romania revealed

Acuma: 25 things that make me smile about Romania right now.

1. Andrei and his Harley looking for friends in Constanta. Somebody show him some Harley hospitality, please. Or just direct him to Red Bull Romaniacs...
2. Razvan Vintilescu's razor-sharp blog is just that. He will cut all fools to the quick. And nothing makes me smile like crying fools.
3. The new US ambassador to Romania plans to focus his efforts on corruption and adoption. He won't be distracted by small-scale social problems like poverty, housing shortages, or disease.
4. But someone, apparently, still cares about the plight of Romanian canines. Janak has some dog biscuits for sale and all the profits go to Romanian dogs. Brigitte Bardot seems a little old for the young Janak, but you know, you can't dispute taste.
5. A blogger watching the Enescu Festival in Bucuresti, the fond voyeur.
6. The discussions surrounding Charging the Rhino keep getting hotter. J'aime bien.

   

7. Organic food carves its market niche in Eastern Europe. Finally, the granolas and the yippies can start planning their vacations to Romania.
8. Architecture & Mortality compares the Romanian and German experiences under communism from a somewhat removed perspective.
9. Meanwhile, Abhishek waxes poetic about the Danube Delta with the help of a postcard.
10. More school choice and decentralization in Romania? Or is this just a change in management protocol? Hard to say from here.
11. The Ukraine accuses Romania of breaching environmental obligations. On that note, a new legal publication is due soon on Romania v. Ukraine with respect to maritime delimitation rights in the Black Sea.
12. Hardiek "books a rest" in Bucuresti and reveals his limited capacity to engage a culture he can only superficially apprehend.
13. Six things about teaching English in Romania.
14. Banesa Forest, north of Bucuresti, gets a quick view.
15. UN rights experts warn of "impact" of Romanian migration trends. If I didn't know better, I might think they were talking about a swine flu epidemic. 
16. Romania gets its own Muslim TV station. Why not?
17. The University of Bucuresti. Because it's still there.
18. If you can ignore the terrible pronunciation, this video "A World Without Romania" is actually quite illuminating.
19. US auto giant, Ford, starts work at its new factory in Craiova.
20. Bovine anthrax in Romania? Or maybe just doom and gloom.
21. How to outsource Romania's maps.
22. Romania is the first country in history to win three Pomme d'Or Tourism awards in one year.
23. Looks like Romania might also be at the top of another list-- the list for top ten spammers in the world.
24. A day with Michael Shermer in Romania.
25. Great post about Ceausescu court poet Adrian Paunescu, which also deserves credit for the image you see above. Clever caption from Poor Mouth describes Paunescu, walking next to the Ceausescus, in the act of "dissent". The smile that just won't go away.

The purpose of history as understood by Ceausescu.

Thanks to book stands of Bucharest which lined the streets in the early 1990's, I was able to purchase a number of Romanian history books and textbooks issued under the Ceausescu period. At first glance,the texts are remarkable only for their dramatic, airbrushed pictures of the Great Leader, Ceausescu, posted immediately inside the cover.

I thought I would share a little excerpt from an "official" history published by the Romanian News Agency Publishing House in 1980 entitled, Romania: Pages of History. This book was produced to serve as international propaganda supporting the aims of Romanian national socialism. My copy is printed in English on the flimsy, toilet-paper-like pages so popular in communist countries. However, the book indicates that the book is also available in French, German, Russian, and Spanish.

At that time, Ceausescu's concern about Russian intervention (best execmplified in the sending of troops to Poland and Czechoslovakia to punish unfriendly local leaders) led him to become the mouthpiece for rights of national self-determination. The tension between his assertion of these rights to national self-determination and the presence of large minorities of Germans and Hungarians in Transylvania forced Ceausescu to dance a rhetorical jig. Ultimately, his commitment to national socialism made little sense in light of his purported commitment to international communism. He provides his own convoluted version of this view in the introduction to this book:

In our epoch, when the nations have strongly asserted themselves, it is in this sense that one should understand the question of the nationalities which live on the territory of one state or another as an outcome of a long, historical coexistence. They should enjoy all the gains of the socialist society in our countries, all the freedoms, use the language they choose, as it is guaranteed in Romania. At the same time, we should understand that we have the common duty to make socialism triumph through the joint work of all citizens, regardless of nationality, in each of our countries, to ensure, by close cooperation, their fast and multilateral progress, observing the principles which underlie the ideals of the socialist society.

We must firmly be against the imperialist policy of strength and dictate, for a broad economic, cultural-scientific policy of equality and respect among all peoples. This is the only way in which history can serve the real purposes of science and, at the same time, our socialist aspirations, the policy of developing Romania, our people, securing it a dignified and equal place among the socialist nations, among all world nations.

Ceausescu's verbal ju-jitsu does not shy away from revealing the true purpose of history as understood by the Romanian communists, namely, "to serve the real purposes of science and.. socialist aspirations". As Ceausescu makes clear, history exists to serve the needs of the state. If the state needs to provide a scientific basis for historical materialism, history must assume its proper position as story-teller for this campaign. If the state needs a justification for political repression, history must reveal the true enemies which lie within. History is government's hostage.

According to Romania: Pages of History, Bucharest is the "capital of world historiography". In an essay by Ion Popescu-Puturi, Ceausescu himself is revealed as the father of history, second only to the invisible Hegelian dialectic which compels Marx's march towards communism. Popescu-Puturi writes:

Romania's capital city is the venue of the 15th International Congress on Historical Sciences held over August 10-17 under the high patronage of President Nicolae Ceausescu. The choice of Romania as the place for a scientific event of such scope is a recognition of her prestige enjoyed in the world, of her contribution to the defence of peace, development of broad relations among peoples, among scientists all over the world. The holding of the world congress of history in Bucharest comes also as a recognition of Romania's long traditions and reputed school of historical research which enjoys the president of the country's direct support and guidance. President Ceausescu's profound concept of the origins and historical fate of the Romanian people laid down in true essay form in his speeches has given broad propsects to the Romanian historiography to elucidate the major moments in Romanian history, to approach and solve essential problems of world history.

The writings in this book provide an triumphalist, Romano-centric, and often anti-Slav interpretation of historical events in the founding of the Romanian state. The fact that this history was taught to millions of young students in Ceausescu's Romania certainly accounts for the political power of Romanian nationalism in the current postcommunist environment.

For more information on Ceausescu's historiography, the 15th International Congress, and related threads:

• An article from History Today on the 15th International Congress for which this book was produced.
• An excellent article by Razvan Paraianu titled "The History Textbooks Controversy in Romania".
  
• The report from the 19th International Congress of Historical Sciences) on the theme, "The Uses and Misuses of History and the Responsibilities of Historians, Past and Present".
• Dr. Lajos Kazar takes issue with a few assertions made at the Bucharest Congress about the dates of Romanian statehood. His concerns are duly noted.
• Other activities in which Ion Popescu-Pututi gained fame and reknown, apart from writing historical propaganda, of course.