Communism was a common ideology and phenomenon in Eastern Europe of the 20th century. Romania was no exception, and the period from the 1960s to the 1980s is known as an epoch of the Ceausescu dictatorship. The documentary “The Lost World of Communism” calls this period as “socialism in one family.” It reveals the dreadful truth about the power of the Ceausescu family and the dark side of the communist regime.
Before watching the documentary I imagined communism as an ideology which supposes that people share everything, and where the government provides for its people. Although I realized that history had proved the inadequacy of communist theories, I did not expect to see such a terrifying picture of Romania. If I imagine myself in this country of the 1980s, I would be scared of the generally poor level of life, the massive cult of Nicolae Ceausescu, and insane bans.
The first issue that would strike me is scarce food and housing, that I saw in the documentary. Romania had enough land and farmers to provide its citizens with nutrition. However, instead of putting it to good use, the government exported most of the food to pay its external debts. It led to famine, people starved to death. Also, many peasants were forced to move to towns, where houses were unfit for human use, and it made Romanians struggle daily to survive in cold apartment blocks. This national disaster clearly illustrates the inefficiency and cruelty of Ceausescu’s internal politics.
Despite the fact that Romania was suffering, as mentioned above, Nikolae Ceausescu was represented as a national hero and worshipped throughout the country. Video-fragments of public displays and demonstrations, where everyone is supporting the cult of their leader, remind me of a modern North Korea. I was impressed by the incredible power Ceausescu had over people, where the influence of his wife cannot be underestimated. People did not realize or pretended to ignore the destructive role of Elena Ceausescu. As a result, the impact of a woman who supervised even her children became nationwide.
The most knocking part for me was the number of atrocious and inexplicable bans Romania had. For instance, the ban on abortion and contraception was introduced in order to increase the Romanian population without any consent from women. A regular check of pregnancies seems to violate all possible human rights and considers women as incubators if regarded in a modern context. Moreover, those who disagreed with the government were often sent to psychiatric clinics as potential “troublemakers.” Nobody cared about the opinion of individuals, and it led to numerous self-made abortions and destroyed lives.
Another negative side of communism was in the protectionist practices in media and culture, which resulted in such absurd phenomena as a list of “forbidden words” or the promotion of only one cartoon artist. Control was spread even through such common things as jokes and songs. Today it seems impossible, but apparently, it was a routine for communist Romania.
I can hardly imagine what stress and perplexity society might feel after the fall of such a destructive regime. They would have to rebuild the political institutes, review the ideology, popularized in media and schools for years, and create a completely new version of the market. They would lose support and have to act themselves – create businesses, start traveling, and what is most important, think, and care about themselves.
It is certainly hard to face a new reality and try to keep living in a new environment. In the case of Romania, I am convinced that no tradition or norm of the past should have been kept. All elements of the communism were to be gone, as they led the country to poverty and economic disaster. People needed freedom and opportunities to act the way they believed was right, and it was the only way to start growth.