Far-left political party in Romania (1921–1989)}}
{{Distinguish|Communitarian Party of Romania}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = Romanian Communist Party
| native_name      = Partidul Comunist Român
| logo             = Coat of arms of PCR.svg
| colorcode        = {{party color|Romanian Communist Party}}
| anthem           = "[[The Internationale]]"
| leader           = [[Gheorghe Cristescu]] (first)<br />[[Nicolae Ceaușescu]] (last)
| foundation       = {{Start date and age|1921|5|8|df=y}}
| dissolution      = {{End date and age|1989|12|22|df=y}}
| predecessor      = [[Socialist Party of Romania]]
| successor        = [[Socialist Party of Labour]] (faction)<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=-G3qDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA175 Roger East, Jolyon Pontin, Bloomsbury Publishing, 6 Oct 2016, ''Revolution and Change in Central and Eastern Europe: Revised Edition'', p. 175]</ref>
| headquarters     = [[Bucharest]], Romania
| newspaper        = ''[[Scînteia]]''<ref>{{in lang|ro}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20071014181630/http://www.evz.ro/article.php?artid=208601 "''Scânteia'', ziarul cu două fețe" ("''Scânteia'', the Two-Faced Journal")], in ''[[Evenimentul Zilei]]'', 14 January 2006</ref>
| youth_wing       = [[Union of Communist Youth]]<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20070101210315/http://www.revista22.ro/html/index.php?art=3329&nr=2006-12-22 Rolul UTC în angrenajul totalitar]" ("The UTC's Role in the Regime's Gear Mechanism"), Adrian Cioflancă, ''[[Revista 22|22]]'', 22 December 2006.</ref>
| wing1_title      = [[Pioneer movement|Pioneer wing]]
| wing1            = [[Pioneer Organisation]]<ref name="pion">{{Cite web |url=http://www.andreasferl.de/ostalgie/po-rumaenien.htm |title=DDR & Ostalgie - Lexikon - Pionierorganisation der SR Rumänien<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2008-04-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080426084711/http://www.andreasferl.de/ostalgie/po-rumaenien.htm |archive-date=2008-04-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| wing2_title      = {{nowrap|Paramilitary wing}}
| wing2            = [[Patriotic Guards (Romania)|Patriotic Guards]]<ref>[[Jurnalul Național]]: [http://www.jurnalul.ro/scinteia/jurnalul-national/si-verzi-si-rosii-print-21850.html ''Și verzi și roșii''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313155042/http://jurnalul.ro/scinteia/jurnalul-national/si-verzi-si-rosii-print-21850.html |date=2018-03-13 }}, Ilarion Tiu, 10 mai 2006 - Accesat la data de 10 aprilie 2011</ref>
| ideology         = {{ubl|[[Communism]]|[[Marxism–Leninism]]{{efn|The party was committed to Marxism–Leninism throughout its existence, with [[Stalinism]] exerted as the dominant form of Marxism–Leninism [[De-Stalinization in Romania|until 1956]], followed by a period in which Marxism–Leninism was accompanied by currents such [[Romanian nationalism]], and [[July Theses|after 1971]] included [[National communism in Romania|Romanian national communism]]<ref name="Petrescu">{{cite web |last=Petrescu |first=Cristina |title=Rethinking National Identity after National-Communism? The case of Romania |url=http://www.eurhistxx.de/spip.php%3Farticle78&lang=en.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305225844/http://www.eurhistxx.de/spip.php%3Farticle78%26lang%3Den.html |archive-date=2014-03-05 |access-date=2014-04-03 |publisher=www.eurhistxx.de}}</ref> and elements of [[neo-Stalinism]].<ref>''Stalinism und Neo-Stalinism in Romania.'' In: ''Southeastern Europe in the 19. und 20. century. Foreign ways– own ways'' (= ''Berliner Jahrbuch für osteuropäische Geschichte.'' Bd. 2). Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1994, {{ISBN|3-05-002590-5}}, S. 87–102.</ref>}}}}
| membership       = 3.6 million–4 million<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac034c.html |title=Romania: Information on the percentage of the population that are members of the communist party, from 1987 |publisher=Refworld |date=1 February 1996 |access-date= 31 December 2021}}</ref>
| membership_year  = 1989 {{estimation}}
| national         = [[People's Democratic Front (Romania)|FND/BPD]] (1944–1968)<br />[[Front of Socialist Unity and Democracy|FDUS]] (1968–1989)
| international    = [[Communist International|Comintern]] (1921–1943)<br />[[Cominform]] (1947–1956)
| european         = [[Balkan Federation#Balkan Communist Federation|Balkan Communist Federation]] (1921–1939)
| colours          = {{Color box|{{party color|Romanian Communist Party}}|border=darkgray}} [[Red]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=Color Design Workbook: A Real World Guide to Using Color in Graphic Design|last1=Adams|first1=Sean|last2=Morioka|first2=Noreen|last3=Stone|first3=Terry Lee|date=2006|publisher=Rockport Publishers|isbn=159253192X|location=Gloucester, Massachusetts|pages=[https://archive.org/details/colordesignworkb0000ston/page/86 86]|oclc=60393965|url=https://archive.org/details/colordesignworkb0000ston/page/86}}</ref> {{Color box|#FFD700|border=darkgray}} [[Gold (color)|Gold]]
| flag             = [[File:Flag of PCR.svg|200px|border]]
| country          = Romania
| footnotes        = {{notelist}}
}}

The '''Romanian Communist Party''' ({{langx|ro|Partidul Comunist Român}} {{IPA|ro|parˈtidul komuˈnist roˈmɨn|}}; '''PCR''') was a [[communist party]] in [[Romania]]. Founded in 1921, the party assumed to the power of Romania in 1947 and became the founding and ruling party of the [[Socialist Republic of Romania]], until its overthrow in the [[Romanian revolution]] in 1989. Ideologically committed to [[Marxism–Leninism]], the party oversaw [[De-satellization of Communist Romania|Romania's departure from the Soviet satellite status]] and incorporation of [[National communism in Romania|national communism]].

The successor to the pro-[[Bolshevik]] wing of the [[Socialist Party of Romania]], it gave an ideological endorsement to a [[communist revolution]] that would replace the social system of the [[Kingdom of Romania]]. After being outlawed in 1924, the PCR remained a minor and illegal grouping for much of the [[interwar period]] and submitted to direct [[Comintern]] control. During the 1920s and the 1930s, most of its activists were imprisoned or took refuge in the [[Soviet Union]], which led to the creation of competing factions that sometimes came into open conflict. That did not prevent the party from participating in the political life of the country through various [[front organizations]], most notably the [[Peasant Workers' Bloc]]. In 1934–1936, PCR reformed itself in the mainland of Romania properly, with foreign observers predicting a possible [[communist]] takeover in Romania.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Giurgiu |first1=Ioan |last2=Pavel |first2=Philip |title=Communism in Romania : a study of Romanian communism from 1920 to 1947. |date=2003 |publisher=POLIROM |location=Bucharest, Romania |isbn=978-3-8329-5609-7 |pages=49–52 |edition=1st}}</ref> The party emerged as a powerful actor on the Romanian political scene in August 1944, when it became involved in the [[King Michael's Coup|royal coup that toppled]] the pro-[[Nazi Germany|Nazi]] government of [[Ion Antonescu]]. With support from [[Soviet occupation of Romania|Soviet occupational forces]], the PCR pressured [[King of Romania|King]] [[Michael I of Romania|Michael I]] into abdicating, and it established the [[Romanian People's Republic]] in December 1947.

The party operated as the '''Romanian Workers' Party''' (''Partidul Muncitoresc Romîn'' between 1948 and 1964 and ''Partidul Muncitoresc Român'' in 1964 and 1965) until it was officially renamed by [[Nicolae Ceaușescu]], who had just been elected secretary general. Other legal, political parties existed in Romania, but their influence was limited and they were subordinate to the constitutionally-authorised leading role of the PCR. All other legal parties and entities were part of the Communist-dominated [[Front of Socialist Unity and Democracy|Front of Socialist Unity and Democracy]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nohlen |first1=Dieter |last2=Stöver |first2=Philip |title=Elections in Europe : a data handbook |date=2010 |publisher=Nomos |location=Baden-Baden, Germany |isbn=978-3-8329-5609-7 |pages=1604–1605 |edition=1st}}</ref> 

Ideologically, the PCR was committed to [[Marxism–Leninism]], a fusion of the original ideas of German philosopher and economic theorist [[Karl Marx]], and Lenin, was introduced in 1929 by the Soviet leader [[Joseph Stalin]], as the party's guiding ideology and would remain so through much of its existence. In 1948, the Communist Party absorbed the [[Romanian Social Democratic Party (1927–1948)|Romanian Social Democratic Party]] and attracted various new members. In the early 1950s, the group around [[Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej]], with support from Stalin, defeated all other factions and achieved full control over the party and country. After the late 1950s, the party gradually theorized [[National communism in Romania|a "national path" to communism]]. At the same time, however, the party delayed the time to join its [[Warsaw Pact]] brethren in [[De-Stalinization in Romania|de-Stalinization]]. The PCR's [[Romanian nationalist]] and stance was continued under the leadership of Nicolae Ceaușescu. Following an episode of [[liberalization]] in the late 1960s, Ceaușescu again adopted a hard line by imposing the "[[July Theses]]", [[Neo-Stalinism|re-Stalinizing]] the party's rule by intensifying the spread of Marxist–Leninist ideology in Romanian society and solidifying a [[national communist]] line. At the same time, he consolidated his grip on power whilst using the party's authority to brew a pervasive [[Nicolae Ceaușescu's cult of personality|cult of personality]]. Over the years, the PCR massively increased{{Clarify|date=March 2025}} to become entirely submitted to Ceaușescu's will. From the 1960s onward, it had a reputation for being far more independent of the Soviet Union than its brethren in the Warsaw Pact. However, it also became the most hardline party in the [[Eastern Bloc]], which harmed its relationship with the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]. It collapsed in 1989 in the wake of the [[Romanian revolution]], but Romania kept its socialist-era constitution until 1991. Romania also retained its membership in the [[Warsaw Pact]] until its dissolution on 1 July 1991; that role had been largely symbolic since the late 1960s.

The PCR was a [[communist party]], organized based on [[democratic centralism]], a principle conceived by Russian Marxist theoretician [[Vladimir Lenin]], which entails a democratic and open discussion on policy on the condition of unity in upholding agreed-upon policies. The highest body within the PCR was the [[#Party Congresses|Party Congress]], which began in 1969 to convene every five years. The Central Committee was the highest body when Congress was not in session. Because the Central Committee met only twice a year, most day-to-day duties and responsibilities were vested in Politburo. The party leader held the office of General Secretary and, after 1945, held significant influence over the government. Between 1974 and 1989, the General Secretary also held the office of [[President of Romania]]. The PCR co-ordinated several organizations during its existence, including the [[Union of Communist Youth]], and organized training for its cadres at the [[Ștefan Gheorghiu Academy]] (future [[National University of Political Studies and Public Administration|SNSPA]]). In addition to ''[[Scînteia]]'', its official platform and main newspaper between 1931 and 1989, the party issued several local and national publications at various points in its history (including, after 1944, ''[[România Liberă]]'').

==History==
===Establishment===
{{main|Socialist Party of Romania}}

[[File:TonitzaSiFiulMeu.PNG|thumb|220px|Criticism among socialist groups, as illustrated in a December 1922 caricature by [[Nicolae Tonitza]]. ''The mine owner to the miner: "A socialist, you say? My son is a socialist too, but without going on strike..., that is why he already has his own capital..."'']]

The party was founded in 1921 when the [[Bolshevik]]-inspired [[Maximum programme |maximalist]] faction won control of Romania's [[Social democracy |Social-Democratic]] party—the [[Socialist Party of Romania]], successor to the defunct [[Romanian Social-Democratic Workers' Party]] and the short-lived [[Social Democratic Party of Romania (1910-1918)|Social Democratic Party of Romania]] (the latter was refounded in 1927, reuniting those opposed to communist policies).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p. 23-27; Frunză, p. 21-22.</ref> The establishment was linked with the socialist group's affiliation to the [[Comintern]] (just before the latter's Third Congress): after a delegation was sent to [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Bolshevist Russia]], a group of moderates (including [[Ioan Flueraș]], [[Iosif Jumanca]], [[Leon Ghelerter]], and [[Constantin Popovici (politician) |Constantin Popovici]]) left at different intervals beginning with January 1921.<ref>Frunză, p.25-28</ref>

The party renamed itself the '''Socialist-Communist Party''' ({{lang|ro|Partidul Socialist-Comunist}}){{when |date= December 2024}} and, soon after, the '''Communist Party of Romania''' ({{lang|ro|Partidul Comunist din România}} or ''PCdR''). Government crackdown and competition with other socialist groups brought a drastic reduction in its membership—from the ca. 40,000 members the Socialist Party had, the new group was left with as much as 2,000<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p. 45; Communist press, 1923, in Frunză, p. 30.</ref> or as little as 500{{when |date= December 2024}};<ref>Allegations in the Social-Democratic press, 1923, in Frunză, p.30; Iordachi I.2</ref> after the [[Romanian Revolution of 1989|fall of one-party rule in 1989]], Romanian historians generally asserted that the party only had around 1,000 members at the end of World War II.<ref>US Library of Congress: "The Communist Party". According to PCR leader [[Iosif Rangheț]]: "[...] on August 23, 1944, our party had, in [[Bucharest]], 80 party members, not more, not less. And throughout the land, our party had less than 1,000 party members, including our comrades in prisons and [[concentration camp]]s." (Rangheț,  25–27 April 1945, in Colt). In the late 1940s, [[Ana Pauker]] gave the same estimate (Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p. 45; Frunză, p. L202).</ref> Other researchers argue that this figure may have been intentionally based on the Muscovite faction figures and, as such, underestimated to undermine the influence of the internal faction; this estimate was afterwards promoted in post-communist historiography to reinforce a stereotypical image of the regime as illegitimate.<ref>Dumitru Lăcătuşu, "Convenient Truths: Representations of the Communist Illegalists in the Romanian Historiography in Post-Communism", in ''Brukenthalia. Supplement of Brukenthal, Acta Musei'', No. 4, Sibiu, 2014, p. 199-200.</ref>

The early Communist Party had little influence in Romania. This was due to a number of factors: the country's lack of [[Industrialization |industrial development]], which resulted in a relatively small working class (with industry and mining employing fewer than 10% of the active population<ref>{{cite book|author=William E. Crowther| title=The political economy of Romanian socialism | year=1988| publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group|Praeger]]|isbn=0275928403 | page=46}}</ref>) and a large peasant population; the minor impact of [[Marxism]] among Romanian [[intellectual]]s; the success of state repression in driving the party underground and limiting its activities; and finally, the party's "anti-national" policy, as it began to be stated in the 1920s—supervised by the Comintern, this policy called for the breakup of [[Greater Romania]], which was regarded as a colonial entity "illegally occupying" [[Transylvania]], [[Dobruja]], [[Bessarabia]] and [[Bukovina]] (regions that, the communists argued, had been denied the right of [[self-determination]]).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.18-45; Frunză, p.38-48, 63–72; Iordachi, I.2; Pokivailova, p.48; Troncotă, p.19-20; Veiga, p.222</ref> In 1924, the Comintern provoked Romanian authorities by encouraging the [[Tatarbunary Uprising]] in southern Bessarabia, in an attempt to create a [[Moldovenism|Moldavian]] republic on Romanian territory;<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.36; Frunză, p.71; Troncotă, p.19; Veiga, p.115</ref> also in that year, a [[Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]], roughly corresponding to [[Transnistria]], was established inside the Soviet Union.

At the same time, the left-wing political spectrum was dominated by [[Poporanism]], an original ideology which partly reflected [[Narodnik]] influence, placed its focus on the peasantry (as it notably did with the early advocacy of [[cooperative farming]] by [[Ion Mihalache]]'s [[Peasants' Party (Romania)|Peasants' Party]]), and usually strongly supported the post-1919 territorial status quo—although they tended to oppose the [[Centralized government|centralized system]] it had come to imply. (In turn, the early conflict between the PCdR and other minor socialist groups has been attributed to the legacy of [[Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea]]'s quasi-Poporanist ideas inside the latter, as an intellectual basis for the rejection of [[Leninism]].)<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.47-48</ref>

The PCdR's "foreign" image was because [[Romanians|ethnic Romanians]] were a minority in its ranks until after the end of World War II:<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.18, 44</ref> between 1924 and 1944, none of its [[General Secretary|general secretaries]] was of Romanian ethnicity. [[Interwar period|Interwar]] Romania had a minority population of 30%, and it was largely from this section that the party drew its membership—a large percentage of it was [[History of the Jews in Romania|Jews]], [[Hungarian minority in Romania|Hungarians]] and [[Bulgarians]].<ref>Iordachi, I.2; Pokivailova, p.47</ref> Actual or perceived ethnic discrimination against these minorities added to the appeal of [[Communist revolution|revolutionary]] ideas in their midst.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.18</ref>

{{Communism in the Kingdom of Romania|Core_Organizations}}

===Communist Party of Romania (1921–1948)===
====Comintern and internal wing====
{{see also|Repression of communists in the Kingdom of Romania}}
{{Stalinism sidebar}}
Shortly after its creation, the PCdR's leadership was alleged by authorities to have been involved in [[Max Goldstein]]'s bomb attack on the [[Parliament of Romania]]; all major party figures, including the general secretary [[Gheorghe Cristescu]], were prosecuted in the [[Dealul Spirii Trial]].<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.27–30</ref> [[Constantin Argetoianu]], the [[List of Romanian Ministers of the Interior|Minister of the Interior]] in the [[Alexandru Averescu]], [[Take Ionescu]], and [[Ion I. C. Brătianu]] cabinets, equated Comintern membership with [[Conspiracy (political)|conspiracy]], ordered the first in a series of repressions, and, in the context of trial, allowed for several communist activists (including [[Leonte Filipescu]]) to be shot while in custody—alleging that they had attempted to flee.<ref>Troncotă, p.18-19</ref> Consequently, Argetoianu stated his belief that"communism is over in Romania",<ref>Argetoianu, June 1922, in Troncotă, p.19</ref> which allowed for a momentary relaxing of pressures—begun by [[King of Romania|King]] [[Ferdinand I of Romania|Ferdinand]]'s granting of an [[amnesty]] to the tried PCdR.<ref>Troncotă, p.19</ref>

The PCdR was thus unable to send representatives to the Comintern, and was virtually replaced abroad by a delegation of various activists who had fled to the [[Soviet Union]] at various intervals (Romanian groups in Moscow and [[Kharkiv]], the sources of a "''Muscovite wing''" in the following decades).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.37, 44</ref><ref name="Deletant & Ionescu, p.4–5">Deletant & Ionescu, p.4–5</ref><ref>Frunză, p.38–39</ref> The interior party only survived as an underground group after it was outlawed by the Brătianu government through the ''Mârzescu Law'' (named after its proponent, [[Minister of Justice (Romania)|Minister of Justice]] [[Gheorghe Gh. Mârzescu]]), passed in early 1924; Comintern sources indicate that, around 1928, it was losing contact with Soviet overseers.<ref>Frunză, p.32–33</ref> In 1925, the question of Romania's borders as posed by the Comintern led to protests by Cristescu and, eventually, to his exclusion from the party (''see [[Balkan Communist Federation]]'').<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.38–39</ref><ref>Frunză, p.49–50</ref>

Around the time of the party's Fifth Congress in 1931, the Muscovite wing became the PCdR's main political factor: [[Joseph Stalin]] replaced the entire party leadership, including the general secretary [[Vitali Holostenco]]—appointing instead [[Alexander Stefanski]], who was at the time a member of the [[Communist Party of Poland]].<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.41; Frunză, p.51-53</ref>

The interior wing began organizing itself as a more efficient conspiratorial network through regained Comintern control.<ref>Troncotă, p.20–22</ref> The onset of the [[Great Depression in Romania]], and the series of strikes infiltrated (and sometimes provoked) by the interior wing signified relative successes (''see [[Lupeni Strike of 1929]]''), but gains were not capitalized—as lack of ideological appeal and suspicion of [[Stalinism|Stalinist]] directives remained notable factors.<ref>Frunză, p.58–62</ref> In parallel, its leadership suffered changes that were meant to place it under an ethnic Romanian and working-class leadership—the emergence of a Stalin-backed group around [[Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej]] before and after the large-scale [[Grivița Strike of 1933|Grivița Strikes]].<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.41–43</ref><ref>Frunză, p.53–62</ref>

In 1934, Stalin's ''[[Popular Front]]'' doctrine was not fully passed into the local party's politics, mainly due to the Soviet territorial policies (culminating in the 1939 [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]]) and the widespread suspicion other left-wing forces maintained toward the Comintern.<ref>Frunză, p.85</ref><ref name="Pokivailova, p.48"/> The Communists did, nevertheless, attempt to reach consensus with other groupings on several occasions (in 1934–1943, they established alliances with the [[Ploughmen's Front]], the [[Hungarian People's Union (Romania)|Hungarian People's Union]], and the [[Socialist Peasants' Party]]), and small Communist groups became active in the leftist sections of mainstream parties.<ref name="Veiga, p.223">Veiga, p.223</ref> In 1934, [[Petre Constantinescu-Iași]] and other PCdR supporters created ''[[Amicii URSS]]'', a pro-Soviet group reaching out to [[intellectual]]s, itself banned later in the same year.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.110–118</ref><ref>"Comunismul și cel care a trăit Iluzia"</ref>

During the [[1937 Romanian general election|1937 elections]], the Communists backed [[Iuliu Maniu]] and the [[National Peasants' Party]] against King [[Carol II of Romania|Carol II]] and the [[Gheorghe Tătărescu]] government (who had intensified repression of Communist groups),<ref name="Veiga, p.223"/> finding themselves placed in an unusual position after the [[Iron Guard]], a fascist movement, signed an electoral pact with Maniu;<ref>Veiga, p.235</ref> participation in the move was explained by Communist [[historiography]] as provoked by the [[Romanian Social Democratic Party (1927–48)|Social-Democrats]]' refusal to collaborate with the PCdR.<ref>Frunză, p.84</ref>

In the years following the elections, the PCdR entered a phase of rapid decline, coinciding with the increasingly [[Authoritarianism|authoritarian]] tone of King Carol's regime (but in fact inaugurated by the [[1936 Craiova Trial]] of [[Ana Pauker]] and other high-ranking Communists).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii..'', p.43, 170–171</ref><ref>Frunză, p.84, 102–103</ref> Journals viewed as associates of the party were closed down, and all suspected PCdR activists faced detention (''see [[Doftana Prison]]'').<ref name="Pokivailova, p.48"/><ref>Veiga, p.223–224</ref> [[Siguranța Statului]], the Romanian [[secret police]], infiltrated the small interior wing and probably obtained valuable information about its activities.<ref>Pokivailova, p.47</ref> The financial resources of the party, ensured by Soviet support and by various satellite organizations (collecting funds in the name of causes such as [[pacifism]] or support for the [[Second Spanish Republic|Republican]] side in the [[Spanish Civil War]]), were severely drained—by political difficulties at home, as well as, after 1939, by the severing of connections with Moscow in France and [[First Republic of Czechoslovakia|Czechoslovakia]].<ref>Pokivailova, p.46–47</ref>

Consequently, the executive committee of the Comintern called on Romanian Communists to infiltrate the [[National Renaissance Front]] (FRN), the newly created sole legal party of Carol's dictatorship, and attempt to attract members of its structures to the revolutionary cause.<ref name="Pokivailova, p.48">Pokivailova, p.48</ref>

Until 1944, the group active inside Romania became split between the "''prison faction''" ([[political prisoner]]s who looked to Gheorghiu-Dej as their leader) and the one around [[Ștefan Foriș]] and [[Remus Koffler]].<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.42, 44, 48–50</ref><ref name="Deletant & Ionescu, p.4–5"/> The exterior faction of the party was decimated during the [[Great Purge]]: an entire generation of party activists was killed on Stalin's orders, including, among others, [[Alexandru Dobrogeanu-Gherea]], [[David Fabian]], [[Ecaterina Arbore]], [[Imre Aladar]], [[Elena Filipescu]], [[Dumitru Grofu]], [[Ion Dic Dicescu]], [[Eugen Rozvan]], [[Marcel Pauker]], [[Alexander Stefanski]], [[Timotei Marin]], and [[Elek Köblös]].<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii..'', p.42–43</ref><ref>Frunză, p.90–91, 151, 215</ref><ref>Pokivailova, p.45</ref> It was to be [[Ana Pauker]]'s mission to take over and reshape the surviving structure.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.43, 52, 171–172</ref><ref>Frunză, p.103–104, 149–154, 215</ref>

====World War II====
{{main|Romania in World War II}}
[[File:N. Ceaușescu și alți deținuți politici în lagărul de la Tg. jiu.jpg|thumb|320px|[[Political prisoner]]s of the [[Ion Antonescu]] regime, photographed in [[Târgu Jiu]] camp in 1943 ([[Nicolae Ceaușescu]], future leader of [[Communist Romania]], is second from left)]]
In 1940, Romania had to cede Bessarabia and [[Bukovina|Northern Bukovina]] to the Soviet Union and [[Southern Dobruja]] to Bulgaria (''see [[Soviet occupation of Bessarabia]], [[Treaty of Craiova]]''); in contrast with the general mood, the PCdR welcomed both gestures along the lines of its earlier activism.<ref>Frunză, p.72; Pokivailova, p.48</ref> Official history, after ca. 1950, stated that the PCdR protested [[Northern Transylvania]]'s cession to Hungary later in the same year (the [[Second Vienna Arbitration]]), but evidence is inconclusive<ref>Frunză, p.72, 105–107, 127</ref> (party documents attesting the policy are dated after [[Nazi Germany]]'s [[Operation Barbarossa|invasion of the Soviet Union]]).<ref>Frunză, p.106-107</ref> As the border changes sparked a political crisis leading to an Iron Guard takeover—the [[National Legionary State]]—the interior wing's confusion intensified: the upper echelon faced investigation from [[Georgi Dimitrov]] (as well as other Comintern officials) on charges of "[[Trotskyism]]",<ref name="Pokivailova, p.48"/> and, since the FRN had crumbled, several low-ranking party officials actually began collaborating with the new regime.<ref name="Pokivailova, p.48"/> At around the same time, a small section of the exterior wing remained active in France, where it eventually joined the [[French Resistance|Resistance]] to [[German occupation of France in World War II|German occupation]]—it included [[Gheorghe Gaston Marin]] and the ''[[Francs-tireurs]]''' [[Olga Bancic]], [[Nicolae Cristea (communist)|Nicolae Cristea]] and [[Joseph Boczov]].<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.52; Frunză, p.103, 402</ref>

As Romania came under the rule of [[Ion Antonescu]] and, as an [[Axis Powers|Axis]] country, joined in the German [[Operation Barbarossa|offensive against the Soviets]], the Communist Party began approaching traditional parties that were engaged in semi-clandestine opposition to Antonescu: alongside the [[Romanian Social Democratic Party (1927–1948)|Social Democrats]], it began talks with the [[National Peasants' Party|National Peasants]]' and the [[National Liberal Party (Romania, 1875)|National Liberal]] parties. At the time, virtually all the interior leadership was imprisoned at various locations (most of them [[Internment|interned]] at [[Caransebeș]] or in a [[concentration camp]] near [[Târgu Jiu]]).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.42-52, 132–134, 332, 335–336, 343–344; Deletant, p.196, 238–239, 303; Frunză, p.122-123, 138</ref> Some communists, such as [[Petre Gheorghe]], [[Filimon Sârbu]], [[Francisc Panet]] or [[Ștefan Plavăț]], tried to establish organised resistance groups; however, they were quickly captured by the Romanian authorities and executed, as were some of the more active propagandists, such as [[Pompiliu Ștefu]]. A statistic of the ''[[Siguranţa]]'' reports that, in Bucharest, between January 1941 and September 1942, 143 individuals were tried for communism, of which 19 were sentenced to death and 78 to prison terms or [[forced labour]].<ref>C. Bărbulescu et al., ''File din istoria U.T.C'', 1971, Bucharest: Editura Politică. p. 199</ref> The [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] Antonescu regime established a distinction between PCdR members of [[History of the Jews in Romania|Jewish Romanian]] origin and those of [[Romanians|ethnic Romanian]] or other heritage, deporting the majority of the former, alongside Romanian and [[Bessarabian Jews]] in general, to camps, prisons and makeshift [[ghetto]]s in occupied [[Transnistria (World War II)|Transnistria]] (''see [[Holocaust in Romania]]'').<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.52; Deletant, p.116, 123, 196–198, 219, 225, 254, 303, 311, 332–333, 335–336, 340</ref> Most Jews from the PCdR category were held in [[Vapniarka]], where improper feeding caused an outbreak of paralysis, and in [[Rîbnița]], where some 50 were victims of the authorities' [[criminal negligence]] and were shot by retreating German troops in March 1944.<ref>Deletant, p.196-197, 225</ref>

In June 1943, at a time when troops were suffering major defeats on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]], the PCdR proposed that all parties form a ''Blocul Național Democrat'' ("National Democratic Bloc"), in order to arrange for Romania to withdraw from its alliance with Nazi Germany.<ref>Frunză, p.123</ref> The ensuing talks were prolonged by various factors, most notably by the opposition of National Peasants' Party leader [[Iuliu Maniu]], who, alarmed by Soviet successes, was trying to reach a satisfactory compromise with the [[Allies of World War II|Western Allies]] (and, together with the National Liberals' leader [[Dinu Brătianu]], continued to back negotiations initiated by Antonescu and [[Barbu Știrbey]] with the United States and the United Kingdom).<ref>Frunză, p.123-125; 130–131</ref>

====1944 Coup====
{{main|King Michael's Coup}}
[[File:Red Army greeted in Bucharest.jpg|thumb|300px|People in [[Bucharest]] greet Romania's new ally, the [[Red Army]], on 31 August 1944]]
In early 1944, as the [[Red Army]] reached and crossed the [[Prut River]] during the [[Jassy–Kishinev Offensive (August 1944)|Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive]], the self-confidence and status gained by the PCdR made possible the creation of the Bloc, which was designed as the basis of a future anti-Axis government.<ref>Frunză, p.125</ref> Parallel contacts were established, through [[Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu]] and [[Emil Bodnăraș]], between the PCdR, the Soviets, and [[King of Romania|King]] [[Michael of Romania|Michael]].<ref>Frunză, p.131-133, 139</ref> A seminal event also occurred during those months: [[Ștefan Foriș]], who was still general secretary, was deposed by with Soviet approval by the rival "''prison faction''"(at the time, it was headed by former inmates of Caransebeș prison); replaced with the [[Troika (triumvirate)|troika]] formed by [[Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej]], [[Constantin Pîrvulescu]], and [[Iosif Rangheț]], Foriș was discreetly assassinated in 1946.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.49-50, 62;"Comunismul și cel care a trăit Iluzia"; Frunză, p.400-402</ref> Several assessments view Foriș's dismissal as the complete rupture in historical continuity between the PCdR established in 1921 and what became the ruling party of [[Communist Romania]].<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.50; Frunză, p.213, 218–221, 402</ref>

On 23 August 1944, King Michael, a number of [[Romanian Armed Forces]] officers, and armed Communist-led civilians supported by the National Democratic Bloc arrested dictator [[Ion Antonescu]] and seized control of the state (''see [[King Michael's Coup]]'').<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.50-55; Chant, p.84-85, 124–125, 303; Deletant, p.3-4, 241–246, 265–266, 343–346; Frunză, p.128-137</ref> King Michael then proclaimed the old [[1923 Constitution of Romania|1923 Constitution]] in force, ordered the Romanian Army to enter a [[ceasefire]] with the Red Army on the [[Moldavia]]n front, and withdrew Romania from the Axis.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.51; Deletant, p.243-245, 257; Frunză, p.126-129</ref> Later party discourse tended to dismiss the importance of both the Soviet offensive and the dialogue with other forces (and eventually described the coup as a revolt with large popular support).<ref>Deletant, p.243, 265–266, 269, 344; Frunză, p.130-145</ref>

The King named General [[Constantin Sănătescu]] as [[List of Prime Ministers of Romania|prime minister]] of a [[coalition government]] which was dominated by the military, but included one representative each from the National Liberal Party, National Peasants' Party and Social Democratic Party, with Pătrășcanu as [[Minister of Justice (Romania)|Minister of Justice]]—the first Communist to hold high office in Romania. The Red Army entered [[Bucharest]] on 31 August, and thereafter played a crucial role in supporting the Communist Party's rise to power as the Soviet military command virtually ruled the city and the country (''see [[Soviet occupation of Romania]]'').<ref>Frunză, p.171, 178–190</ref>

====In opposition to Sănătescu and Rădescu====
[[File:8 Oct 1944 FND meeting Bucharest (ANEF).jpg|thumb|300px|October 1944 rally in support of the National Democratic Front, held at [[Bucharest]]'s ANEF Stadium]]
After having been underground for two decades, the Communists enjoyed little popular support at first, compared to the other opposition parties (however, the decrease in popularity of the National Liberals was reflected in the forming of a splinter group around [[Gheorghe Tătărescu]], the [[National Liberal Party-Tătărescu]], who later entered an alliance with the Communist Party). Soon after 23 August, the Communists also engaged in a campaign against Romania's main political group of the time, the National Peasants' Party, and its leaders [[Iuliu Maniu]] and [[Ion Mihalache]]. In [[Victor Frunză]]'s account, the conflict's first stage was centered on Communist allegations that Maniu had encouraged violence against the [[Hungarian minority in Romania|Hungarian community]] in newly recovered [[Northern Transylvania]].<ref>Frunză, p.163-170</ref>

The Communist Party, engaged in a massive recruitment campaign,<ref>Frunză, p.201-212; according to Rangheț: "After 3 months of our party's legal existence, in October, we had almost 5–6,000 party members. [...] What is this to say? That we expanded the [[Professional revolutionaries|cadres]], party members, by only very, very little, if we are to keep in mind the present legal situation, if we keep in mind that, through our party's work, thousands, tens and hundreds of thousands workers were rallied. [...] During this time, when our party only had 5–6,000 party members, we held large, huge protests against the [daily] realities in our country, in Bucharest as well as throughout the land..." (Rangheț, 25–27 April 1945, in Colt)</ref> was able to attract ethnic Romanians in large numbers—workers and intellectuals alike, including some former members of the fascist [[Iron Guard]].<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.297; Frunză, p.208</ref> By 1947, it grew to around 710,000 members.<ref>Barbu, p.190</ref> Although the PCR was still highly disorganized and factionalized,<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.51-52; Deletant & Ionescu, p.4-5; Frunză, p.218-219</ref> it benefited from Soviet backing (including that of [[Vladislav Petrovich Vinogradov]] and other Soviet appointees to the [[Allied Commission]]).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.45, 59–61</ref> After 1944, it was leading a paramilitary wing, the Patriotic Defense (''Apărarea Patriotică'', disbanded in 1948),<ref>Frunză, p.176</ref>{{dubious|date=October 2016}} and a cultural society, the [[Romanian Society for Friendship with the Soviet Union]].<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.106-148</ref>

On PCdR initiative, the National Democratic Bloc was dissolved on 8 October 1944; instead, the Communists, Social Democrats, the [[Ploughmen's Front]], [[Mihai Ralea]]'s [[Socialist Peasants' Party]] (which was absorbed by the former in November),<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.154</ref> the [[Hungarian People's Union]] (MADOSZ), and [[Mitiţă Constantinescu]]'s [[Union of Patriots (Romania)|Union of Patriots]] formed the [[People's Democratic Front (Romania)|National Democratic Front]] (FND), which campaigned against the government, demanding the appointment of more Communist officials and sympathizers, while claiming democratic legitimacy and alleging that Sănătescu had dictatorial ambitions.<ref>Barbu, p.187-189; Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.55-56; Frunză, p.173-174, 220–222, 237–238, 254–255</ref> The FND was soon joined by the Liberal group around Tătărescu, [[Nicolae L. Lupu]]'s ''Democratic Peasants' Party'' (the latter claimed the legacy from the defunct [[Peasants' Party (Romania)|Peasants' Party]]), and [[Anton Alexandrescu]]'s faction (separated from the [[National Peasants' Party]]).<ref>Frunză, p.186-190</ref>

Sănătescu resigned in November, but was persuaded by King [[Michael I of Romania|Michael]] to form a second government which collapsed within weeks. General [[Nicolae Rădescu]] was asked to form a government and appointed [[Teohari Georgescu]] to the [[List of Romanian Ministers of the Interior|Ministry of the Interior]], which allowed for the introduction of Communists into the security forces.<ref>Barbu, p.187-188; Frunză, p.174-177</ref> The Communist Party subsequently launched a campaign against the Rădescu government, including the mass demonstration of 24 February that resulted in four deaths among the participants.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.56</ref> According to Frunză, this culminated in a 13 February 1945 demonstration outside the [[National Museum of Art of Romania|Royal Palace]], and followed a week later by street fighting between Georgescu's Communist forces and supporters of the National Peasants' Party in Bucharest.<ref>Frunză, p.180-181</ref> In a period of escalating chaos, Rădescu called for elections. The Soviet deputy foreign minister [[Andrey Vyshinsky]] went to Bucharest to request the monarch that he appoint Communist sympathizer [[Petru Groza]] as Prime Minister, with the Soviet government suggesting it would reinstate Romanian sovereignty over [[Northern Transylvania]] only in such a scenario.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.156-157</ref> Frunză claimed however that Vyshinsky also intimated a Soviet takeover of the country if the King failed to comply,<ref>Frunză, p.180-184</ref> and that, under pressure from Soviet troops who were supposedly disarming the Romanian military and occupying key installations,<ref>Frunză, p.181-182</ref> Michael agreed and dismissed Rădescu, who fled the country.<ref>Frunză, p.183-184</ref>

====First Groza cabinet====
[[File:038.Conferinta Nationala a PCR din octombrie 1945 (aspect din sala) (16-21 oct.jpg|thumb|320px|The Communist Party's National Conference of October 1945. Pictured, left to right: [[Vasile Luca]], [[Constantin Pîrvulescu]], [[Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu]], [[Ana Pauker]], [[Teohari Georgescu]], [[Florica Bagdasar]] and [[Gheorghe Vasilichi]]]]
On 6 March, Groza became leader of a Communist-led government and named Communists to lead the [[Romanian Armed Forces]] as well as the ministries of the [[List of Romanian Ministers of the Interior|Interior]] (Georgescu), [[Ministry of Justice (Romania)|Justice]] ([[Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu]]), [[Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (Romania)|Communications]] ([[Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej]]), Propaganda ([[Petre Constantinescu-Iași|Petre Constantinescu-Iaşi]]) and [[Ministry of Public Finance (Romania)|Finance]] ([[Vasile Luca]]).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.57</ref> The non-Communist ministers came from the Social Democrats (who were falling under the control of the pro-Communists [[Lothar Rădăceanu]] and [[Ștefan Voitec]]) and the traditional [[Ploughmen's Front]] ally, as well as, nominally, from the National Peasants' and [[National Liberal Party (Romania, 1875)|National Liberal]] parties (followers of Tătărescu and Alexandrescu's dissident wings).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.93; Frunză, p.187-189</ref>

As a result of the [[Potsdam Conference]], where [[Allies of World War II|Western Allied]] governments refused to recognize Groza's administration, King Michael called on Groza to resign. When he refused, the monarch went to his summer home in [[Sinaia]] and refused to sign any government decrees or bills (a period colloquially known as ''greva regală''—"the royal strike").<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.61-64, 159–161</ref> Following Anglo-American mediation, Groza agreed to include politicians from outside his electoral alliance, appointing two secondary figures in their parties (the National Liberal [[Mihail Romniceanu]] and the National Peasants' [[Emil Hațieganu]]) as [[Minister without Portfolio|Ministers without Portfolio]] (January 1946).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.63, 159–160</ref> At the time, Groza's party and the PCR came to disagree on some issues (with the Front publicly affirming its support for private land ownership), before the Ploughmen's Front was eventually pressured into supporting Communist tenets.<ref>Cioroianu, p.161-162</ref>

In the meantime, the first measure taken by the cabinet was a new [[land reform]] that advertised, among others, an interest into peasant issues and a respect for property (in front of common fears that a [[Leninism|Leninist]] program was about to be adopted).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.58-59; Frunză, p.198-200, 221</ref> According to Frunză, although contrasted by the Communist press with its previous equivalent, the measure was supposedly much less relevant—land awarded to individual farmers in 1923 was more than three times the 1945 figures, and all effects were canceled by the 1948–1962 [[collectivization]].<ref>Frunză, p.200, 221</ref>

It was also then that, through Pătrășcanu and [[Alexandru Drăghici]], the Communists consecrated their control of the legal system—the process included the creation of the [[Romanian People's Tribunals]], charged with investigating [[war crime]]s, and constantly supported by [[agitprop]] in the Communist press.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.295-296; Deletant, p.245-262; Frunză, p.228-232</ref> During the period, government-backed Communists used various means to exercising influence over the vast majority of the press, and began infiltrating or competing with independent cultural forums.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.77-93, 106–148; Frunză, p.240-258</ref> Economic dominance, partly responding to Soviet requirements, was first effected through the [[SovRoms]] (created in the summer of 1945), directing the bulk of Romanian trade towards the Soviet Union.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.67-71, 372–373; Frunză, p.381</ref>

====1945 restructuring and second Groza cabinet====
{{main|1946 Romanian general election}}
The Communist Party held its first open conference (16–22 October 1945, at the [[Mihai Viteazul National College, Bucharest|Mihai Viteazul High School]] in [[Bucharest]]) and agreed to replace the [[Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej]]–[[Constantin Pîrvulescu]]–[[Iosif Rangheț]] [[Troika (triumvirate)|troika]] with a joint leadership reflecting an uneasy balance between the external and internal wings: while Gheorghiu-Dej retained his general secretary position, [[Ana Pauker]], [[Teohari Georgescu]], and [[Vasile Luca]] became the other main leaders.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.62, 91–93, 174–176, 194–195; Frunză, p.219-220</ref>

The Central Committee had 27 full members
*[[Gheorghe Apostol]]
*[[Emil Bodnăraș]]
*[[Constantin Câmpeanu]]
*[[Nicolae Ceaușescu]]
*[[Iosif Chișinevschi]]
*[[Miron Constantinescu]] – Politburo member
*[[Dumitru Coliu]]
*[[Constanța Crăciun]]
*[[Teohari Georgescu]] – Politburo member, Secretary
*[[Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej]] – Politburo member, Secretary
*[[Vasile Luca]] – Politburo member, Secretary
*[[Gheorghe Maurer]]
*{{ill|Vasile Mârza|ro}}
*[[Alexandru Moghioroș]]
*[[Andrei Neagu]]
*[[Constantin Pârvulescu]] – President of Central Control Commission
*[[Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu]]
*[[Andrei Pătrașcu]]
*[[Ana Pauker]] – Politburo member, Secretary
*[[Emil Popa]]
*[[Ilie Popa (politician)|Ilie Popa]]
*[[Iosif Rangheț]]
*[[Leontin Salajan|Leontin Silaghi]]
*[[Chivu Stoica]] – Politburo member
*{{ill|Elena Tudorache|ro}}
*{{ill|Vasile Vaida|ro}}
*[[Gheorghe Vasilichi]] – Politburo member

and 8 candidate members
*[[Liuba Chișinevschi]]
*[[Ilie Drăgan]]
*[[Alexandru Drăghici]]
*[[Dumitru Focșăneanu]]
*[[Mihai Mujic]]
*[[Ion Petre]]
*[[Gheorghe Radnev]]
*[[Mihai Roșianu|Mihail Roșianu]]

The post-1945 constant growth in membership, by far the highest of all [[Eastern Bloc]] countries,<ref>Barbu, p.190-191</ref> was to provide a base of support for Gheorghiu-Dej. The conference also saw the first mention of the PCdR as the '''Romanian Communist Party''' (PCR), the new name being used as a propaganda tool suggesting a closer connection with the [[national interest]].<ref>Frunză, p.220</ref>

Party control over the security forces was successfully used on 8 November 1945, when the opposition parties organised a demonstration in front of the [[National Museum of Art of Romania|Royal Palace]] to express solidarity with King Michael, who was still refusing to sign his name to new legislation, on the occasion of his [[8 November (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)|name day]].<ref>Frunză, p.233</ref> Demonstrators were faced with gunshots; around 10 people were killed, and many wounded.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.62; Frunză, p.233</ref> The official account, according to which the Groza government responded to a coup attempt,<ref>Frunză, p.234</ref> was disputed by Frunză.<ref>Frunză, p.234-239</ref>

The PCR and its allies, grouped in the Bloc of Democratic Parties, won the [[1946 Romanian general election|Romanian elections of 19 November]], although there is evidence of widespread [[electoral fraud]].<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.64-66; Frunză, p.287-292</ref> Years later, historian Petre Ţurlea reviewed an incomplete confidential PCR report about the election that confirmed the Bloc won around 48 percent of the vote. He concluded that had the election been conducted fairly, the opposition parties could have won enough votes between them to form a coalition government, albeit with far less than the 80 percent support opposition supporters long claimed.<ref>Petre Ţurlea, "Alegerile parlamentare din noiembrie '46: guvernul procomunist joacă şi câştigă. Ilegalităţi flagrante, rezultat viciat" ("The Parliamentary Elections of November '46: the Pro-Communist Government Plays and Wins. Blatant Unlawfulness, Tampered Result"), p.&nbsp;35–36</ref>

The following months were dedicated to confronting the [[National Peasants' Party]], which was annihilated after the [[Tămădău Affair]] and [[show trial]] of its entire leadership.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.95-96; Frunză, p.287-308</ref> On 30 December 1947, the Communist Party's power was consolidated when King Michael was forced to [[Abdication|abdicate]]. The Communist-dominated legislature then abolished the monarchy and proclaimed Romania a "[[People's Republic]]", firmly aligned with the Soviet Union.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.97-101</ref> According to the king, his signature was obtained after the Groza cabinet representatives threatened to kill 1,000 students they had rounded up in custody.<ref>Cioroianu, p.99; Craig S. Smith, [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/27/world/europe/27michael.html?pagewanted=1&_r=3 "Romania's King Without a Throne Outlives Foes and Setbacks"], in ''[[The New York Times]]'', 27 January 2007; Retrieved on 7 December 2007</ref>

===Romanian Workers' Party (1948–1965)===
[[File:PMR.png|thumb|Romanian Workers' Party logo]]
====Creation====
[[File:Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, Nicolae Ceaușescu & delegates in Feb 1948.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej]] with delegates to the February 1948 PCR congress (the young [[Nicolae Ceaușescu]] stands to his left)]]
In February 1948, the Communists ended a long process of infiltrating the [[Romanian Social Democratic Party (1927–1948)|Romanian Social Democratic Party]] (ensuring control through electoral alliances and the two-party ''Frontul Unic Muncitoresc''—Singular Workers' Front, the PCR had profited from the departure of [[Constantin Titel Petrescu]]'s group from the Social Democrats in March 1946). The Social Democrats merged with the PCR to form the '''Romanian Workers' Party''' (''Partidul Muncitoresc Român, PMR'') which remained the ruling party's official name until 24 July 1965 (when it returned to the designation as ''Romanian Communist Party'').<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.93-94; Frunză, p.259-286, 329–359</ref> Nevertheless, Social Democrats were excluded from most party posts and were forced to support Communist policies on the basis of [[democratic centralism]];<ref>US Library of Congress: "The Communist Party"; Frunză, p.274, 350–354</ref> it was also reported that only half of the PSD's 500,000 members joined the newly founded grouping.<ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.2</ref> Capitalizing on these gains, the Communist government shunted most of the remaining parties aside after the [[1948 Romanian legislative election|1948 elections]] (the [[Ploughmen's Front]] and the [[Hungarian People's Union]] dissolved themselves in 1953).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.292; Frunză, p.355-357</ref> The PMR fought the elections as the dominant partner of the [[People's Democratic Front (Romania)|People's Democratic Front]] (FND), which won with 93.2 percent of the vote.<ref name=NS>[[Dieter Nohlen]] & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', pp1604–1610 {{ISBN|978-3-8329-5609-7}}</ref> By then, however, the FND had taken on the same character as other "[[popular front]]s"in the Soviet bloc. The member parties became completely subservient to the PMR, and had to accept its"[[vanguard party|leading role]]"as a condition of their continued existence. Groza, however, remained Prime Minister.

A new series of economic changes followed: the [[National Bank of Romania]] was passed into full [[public ownership]] (December 1946),<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.72-73</ref> and, in order to combat the [[Romanian leu]]'s [[devaluation]], a surprise [[monetary reform]] was imposed as a [[Stabilisation policy|stabilization]] measure in August 1947 (severely limiting the amount convertible by people without an actual job, primarily members of the aristocracy).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.73-74</ref> The [[Marshall Plan]] was being overtly condemned,<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.74</ref> while [[nationalization]] and a [[planned economy]] were enforced beginning 11 June 1948.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.74-75</ref> The first [[Five-year plans of Romania|five-year plan]], conceived by [[Miron Constantinescu]]'s Soviet-Romanian committee, was adopted in 1950.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.75-76</ref> Of newly enforced measures, the arguably most far-reaching was [[Collectivization in Romania|collectivization]]—by 1962, when the process was considered complete, 96% of the total [[arable land]] had been enclosed in [[collective farming]], while around 80,000 peasants faced trial for resisting and 17,000 others were uprooted or [[Penal transportation|deported]] for being ''chiaburi'' (the Romanian equivalent of ''[[kulak]]s'').<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.76, 251–253; Deletant & Ionescu, p.3-4; Frunză, p.393-394, 412–413</ref> Chiaburs were defined by the Party as the common enemies of communism in Romania. Thus, they were subjected to abuses by the cadres.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kligman |first1=Gail |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.23943/princeton/9780691149721.001.0001 |title=Peasants under Siege |last2=Verdery |first2=Katherine |date=2011-08-14 |publisher=Princeton University Press |doi=10.23943/princeton/9780691149721.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-691-14972-1}}</ref> In 1950, the party, which viewed itself as the [[Vanguard party|vanguard of the working class]],<ref>US Library of Congress:"The Communist Party"; Deletant & Ionescu, p.3</ref> reported that people of [[Proletariat|proletarian]] origin held 64% of party offices and 40% of higher government posts, while results of the recruitment efforts remained below official expectations.<ref name="ReferenceA">US Library of Congress: "The Communist Party"</ref>

====Internal purges====
During the period, the central scene of the PMR was occupied by the conflict between the "''Muscovite wing''", the "''prison wing''"led by [[Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej]], and the newly emerged and weaker"''Secretariat wing''"led by [[Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu]]. After October 1945, the two former groups had associated in neutralizing Pătrăşcanu's—exposed as"[[bourgeois]]"and progressively marginalized, it was ultimately decapitated in 1948.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.194-195, 200–201; Frunză, p.359-363; 407–410</ref> Beginning that year, the PMR leadership officially questioned its own political support, and began a massive campaign to remove"foreign and hostile elements"<ref>[[Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej]], in Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.299</ref> from its rapidly expanded structures.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.297, 298–300</ref> In 1952, with Stalin's renewed approval,<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.180</ref> Gheorghiu-Dej emerged victorious from the confrontation with [[Ana Pauker]], his chief "Muscovite"rival, as well as purging [[Vasile Luca]], [[Teohari Georgescu]], and their supporters from the party—alleging that their various political attitudes were proof of"[[Right Opposition|right-wing deviationism]]".<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.180-182, 200–203; Frunză, p.403-407; Tismăneanu, p.16</ref> Out of a membership of approximately one million, between 300,000<ref>Cioroianu, p.299</ref> and 465,000<ref name="ReferenceA"/> members, almost half of the party, was removed in the successive purges. The specific target for the "verification campaign", as it was officially called, were former [[Iron Guard]] affiliates.<ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.5</ref>

The move against Pauker's group echoed [[Stalinism|Stalinist]] purges of Jews in particular from other Communist Parties in the [[Eastern bloc]]—notably, the [[Rootless cosmopolitan|anti-"Cosmopolitan"]] campaign in which [[Joseph Stalin]] targeted Jews in the Soviet Union, and the [[Prague Trials]] in [[History of Communist Czechoslovakia|Czechoslovakia]] which removed Jews from leading positions in that country's Communist government.<ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.5-6; Frunză, p.403-407</ref> At the same time, a [[1952 Constitution of Romania|new republican constitution]], replacing its 1948 precedent, legislated Stalinist tenets,<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.103; Deletant & Ionescu, p.3</ref> and proclaimed that "the people's democratic state is consistently carrying out the policy of enclosing and eliminating capitalist elements".<ref>1952 Constitution, in Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.103-104</ref> Gheorghiu-Dej, who remained an orthodox Stalinist,<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.195-196; Tismăneanu, p.19, 22–23</ref> took the position of [[List of Prime Ministers of Romania|Premier]] while moving Groza to the presidency of the Presidium of the Great National Assembly (de facto [[List of Presidents of Romania|President of the People's Republic]]). Executive and PMR leaderships remained in Gheorghiu-Dej's hands until his death in 1965 (with the exception of 1954–1955, when his office of PMR leader was taken over by [[Gheorghe Apostol]]).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.204</ref>

From the moment it came to power and until Stalin's death, as the [[Cold War]] erupted, the PMR endorsed Soviet requirements for the [[Eastern Bloc]]. Aligning the country with the [[Cominform]], it officially condemned [[Josip Broz Tito]]'s [[Titoism|independent actions]] in [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]; Tito was routinely attacked by the official press, and the Romanian-Yugoslav [[Danube]] border became the scene of massive [[agitprop]] displays (''see [[Tito–Stalin split]] and [[Informbiro]]'').<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.197-198</ref>

====Gheorghiu-Dej and de-Stalinization====
{{main|De-Stalinization in Romania}}
[[File:Gheorghiu-Dej & Khrushchev at Bucharest's Baneasa Airport (June 1960).jpg|thumb|300px|[[Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej]] (front row, left) seeing off [[Nikita Khrushchev]] (front row, right) at Bucharest's [[Băneasa Airport]] upon the close of the PMR's 3rd Congress (June 1960). Nicolae Ceauşescu can be seen at Gheorghiu-Dej's right hand side.]]
Uncomfortable and possibly threatened by the reformist measures adopted by Stalin's successor, [[Nikita Khrushchev]], Gheorghiu-Dej began to steer Romania towards a more "independent" path while remaining within the Soviet orbit during the late 1950s. Following the [[20th Congress of the CPSU|Twentieth Party Congress]] of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]], in which Khurshchev initiated [[De-Stalinization]], Gheorghiu-Dej issued propaganda accusing Pauker, Luca and Georgescu of having been an arch-Stalinists responsible for the party's excesses in the late 1940s and early 1950s (notably, in regard to collectivization)—despite the fact that they had occasionally opposed a number of radical measures advocated by the General Secretary.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.76, 181–182, 206; Frunză, p.393-394</ref> After that purge, Gheorghiu-Dej had begun promoting PMR activists who were perceived as more loyal to his own political views; among them were [[Nicolae Ceauşescu]],<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.391-394; Deletant & Ionescu, p.7, 20–21; Tismăneanu, p.12, 27–31</ref> [[Gheorghe Stoica]], [[Ghizela Vass]],<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.201</ref> [[Grigore Preoteasa]],<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.210-211</ref> [[Alexandru Bârlădeanu]],<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.207, 375; Frunză, p.437</ref> [[Ion Gheorghe Maurer]], [[Gheorghe Gaston Marin]], [[Paul Niculescu-Mizil]], and [[Gheorghe Rădulescu]];<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.375; Frunză, p.437</ref> in parallel, citing Khrushchevite precedents, the PMR briefly reorganized its leadership on a plural basis (1954–1955),<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.204; Deletant & Ionescu, p.7; Tismăneanu, p.10-12</ref> while Gheorghiu-Dej reshaped party doctrine to include ambiguous messages about Stalin's legacy (insisting on the defunct Soviet's leader contribution to Marxist thought, official documents also deplored his [[personality cult]] and encouraged Stalinists to [[self-criticism]]).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.206, 217–218; Deletant & Ionescu, p.7-8, 9; Frunză, p.424-425; Tismăneanu, p.9, 16</ref>

In this context, the PMR soon dismissed all the relevant consequences of the Twentieth Soviet Congress, and Gheorghiu-Dej even argued that De-Stalinization had been imposed by his team right after 1952.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.206, 217; Deletant & Ionescu, p.8, 9; Frunză, p.430-434; Tismăneanu, p.15-16, 18–19</ref> At a party meeting in March 1956, two members of the [[Politburo]] who were supporters of Khruschevite reforms, [[Miron Constantinescu]] and [[Iosif Chişinevschi]], criticized Gheorghiu-Dej's leadership and identified him with Romanian Stalinism.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.136, 206–207; Deletant & Ionescu, p.8-9; Frunză, p.425; Tismăneanu, p.11-12, 16–19, 24–26</ref> They were purged in 1957, themselves accused of being Stalinists and of having been plotting with Pauker.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.136, 208; Tismăneanu, p.22, 23–24, 27</ref> Through Ceaușescu's voice, Gheorghiu-Dej also marginalized another group of old members of the PMR, associated with [[Constantin Doncea]] (June 1958).<ref>Tismăneanu, p.29-30</ref>

On the outside too, the PMR, leading a country that had joined the [[Warsaw Pact]], remained an agent of political repression: it fully supported Khurshchev's invasion of [[People's Republic of Hungary|Hungary]] in response to the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956|Revolution of 1956]], after which [[Imre Nagy]] and other dissident Hungarian leaders were imprisoned on Romanian soil.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.198-200, 207; Deletant & Ionescu, p.9-13; Frunză, p.426-428-434; Tismăneanu, p.19-23</ref> The Hungarian rebellion also sparked student protests in such places as Bucharest, [[Timișoara]], [[Oradea]], [[Cluj-Napoca|Cluj]] and [[Iași]], which contributed to unease inside the PMR and resulted in a wave of arrests.<ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.10-11, 34; Tismăneanu, p.21, 31</ref> While refusing to allow dissemination of Soviet literature exposing Stalinism (writers such as [[Ilya Ehrenburg]] and [[Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn]]), Romanian leaders took active part in the campaign against [[Boris Pasternak]].<ref>Frunză, p.429</ref>

Despite Stalin's death, the massive police apparatus headed by the [[Securitate]] (created in 1949 and rapidly growing in numbers)<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.291-294; Deletant & Ionescu, p.4</ref> maintained a steady pace in its suppression of"[[Enemy of the people|class enemies]]", until as late as 1962–1964. In 1962–1964, the party leadership approved a mass [[amnesty]], extended to, among other prisoners, ca. 6,700 guilty of [[political crime]]s.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.221, 314–315; Deletant & Ionescu, p.19</ref> This marked a toning down in the violence and scale of repression, after almost twenty years during which the Party had acted against political opposition and [[Romanian anti-communist resistance movement|active anti-communist resistance]], as well as against [[Religion in Romania|religious institutions]] (most notably, the [[Romanian Roman-Catholic Church|Romanian Roman Catholic]] and [[Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic|Greek-Catholic]] Churches).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.268-318; Frunză, p.367-370, 392–399</ref> Estimates for the total number of victims in the 1947/1948-1964 period vary significantly: as low as 160,000<ref>Barbu, p.192</ref> or 282,000<ref name="Cioroianu, Pe umerii..., p.313">Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.313</ref> political prisoners, and as high 600,000<ref name="Cioroianu, Pe umerii..., p.313"/> (according to one estimate, about 190,000 people were killed or died in custody— ).<ref name="Cioroianu, Pe umerii..., p.313"/> Notorious penal facilities of the time included the [[Danube-Black Sea Canal]], [[Sighet prison|Sighet]], [[Gherla prison|Gherla]], [[Aiud]], [[Pitești prison|Pitești]], and [[Râmnicu Sărat]]; another method of punishment was [[Bărăgan deportations|deportation to the inhospitable Bărăgan Plain]].<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.300-319; Frunză, p.394-399</ref>

====Gheorghiu-Dej and the "national path"====
{{main|National Communism in Romania}}
[[File:001 O parte a delegatiilor de peste hotare.jpg|thumb|300px|Foreign leaders attending [[Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej]]'s funeral (March 1965). [[Zhou Enlai]] and [[Anastas Mikoyan]] are among them]]
[[Romanian nationalism|Nationalism]] and [[national communism]] penetrated official discourse, largely owing to Gheorghiu-Dej's call for economic independence and distancing from the [[Comecon]].<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.212-217, 219, 220, 372–376; Frunză, p.440-444</ref> Moves to withdraw the country from Soviet overseeing were taken in quick succession after 1953. Khrushchev allowed Constantinescu to dissolve the [[SovRoms]] in 1954,<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.208</ref> followed by the closing of Romanian-Soviet cultural ventures such as [[Editura Cartea Rusă]] at the end of the decade.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.218-219, 220; Deletant & Ionescu, p.19; Frunză, p.456-457</ref> Industrialization along the PMR's own directives highlighted Romanian independence—one of its consequences was the massive steel-producing industrial complex in [[Galați]], which, being dependent on imports of iron from overseas, was for long a major strain on the Romanian economy.<ref>Frunză, p.442</ref> In 1957, Gheorghiu-Dej and [[Emil Bodnăraş]] persuaded the Soviets to withdraw their [[Soviet occupation of Romania|remaining troops]] from Romanian soil.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.345-352; Deletant & Ionescu, p.13-15</ref> As early as 1956, Romania's political apparatus reconciled with [[Josip Broz Tito]], which led to a series of common economic projects (culminating in the [[Iron Gates]] venture).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.214; Frunză, p.442, 445, 449–450</ref>

A drastic divergence in ideological outlooks manifested itself only after autumn 1961, when the PMR's leadership felt threatened by the Soviet Union's will to impose the condemnation of Stalinism as the standard in communist states.<ref>Tismăneanu, p.37-38, 47–48</ref> Following the [[Sino-Soviet split]] of the late 1950s and the [[Soviet-Albanian Relations|Soviet-Albanian split]] in 1961, Romania initially gave full support to the Khrushchev's stance,<ref>Tismăneanu, p.34-36</ref> but maintained exceptionally good relations with both [[Maoist China]]<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.215, 218; Frunză, p.437, 449, 452–453; Tismăneanu, p.14-15, 43–44, 50</ref> and [[Communist Albania]].<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.215; Frunză, p.437, 449; Tismăneanu, p.14-15, 50</ref> Romanian media was alone among Warsaw Pact countries to report Chinese criticism of the Soviet leadership from its source;<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.215; Frunză, p.438</ref> in return, [[Maoism|Maoist]] officials complimented Romanian nationalism by supporting the view that [[Bessarabia]] had been a traditional victim of [[Russian imperialism]].<ref>Frunză, p.452-453</ref>

The change in policies was to become obvious in 1964, when the Communist regime offered a stiff response to the ''[[Valev Plan]]'', a Soviet project of creating trans-national economic units and of assigning Romanian areas the task of supplying agricultural products.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.216; Frunză, p.440-441, 454–457; Deletant & Ionescu, p.17; Iordachi I.2, II.1; Tismăneanu, p.45-46</ref> Several other measures of that year also presented themselves as radical changes in tone: after Gheorghiu-Dej endorsed [[Andrei Oţetea]]'s publishing of [[Karl Marx]]'s [[Russophobia|Russophobic]] texts (uncovered by the [[People's Republic of Poland|Polish]] historian [[Stanisław Schwann]]),<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.220; Deletant & Ionescu, p.18; Frunză, p.453</ref> the PMR itself took a stand against Khrushchevite principles by issuing, in late April, a declaration published in ''[[Scînteia]]'', through which it stressed its commitment to a "national path" towards Communism<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.220, 321–325; Deletant & Ionescu, p.18; Iordachi I.2, II.1; Tismăneanu, p.34, 48–49</ref> (it read: "There does not and cannot exist a "parent" party and a "son" party or "superior" party and "subordinate" parties").<ref>''[[Scînteia]]'', 1964, in Iordachi I.2; in Tismăneanu, p.49</ref> During late 1964, the PMR's leadership clashed with new Soviet leader [[Leonid Brezhnev]] over the issue of [[KGB]] advisers still present in the [[Securitate]], and eventually managed to have them recalled, making Romania the [[Eastern Bloc]]'s first country to have accomplished this.<ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.18-19</ref>

These actions gave Romania greater freedom in pursuing the program which Gheorghiu-Dej had been committed to since 1954, one allowing Romania to defy reforms in the Eastern Bloc and to maintain a largely Stalinist course.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.216-217, 220–221; Deletant & Ionescu, p.15-19; Frunză, p.445-449, 458–461; Tismăneanu, p.32-34</ref> It has also been argued that Romania's emancipation was, in effect, limited to economic relations and military cooperation, being as such dependent on a relatively tolerant mood inside the Soviet Union.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.320-325</ref> Nevertheless, the PMR's nationalism made it increasingly popular with Romanian [[intellectual]]s, and the last stage of the Gheorghiu-Dej regime was popularly identified with [[liberalization]].<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.221-223, 275–276; Frunză, p.458</ref>

===Romanian Communist Party (1965–1989)===
====Ceaușescu's rise====
[[File:Adunare Piaţa Palatului August 1968.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Nicolae Ceaușescu]] and other PCR leaders in August 1968, addressing the Romanian public at a rally to oppose the [[Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia|invasion of Czechoslovakia]]]]
Gheorghiu-Dej died in March 1965 and was succeeded by a collective leadership made up of [[Nicolae Ceaușescu]] as general secretary, [[Chivu Stoica]] as president and [[Ion Gheorghe Maurer]] as Premier.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.392-394</ref> Ceaușescu removed rivals such as Stoica, [[Alexandru Drăghici]], and [[Gheorghe Apostol]] from the government, and ultimately from the party leadership, and began accumulating posts for himself. By 1969, he was in complete control of the [[Central Committee]].<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.393-397; Deletant & Ionescu, p.29-30; Frunză, p.472</ref> The circumstances surrounding this process are still disputed, but theories evidence that the support given to him by [[Ion Gheorghe Maurer]] and [[Emil Bodnăraș]], as well as the ascendancy of [[Ilie Verdeț]], [[Virgil Trofin]], and [[Paul Niculescu-Mizil]], were instrumental in ensuring legitimacy.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.393-397; Deletant & Ionescu, p.29-30; Tismăneanu, p.51-53</ref> Soon after 1965, Ceaușescu used his prerogatives to convoke a Party Commission headed by [[Ion Popescu-Puțuri]], charged with investigating both Stalinist legacy and Gheorghiu-Dej's purges: resulting in the [[Rehabilitation (Soviet)|rehabilitation]] of a large number of Communist officials (including, among others, [[Ștefan Foriș]], [[Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu]], [[Miron Constantinescu]], [[Vasile Luca]], and Romanian victims of the Soviet [[Great Purge]]).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.398-399; "Comunismul și cel care a trăit Iluzia"; Deletant & Ionescu, p.25; Frunză, p.472-474</ref> This measure was instrumental in consolidating the new leadership while further increasing its distance from Gheorghiu-Dej's political legacy.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.397-400; Frunză, p.473-474</ref>

In 1965, Ceaușescu declared that Romania was no longer a [[People's democracy (Marxism-Leninism)|People's Democracy]] but a [[Socialist state|Socialist Republic]] and changed the name of the party back to the '''Romanian Communist Party'''—steps which were meant to indicate that Romania was following strict Marxist policies while remaining independent. He continued Romanianization and de-Sovietization efforts by stressing notions such as [[sovereignty]] and [[self-determination]].<ref>Deletant, p.266-269; Frunză, p.474, 504–509, 513–518</ref> At the time, Ceauşescu made references to Gheorghiu-Dej's own [[personality cult]], while implying that his was to be a new style of leadership.<ref>Frunză, p.474</ref> In its official discourse, the PCR introduced the dogmas of "socialist democracy" and direct communication with the masses.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> From ca. 1965 to 1975, there was a noted rise in the [[standard of living]] for the Romanian population as a whole, which was similar to developments in most other Eastern bloc countries.<ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.25-26</ref> Political scientist [[Daniel Barbu]], who noted that this social improvement trend began ca. 1950 and benefited 45% of the population, concluded that one of its main effects was to increase the citizens' dependency on the state.<ref>Barbu, p.193-195</ref>

A seminal event occurred in August 1968, when Ceaușescu highlighted his anti-Soviet discourse by vocally opposing the [[Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia]]; a highly popular measure with the Romanian public, it led to sizable enrollments in the PCR and the newly created paramilitary [[Patriotic Guards (Romania)|Patriotic Guards]] (created with the goal of meeting a possible Soviet intervention in Romania).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.403-412, 414; Deletant & Ionescu, p.27; Frunză, p.475; Negrici, p.221</ref> From 1965 to 1976, the PCR rose from approximately 1.4&nbsp;million members to 2.6&nbsp;million.<ref name="Cioroianu414">US Library of Congress: "The Communist Party"; Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.414</ref> In the contingency of an anti-Soviet war, the PCR even sought an alliance with the maverick [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslav]] leader [[Josip Broz Tito]]—negotiations did not yield a clear result.<ref name="Ciorianu409">Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.409</ref> Although military intervention in Romania was reportedly taken into consideration by the Soviets,<ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.27</ref> there is indication that [[Leonid Brezhnev]] had himself ruled out Romanian participation in Warsaw Pact maneuvers,<ref name="Ciorianu409"/> and that he continued to rely on Ceaușescu's support for other common goals.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.409; Frunză, p.516-518</ref>

While it appears that Romanian leaders genuinely approved of the [[Prague Spring]] reforms undertaken by [[Alexander Dubček]],<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.405-406</ref> Ceaușescu's gesture also served to consolidate his image as a national and independent communist leader.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.404, 412–415; Deletant & Ionescu, p.22; Frunză, p.513-514; Iordachi, II.1</ref> One year before the invasion of Czechoslovakia, Ceaușescu opened up diplomatic ties with [[West Germany]], and refused to break links with Israel following the [[Six-Day War]].<ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.22</ref> Starting with the much-publicized visit by France's [[Charles de Gaulle]] (May 1968),<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.404-405;"Comunismul și cel care a trăit Iluzia"</ref> Romania was the recipient of Western world support going well into the 1970s (significant visits were paid by United States Presidents [[Richard Nixon]] and [[Gerald Ford]], in 1969 and 1975 respectively, while Ceaușescu was frequently received in Western capitals).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.412-414; "Comunismul și cel care a trăit Iluzia"; Deletant & Ionescu, p.29, 46; Iordachi, II.1</ref>

====Ceaușescu's supremacy====
[[File:Ceausescu receiving the presidential sceptre 1974.jpg|thumb|300px|The 1974 ceremony marking Ceaușescu's investiture as [[President of Romania]]: [[Ștefan Voitec]] handing him the [[sceptre]]]]
Ceaușescu developed a [[Nicolae Ceaușescu's cult of personality|cult of personality around himself]] and his wife [[Elena Ceaușescu|Elena]] (herself promoted to high offices)<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.79-80, 429, 431, 489–490; Deletant & Ionescu, p.28-29</ref> after visiting North Korea and noting the [[Kim Il Sung's cult of personality|parallel]] developed by [[Kim Il Sung]],<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.436</ref> while incorporating in it several aspects of past [[Authoritarianism|authoritarian]] regimes in Romania (''see [[Conducător]]'').<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.416, 424, 434–442, 488–492; "Comunismul și cel care a trăit Iluzia"; Deletant, p.266-269; Negrici, p.221-226</ref> During the early 1970s, while curbing liberalization, he launched his own version of China's [[Cultural Revolution]], announced by the ''[[July Theses]]''.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.489; Deletant & Ionescu, p.30-31; Negrici, p.221</ref> In effect, measures to concentrate power in Ceaușescu's hands were taken as early as 1967, when the general secretary became the ultimate authority on foreign policy.<ref>Frunză, p.476</ref>

At the time, a new organization was instituted under the name of [[Front of Socialist Unity and Democracy|Front of Socialist Unity]] (eventually renamed the [[Front of Socialist Unity and Democracy]]).  Ostensibly a popular front affiliating virtually all non-party members, it was actually tightly controlled by party activists.  It was intended to consolidate the impression that the entire population was backing Ceaușescu's policies.<ref>Frunză, p.482-483</ref> As a result of these new policies, the [[Central Committee]], which acted as the main PCR body between Congresses, had increased to 265 full members and 181 candidate members (supposed to meet at least four times a year).<ref name="ReferenceA"/> By then, the general secretary also called for women to be enrolled in greater numbers in all party structures.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> In parallel, the political doctrine in respect to [[Minorities of Romania|minorities]] claimed interest in obtaining allegiance from both [[Hungarian minority in Romania|Hungarians]] and [[Germans of Romania|Germans]], and set up separate workers' councils for both communities.<ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.23-24; Iordachi, I.3</ref>
[[File:The tenth PCR congress.jpg|thumb|200px|The Xth Party Congress, Romanian stamp from 1969]]

Members of the upper echelons of the party who objected to Ceaușescu's stance were accused of supporting Soviet policies; they included [[Alexandru Bârlădeanu]], who criticized the heavy loans contracted in support of industrialization policies.<ref>Frunză, p.476, 510–511</ref> In time, the new leader distanced himself from Maurer and [[Corneliu Mănescu]], while his career profited from the deaths of Stoica (who committed suicide) and Sălăjan (who died while undergoing surgery).<ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.31; Frunză, p.472, 475, 476–478, 479–480, 483, 511</ref> Instead, he came to rely on a new generation of activists, among them [[Manea Mănescu]].<ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.30; Frunză, p.483</ref>

At the XIth Party Congress in 1974, [[Gheorghe Cioară]], the [[List of mayors of Bucharest|Mayor of Bucharest]], proposed to extend Ceaușescu's office as General Secretary for life, but was turned down by the latter.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.491; Frunză, p.480</ref> Shortly before that moment, the collective leadership of the Presidium was replaced with a Political Executive Committee, which, in practice, elected itself; together with the Secretariat, it was controlled by Ceaușescu himself, who was president of both bodies.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> During the same year, the general secretary also made himself [[President of Romania|President of the Socialist Republic]], following a ceremony during which he was handed a [[sceptre]];<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.489; Deletant & Ionescu, p.31; Frunză, p.483-484</ref> this was the first in a succession of titles, also including ''[[Conducător]]'' ("Leader"), "supreme commander of the [[Romanian People's Army]]", "honorary president of the [[Romanian Academy]]", and "first among the country's miners".<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.416, 489–490</ref> Progressively after 1967, the large bureaucratic structure of the PCR again replicated and interfered with state administration and economic policies.<ref>US Library of Congress: "The Communist Party"; Deletant & Ionescu, p.26</ref> The President himself became noted for frequent visits on location at various enterprises, where he would dispense directives, for which the termed ''indicații prețioase'' ("valuable advice") was coined by official propaganda.<ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.32</ref>

Despite the party's independent, "national communist" course, the absolute control that Ceaușescu had over the party and the country led to some non-Romanian observers describing the PCR as one of the closest things to an old-style Stalinist party.  For instance, [[Encyclopædia Britannica]] referred to the last 18 years of Ceaușescu's tenure as a period of "[[neo-Stalinism]]", and the last edition of the [[Library of Congress Country Studies|Country Study]] on Romania referred to the PCR's "Stalinist repression of individual liberties."<ref>http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field%28DOCID+ro0010%29 {{Dead link|date=August 2022}}</ref>

====Late 1970s crisis====
The renewed industrialization, which based itself on both a dogmatic understanding of [[Marxian economics]] and a series of [[Autarky|autarkic]] goals,<ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.26, 32; Frunză, p.510-512</ref> brought major economic problems to Romania, beginning with the effects of the [[1973 oil crisis]], and worsened by the [[1979 energy crisis]].<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.467; Deletant & Ionescu, p.32-33</ref> The profound neglect of [[Service (economics)|services]] and decline in [[quality of life]], first manifested when much of the budget was diverted to support an over-sized industry,<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.467-468; Deletant & Ionescu, p.33-34; Frunză, p.512</ref> was made more drastic by the political decision to pay in full the country's [[external debt]]<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.468-469; Frunză, p.512</ref> (in 1983, this was set at 10&nbsp;billion United States dollars, of which 4.5 billion was accumulated [[interest]]).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.468; Deletant & Ionescu, p.33</ref> By March 1989, the debt had been paid in full.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.471</ref>

Two other programs initiated under Ceaușescu had massive consequences on social life. One of them was the plan, announced as early as 1965, to "[[Systematization (Romania)|systemize rural areas]]", which was meant to urbanize Romania at a fast pace (of over 13,000 [[Communes of Romania|communes]], the country was supposed to be left with 6,000);<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.469; Deletant & Ionescu, p.47-49</ref> it also brought massive changes for the cities—especially [[Bucharest]], where, following the [[1977 Vrancea earthquake|1977 earthquake]] and successive demolitions, new architectural guidelines were imposed (''see [[Ceaușima]]'').<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.470</ref> By 1966, Romania [[Abortion in Romania|outlawed abortion]], and, progressively after that, measures were endorsed to artificially increase the birth rate—including special taxes for childless couples.<ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.42-44</ref> Another measure, going hand in hand with economic ones, allowed ethnic Germans a chance to leave Romania and settle in [[West Germany]] as ''[[Auslandsdeutsche]]'', in return for payments from the latter country.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.471-474; Deletant & Ionescu, p.24</ref> Overall, around 200,000 Germans left, most of them [[Transylvanian Saxons]] and [[Banat Swabians]].<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.473; Deletant & Ionescu, p.24</ref>

Although Romania adhered to the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]] (1973) and signed the 1975 [[Helsinki Final Act]], Ceauşescu also intensified political repression in the country (beginning in 1971).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.486; Frunză, p.516, 518</ref> This took a drastic turn in 1977, when, confronted with [[Paul Goma]]'s movement in support for ''[[Charter 77]]'', the regime expelled him and others from the country.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.478; Frunză, p.524</ref> A more serious disobedience occurred in August of the same year, when [[Jiu Valley]] miners went on strike, briefly took hold of Premier [[Ilie Verdeţ]], and, despite having reached an agreement with the government, were repressed and some of them expelled (''see [[Jiu Valley miners' strike of 1977]]'').<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.478-479; Frunză, p.525-526</ref> A newly created and independent trade union, [[SLOMR]], was crushed and its leaders arrested on various charges in 1979.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.479; Deletant & Ionescu, p.34-35; Frunză, p.526</ref> Progressively during the period, the [[Securitate]] relied on [[involuntary commitment]] to [[psychiatric hospital]]s as a means to punish [[Dissident|dissidence]].<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.479; Deletant & Ionescu, p.35</ref>

====1980s====
[[File:Mikhail Gorbachev & Nicolae Ceaușescu, 1985.jpg|thumb|270px|Ceaușescu and [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] in 1985]]
A major act of discontent occurred inside the party during its XIIth Congress in late November 1979, when PCR veteran [[Constantin Pîrvulescu]] spoke out against Ceaușescu's policy of discouraging discussions and relying on obedient [[Professional revolutionaries|cadres]] (he was subsequently heckled, evicted from the Congress hall, and isolated).<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.487-488; Frunză, p.486-489</ref> In 1983, [[Radu Filipescu]], an engineer working in Bucharest, was imprisoned after distributing 20,000 leaflets which called for a popular rally against the regime,<ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.38; Frunză, p.525-525</ref> while a protests of miners in [[Maramureș County]] against wage cuts was broken up by Securitate forces; three years later a strike organized by Romanian and Hungarian industrial workers in [[Turda]] and [[Cluj-Napoca]] met with the same result.<ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.35</ref> Also in 1983, fearing the multiplication of ''[[samizdat]]'' documents, [[List of Romanian Ministers of the Interior|Minister of the Interior]] [[George Homoștean]] ordered all citizens to hand over their [[typewriter]]s to the authorities.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.479; Deletant & Ionescu, p.42-43</ref> This coincided with a noted popular rise in support for outspoken dissidents who were kept under house arrest, among whom were [[Doina Cornea]] and [[Mihai Botez (mathematician)|Mihai Botez]].<ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.37-39</ref>

By 1983, membership of the PCR had risen to 3.3&nbsp;million,<ref>Frunză, p.482</ref> and, in 1989, to 3.7–3.8&nbsp;million<ref name="Cioroianu414" />—meaning that, in the end, over 20% of Romanian adults were party members,<ref name="ReferenceA"/> making the PCR the largest communist group of the [[Eastern Bloc]] after the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]].<ref name="Cioroianu414" /> 64,200 basic party units, answering to [[Counties of Romania|county]] committees, varying in number and representing various areas of Romanian society, were officially recorded in 1980.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Statistics also indicated that, during the transition from the 1965 PMR (with 8% of the total population) to the 1988 PCR, the membership of workers had grown from 44 to 55%, while that of peasants had dropped from 34 to 15%.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> In the end, these records contrasted the fact that the PCR had become completely subservient to its leader and no longer had any form of autonomous activity,<ref name="Cioroianu414"/><ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.&nbsp;41–42; Frunză, p.&nbsp;481–483</ref> while membership became a basic requirement in numerous social contexts, leading to purely formal allegiances and [[Political machine|political clientelism]].<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.415, 426–432; Frunză, p.521</ref>

At the same time, the ideological viewpoint was changed, with the party no longer seen as the [[Vanguard party|vanguard of the working class]],<ref>US Library of Congress:"The Communist Party"; Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.416</ref> but as the main social factor and the embodiment of the [[national interest]].<ref>US Library of Congress: "The Communist Party"; Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.428; Frunză, p.504-518, 520</ref> In marked contrast with the ''[[Perestroika]]'' and ''[[Glasnost]]'' policies developed in the Soviet Union by [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], Romania adopted [[Neo-Stalinism|Neo-Stalinist]] principles in both its internal policies and its relations with the outside world.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.491-494; Deletant & Ionescu, p.32, 44–46; Frunză, p.520; Iordachi, II.3</ref>

As recorded in 1984, 90% of the PCR members were [[Romanians|ethnic Romanians]], with 7% Hungarians (the latter group's membership had dropped by more than 2% since the previous Congress).<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Formal criticism of the new policies regarding minorities had also been voiced by Hungarian activists, including [[Károly Király]], leader of the PCR in [[Covasna County]].<ref>Frunză, p.523</ref> After 1980, the nationalist ideology adopted by the PCR progressively targeted the Hungarian community as a whole, based on suspicions of its allegiance to Hungary, whose policies had become diametrically opposed to the methods of Romanian leaders (''see [[Goulash Communism]]'').<ref>Iordachi, I.3, III</ref>
[[File:Nicolae-Ceausescu.jpg|thumb|270px|The 65th anniversary of the PCR]]

Especially during the 1980s, clientelism was further enhanced by a new policy, ''rotația cadrelor'' ("cadre rotation" or "reshuffling"), placing strain on low-level officials to seek the protection of higher placed ones as a means to preserve their position or to be promoted.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.426-431; Deletant & Ionescu, p.30; Frunză, p.485-486</ref> This effectively prompted activists who did not approve of the change in tone to retire, while others—[[Virgil Trofin]], [[Ion Iliescu]] and [[Paul Niculescu-Mizil]] among them—were officially dispatched to low-ranking positions or otherwise marginalized.<ref>Frunză, p.485-486</ref> In June 1988, the leadership of the Political Executive Committee was reduced from 15 to 7 members, including Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

While some elements of the PCR were receptive to [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]'s reforms, Ceaușescu himself wanted nothing to do with ''glasnost'' or ''perestroika.''  As a result, the PCR remained an obstinate bastion of hardline Communism. Gorbachev's distaste for Ceaușescu was well known; he even went as far as to call Ceaușescu "the Romanian [[führer]]. "In Gorbachev's mind, Ceaușescu was part of a "Gang of Four" inflexibly hardline leaders unwilling to make the reforms he felt necessary to save Communism, along with Czechoslovakia's [[Gustáv Husák]], Bulgaria's [[Todor Zhivkov]] and East Germany's [[Erich Honecker]]. At a meeting between the two, Gorbachev upbraided Ceaușescu for his inflexible attitude. "You are running a dictatorship here," the Soviet leader warned. However, Ceaușescu refused to bend.<ref name=Revolution1989>{{cite book|last=Sebetsyen|first=Victor|title=Revolution 1989: The Fall of the Soviet Empire|publisher=[[Pantheon Books]]|location=New York City|year=2009|isbn=978-0-375-42532-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/revolution1989fa00sebe}}</ref>

====Downfall====
{{main|Romanian Revolution}}

Announced by a February 1987 protest of workers and students in [[Iași]],<ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.35-36</ref> the final crisis of the PCR and its regime began in the autumn, when industrial employees in [[Brașov]] called a strike that immediately drew echoes with the city's population (''see [[Brașov Rebellion]]'').<ref name="Cioroianu, p.36">Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.486-487; Deletant & Ionescu, p.36</ref> In December, authorities convened a public [[Kangaroo court|kangaroo trial]] of the movement's leaders, and handed out sentences of imprisonment and internal exile.<ref name="Cioroianu, p.36"/>

Inaugurated by [[Silviu Brucan]]'s public criticism of the Braşov repression, and inspired by the impact of changes in other Eastern Bloc countries, protests of marginalized PCR activists became notorious after March 1989, when Brucan and Pârvulescu, together with [[Gheorghe Apostol]], [[Alexandru Bârlădeanu]], [[Grigore Răceanu]] and [[Corneliu Mănescu]], sent Ceaușescu their so-called ''[[Letter of the Six]]'', publicized over [[Radio Free Europe]].<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.487-488; Deletant & Ionescu, p.37, 40–41</ref> At around the same time, [[Systematization (Romania)|systematization]] provoked an international response, as Romania was subjected to a resolution of the [[United Nations Commission on Human Rights]], which called for an inquiry into the state of ethnic minorities and the rural population; the political isolation experienced by Communist Romania was highlighted by the fact that Hungary endorsed the report,<ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.39-40; Iordachi, III.4</ref> while all other Eastern bloc countries abstained.<ref>Deletant & Ionescu, p.39-40</ref> This followed more than a decade of deteriorating relations between the PCR and the [[Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party]].<ref>Iordachi, III</ref>

In the face of the changes that unfolded in the rest of Eastern Europe in 1988 and 1989, the PCR retained its image as one of the most unreconstructed parties in the Soviet bloc.  It even went as far as to call for a Warsaw Pact invasion of Poland after that country's Communists announced a power-sharing agreement with the [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]] trade union—a sharp reversal of its previous opposition to the [[Brezhnev Doctrine]] and its vehement opposition to the invasion of Czechoslovakia 21 years earlier.<ref name=Revolution1989/> It initially appeared that the PCR would ride out the anti-Communist tide sweeping through Eastern Europe when on 24 November—two weeks after the fall of the [[Berlin Wall]] and the same day that [[Velvet Revolution|Communist rule effectively ended in Czechoslovakia]]—Ceaușescu was reelected for another five-year term as General Secretary.

A month later, both Ceaușescu and the party were overthrown in the [[Romanian Revolution]] of [[Revolutions of 1989|December 1989]], begun as a popular rebellion in [[Timișoara]] and eventually bringing to power the [[National Salvation Front (Romania)|National Salvation Front]], comprising a large number of moderate former PCR members who supported Gorbachev's vision.<ref>Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii...'', p.488, 493–494</ref> Having fled the PCR's headquarters under pressure from demonstrators, Ceauşescu and his wife were captured, [[Trial of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu|tried, and executed]] by the new authorities in [[Târgoviște]].  No formal dissolution of the PCR took place.  Rather, the party simply disappeared.  The speed with which the PCR, one of the largest parties of its kind, dissolved, as well as its spontaneity, were held by commentators as additional proof that its sizable membership presented a largely false image of its true beliefs.<ref name="Cioroianu414" /> In nearly every other Eastern Bloc country, the former ruling Communist parties recast themselves into [[social democratic]] or [[democratic socialist]] parties, and remain major players to this day.

Many former members of the PCR have been major players in the [[History of Romania since 1989|post-1989 political scene]]. For example, until 2014 every post-revolution president had formerly been a member of the PCR.  Among other small parties an unregistered [[Romanian Communist Party (present-day)|party of the same name]] and the small [[Romanian Socialist Party (present-day)|Romanian Socialist Party]] claim to be the successors of the PCR,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.adevarul.ro/actualitate/eveniment/Noul_Partid_Comunist_Roman-_Pionierii_0_367163711.html |title=Noul Partid Comunist Român, condus de un șofer de taxi |newspaper=adevarul |access-date=30 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://e-dromos.gr/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=7558:petre-ignatencu-%CF%80%CF%81%CE%B1%CE%B3%CE%BC%CE%B1%CF%84%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE-%CE%BA%CF%85%CE%B2%CE%AD%CF%81%CE%BD%CE%B7%CF%83%CE%B7-%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82-%CF%81%CE%BF% |title=Petre Ignatencu: Πραγματική κυβέρνηση της Ρουμανίας είναι το ΔΝΤ και η Παγκόσμια Τράπεζα |publisher=E-dromos |access-date=30 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130218041900/http://e-dromos.gr/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=7558:petre-ignatencu-%CF%80%CF%81%CE%B1%CE%B3%CE%BC%CE%B1%CF%84%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE-%CE%BA%CF%85%CE%B2%CE%AD%CF%81%CE%BD%CE%B7%CF%83%CE%B7-%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82-%CF%81%CE%BF%25 |archive-date=18 February 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> with the latter entering Parliament in the 1992–1996 legislature under its former name of ''Socialist Party of Labour''.

== General secretaries (1921–1989) ==

* [[Gheorghe Cristescu]] (1921–1924)
* [[Elek Köblös]] (1924–1927)
* [[Vitali Holostenco]] (1927–1931)
* [[Alexander Danieliuk-Stefanski]] (1931–1936)
* [[Boris Stefanov]] (1936–1938)
* [[Bela Breiner]] (1938–1940)<ref>Paula Mihailov, [https://jurnalul.antena3.ro/scinteia/istoria-comunismului/ultimul-conducator-ilegalist-40618.html  Ultimul conducator ilegalist], jurnalul.ro : Istoria comunismului, 26 July 2005, accessed 23 January 2019</ref>
* [[Ștefan Foriș]] (1940–1944)
* Provisional secretariat: [[Emil Bodnăraș]], [[Iosif Rangheț]], and [[Constantin Pîrvulescu]] (April–September 1944)
* [[Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej]] (1944–1954)
* [[Gheorghe Apostol]] (1954–1955)
* Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (1955–1965)
* [[Nicolae Ceaușescu]] (1965–1989)

=== Party congresses ===

{| class=wikitable
|-
! Name/Period
! Location
|-
|1st (May 1921) || [[Bucharest]]
|-
|2nd (October 1922) || [[Ploiești]]
|-
|3rd (August 1924) || [[Vienna]]
|-
|4th (July 1928) || [[Kharkiv]]
|-
|5th (December 1931) || [[Moscow]]
|-
|6th (February 1948) || [[Bucharest]]
|-
|7th (December 1955) || [[Bucharest]]
|-
|8th (June 1960) || [[Bucharest]]
|-
|9th (July 1965) || [[Bucharest]]
|-
|10th (August 1969)|| [[Bucharest]]
|-
|11th (November 1974)|| [[Bucharest]]
|-
|12th (November 1979)|| [[Bucharest]]
|-
|13th (November 1984)|| [[Bucharest]]
|-
|14th (November 1989) || [[Bucharest]]
|-
|}

== Electoral history ==

=== President of the State Council and Presidential elections ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!'''Election'''
!'''Party candidate'''
!'''Votes'''
!'''%'''
!Result
|-
! colspan="5" |President elected by the Great National Assembly
|-
|[[1961 Romanian State Council president election|1961]]
|[[Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej]]
|465
|100%
|'''Elected''' {{Y}}
|-
|[[1965 Romanian State Council president election|1965]]
|[[Chivu Stoica]]
|465
|100%
|'''Elected''' {{Y}}
|-
|[[1967 Romanian State Council president election|1967]]
| rowspan="4" |[[Nicolae Ceaușescu]]
|465
|100%
|'''Elected''' {{Y}}
|-
|[[1974 Romanian presidential election|1974]]
|465
|100%
|'''Elected''' {{Y}}
|-
|[[1980 Romanian presidential election|1980]]
|369
|100%
|'''Elected''' {{Y}}
|-
|[[1985 Romanian presidential election|1985]]
|369
|100%
|'''Elected''' {{Y}}
|}

==== Note ====
In the [[1961 Romanian State Council president election|1961]], [[1965 Romanian State Council president election|1965]], [[1967 Romanian State Council president election|1967]] the head of state was called President of the State Council while after 1973 the post changed to that of president

=== Great National Assembly elections ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Election
!'''Party leader'''
!'''Votes'''
!%
!Seats
!+/–
!'''Position'''
|- 
|[[1926 Romanian general election|1926]]
| rowspan="2" |[[Elek Köblös]]
| 39,203

<small>as part of [[Peasant Workers' Bloc|BMȚ]]</small>
| 1.5%
|{{Composition bar|0|387|hex={{party color|Romanian Communist Party}}}}
|{{steady}}
|{{steady}} 6th
|- 
|[[1927 Romanian general election|1927]]
| 31,505

<small>as part of [[Peasant Workers' Bloc|BMȚ]]</small>
| 1.3%
|{{Composition bar|0|387|hex={{party color|Romanian Communist Party}}}}
|{{steady}}
|{{steady}} 6th
|- 
|[[1928 Romanian general election|1928]]
| rowspan="2" |[[Vitali Holostenco]]
| 38,851
<small>as part of [[Peasant Workers' Bloc|BMȚ]]</small>
| 1.4%
|{{Composition bar|0|387|hex={{party color|Romanian Communist Party}}}}
|{{steady}}
|{{steady}} 6th
|-
|[[1931 Romanian general election|1931]]
| 73,716
<small>as part of [[Peasant Workers' Bloc|BMȚ]]</small>
| 2.6%
|{{Composition bar|5|387|hex={{party color|Romanian Communist Party}}}}
|{{increase}} 5
|{{decrease}} 10th
|-
|[[1932 Romanian general election|1932]]
| rowspan="2" |[[Alexander Danieliuk-Stefanski]]
| 9,441
<small>as part of [[Peasant Workers' Bloc|BMȚ]]</small>
| 0.3%
|{{Composition bar|0|387|hex={{party color|Romanian Communist Party}}}}
|{{decrease}} 5
|{{decrease}} 17th<br />
|-
|[[1933 Romanian general election|1933]]
| 3,515
<small>as part of [[Labour League]]</small>
| 0.1%
|{{Composition bar|0|387|hex={{party color|Romanian Communist Party}}}}
|{{steady}}
|{{increase}} 15th
|-
|[[1937 Romanian general election|1937]]
|[[Boris Stefanov]]
| colspan="5" rowspan="2" |Did not compete
|-
|[[1939 Romanian general election|1939]]
|[[Bela Breiner]]
|-
|[[1946 Romanian general election|1946]]
| rowspan="6" |[[Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej]]
| colspan="2" |{{Small|as part of [[People's Democratic Front (Romania)|BPD]]}}
|{{Composition bar|68|414|hex={{party color|Romanian Communist Party}}}}
|{{increase}} 68
|{{increase}} 4th
|-
|[[1948 Romanian legislative election|1948]]
| colspan="2" rowspan="5" |{{Small|as part of [[People's Democratic Front (Romania)|FDP]]}}
|{{Composition bar|190|405|hex={{party color|Romanian Communist Party}}}}
|{{increase}} 122
|{{increase}} 1st
|-
|[[1952 Romanian legislative election|1952]]
|{{Composition bar|428|428|hex={{party color|Romanian Communist Party}}}}
|{{increase}} 23
|{{steady}} 1st
|-
|[[1957 Romanian legislative election|1957]]
|{{Composition bar|437|437|hex={{party color|Romanian Communist Party}}}}
|{{increase}} 9
|{{steady}} 1st
|-
|[[1961 Romanian legislative election|1961]]
|{{Composition bar|465|465|hex={{party color|Romanian Communist Party}}}}
|{{increase}} 28
|{{steady}} 1st
|-
|[[1965 Romanian legislative election|1965]]
|{{Composition bar|465|465|hex={{party color|Romanian Communist Party}}}}
|{{steady}}
|{{steady}} 1st
|-
|[[1969 Romanian legislative election|1969]]
| rowspan="4" |[[Nicolae Ceaușescu]]
| colspan="2" rowspan="2" |{{Small|as part of [[Front of Socialist Unity|FUS]]}}
|{{Composition bar|465|465|hex={{party color|Romanian Communist Party}}}}
|{{steady}}
|{{steady}} 1st
|-
|[[1975 Romanian legislative election|1975]]
|{{Composition bar|349|349|hex={{party color|Romanian Communist Party}}}}
|{{decrease}} 116
|{{steady}} 1st
|-
|[[1980 Romanian legislative election|1980]]
| colspan="2" rowspan="2" |{{Small|as part of [[Front of Socialist Unity and Democracy|FDUS]]}}
|{{Composition bar|369|369|hex={{party color|Romanian Communist Party}}}}
|{{increase}} 20
|{{steady}} 1st
|-
|[[1985 Romanian legislative election|1985]]
|{{Composition bar|369|369|hex={{party color|Romanian Communist Party}}}}
|{{steady}}
|{{steady}} 1st
|}

==See also==
*[[List of Romanian communists]]
*[[Proclamation of Timişoara]]
*[[Eastern Bloc politics]]
*[[Social Democratic Party (Romania)]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*"[http://countrystudies.us/romania/70.htm The Communist Party]" from the [[US Library of Congress]]' ''Country Study of Romania'', 1990; retrieved 5 July 2007
*[[Lucian Boia]], ed., {{lang|ro|Miturile comunismului românesc}} ("The Myths of Romanian Communism"), [[Editura Nemira]], Bucharest, 1997–1998. {{ISBN|973-569-209-0}}. See:
**[[Daniel Barbu]], "{{lang|ro|Destinul colectiv, servitutea involuntară, nefericirea totalitară: trei mituri ale comunismului românesc}}" ("Collective Destiny, Involuntary Servitude, Totalitarian Misery: Three Myths of Romanian Communism"), p.&nbsp;175–197
**[[Eugen Negrici]], "Mitul patriei primejduite" ("The Myth of the Fatherland in Peril"), p.&nbsp;220–226
*[[Adrian Cioroianu]],
**{{in lang|ro}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20071008065511/http://www.revista22.ro/html/index.php?nr=2002-06-24&art=122 "{{lang|ro|Comunismul și cel care a trăit Iluzia}}" ("Communism and the Man Who Lived the Illusion")], in ''[[22 (magazine)|Revista 22]]'', Nr.25 (641), June 2002; retrieved 5 July 2007
**{{lang|ro|Pe umerii lui Marx. O introducere în istoria comunismului românesc}} ("On the Shoulders of Marx. An Incursion into the History of Romanian Communism"), [[Editura Curtea Veche]], Bucharest, 2005. {{ISBN|973-669-175-6}}
*{{in lang|ro}} Radu Colt, [http://www.itcnet.ro/history/archive/mi1999/current6/mi18.htm "80 în București și mai puțin de 1000 în toată țara" ("80 in Bucharest and Less throughout the Country")] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071007124815/http://www.itcnet.ro/history/archive/mi1999/current6/mi18.htm |date=7 October 2007 }}, in ''[[Magazin Istoric]]'', June 1999; retrieved 5 July 2007
*[[Dennis Deletant]], ''Hitler's Forgotten Ally: Ion Antonescu and His Regime, Romania, 1940–1944'', [[Palgrave Macmillan]], London, 2006. {{ISBN|1-4039-9341-6}}
*Dennis Deletant, [[Mihail Ionescu]], "[https://web.archive.org/web/20070712004004/http://wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/ACF368.pdf Romania and the Warsaw Pact: 1955–1989]", in ''Cold War International History Project'', Working Paper No. 43, [[Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars]], Washington, D.C., April 2004; retrieved 5 July 2007
*Victor Frunză, ''Istoria stalinismului în România'' ("The History of Stalinism in Romania"), [[Humanitas publishing house|Humanitas]], Bucharest, 1990
*[[Constantin Iordachi]], ''[http://www.cimec.ro/Istorie/CRISTI/cuprins.htm The Anatomy of a Historical Conflict: Romanian-Hungarian Diplomatic Conflict in the 1980s]'', [[Central European University]], at the [http://www.cimec.ro/ Romanian Institute for Cultural Memory]; retrieved 5 July 2007
*{{lang|ro|T. A. Pokivailova, "1939–1940. Cominternul și Partidul Comunist din România}}" (1939–1940. The Comintern and the Communist Party of Romania"), in ''Magazin Istoric'', March 1997
*[[Vladimir Tismăneanu]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20050508232526/http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/ACFAF5.pdf ''Gheorghiu-Dej and the Romanian Workers' Party: From De-Sovietization to the Emergence of National Communism''], in ''Cold War International History Project'', Working Paper No. 37, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C., 2002; Retrieved on 5 July 2007
*{{lang|ro|Cristian Troncotă, "Siguranța și spectrul revoluției comuniste"}} ("Siguranța and the Specter of Communist Revolution"), in ''Dosarele Istoriei'', 4(44)/2000
*{{lang|ro|[[Francisco Veiga]], Istoria Gărzii de Fier, 1919–1941: Mistica ultranaționalismului}} ("The History of the Iron Guard, 1919–1941: The Mystique of Ultra-Nationalism"), Humanitas, Bucharest, 1993

{{PCRGenSecs}}
{{Historical Romanian political parties}}
{{Eastern Bloc parties}}
{{Leaders of the Ruling Parties of the Eastern Bloc}}
{{Romanian nationalism}}

{{Authority control}}

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