Popular Lived Culture in Communist Romania (1945–1989) as Retraced in Life Histories: How People Appropriated or Resisted Products, Practices, Trends, and Elements of Lifestyle
Abstract
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Full text
Popula Li ed Cul u e in Communis Romania
(1945–1989) as Re aced in Li e His o ies:
How People App op ia ed o Resis ed P oduc s,
P ac ices, T ends, and Elemen s o Li es yle
Simona Roda 1
ABSTRACT
Due o i s cha ac e o o ali a ian egime and h ough he majo changes imposed in he socie y,
he communis egime in Romania be ween 1945 and 1989 ep esen s adis inc pe iod in he his o y
o he coun y. Ase ies o in lic ed mac osocial p ocesses, such as he s ic ly cen alized economy,
collec i iza ion and na ionaliza ion, as well as some phenomena such as he con ol o ci izens’ li es,
he impossibili y o ee exp ession, censo ship o he p ess and cul u e, he lack o consume goods,
es ic ions on u ili ies, and so on, nega i ely ma ked he a e o many Romanians du ing his pe-
iod. Howe e , many people emembe his pe iod wi h nos algia.
The p esen pape deals wi h he popula cul u e in Romania du ing he communis pe iod
(1945–1989), as seen, conside ed, and emembe ed by people who li ed in ha e a, o a leas in ape-
iod o i . The esea ch was based on he me hod o li e his o ies and ocussed on he iewings o
he subjec s ega ding he p ac ices, i uals, a e ac s, and p oduc s o popula cul u e in he com-
munis ime. Bo h olk cul u e and mass cul u e a e discussed and analysed, as well as he elemen s
o li es yle, as desc ibed by he subjec s. Mo eo e , he in luences on he popula cul u e in ha pe-
iod a e ou lined, such as hose o some la ge-scale phenomena like indus ialisa ion and u bani-
sa ion, Wes e n ends, So ie p opaganda, o he di e en imposi ions o he Romanian au ho i-
ies, acco ding o he a ious s ages he communis egime has been going h ough in his pe iod.
The ga he ed da a show ha , while many memo ies o people a e so ow ul and bi e , o he ecalls
and conside a ions ega ding he cul u al p ac ices o ha ime, and especially he human ela ions
buil by he means o hese p ac ices, a e ull o nos algia. These aspec s conce ning popula cul-
u e in apa icula his o ical pe iod and nos algia ela ed o i a e discussed in de ail in he pape .
KEYWORDS
Popula cul u e; li ed cul u e; mass cul u e; li e his o ies; communis nos algia; communis Romania.
INTRODUCTION
In he his o y o Romania, he communis pe iod (1945–1989) was adis inc one. The
poli ical egime was cha ac e ized by he sole go e ning o he communis pa y,
and in lic ed impo an changes in socie y, a he economic and social le el. The
1 Simona Roda , Ad en us Uni e si y, Facul y o Theology and Social Sciences, Șos. Decebal
n .11–13, 077035 Ce nica, Il o , Romania, simona. oda @uad en us. o
60 PRAGUE PAPERS ON THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1/2020
socie y aced imposed mac o-social p ocesses such as collec i iza ion and na ion-
aliza ion, o la gely o ced, such as indus ializa ion and u baniza ion. The adi-
cal ans o ma ions in socie y also in ol ed cul u al changes, ma ked by p ohibi-
ions, changes and imposi ions. Se e e cul u al con ol and es ic ions, including
on he media, oge he wi h he cul u al imposi ion o socialis ideology we e he
mains ays o communis p opaganda2. A he same ime, howe e , ace ain cul u al
con inui y o he in e wa pe iod was main ained, as no o ali a ian egime could
o ally des oy ace ain cul u al e olu ion in i s un olding cou se. Unde hese con-
di ions, he popula cul u e in communis Romania had i s own speci ici y, being
in luenced, on he one hand, by he men ioned es ic ions and con ol, and on he
o he hand by he cul u al con inui y main ained especially in ce ain p ac ices and
ac i i ies o people, as well as by he cul u al ans o ma ions inhe en o he e o-
lu ion o he socie y.
This pape add esses he popula li ed cul u e in Romania du ing he commu-
nis e a as emembe ed and desc ibed by he people li ing a ha ime. The esea ch
was based on he me hod o social biog aphies, in he o m o li e his o ies, aiming
o ob ain asubjec i e pe spec i e o ano iceable his o ical pe iod as a as popu-
la li ed cul u e is conce ned. The iewings o he esea ch subjec s ega ding he
p ac ices, i uals, a e ac s, and p oduc s o popula cul u e in he communis ime
we e analysed and hei subjec i e iewpoin s on he in e ac ions be ween indi id-
ual-g oup-socie y, ende ed as empo al p ocesses a-la-long, un olded du ing some
decades, we e conside ed.
CONCEPTUAL AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Bo h ‘cul u e’ and ‘popula ’ a e e ms ha a e able o de e mine con o e sial de-
ba es in sociological and cul u al analyses. As ega ds he e m ‘cul u e’, om aso-
ciological poin o iew, ollowing M.Webe , his is, undamen ally, asociological
cons uc , gi en ha cul u e is ounded on ‘ alue’, being de ined as he ini e seg-
men o eali y on which people can con e signi icance and meaning3. Acco ding o
R.Williams (1981), cul u e has, con empo a y, ou app op ia ions: ade eloped s a e
o mind and knowledge, he p ocess o de eloping i , he means o his p ocess, and
he way(s) o li e cons uc ed h ough his p ocess4. The e o e, cul u e can be un-
de s ood bo h in ana ow and awide sense. The i s comp ises a is ic ac i i ies
ha allow in e p e ing, ep esen ing, and dissemina ing new alues5, making use o
2 C.VASILE, P opaganda and Cul u e in Romania a he Beginning o he Communis Regime,
in: V.TISMANEANU (ed.), S alinism Re isi ed: The Es ablishmen o Communis Regimes in
Eas -Cen al Eu ope, Cen al Eu opean Uni e si y P ess, Budapes , New Yo k, 2009,
pp.367–385.
3 M.WEBER, The P o es an E hic and he Spi i o Capi alism ( ansla ed by T.Pa sons), Do e
Publica ions, New Yo k 1958.
4 R.WILLIAMS, Cul u e, Fon ana Pape backs, Glasgow 1981.
5 X.GREFFE, In oduc ion: L’économie de la cul u e es -elle pa iculiè e?, in: Re ue d’économie
poli ique, Vol.120, No.1, 2010, pp.1–34.
SImONA ROdAT 61
in ellec ual wo k o he c ea ion o new meaning h ough a is ic ac ions6. In his
na ow de ini ion, cul u e is mainly associa ed wi h p oduc i e ac i i ies, mos ly (al-
hough no exclusi ely) ca ied ou by specialized p o essionals7. E en unde s ood in
his igh way, cul u e s ill includes awide spec um o o ms and media8. The sec-
ond meaning, ab oade one, inco po a ing also he ‘way o li e’, implies ha cul u e
includes all he alues, no ms and benchma ks, e e ences and beha iou s, which
de ine he s a e o social ela ionships, “sha ed goals, coope a i e beha iou and ec-
ip oci y among indi iduals and communi ies wi hin agi en socie y”9. This ision is
ollowed in he Uni e sal Decla a ion on Cul u al Di e si y oo, as, acco ding o i , in
cul u e should be ega ded, in addi ion o a and li e a u e, also li es yles, ways o
li ing oge he , alue sys ems, adi ions and belie s10.
Thus, in ab oade sense, cul u e includes bo h asys em o knowledge and ali e-
s yle, o med and sha ed by acommuni y, p omp ing asense o iden i y ansmi -
ed om gene a ion o gene a ion h ough symbolic communica ion and imi a ion
p ocesses ein o ced by local ins i u ions11. This la ge meaning o he e m ‘cul u e’
is also aken in o conside a ion in cul u al s udies, p o ided ha speci ic o hem
is he endency o inc easingly conside mo e a eas o human ac i i y as ‘cul u e’.
This end is pa o awide cu en ha ends owa ds adical e lexi i y in p ac-
ically all a eas o human ac i i y, his being acha ac e is ic o he mode n e a12. In
cul u al s udies, he wo d ‘cul u e’ e e s o he sociologically and an h opologically
mo i a ed p eoccupa ions o he p ac ices and p oduc s c ea ed by human beings.
They a e conside ed as exp essing and including, a he same ime, ace ain deg ee
o subjec i i y. The sense o cul u e is seen as asocial cons uc , and cul u al s udies
end o analyse how i is s uc u ed, a icula ed, and pu in o ci cula ion in a ious
en i onmen s13.
The e m ‘popula ’, on he o he hand, has also di e se meanings and he con o-
e sies a ise when i comes o decide which meaning o use a ace ain momen 14.
6 M.AZEVEDO, The e alua ion o he social impac s o cul u e: cul u e, a s and de elop-
men , Economics and Finance. Uni e si é Pan héon-So bonne— Pa is I, English, NNT:
2016PA01E041, 2016.
7 OECD, Cul u e and Local De elopmen . Backg ound documen , h p://www.oecd.o g/c e/leed/
enice-2018-con e ence-cul u e/documen s/Cul u e-and-Local-De elopmen -Venice.
pd , 2018, p.12.
8 Ibidem.
9 OECD, Cul u e and Local De elopmen , h ps:// ead.oecd-ilib a y.o g/u ban- u al-and- egion-
al-de elopmen /cul u e-and-local-de elopmen _9789264009912-en#page1, 2005, p.27.
10 UNESCO, UNESCO Cul u e o De elopmen Indica o Sui e, h p://www.unesco.o g/new/ ile-
admin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CLT/pd /Con 2005_CDindica o s_Analy ical_en.pd , 2011, p.4.
11 AZEVEDO, p.3.
12 H.LAWSON, Re lexi i y: The Pos -mode n P edicamen , Hu chinson, London 1985; A.GID-
DENS, Mode ni y and Sel Iden i y, Poli y P ess, Ox o d 1991.
13 P.DAHLGREN, In oduc ion, in: P.Dahlg en and C.Spa ks (eds.), Jou nalism and Popula Cul-
u e, Sage Publica ions, London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi, 2000, pp.1–23, p.6.
14 C.SPARKS, Popula Jou nalism: Theo ies and P ac ice, in: P.DAHLGREN— C.SPARKS (eds.),
Jou nalism and Popula Cul u e, Sage Publica ions, London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi,
2000, pp.24–44, p.24.
62 PRAGUE PAPERS ON THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1/2020
Fi s ly, he no ion o ‘popula ’, in he sense o ‘o he people’, has apoli ical meaning,
gi en especially in he le poli ical adi ion, acco ding o which ‘ he people’ was
designa ed as opposed o big capi al and big business, ha we e seen as he enemies
o he ‘common man’. This meaning was in ensely exploi ed by communis ideologies
and pa ies a e 193315. Wi h ew excep ions, he ‘Popula F on ’, as he cen al ele-
men o he hinking and p ac ice o communis pa ies a ound he wo ld, has p o-
ided he undamen al in ellec ual amewo k o hese pa ies and hei successo s
o his day. Thus, he name o he S alinis s a es es ablished in Eas e n Eu ope a e
1947 was ha o ‘popula democ acies’ o ‘People’s Democ acies’, while he cu en
name o communis China and No h Ko ea is s ill “People’s Republic o China” and
“Democ a ic People’s Republic o Ko ea” espec i ely. Secondly, he wo d ‘popula ’
has an ideological meaning, asense used mainly o dis inguish he ‘mass o people’
(no ‘people’ in gene al) om he class o people wi h anoble i le, and also om he
weal hy o he educa ed people. Howe e , in his pape Iconside he meaning o
he ‘popula ’ in oduced by he B i ish cul u al s udies, ha eme ged in he ’60s and
ollowed aneo-Ma xis adi ion ha c i icizes and con as s eli e no ions o cul-
u e, including ‘high cul u e’, wi h popula , e e yday o ms p ac iced by mino i ies.
The supe io i y o all o ms o eli e cul u e including high cul u e is challenged and
compa ed wi h use ul, aluable o ms o popula cul u e, and he meneu ic a en ion
is shi ed om he s udy o eli e cul u al a e ac s o he s udy o ‘li ed cul u e’ o
mino i y g oups16.
S a ing om hese dema ca ions, in his pape Iunde s and he concep o ‘pop-
ula cul u e’ no in he sense o “wha emains” ou side o “eli e cul u e” (wha was
conside ed ‘high cul u e’), bu in he sense o wha is p oduced o c ea ed by and o
people, including p oduc s, a e ac s and p ac ices, indigenous o ms o cul u e as le-
gi ima e exp essions o people. F om his poin o iew, popula cul u e includes also
‘ olk cul u e’. The con inui y be ween popula cul u e and olk cul u e is emphasized
in B i ish cul u al s udies. Al hough an impo an pa o wha was called ‘ olk cul-
u e’ disappea ed along wi h he disin eg a ion o o ganic communi ies (whose way
o li e had ac ually gene a ed he olk cul u e), some o ms o i su i ed in a ans-
o med way. E en hough indus ializa ion and u baniza ion ha e led o he p ocess
o p o essionaliza ion and chasing away o he a is om he li e and expe iences o
he public, uly ‘popula ’ a is s build he a is ic ac o people’s li es, expe iences
and a i udes, and exp ess some hing o alue o hem17.
This heo e ical pe spec i e is speci ic o he cul u alis app oach, mo e p ecisely
o he heo e ical iew in oduced by he so-called ‘b eak’ om he end o ‘50s in cul-
u al s udies. Tha b eak was ma ked by he eme gence o he s udies o w i e s such
as R.Hogga (1957), R.Williams (1958), S.Hall and P.Whannell (1964), E.P.Thompson
(1968)18 who challenged he libe al o idealis adi ion, in which alues and ideas
15 Ibidem, p.27.
16 S.J.BARAN— D.K.DAVIS, Mass Communica ion Theo y: Founda ions, Fe men , and Fu u e,
Wadswo h, Belmon 2000, p.224.
17 S.HALL— P.WHANNEL, The Popula A s, Hu chinson Educa ional, London 1964, p.52.
18 R.HOGGART, The Uses o Li e acy: Aspec s o Wo king-Class Li e, Penguin, Ha mondswo h
1957; R.WILLIAMS, Cul u e and Socie y, Penguin, Ha mondswo h 1958; S.HALL—
SImONA ROdAT 63
we e conside ed essen ially au onomous and ee- loa ing, sepa a e om he eco-
nomic and poli ical li e o socie y, as well as he ea lie , educ ionis Ma xis heo ies
ha saw cul u e as ul ima ely de e mined by he economic base o socie y. The new
heo is s ega ded cul u e as ha ing acomplex in e ela ionship wi h o he aspec s
o poli ical, social, and economic li e19, and as being ac i ely p oduced. F om his
poin o iew, cul u e is no simply apassi e ecei e , in luenced by economic s uc-
u es, bu i can be, in i s u n, in luen ial.
Ano he poin o in e es in he deba e abou popula cul u e oday is whe he o
no ‘mass cul u e’ is pa o popula cul u e. As nowadays mass media is omnip esen ,
one canno make ha adical disjunc ion be ween popula cul u e and mass cul u e,
whe e he o me one used o be conside ed ‘low cul u e’ o e en ‘ ash cul u e’20. In
his ega d, ‘low cul u e’, which would be la gely equi alen o ‘mass cul u e’, is seen
in opposi ion o wha is called ‘high cul u e’, o ‘quali y cul u e’, achie ed especially by
and/o o eli es (including ‘eli e a is s’). Longing o comme cial success has led, o
cou se, o he s anda diza ion and he all o he cul u al p oduc , designed o sui as
good as possible he ‘masses’— ‘ o he masses’ and ‘abou he masses’21. Bu a p esen ,
is anyone able o make aclea dis inc ion be ween ‘declassed cul u e’ and ha ype o
cul u e ha exp esses some hing aluable in he eyes o human beings? Tha is why
in his pape I ake in o conside a ion mass cul u e, a leas some o ms o i , as being
pa o popula cul u e, nex o olk cul u e. As J.Fiske (1989) poin ed ou 22, he e m
o ‘popula cul u e’ e e s o ap ocess— he in e p e a i e app op ia ion o capi alis
mass cul u e p oduc s by he people. The e m ‘people’ designa es, in his opinion, in
a e ised e sion o he Ma xis class analysis, “mos people”, ha a e no pa o wha
he calls ‘powe -bloc’. Popula sensibili y, he emphasizes, has he powe o ans o m
he a e ac s o mass-ma ke ed cul u e in o spaces o esis ance o he powe bloc and
o he dominan cul u al, poli ical, and social o de . The momen o esis ance and he
popula i y o popula cul u e does no eside in he na u e o he ex s o cul u al li e,
bu p ecisely in he momen o consump ion. Th ough he p oduc i i y o he ways o
in e p e a ion, people gene a e he opposi ional con en o he popula and unde mine
he logic o ‘consume goods’ o comme cial cul u e, selec ing om he mul i ude o
p oduc s o cul u al indus ies and om he mul i ude o possible ways o in e p e ing
hese p oduc s, exac ly hose who add ess di ec ly o he sense o he popula and who
can be used o gi e apopula meaning o he social expe ience23. J.S o ey analysed also
in de ail he p ess, magazines, and ele ision in his o e iews o popula cul u e24.
P.WHANNEL, Op. ci .; E.P.THOMPSON, The Making o he English Wo king Classes, Pen-
guin, Ha mondswo h 1968.
19 B.CASEY— N.CASEY— B.CALVERT— L.FRENCH— J.LEWIS, Tele ision S udies: The
Key Concep s, Rou ledge, London, New Yo k 2002, p.57.
20 Ibidem, p.13.
21 SPARKS, p.29.
22 J.FISKE, Unde s anding Popula Cul u e, Rou ledge, New Yo k 1989.
23 Ibidem, p.24.
24 J.STOREY, Cul u al S udies and he S udy o Popula Cul u e: Theo ies and Me hods, Uni e si y
o Geo gia P ess, A hens, GA 1996; J.STOREY, In en ing Popula Cul u e, Blackwell, Malden,
MA 2003.
64 PRAGUE PAPERS ON THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1/2020
O he ele an ques ions ega ding popula cul u e a e o wha ex en popula
cul u e is imposed on people in gene al (by media co po a ions o s a e agencies)
o de i es om people’s own expe iences, as es, habi s, and o wha ex en popula
cul u e is jus an exp ession o apowe less and subo dina e class posi ion o an au-
onomous and po en ially libe a ing sou ce o al e na i e ways o seeing and doing
ha may be opposed o he dominan o o icial cul u e25. Wha ma e s as apopula
cul u e depends, hus, o some ex en on whe he one is in e es ed in wha mean-
ings a e p oduced by and o he ‘people’ and whe he hese meanings a e aken as
e idence o “wha he public wan s” o “wha he public ge s”26. I should be empha-
sized, howe e , as aconclusion27, ha he ocus in he s udy o popula cul u e has
ex ended om he o iginal spo ligh on ob ious cul u al a e ac s such as ex s, o he
inclusion o p ac ices, li es yle and in gene al o wha is called ‘li ed cul u e’ unde
he umb ella o he e m ‘popula cul u e’.
ROMANIA IN COMMUNIST ERA: ABRIEF OVERVIEW
THE PHASES OF COmmUNISm IN ROmANIA
The communis egime in Romania compassed ase ies o dis inc s ages, which di -
e ed one om ano he in adical ways. Al hough Romania was s ill amona chy be-
ween 1945 and 1947, he communis o ces ook o e he powe in his in e al, espe-
cially a e Ma ch 6, 1945, when D . Pe u G oza, he leade o he Ploughmen’s F on
(an ally o he communis s) became p ime minis e . Al hough, in o de o gain he
ecogni ion o he Wes e n Allies, he go e nmen o mula was b oadened by admi -
ing some minis e s om among he membe s o he ‘his o ical pa ies’, he commu-
nis s had con ol o e he key minis ies. A e he elec ions on No embe 9, 1946, he
o icial esul s c edi ed he Communis s wi h 80 % o he o es, while he opposi ion
pa ies claimed se ious elec o al aud. A e he elec ion ic o y, he communis s
ocused on he elimina ion o he cen e pa ies om poli ical li e, as well as on he
imp isonmen , exile, ial, and execu ion o non-communis poli icians. The e o e,
du ing his pe iod he communis egime seized powe h ough aud and iolence,
and wi h he massi e help o he So ie s in Moscow28. This in e al culmina ed wi h
he o cing o he las king o Romania, Michael I, o abdica e, on Decembe 30, 1947
and he p oclama ion, he e y same day, o he Romanian People’s Republic. This un-
cons i u ional poli ical ac was no he exp ession o apopula , eely exp essed will,
bu he esul o adic a ion o apoli ical g oup, namely ha o he communis s, who
25 T.O’SULLIVAN— J.HARTLEY— D.SAUNDERS— M.MONTGOMERY— J.FISKE, Key
Concep s in Communica ion and Cul u al S udies, Rou ledge, London, New Yo k 1997, p.232.
26 Ibidem.
27 Ibidem, p.233.
28 V.TISMANEANU, Diabolical Pedagogy and he (Il)logic o S alinism in Eas e n Eu ope, in:
V.TISMANEANU (ed.), S alinism Re isi ed: The Es ablishmen o Communis Regimes in
Eas -Cen al Eu ope, Cen al Eu opean Uni e si y P ess, Budapes , New Yo k, 2009,
pp.25–50.
SImONA ROdAT 65
sough o b ing he coun y o as a e o obedience o he So ie Union and i s ans-
o ma ion in o a o ali a ian s a e.
S a ing wi h he beginning o 1948, ape iod cha ac e ized by one o he mos
u hless and d ama ic egimes in he Romanian his o y ollowed. A he poli ical
le el, he communis s ensu ed he exclusi e seizu e o cen al and local powe , ase-
ies o successi e wa es o a es s o any kind o opponen s ollowed, and he in il-
a ion o secu i y se ice in o man s a all le els and in all social s a a began. The
implemen a ion o he S alinis model was s a ed, in economy— by he p ocesses o
na ionaliza ion and collec i iza ion29, poli ics— by se ing up he powe monopoly
o he unique pa y (called be ween 1948 and 1965 he Romanian Wo ke s’ Pa y),
and app oaching ‘ he dic a o ship o he p ole a ia ’, and cul u e— by cons uc ing
a‘Romanian homo so ie icus’, he ‘new human ype’ p oduced by he communis
sys em30.
The pe iod 1959–1974 was named also he ‘enligh ened absolu ism’ and can be cha -
ac e ized as a‘ elaxa ion’ s age o he Romanian socialism. This pe iod s a ed om
he las yea s o Gheo ghe Gheo ghiu Dej leade ship and con inued in he i s yea s
o Nicolae Ceaușescu in his capaci y as gene al sec e a y o he only pa y. Ceaușes-
cu’s ise o powe ook place in 1965. A e his p edecesso , Gheo ghiu-Dej, died on
Ma ch 19, 1965, on Ma ch 22, 1965, Nicolae Ceaușescu, a ha ime leade in cha ge
o key sec o s o powe — he a my, secu i y, jus ice, and he ‘mili ia’— was elec ed
pa y’s i s sec e a y. In 1965, bo h he o icial name o he coun y was changed,
om he Romanian People’s Republic o he Socialis Republic o Romania, and he
name o he single pa y, om he Romanian Wo ke s’ Pa y o he Romanian Com-
munis Pa y. In he i s yea s a e coming o powe , Ceaușescu con inued he policy
o lea ing he u elage o Moscow s a ed by Gheo ghiu-Dej be o e his dea h. Ex-
e nally, Ceaușescu ini ia ed an openness o he Wes , in ensi ying ade, poli ical,
cul u al, and scien i ic exchanges be ween communis Romania and Wes e n s a es.
One o he mos amous poli ical momen s o hose yea s was he condemna ion by
Nicolae Ceaușescu o he mili a y in e en ion, which began on he nigh o Augus
20–21, 1968, o he Wa saw Pac oops in Czechoslo akia, an in e en ion ha ended
he P ague Sp ing. On Augus 21, Ceaușescu deli e ed aspeech om he balcony o
he Romanian Communis Pa y’s Cen al Commi ee building, in on o ala ge
ga he ing o people, desc ibing he in asion o communis a mies as “ag ea mis-
ake, ag a e dange o peace in Eu ope”31. The speech wi h s ong an i-So ie accen s
gene a ed ag ea popula i y o Ceaușescu in e nally and ex e nally32. The pe iod
be ween 1965 and 1974 was ma ked, in domes ic poli ics, by measu es o poli ical,
economic, and cul u al elaxa ion, by mo ing away om So ie Union and eo ien -
29 C.ROMAN, Colec i iza e [Collec i iza ion], in: S.COURTOIS (ed.), Dicționa ul comunismului
[The dic iona y o communism], Poli om, Iași 2008, pp.691–692.
30 R.C.IRIMIE, Homo so ie icus: he Eu opean jou ney o he New Man, in: Polis— Re is ă de
ș iințe poli ice, Vol.1, No.3, 2014, h p:// e is apolis. o/homo-so ie icus-cala o ia-eu o-
peana-a-omului-nou-homo-so ie icus- he-eu opean-jou ney-o - he-new-man/.
31 V.SEBESTYEN, Re olu ion 1989: The Fall o he So ie Empi e, Pan heon Books, New Yo k
2009.
32 Ibidem.
66 PRAGUE PAPERS ON THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1/2020
ing owa ds na ional alues. Ase ies o ea ies and ag eemen s made by Ceaușescu
wi h Wes e n coun ies and o ganiza ions b ough some p ospe i y in e nally o he
popula ion, which bene i ed a he same ime om a ela i e openness and a‘ haw’
in he cul u al, a is ic, and scien i ic ields.
Howe e , in June 1971, Nicolae Ceaușescu and o he pa y and s a e o icials paid
a‘wo king isi ’ o ou Asian coun ies: he People’s Republic o China (June 1–9),
he Democ a ic People’s Republic o Ko ea (June 9–15), he Democ a ic Republic o
Vie nam (June 15–19) and he Mongolian People’s Republic (June 21–24). I seems
ha Ceaușescu was deeply imp essed by he ecep ion he ecei ed, ma ked by pub-
lic demons a ions and g andiose spec acles, as well as by he way he Chinese and
No h Ko ean leade s uled hei coun ies. On his e u n o Romania, on July 6, 1971,
Ceaușescu ga e aspeech in on o he Execu i e Poli ical Commi ee o he Roma-
nian Communis Pa y, which ma ked he beginning o anew pe iod o poli ical
‘ os ’ and he e u n o ‘socialis ealism’33. This discou se is also known in Roma-
nian his o iog aphy as he “Theses o July”. These ‘ heses’ ma ked a u ning poin in
Ceaușescu’s poli ics.
In 1974, Ceaușescu c ea ed he posi ion o p esiden o he coun y and was p o-
claimed, on Ap il 29, 1974, he i s p esiden o he Socialis Republic o Romania. The
pe iod 1974–1989 mean he e u n o a ough dic a o ial egime, bu adi e en and
o ally new one: ap esiden ial egime, cen e ed on Ceaușescu’s pe sonali y cul . The
o ali a ian egime o Ceaușescu in oduced in Romania anew o m o socialism: he
dynas ic socialism34, cha ac e ized by: pushing he pe sonali y cul un il pa oxysm;
imposing he dic a o ’s amily membe s in on o he coun y; ein o cing he S a-
linis me hods o people con ol, as he in amous ‘Secu i a e’— ‘Secu i y’ de eloped
new me hods o e o izing people35; ew i ing his o y unde he di ec con ol o
he pa y leade ship, om ana ional-communis pe spec i e36; economic disas e —
s ic cen aliza ion, planned economy, damaging indus ializa ion37; equen ly in-
e up ed domes ic elec ici y in he name o being ‘economic’; no cen al hea ing in
apa men s38; he impossibili y o a elling ou side he coun y; lacks in mos o he
consume goods and commodi ies; and e en by he s a a ion o he popula ion in he
las yea s o he dic a o ship.
Ceaușescu’s dic a o ial egime, as well as he communis egime in Romania,
ended as a esul o he Romanian Re olu ion o Decembe 1989, which consis ed o
ase ies o p o es s, s ee igh s and demons a ions s a ed in Timișoa a and con-
33 V.TISMĂNEANU, S alinism pen u e e ni a e [S alinism o e e ni y], Poli om, Iași 2005.
34 V.GEORGESCU, Is o ia omânilo . De la o igini până în zilele noas e [The his o y o he Roma-
nians. F om o igins o he p esen day], Humani as, Bucha es 1995, p.287.
35 A.MURARU, Secu i a ea [Secu i y], in: S.COURTOIS (ed.), Dicționa ul comunismului [The dic-
iona y o communism], Poli om, Iași 2008, pp.702–704.
36 M.BERINDEI— D.DOBRINCU— A.GOŞU (eds.), Is o ia comunismului din România. Volu-
mul III: Documen e— Nicolae Ceaușescu (1972–1975) [The his o y o communism in Romania.
Volume III: Documen s— Nicolae Ceaușescu (1972–1975)], Poli om, Iași 2017.
37 D.DRĂGHIA, Ceaușescu, Nicolae, in: S.COURTOIS (ed.), Dicționa ul comunismului [The dic-
iona y o communism], Poli om, Iași 2008, pp.689–690.
38 I.PÂRVULESCU (ed.), Și eu am ăi în comunism [I oo li ed in communism], Humani as, Bu-
cha es 2015.
SImONA ROdAT 67
inued in Bucha es and many o he locali ies in he coun y, be ween Decembe 16
and 25, 198939. The Romanian Re olu ion o 1989, which led o he all o he dic a o
Nicolae Ceaușescu and he end o he communism in Romania, culmina ed in he
ial and execu ion o Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wi e, Elena, on Decembe 25, 1989.
mASS mEdIA ANd POPULAR CULTURE IN COmmUNIST ROmANIA
The au ho i ies o he Romanian communis egime, in all he phases i wen h ough,
bu especially in he S alinis phase and in he phase o Ceaușescu’s pe sonal dic a-
o ship, ook all possible measu es o con ol he communica ion, bo h mass commu-
nica ion and in e pe sonal one. The p ess was unsc upulously con olled, censu ed,
and limi ed, as media was conside ed he main ins umen o p opaganda o he
communis pa y40.
The media landscape in communis Romania consis ed o he public na ional adio
s a ion, he public na ional ele ision s a ion, and awide ange o w i en publi-
ca ions— se e al na ional and local newspape s, gene alis and specialized maga-
zines in a ious ields, e c. The Romanian na ional public adio s a ion, which s a ed
b oadcas ing on he 1s o No embe 1928, con inued i s ac i i y in 1945 unde ase ies
o new ules, whose main cha ac e is ic was poli iciza ion. The Romanian B oadcas -
ing Socie y was b ough unde s a e con ol on he 11 h o June 1948 and s a ing om
1950 he numbe o b oadcas ings diminished. The local s udios o he Public Na ional
Radio we e closed because o o de s gi en by Ceaușescu, in 1985.
The Romanian Na ional Tele ision, he i s Romanian ins i u ion o his gen e,
was inaugu a ed on he 31s o Decembe 1956. Be ween 1956 and 1972 he e was only
one channel o he Romanian Tele ision, while he second channel was se up in
1972. The ele ision had plen y o success in Romania, as people we e e y in e -
es ed o subsc ibe. In 1965 he unique TV channel could be ecei ed on 40% o he
coun y’s e i o y, and he numbe o subsc ibe s eached 500.000, while in 1970
he ecep ion eached 83% o he coun y’s e i o y, and he numbe o subsc ibe s
g ew o 1.5 million41. The b oadcas ing eached mo e han 100 hou s pe week up o
1982, bu a e ha da e hey s a ed o d as ically diminish. Thus, ha yea , unde
he p e ex o ‘sa ing ene gy’, he b oadcas was suspended be ween 6PM and 8PM,
Monday o F iday. The peak was he cancela ion, in Janua y 1985, o he second TV
channel, which was named ‘P og am 2’ a ha ime, and he es ic ion imposed on
he i s TV channel (named ‘P og am 1’), which s a ed b oadcas ing only o wo
hou s e e y day (Monday o F iday, be ween 8PM and 10PM). All hese we e conse-
39 R.CRISTEA, Re oluția 1989 [The 1989 Re olu ion], Edi u a România pu și simplu, Bu-
cha es 2006; M.STAN, Momen ul 1989— România [The Momen 1989— Romania], in:
S.COURTOIS (ed.), Dicționa ul comunismului [The dic iona y o communism], Poli om, Iași
2008, pp.710–711; G.CARTIANU, S â și ul Ceaușeș ilo : Să mo i împușca ca un animal săl-
ba ic [The end o he Ceaușescus: To die sho like awild animal], Ade ă ul Holding, Bucha es
2010.
40 VASILE, Op. ci .
41 TVR. o, Is o ic— Alb-neg u şi colo [His o y— Black and whi e, and colo ], h p://www. .
o/is o ic-alb-neg u-si-colo _2223.h ml# iew, 2012.
74 PRAGUE PAPERS ON THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1/2020
o he popula ion, which cons i u ed hen he uppe class, ‘ he eli e’. In he ‘50s and
‘60s he F ench in luence mani es ed i sel , along wi h indus ializa ion and u bani-
za ion, on ala ge , mass scale, i s on he u ban popula ion and hen, h ough i , on
he u al popula ion.
RS10 ( emale, b.1935, R): “When I i s saw a ashion magazine in my li e, I hough he e
could be no g ea e mi acle. Iknow i was F ench, bu un o una ely, Idon’ emembe
he name. Nei he do Iknow when ha happened exac ly, I hink i was a he end o he
1950s”.
RS26 ( emale, b.1940, U): “Plea ed ski s we e ashionable, inspi ed by he F ench mod-
els. Ialso liked igh d esses, ailo ed a e he F ench pa e n— wha ine cu s and lines,
such elegance…!”.
RS25 ( emale, b. 1939, R): “Iused o ha e my hai cu in as yle called «F ench cu »”.
Two F ench s a s who we e asou ce o inspi a ion o he Romanians appea ed se -
e al imes in he biog aphies, namely he singe Mi eille Ma hieu and he ac o Alain
Delon.
RS44 ( emale, b.1949, U): “Ihad my hai cu sho , mo e boyish as achild, and in high
school Ihad shoulde -leng h hai and ound hai cu in he s yle o Mi eille Ma hieu, he
F ench singe ”.
RS60 (male, b.1962, U): “Ihad long hai , combed back and wi h mane, my a ou i e s a ,
Alain Delon, inspi ed me a he ime”.
Alain Delon inspi ed, in ac , he s yle o he popula ion no only in e ms o hai cu ,
bu also ega ding clo hing. His name was e en gi en o a e y popula piece o clo h-
ing in Romania du ing he communis pe iod, inspi ed by acoa wo n by he ac o
in mo ies: Alain Delon became he equi alen o he ‘sheepskin jacke ’, awin e coa
made o sheepskin.
Adop ing Wes e n d ess and hai cu s ends was ap ac ice ha began du ing he
‘ elaxa ion pe iod’ in he end o ’50s and beginning o he ’60s. The la e ‘60s and ea ly’
70s we e ma ked by he emb acemen o hippie and ock s yle by young people, bo h
in hai cu s (long hai , esses, locks, bo h o gi ls and boys) and in clo hing ( igh and
la ed ouse s, wide shi s, e c.). In he 70’s, some Wes e n pop bands, such as Abba
and Boney M. became also e y popula in Romania, and hei membe s we e aken
as models by many young people.
RS32 (male, b.1946, U): “A ound he yea s 1974–1977 Ihad long hai and e en abea d”.
RS47 (male, b.1950, R): “When Iwas young clo hes we e wei d in compa ison wi h o-
day’s ashion. One used o wea igh , la ed ouse s, loose-bodied shi s, and shoes wi h
double soles. Back hen i was ashionable o men o ha e long hai ”.
SImONA ROdAT 75
RS38 ( emale, b.1948, U): “Iwas once inspi ed by he hai s yle o he Ame ican music s a
Connie F ancis, who had been in 1970 o he Golden S ag Fes i al (in Romanian «Ce bul
de Au », he mos popula Romanian song con es and awa ds, held annually in he own
o B aşo , Romania— a.n.)”.
RS52 ( emale, b.1953, U): “My sou ces o inspi a ion o clo hing and hai cu s we e he
«Cinema» magazine and he mo ies… In he ‘70s-‘80s Iwas in luenced by he s yle o
he ocalis s om Abba, Ilo ed lis ening o hei music. So, when Iwas as uden in he
i s yea a he Uni e si y Ihad long blond hai , wi h a inge, jus like Agne a. Iwas
wea ing black and na y-blue el e sui s, poin ed clogs and shoes wi h e y hick soles
(…) The hai cu s wen h ough a ious s ages, om up o he shoulde leng h and cu ls
while Boney M. we e on he wa e, o some so o F ench s yle cu la e on”.
By he end o he ’70s, along wi h Wes e n disco music, he disco s yle s a ed o
eme ge also in Romania, in luencing bo h he clo hes and he hai cu s, mos ly hose
o women: e y sho (‘mini’) d esses and ski s, s ile os o sandals wi h e y hick
soles and igh jeans in he ’70s— ea ly ’80s, espec i ely jeans o o he ypes o pan s
wi h high wais line, colou ul o me allic shine leggings, blouses and d esses ado ned
wi h gli e y o namen s, XXXL size T-shi s wi h messages w i en on hem and deep
plunging necklines, ‘ba wing’ slee e ops and so o h— in he ’80s.
RS53 (male, b.1953, R): “The clo hing was in acco dance wi h he ashion o hose yea s,
ha is, la ed ouse s, made o « e ylene» ma e ial, jeans and s iped pan s”.
RS58 ( emale, b.1962, U): “Du ing high school, Is a ed o be mo e in e es ed in clo hes.
Iwan ed, as o he gi ls oo, special, elegan ou i s. Iused «The Woman» magazine (in
Romanian: «Femeia», apopula magazine o women a he ime— a.n.), o see wha is
new on he ma ke , Iwas wa ching mo ies o see he way people om ab oad d ess, and
his is how we gi ls ied o keep up wi h ashion. Du ing hose imes (1978–1979) la ed
ouse s, sho d esses and high-heeled shoes we e e y ashionable”.
As a as he hai cu o hai s yle is conce ned, he disco s yle had ahuge in luence, as
ag ea numbe o women adop ed he cu ly hai dos, eased, and sp ayed wi h plen y
o ixa i e. Some women wen o he hai d esse o ge his kind o hai do, while o h-
e s did i a home, gi ing hemsel es aho o acold ‘pe m’. The disco s yle, which in-
ol ed long, cu ly hai wi h as much olume as possible, was aken o e and adap ed
o e ime in a ious o ms. Wi h adul women, he mos common was he s yle o
sho , cu ly hai , mos o en ‘pe manen ’ (ei he wi h la ge cu ls o small cu ls, in he
A o s yle). ‘Cu ls’ could also be ob ained by using cu le s. Acco ding o he social bi-
og aphies analysed, he disco s yle o hai cu has been aken o e bo h in u ban and
u al a eas and has become e y popula among women o all ages.
RS27 ( emale, b.1940, R): “I hink he op o elegance was o ha e you hai done «pe m».
I was eally c azy, you had o make an appoin men a he hai d esse and e en so, you
s ayed 2–3 ex a hou s”.
76 PRAGUE PAPERS ON THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1/2020
RS40 ( emale, b.1948, U): “Ihad long pe m hai since ha was he ashionable way o
wea i back hen”.
RS53 (male, b.1953, R): “Men used o wea long hai o cu i in he «F ench way», while
by women ashionable we e he cu ls, made using hai olle s”.
E en hough such ashion ends and hai dos manage o in luence people in Romania,
he e we e ew Wes e n clo hes and gene ally Wes e n commodi ies on he Romanian
ma ke . Only hose people who had he chance o a el o Wes e n coun ies— and
hese we e hose who had high posi ions in he communis pa y, o some p o ession-
ally specialized people who o he pa y appea ed as being e y sa e o be allowed o
a el ab oad— could buy Wes e n clo hing i ems hemsel es. Ano he way o ge -
ing such clo hes was om ela i es who had immig a ed o Wes e n coun ies.
RS56 (male, b.1955, R): “The e was no way o ge Wes e n clo hes back hen, especially o
he people li ing in he u al a eas”.
RS29 ( emale, b.1941, U): “The cu s o ou clo hes we e e y simple, i you wan ed some-
hing special, you had o place an o de ( o aseams ess— a.n.). Ano he way o ge ing
such i ems was ge ing in o con ac wi h people who wen ab oad because o hei wo k.
Those people always go back wi h hings o sell. […] Iliked he mos he ashion o he
’60s-’70s, when cone-shaped ski s in knee leng h we e so ashionable, combined wi h
e y high heels s ile os, o e coa s ied wi h a e y b oad bel unde lining he wais -
line, cu led hai olled owa ds he ex e io . The s a who had an in luence on my way o
d essing was Sophia Lo en”.
Mos ly, clo hes we e p oduced in Romania o impo ed om o he socialis coun ies.
In he ’80s, howe e , du ing Ceaușescu’s egime o es ain s, no e en Romanian
clo hing p oduc s we e a ailable, a leas no oo many, a ied o ha ing agood qual-
i y, because hey we e expo ed o ala ge ex en wi hin he amewo k o Ceaușes-
cu’s de e mined policy o paying all he coun y’s ex e nal deb s. The lack o clo hing
i ems in s o es was supplemen ed, h oughou he communis pe iod, by he p ac ice
o making clo hes by a ailo (ei he by single-handed ailo s in illages, o in ailo -
ing shops in ci ies).
RS32 (male, b.1946, U): “The way o d essing was modes in e ms o ma e ial quali y.
A e Is a ed o ha e asala y, in 1966, Iused o go o he ailo and he made he ou-
se s and e en acus om sui he way Iwan ed hem, because he i ems Icould ind on he
socialis ma ke we e all he same, as i hey had used only one pa e n, in some so o
con es ‚ S akhano i e— who makes mo e sui s in he same amoun o ime. […] Ialso
had a iend who was asailo , Ibough jeans om him acouple o imes”.
RS21 (male, b.1938, R): “The clo hing o ha pe iod used o be common, poo , we we e
all looking he same, as i we all had some kind o uni o m. Ra ely was i possible o ind
good quali y me chandise in he s o es, hey usually b ough in wha was no accep ed
o he expo . The whole Romanian indus y was wo king 90% o he expo ”.
SImONA ROdAT 77
As ega ds o he Wes e n p oduc s, besides clo hes, despi e he ac ha some Wes -
e n b ands we e known and heo e ically p esen on he Romanian ma ke , hey we e
no ac ually o buy in he s o es. This was he case o he so -d ink Pepsi-Cola, which
could be bough a mos in some expensi e es au an s o in he so-called ‘Shops’ ha
sold all kinds o p oduc s only o o eign cu ency. Howe e , such es au an s and
shops exis ed only in e y big ci ies.
O he Wes e n b ands he esea ch subjec s ha e ecalled o ha ing back hen,
o mos accu a e ha ing hea d abou hem, we e he Ken ciga e es, he Ame ican
o iginal jeans, Chewing Gum o he ‘Fa’ soaps and deodo an s. They we e no o be
ound a he ma ke o in s o es, bu people could possibly ge hem by paying a ai ly
la ge sum o money and consuming e o , a e ha ing appealed o an unde g ound
ma ke . As se e al subjec s ecalled (see he quo a ion o RS34’s saying below), some
Wes e n p oduc s we e copied and aken as empla es du ing he communis pe iod
e en by he Romanian ac o ies.
RS34 (male, b.1947, U): “Idid no ha e Wes e n p oduc s back hen. The jeans in Roma-
nia came om somewhe e else, and hey we en’ bough in s o es, bu «acqui ed» who
knows how. Iknew abou Pepsi Cola, bu i was no o be ound. They s a ed p oducing
some hing in Romania ha wan ed o be simila o Pepsi Cola, abe e age called «Cico»
wi h qui e aho ible as e”.
RS13 (male, b.1936, R): “Only he Secu i y and he Pa y o ganiza ions enjoyed Wes e n
be e ages, whisky o ins ance”.
RS41 ( emale, b.1948, R): “One could ge Ken ciga e es om an unde g ound ne wo k,
we usually bough hem o o e hem as gi s. The e we e e y ew Wes e n i ems on he
ma ke back hen”.
RS58 ( emale, b.1962, U): “Some imes we had he oppo uni y o buy om di e en peo-
ple goods om Wes e n Eu ope o Ame ica, such as «Ame ican blue jeans», as we called
hem, s iped pan s, mohai blouses, soaps, shampoos, o chewing gum, which we we e
c azy abou ”.
RS52 ( emale, b.1953, U): “Jeans, pe umes, soaps and e en good quali y oo hpas e could
be bough only om SHOP s o es, whe e only o eigne s could ge in, because he ans-
ac ions we e made using o eign cu ency. Bu in Regie (s uden do m complex in Bucha-
es — a.n.) he e we e some guys who we e iends wi h o eigne s, and hey used o sell
such i ems, jeans o ins ance”.
Besides he Wes e n in luence on he li es yle in communis Romania, he e was also
aSo ie /Russian in luence, a leas in e ms o clo hing s yle. The esea ch subjec s
emembe ed some clo hing i ems ha a i ed in Romania om he USSR, like u
caps ( he mos sp ead ones) and u coa s (bough by he people who had mo e money
han he a e age). Unlike Wes e n ends ha ha e been obse ed and copied by peo-
ple as a esul o media consump ion, i.e., music, cinema, ele ision, Russian ashion
has sp ead a he di ec ly h ough in e ac ion be ween people. As he isi s in USSR
78 PRAGUE PAPERS ON THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1/2020
and o he socialis coun ies we e possible unde ce ain condi ions, he people who
wen he e b ough a ious p oduc s wi h hem, which hey sold in Romania, hus
making possible aRussian in luence on he s yle o clo hing.
RS8 ( emale, b.1933, R): “I ecall he Russian abbi u caps, wi h «ea s», o men, bu
Ialso emembe he caps o he ladies, made o ox u , sil e ones o ed ones. The mos
sough p oduc s we e u coa s, especially he ones made o sil e ox u , bu hey we e
a om he each o mos people’s pocke s, because o hei high p ice”.
Nex o he u coa s and caps om USSR, o he p oduc s ha ma ked Romanian li e-
s yle back hen, du ing he communis e a, we e he elec onic and elec o- echnical
commodi ies p oduced in USSR, a ious elec ic de ices, wa ches, azo blades, pe -
umes and jewels made o gold. Some o hem ollowed he exac same ou e o buy-
ing-selling hem di ec ly by people: hey we e bough in USSR o o he socialis coun-
ies and sold o acquain ances in Romania. Ano he ou e was by ci izens o o he
socialis coun ies who we e isi ing Romania, especially Russians, Polish and Czech-
oslo ak, and hei sale in Romania. Fo ins ance, his ‘behind closed doo s’ ou e, e y
hidden and s ic ly o bidden by he communis au ho i ies, was he only possible
o buying gold made i ems, as comme cializing gold was p ohibi ed in Romanian
socialis comme ce, and he ones caugh we e punished se e ely, e en h own in jail.
Mo eo e , his was also he oppo uni y, some imes he only one, o buy some elec i-
cal and elec onic p oduc s, such as co ee g inde s, mixe s, casse e eco de s, ape
eco de s, came as, e c. On he o he hand, ce ain p oduc s, e y ew, could ollow
he o icial ou e o socialis comme ce, being in ace ain mass impo ed by he au-
ho i ies, among hem being TV se s, adios, e ige a o s, acuum cleane s, wa ches,
bicycles, mo o cycles, and ca s.
RS29 ( emale, b.1941, U): “Ihad aSmena came a, aMajak magne ic ape playe , aco ee
g inde , he Zyl e ige a o and wo Russian u caps. Ialso bough Russian gold jewels
o my daugh e s. Who could a o d buying u coa s was ee o do i , bu Idid no ha e
ha much money”.
RS4 (male, b.1932, R): “The household appliances we e b ough om Russia o o he com-
munis coun ies”.
RS33 ( emale, b.1947, R): “A i s , Ihad aRussian VEF adio, hen SELENA”.
RS49 (male, b.1951, U): “Ihad an Elec onika casse e playe (Russian one) and amagne ic
band playe Tesla B93 ( om Czechoslo akia). Ialso had aRussian TV se RUBIN 102,
abicycle Uc aina, aSELENA adio. My a he had aRussian mo o cycle K(a ound 1956)”.
RS58 ( emale, b.1962, U): “Many Russian me chandise was ge ing in o ou coun y, and
among hem he e we e he ox u caps, wi h ea s, he mea mincing machine… Wa ches
we e e y popula , he w is ones, he able wa ches o he pocke ones. The bicycles we e
app ecia ed, so we e he Russian ca s (Lada, Mosco ici). They had good p oduc s, bu no
all o hem sui ed ou as es”.
SImONA ROdAT 79
ImPOSEd CULTURAL ITEmS IN COmmUNIST ROmANIA:
RESISTANCE ANd REJECTION OF CERTAIN POPULAR
CULTURE PROdUCTS ANd PRACTICES
Unlike clo hing, accesso ies such as jewel y and wa ches, and elec ical and elec-
onic de ices, which we e popula and pa o he li es yle o he popula ion du -
ing he communis pe iod, Russian music and mo ies did no become popula . De-
spi e he ac ha in he ea ly s age o Romanian communism elemen s o he So ie
cul u e we e imposed in he socie y, as he au ho i ies we e ying o push he idea
ha i was a‘supe io ’ cul u e and people had o lea n om i , his did no lead o i s
sp eading, ins ead i led o hos ile eelings and he de eloping o o ms o esis ance.
None o he subjec s li ing du ing he S alinis pe iod ecalled names o So ie /Rus-
sian ilms, ac o s o singe s, o ones om any o he socialis coun ies, he way hey
emembe ed abou he F ench ones o , la e on, o Ame ican o B i ish ones. Russian
music and ilms con inued being b oadcas ed on he adio and TV s a ions also a -
e he S alinis pe iod, bu hey did no become popula , and hey did no manage o
b ing ends o models in o he Romanian popula cul u e. Few subjec s ou o he 62
g oup, emembe ed some hing abou music o Russian songs b oadcas ed du ing he
communis pe iod. Pa adoxically, he ones who emembe ed we e among he young
esea ch subjec s.
RS42 (male, b.1948, R): “Iknow hey used o b oadcas Russian music on he adio, espe-
cially du ing he Dej e a, when So ie oops we e s ill in Romania”.
RS55 ( emale, b.1954, R): “«Oci cio nîie» was o en b oadcas ed on he adio”.
RS60 (male, b.1962, U): “I ecall he unes Kazaciok and Kalinka”.
The e exis ed also p oduc s and i ems o popula cul u e in he communis Roma-
nia ha we e se by he au ho i ies by all possible means o p opaganda, including
h ough mass media. Du ing he S alinis pe iod he leade s o he coun y ied no
only o impose elemen s o So ie cul u e (including high cul u e, such as Russian
li e a u e, bu only ce ain edi ions, no all o hem), bu also o impose some ideo-
logical p oduc s, ha hey wan ed o u n in o popula cul u e, such as slogans, pa i-
o ic songs, mili an songs, e c. Some slogans om ha pe iod managed o emain in
he collec i e memo y o people, hough no because hey used o belie e in hem a
ha ime, bu a he because hey we e epea ed wi hou cease, in an excessi e and
con inuous manne , by he o icial p opaganda spa ked by he leading pa y. Two o
he slogans we e p esen in many biog aphies ha ha e been analyzed: ‘S alin and
he Russian people ha e b ough us ou eedom’ (o icial slogan), espec i ely ‘Ana
Pauke 53 and Dej, sca ed he dayligh s ou o he bou geoisie’ (slogan c ea ed by he
53 Depu y p im-minis e and ex e nal minis e o Romania be ween 1947–1952, Ana Pauk-
e is conside ed o ha e played ada k pa in Romania’s his o y, b inging nume ous p ej-
udices o he coun y. A he same ime, she is hough o ha e played a e y impo an
pa in imposing b u al measu es o ep ession cha ac e is ic o he Socialis -S alinis
80 PRAGUE PAPERS ON THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1/2020
people). Wo h o men ion is ha bo h hese slogans sound like e y sho poems in
hyme in he o iginal Romanian language.
O he slogans and hemed sayings ha eme ged du ing he i s s age o Roma-
nian communism we e e e ing o he ‘ iendship be ween socialis peoples’, one o
he basic ideas o he So ie ideology. Some o hem we e used o a ack he ‘exploi -
ing’ sys em o capi alism.
RS11 ( emale, b.1935, U): “The slogans we e an i-capi alism, hey we e wo shiping « he
big b o he om he Eas », So ie echnology, hey used o ad ise people o wo k ( o
ins ance, I emembe he absu d saying «a i e yea ’s no m in ou yea s’ ime»), o hey
c i icized «lazy» people”.
RS22 (male, b. 1938, R): “A ha ime he sayings ela ed o « he iendship o peoples»
was en ogue, i was e e ing o he «unshakable» iendship connec ing socialis coun-
ies, as agua an ee o he p ospe i y o each people and o he en i e «So ie empi e».
Iwas aised and educa ed in away ha did no make me us in « he powe o he ed
empi e» ( ha is wha my a he used o call i ). Maybe ha ’s why Ine e in e e ed wi h
any hing ha had o do wi h poli ics. Iwas no amembe o he pa y and ha is why
Idid no ge p omo ed in my p o essional ac i i y”.
The coming o powe o Ceaușescu and he change o op ics in he Romanian poli ics,
especially wi h ega d o he USSR, led o imposing o new slogans, sayings and pa-
io ic songs h ough he o icial p opaganda. This ime, ob iously, he slogans and
p opagandis ic songs did no ocus on S alin anymo e, who had al eady allen in o
disg ace, no on he iendship be ween he socialis peoples, bu on he Romanian
Communis Pa y, ha ing Nicolae Ceaușescu mo e and mo e in he cen e, as his cul
o pe sonali y and his dic a o ial egime a e 1974 p og essi ely inc eased.
RS46 ( emale, b.1950, R): “The mos equen slogan was «The Pa y, Ceaușescu, Roma-
nia!». I was chan ed a allies, i was con ained in pa io ic songs. I was b oadcas on
adio, on TV. On he walls o he ac o ies he e was w i en «Long li e he Romanian
Communis Pa y!». A mee ings and demons a ions, we we e o ced o «shou » slogans
like «Ceaușescu— PCR!» (PCR: commonly used abb e ia ion in Romanian o ‘The Ro-
manian Communis Pa y’— a.n.) o «Ceaușescu and he people!». As i he ca ed abou
he people…”.
RS30 ( emale, b.1941, R): “I emembe some slogans: «Le ’s do e e y hing!»; «No wo k
wi hou b ead, no b ead wi hou wo k!»; «The Pa y, Ceaușescu, Romania!». They we e
insis en ly b oadcas on adio s a ions, TV, no o men ion he newspape s, hey we e
ull o p opaganda. Bu people’s opinion abou hem was unanimous: disgus , plus jokes
a hei expense”.
egime, igh om hei e y beginnings. Since she uled he coun y wi h an ‘i on is ’,
she was gi en he nickname ‘S alin wi h aski ’. See also: Ș.BOSOMITU, Pauke , Ana, in:
S.COURTOIS (ed.), Dicționa ul comunismului [The dic iona y o communism], Poli om, Iași
2008, pp.687–689.
SImONA ROdAT 81
RS59 (male, b.1962, R): “When Iwas achild, Iused o go o he cul u al home o wa ch
mo ies, bu be o e he mo ie s a ed, he e was akind o p e iew, whe e communis
slogans we e pu , abou Ceaușescu and he Romanian Communis Pa y. […] Pa io ic
songs, communis slogans we e b oadcas all he ime, bu people igno ed hem”.
RS49 (male, b.1951, U): “All he ilms a cinemas we e b oadcas ed a e a«news bulle-
in» illed wi h communis p opaganda. E e ybody was wai ing o he news b oadcas
o end and see he Ame ican mo ie”.
As wi h he S alinis slogans and songs, he popula ion did no belie e in he slogans
and songs abou Ceaușescu ei he . As he esea ch subjec s emembe ed, al hough
hese allying c ies we e pe manen ly b oadcas on adio and ele ision, publicized
h ough newspape s and magazines, p in ed on he i s pages o ex books, o p e-
sen ed e en as p e iews o mo ies b oadcas in cinemas (o h ough he mo ie ca a-
an), o he people hey we e emp y o con en , nobody eally paid a en ion o lis-
ened o hem. Thei excessi e b oadcas ing had aboome ang e ec : people began o
igno e hem, o hea hem wi hou lis ening o, hey became ‘immune’ o hem.
The Romanian communis egime, in all i s s ages, ied also o impose p ac ices
o popula cul u e such as com ades’ mee ings, g oup ac i i ies ha we e mean o
‘bene i he socie y’, ma ching on, celeb a ions occasioned by a ious p e ex s and
so on. Jus like i happened wi h he slogans, he p ac ices imposed by he commu-
nis au ho i ies, despi e he ac ha hey we e massi ely p omo ed, did no gain oo
much success o popula i y. The mee ings be ween ‘com ades’ ne e became popula ,
e en hough he people wo king o he Secu i y ied o use hem o con ol and in-
doc ina e people. G oup ac i i ies ‘ o he bene i o he socie y’ we e, in ac , o ced
labou wi h no emune a ion, in ields ha did no ha e enough wo k o ce, such as
ag icul u e. The celeb a ions o ganized unde a ious p e ex s we e also pe cei ed
as ac i i ies ca ied ou by he means o cons ain and menaces, hence in ol ing
many e o s and was ed wo k.
RS40 ( emale, b.1948, U): “The communi y ac i i ies we e o ganized by he pa y (Ro-
manian Communis Pa y— a.n.). Mo e speci ically, young people, and no only, we e
engaged in mee ings, in compulso y poli ical ac i i ies. We pa icipa ed in na ional hol-
idays and es i als whe he we wan ed o o no . We we e o ced o do hese hings and
we could do no hing o a oid hem”.
RS31 (male, b.1946, R): “The «communi y ac i i ies» un il 1989 we e ho ible, any o
hem: going o he co n ha es , going o he pa ade, o «g ee ing on he ou e», all ol-
un a y wo k. They all in ol ed cons ain , a igue, unnecessa y was e o ime”.
RS50 ( emale, b.1952, U): “Impo an anni e sa ies ook place on s adiums, and he
pionee s (i.e., child en, membe s o he Pionee O ganiza ion, he communis pionee
mo emen in communis Romania, ounded on Ap il 30, 1949— a.n.) used o ehea se
all summe long o one e en . Only hose people who «knew someone» managed o ge
away wi h his ac i i y”.
82 PRAGUE PAPERS ON THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1/2020
RECALLING CULTURAL PRACTICES ANd SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS:
BETWEEN NOSTALGIA ANd mEmORIES OF SORROW
I is howe e in e es ing o no e ha p ecisely he ela ions be ween he membe s o
he communi y, he people li ing du ing hose imes, a e some o he aspec s esea ch
subjec s ecalled ull o nos algia, o e en ull o eg e , as i can be no iced ou o he
ollowing examples:
RS40 ( emale, b.1948, U): “Back hen people we e close o one ano he , hey we e ge ing
along be e . Because o he ha dships hey had o ace, he e was alo o compassion and
hey helped each o he ”.
RS28 (male, b.1940, R): “The iendship ela ionships go consolida ed no only du ing
he ime spen a school (a.n.: RS28 wo ked as a eache ), be ween pee s, bu also due o
he mee ings a he cul u e home o he illage, whe e we used o coo dina e spec acles
in ol ing dances, singing, cho us. […] The e was some hing abou hese ela ionships,
because hey we e wa m, and hey b ough people oge he , amilies go o mee each
o he . Bu nowadays one canno ind such hings anymo e, no e en in he u al a eas”.
RS51 ( emale, b.1952, R): “Al hough we had alo o sho comings, es ic ions and dep-
i a ions, we we e ine a ha ime. The e was akind o aci unde s anding be ween
people, and ha is why he ela ions be ween hem we e close , mo e au hen ic. Today,
whe e e you look a ound, you see compe i ion, en y, b oken ela ionships, e e yone
wan s o appea be e han o he s. In hose days (du ing communism— a.n.), al hough
we we e poo , we seemed o ha e acommon soul. Isn’ his spi i ual weal h mo e impo -
an han he inancial one?”.
Thus, acco ding o he memo ies o some people, jus he cul u al p ac ices o ha
ime, including he ac i i ies imposed by he communis s, such as he cul u al shows,
we e b inging hei con ibu ion o ge ing people oge he . As can be seen in he
quo es abo e, especially he human ela ions buil by he means o hese p ac ices a e
ega ded ull o nos algia. Se e al subjec s o he esea ch ecall ‘ he cha m’ ela ion-
ships be ween people had back hen, despi e he ha dships hey had o ace. And ye ,
his ecall is con adic ed by he memo ies o o he esea ch subjec s, who asse ha
he human ela ions we e p o oundly a ec ed by he ea o alking o o he people,
excep o he close membe s o hei own amilies. The memo ies o such subjec s
we e a he bi e and so ow ul, as can be seen in he quo es below.
RS9 (male, b.1934, U): “Th oughou he en i e communis e a, you couldn’ eally alk
o anyone. The e we e Secu i y agen s e e ywhe e wai ing o you o be dumped. Some-
imes he so-called in o man was you neighbou o e en one o you bes iends. Tha
is why he ela ions be ween people we e e y a ec ed, in anega i e way”.
RS61 ( emale, b.1963, U): “The ela ions be ween people we e b oken a he ime. The only
ones you could alk o abou wha you hink we e he amily membe s. In ac , his ea o
ge ing oo close o o he s was ansposed by he popula wisdom in o a hyming saying
SImONA ROdAT 83
in Romanian: «Who has aloose ongue is gonna wo k o i e yea s in he sal mine»
(in he Romanian o iginal his saying is in hyme— a.n.). […] No, Iby no means would
wan o li e in such imes anymo e. Li ing in wo di e en e as, I ealized ha eedom
is che ished especially when you don’ ha e i . And Ip e e o ha e i ”.
The e o e, all hese di e en memo ies and con adic o y e alua ions o he same
expe iences and o he same pe iod, and he en i e analysis o he biog aphies, show
us how his o y is being li ed in asubjec i e way by e e y pe son, and how he same
eali y is being li ed, alo ised, and in e p e ed in adi e en way by human beings.
This con i ms one o he basic p emises o he cons uc i is pe spec i e in sociology,
s a ing ha eali y is socially buil and ep oduced by people, acco ding o hei own
knowledge, in e p e a ion, and expe iences. Human beings gi e hei own meaning
o hings and phenomena ha make up he su ounding wo ld.
CONCLUSIONS
The p esen esea ch poin s ou ha in communis Romania he popula cul u e was
in luenced by he h ee dis inc phases ha he communis egime wen h ough be-
ween 1945 and 1989, bu also by he la ge-scale phenomena ha p og essi ely ans-
o med he socie y, namely indus ializa ion and u baniza ion. The analysed biog a-
phies o people belonging o di e en gene a ions e eal ag adual modi ica ion in
he popula cul u e p ac ices and p oduc s e en in hose p ac ices and a e ac s o
deeply adi ional olk cul u e. Such ans o ma ions we e mos ly he esul o he
mode niza ion o socie y as awhole, as Romanian socie y ollowed he gene alized
end o he indus ialised wo ld, despi e he ac ha , in he las yea s o his dic a-
o ship, Ceaușescu and his o ali a ian egime ied o keep he popula ion o Roma-
nia as a as possible om Wes e n in luences.
And ye , he impac o Wes e n popula cul u e ends, which began o make i s
p esence el especially in he las yea s o he 1950s, con inued e en a e Ceaușescu
es ablished his pe sonal dic a o ship in he las hal o he 1970s and h oughou he
1980s. The so-called ‘enligh ened absolu ism’ o ‘ elaxa ion pe iod’ in he Romanian
communis egime ha began in 1959 was aloosening s age, which b ough adis-
ancing om he So ie con ol, a he same ime wi h a ela i e openness owa ds
he Wes e n wo ld. Howe e , ge ing o know Wes e n popula cul u e ends did no
occu ia di ec con ac , since a el o he Wes was o bidden, bu mo e ia mass
media, especially music, cinema and ele ision. Wha has been seen in mo ies and
se ies, in specialized magazines ela ed o cinema and ashion, bu also he Wes e n
singe s, membe s o bands o a is s, ha e managed o se he one and ends o ways
o ge ing d essed, shoe wea , hai cu s, dance, social ac i i ies, p e e ences and so
o h. They ha e shown he li es yle and he gene al ends cha ac e ising mode n
indus ialized socie ies, and he Romanians, especially he young people, could no
be u ned back once hey had u ned on his pa h. Things s ayed like his e en du ing
he dic a o ial egime o Nicolae Ceaușescu.
As a as some p oduc s o popula cul u e is conce ned, Wes e n b ands we e
used as models e en by he socialis ac o ies. Fo ins ance, in Romanian ac o ies