Romanian Revolution

1
Romanian Revolution
For other uses, see Romanian Revolution (disambiguation).
Romanian Revolution
Part of the Revolutions of 1989
Demonstrators and army vehicles in Bucharest
Date 1627 December 1989
Location Romania
Arad, Braov, Bucharest, Trgovite and Timioara among others
Result Overthrow of communist regime in Romania, capture and execution of Nicolae and Elena
Ceauescu
Parties to the civil conflict
Ceauescu regime
Romanian Armed Forces (until 22
December)
Securitate
Romanian Communist Party
Anti-government protesters
Romanian Armed Forces (after 22 December)
National Salvation Front
Dissident members of the Romanian Communist Party
Lead figures
Nicolae Ceauescu
Elena Ceauescu
Ion Iliescu
other members of the National Salvation Front Council
Casualties
Death(s) 1,104
Injuries 3,352
The Romanian Revolution (Romanian: Revoluia Romn) was a series of riots and protests in Romania in
December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries. The
Romanian Revolution started in the city of Timioara and soon spread throughout the country. It ultimately resulted
in the violent overthrow and execution of longtime President of Romania Nicolae Ceauescu, and the end of the
Socialist Republic of Romania. It was the last ouster of a Communist regime in a Warsaw Pact country during the
events of 1989, and the only one that forcibly overthrew the country's government and resulted in the death of its
Romanian Revolution
2
leader as well as of many of the protesters
Riots and street violence and murder in several Romanian cities over the course of roughly a week led the Romanian
dictator to abandon power and flee Bucharest with his wife, Deputy Prime Minister Elena Ceauescu. Captured in
Trgovite, they were tried in a show trial by a military tribunal on charges of genocide, damage to the national
economy and abuse of power to execute military actions against the Romanian people. They were found guilty of all
charges, and immediately executed on Christmas Day 1989, becoming the last persons ever condemned to death and
executed in Romania.
In the wake of the revolution, 1,104 people died, 162 of these occurring in the protests that took place from 16 to 22
December 1989 and brought an end to the Ceauescu regime and the remaining 942 in the riots before the seizure of
power by a new political structure, the National Salvation Front. Most deaths occurred in cities such as Timioara,
Bucharest, Sibiu and Arad. The number of injured reached 3,352, of which 1,107 are for the period in which
Ceauescu still held power, and the remaining 2,245 are for the period after the seizure of power by the National
Salvation Front.
Background
Further information: 1980s austerity policy in Romania, Braov Rebellion and Dissent in Romania under Nicolae
Ceauescu
Part of a series on the
Socialist Republic of
Romania
v
t
e
[1]
Romanian Revolution
3
Part of a series on the
History of Romania
Prehistory
Cucuteni-Trypillian culture
Hamangia culture
Bronze Age in Romania
Prehistory of Transylvania
Antiquity
Dacia
Dacian Wars
Roman Dacia
Origin of the Romanians
Early Middle Ages
Middle Ages
History of Transylvania
Foundation of Wallachia
Foundation of Moldavia
Early Modern Times
Principality of Transylvania
Phanariotes
Danubian Principalities
National awakening
Transylvanian School
Organic Statute
1848 Moldavian Revolution
1848 Wallachian Revolution
United Principalities
ASTRA
War of Independence
Kingdom of Romania
World War I
Union with Transylvania
Union with Bessarabia
Greater Romania
Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina
World War II
Socialist Republic of Romania
Soviet occupation
Revolution
Romania since 1989
Topic
Romanian Revolution
4
Timeline
Military history
Christianity
Romanian language
By historical region
Banat
Bessarabia
Bukovina
Dobruja
Criana
Maramure
Moldavia
Muntenia
Oltenia
Transylvania
Wallachia
Commons
Centuries in Romania
Romania portal
v
t
e
[2]
In 1981, Ceauescu began an austerity program designed to enable Romania to liquidate its entire national debt ($10
billion). In order to achieve this, many basic goods, including gas, heat and food were rationed, which drastically
reduced the standard of living in Romania and increased malnutrition. The infant mortality rate also grew to be the
highest in Europe.
[3]
The secret police (Securitate) had become so ubiquitous as to make Romania essentially a police state. Free speech
was limited and opinions that did not favor the Communist Party were forbidden. The large numbers of Securitate
informers made organized dissent nearly impossible. The regime deliberately played on this sense that everyone was
being watched in order to make it easier to bend the people to the Party's will. Even by Soviet bloc standards, the
Securitate was exceptionally brutal.
[4]
Ceauescu created a cult of personality, with weekly shows in stadiums or on streets in different cities dedicated to
him, his wife and the Communist Party. There were several megalomaniac projects, such as the construction of the
grandiose House of the Republic (today the Palace of the Parliament), the biggest palace in the world, the adjacent
Centrul Civic, and a never-completed museum dedicated to communism and Ceauescu, today the Casa Radio.
These and similar projects drained the country's finances and aggravated the already embattled economic situation.
Thousands of Bucharest residents were evicted from their homes, which were subsequently demolished to make
room for the huge structures.
Unlike the other Warsaw Pact leaders, Ceauescu had not been slavishly pro-Soviet, but rather had pursued an
"independent" foreign policy; Romanian forces did not join its Warsaw Pact allies in putting an end to the Prague
Spring an invasion Ceauescu openly denounced while Romanian athletes competed at the Soviet-boycotted
1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles (receiving a standing ovation at the opening ceremonies and proceeding to
win 53 medals, trailing only the United States and West Germany in the overall count). Conversely, while Soviet
leader Mikhail Gorbachev spoke of reform, Ceauescu maintained a hard political line and cult of personality.
The austerity program started in 1981 and the widespread poverty it introduced made the Communist regime very
unpopular. The austerity met little resistance among the Romanians and there were only a few strikes and labour
disputes, of which notable were the Jiu Valley miners' strike of 1977 and the Braov Rebellion of November 1987 at
Romanian Revolution
5
the truck manufacturer Steagul Rou. In March 1989, several leading activists of the Romanian Communist Party
(PCR) protested in a letter that criticized the economic policies of Nicolae Ceauescu, but shortly thereafter
Ceauescu achieved a significant political victory: Romania paid off its external debt of about US$11 billion several
months before the time that even the Romanian dictator expected. However, in the months following the
announcement the austerity and the shortage of goods remained the same as before.
It initially appeared that Ceauescu would weather the wave of revolution sweeping across eastern Europe. He was
formally reelected for another five-year term as general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party on 24
November at the party's XIV Congress. On the same day, Ceauescu's counterpart in Czechoslovakia, Milos Jakes,
resigned along with the entire Communist leadership, effectively ending Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. On 11
November 1989, before the party congress, on Bucharest's Brezoianu Street and Koglniceanu Boulevard, students
from Cluj-Napoca and Bucharest demonstrated with placards We want Reforms against Ceauescu government."
The students including Mihnea Paraschivescu, Gratian Vulpe, and the economist Dan Caprariu-Schlachter from
Cluj were detained and investigated by the Securitate at the Rahova Penitentiary, on suspicion of propaganda
against the socialist society. They were released on 22 December 1989 at 14.00.
There were other letters and other attempts to draw attention to the economic, cultural, and spiritual oppression of
Romanians, but they served only to intensify the activity of the communist police and Securitate.
Another factor in the revolution is the Decreei policy, a draconian policy banning contraception and abortion. This
policy, beginning in 1967, resulted in a baby boom, but also resulted in high rates of poverty and child mortality. By
1989, these children had all reached adulthood, and this cohort was the one that started the revolution that overthrew
Ceauescu.
Timioara uprising
On 16 December 1989, a protest broke out on the part of the Hungarian minority in Timioara in response to an
attempt by the government to evict Hungarian Reformed church pastor Lszl Tks. Tks had in July of that year
made critical comments against the regime's Systematization policy
[5]
to Hungarian television,
[6]
and complained
that Romanians did not even know their human rights. As Tks described it later, the interview, which had been
seen in the border areas and was then spread all over Romania, had a shock effect upon the Romanians, Securitate
as well, on the people of Romania. [] [I]t had an unexpected effect upon the public atmosphere in Romania.
[7]
The government then alleged that he was inciting ethnic hatred. At the behest of the government, his bishop removed
him from his post thereby depriving him of the right to use the apartment to which he was entitled as a pastor and
assigned him to be a pastor in the countryside. For some time, his parishioners gathered around his home to protect
him from harassment and eviction. Many passers-by spontaneously joined in.
As it became clear that the crowd would not disperse, the mayor, Petre Mo, made remarks suggesting that he had
overturned the decision to evict Tks. Meanwhile, the crowd had grown impatient, and when Mo declined to
confirm his statement against the planned eviction in writing, the crowd started to chant anticommunist slogans.
Subsequently, police and Securitate forces showed up at the scene. By 19:30, the protest had spread, and the original
cause became largely irrelevant.
Some of the protesters attempted to burn down the building that housed the District Committee of the Romanian
Communist Party (PCR). The Securitate responded with tear gas and water jets, while the police beat up rioters and
arrested many of them. Around 21:00, the rioters withdrew. They regrouped eventually around the Romanian
Orthodox Cathedral and started a protest march around the city, but again they were confronted by the security
forces.
Romanian Revolution
6
Crackdown
Riots and protests resumed the following day, 17 December. The rioters broke into the District Committee building
and threw Party documents, propaganda brochures, Ceauescu's writings, and other symbols of communist power out
of the windows. Again, the protesters attempted to set the building on fire, but this time they were stopped by
military units.
Since Romania did not have riot police (Ceauescu, who genuinely believed that the Romanian people loved him,
never saw the need for them), the military were sent in to control the riots because the situation was too large for the
Securitate and conventional police to handle. The significance of the army presence in the streets was an ominous
one: it meant that they had received their orders from the highest level of the command chain, presumably from
Ceauescu himself. The army failed to establish order and chaos ensued with gunfire, fights, casualties, and burned
cars. Transportor Amfibiu Blindat (TAB) armored personnel carriers and tanks were called in.
After 20:00, from Piaa Libertii (Liberty Square) to the Opera there was wild shooting, including the area of
Decebal bridge, Calea Lipovei (Lipovei Avenue), and Calea Girocului (Girocului Avenue). Tanks, trucks, and TABs
blocked the accesses into the city while helicopters hovered overhead. After midnight the protests calmed down. Ion
Coman, Ilie Matei, and tefan Gu (Chief of the Romanian General Staff) inspected the city, in which some areas
looked like the aftermath of a war - destruction, ash, and blood.
The morning of 18 December the centre was being guarded by soldiers and Securitate agents in plainclothes. Mayor
Mo ordered a Party gathering to take place at the University, with the purpose of condemning the "vandalism" of the
previous days. He also declared martial law, prohibiting people from going about in groups of larger than two.
Defying the curfew, a group of 30 young men headed for the Orthodox Cathedral, where they stopped and waved a
Romanian flag from which they had removed the Romanian Communist coat of arms. Expecting that they would be
fired upon, they started to sing "Deteapt-te, romne!" ("Wake up, Romanian!"), an earlier national song that had
been banned since 1947. They were, indeed, fired upon and some died, and others were seriously injured, while the
lucky ones were able to escape.
On 19 December, Radu Blan and tefan Gu visited the workers in the citys factories, but failed to get them to
resume work. On 20 December massive columns of workers were entering the city. About 100,000 protesters
occupied Piaa Operei (Opera Square today Piaa Victoriei, Victory Square) and started to chant anti-government
protests: "Noi suntem poporul!" ("We are the people!"), "Armata e cu noi!" ("The army is on our side!"), "Nu v fie
fric, Ceauescu pic!" ("Have no fear, Ceauescu is falling!").
Meanwhile, Emil Bobu (Secretary to the Central Committee) and Prime Minister Constantin Dsclescu were sent
by Elena Ceauescu (Nicolae Ceauescu being at that time in Iran), to solve the situation. They met with a delegation
of the protesters and accepted freeing the majority of the arrested protesters. However, they refused to comply with
the protesters main demand (resignation of Ceauescu), and the situation remained essentially unchanged.
The next day, trains loaded with workers originating from factories in Oltenia arrived in Timioara. The regime was
attempting to use them to repress the mass protests, but after a brief encounter they ended up joining the protests.
One worker explained: "Yesterday, our factory boss and a Party official rounded us up in the yard, handed us
wooden clubs and told us that Hungarians and hooligans were devastating Timioara and that it is our duty to go
there and help crush the riots. But I realized that wasn't the truth."
On 18 December 1989 Ceauescu had departed for a visit to Iran, leaving the duty of crushing the Timioara revolt
to his subordinates and his wife. Upon his return on the evening of 20 December, the situation became even more
tense, and he gave a televised speech from the TV studio inside the Central Committee Building (CC Building), in
which he spoke about the events at Timioara in terms of an "interference of foreign forces in Romania's internal
affairs" and an "external aggression on Romania's sovereignty."
The country, which had no information about the Timioara events from the national media, heard about the
Timioara revolt from Western radio stations like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe, and by word of mouth.
Romanian Revolution
7
A mass meeting was staged for the next day, 21 December, which, according to the official media, was presented as
a "spontaneous movement of support for Ceauescu," emulating the 1968 meeting in which Ceauescu had spoken
against the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact forces.
Revolution spreads
Ceauescu's speech
Main article: Ceauescu's final speech
The balcony where Ceauescu delivered his last
speech, overtaken by the crowd during the
Romanian Revolution of 1989.
Protesters in Cluj-Napoca on the morning of 21
December. This photo was taken by Rzvan Rotta
after security forces opened fire.
On the morning of 21 December Ceauescu addressed an assembly of
approximately 100,000 people, to condemn the uprising in Timioara.
Party officials took great pains to make it appear that Ceauescu was
still immensely popular. Several busloads of workers, under threat of
being fired, arrived in Bucharest's Piaa Palatului (Palace Square, now
Piaa Revoluiei Revolution Square) and were given red flags,
banners and large pictures of Ceauescu. They were augmented by
several bystanders who were rounded up on Calea Victoriei.
In a speech laden with the usual MarxistLeninist "wooden language",
spurting out pro-socialist and Communist Party rhetoric, Ceauescu
delivered a litany of the achievements of the "socialist revolution" and
Romanian "multi-laterally developed socialist society". He blamed the
Timioara uprising on "fascist agitators."
However, Ceauescu was out of touch with his people and completely
misread the crowd's mood. The people remained unresponsive, and
only the front rows supported Ceauescu with cheers and applause.
Eight minutes into the speech, some in the crowd actually began to
jeer, boo, whistle and utter insults at him a reaction considered
unthinkable for most of Ceauescu's rule. Workers from a Bucharest
power plant started chanting "Ti-mi-oa-ra! Ti-mi-oa-ra!" a chant
that was soon picked up by others in the crowd. In response, Ceauescu
raised his right hand in hopes of silencing the crowd; his stunned
expression remains one of the defining moments of the end of
Communism in Eastern Europe. He then tried to placate the crowd by offering to raise workers' salaries by 100 lei
per month (about 9 U.S. dollars at the time, yet a 510% raise for a modest salary) and student scholarships from
100 to 110 lei while continuing to praise the achievements of the Socialist Revolution. However, a revolution was
brewing right in front of his eyes.
As he was addressing the crowd from the balcony of the Central Committee building, sudden movement came from
the outskirts of the massed assembly, as did the sound of (what various sources have reported as) fireworks, bombs,
or guns, which together caused the assembly to break into chaos. Initially frightened, the crowds tried to disperse.
Bullhorns then began to spread the news that the Securitate
Romanian Revolution
8
Nicolae Ceauescu leaves the capital by
helicopter.
was firing on the crowd and that a "revolution" was unfolding. This
persuaded people in the assembly to join in. The rally turned into a
protest demonstration.
The entire speech was being broadcast live around Romania, and it is
estimated that perhaps 76% of the nation was
watching.Wikipedia:Citation needed Censors attempted to cut the live
video feed, and replace it with Communist propaganda songs and video
praising the Ceauescu regime, but parts of the riots had already been
broadcast and most of the Romanian people realized that something
unusual was in progress.
Ceauescu and his wife, as well as other officials and CPEx members,
panicked, and Ceauescu's bodyguard hustled him back inside the
building.
The jeers and whistles soon erupted into riot; the crowd took to the streets, placing the capital, like Timioara, in
turmoil. Members of the crowd spontaneously began shouting anti-Ceauescu slogans, which spread and became
chants: "Jos dictatorul!" ("Down with the dictator"), "Moarte criminalului!" ("Death to the criminal"), "Noi suntem
poporul, jos cu dictatorul!" ("We are the People, down with the dictator"), "Ceauescu cine eti?/Criminal din
Scorniceti" ("Ceauescu, who are you? A criminal from Scorniceti").
Protesters eventually flooded the downtown area, from Piaa Koglniceanu to Piaa Unirii, Piaa Rosetti, and Piaa
Roman. In one notable scene from the event, a young man waved a tricolour with the Communist coat of arms torn
out of its centre, while perched on the statue of Mihai Viteazul on Boulevard Mihail Koglniceanu in the University
Square. Many others began to emulate the young protester, and the waving and displaying of the Romanian flag with
the Communist insignia cut out quickly became widespread.
Romanian Revolution
9
Street confrontations
Protesters rejoice after taking control over a
military vehicle in Bucharest.
Streets filled by protesters in Bucharest.
Deployment of the Romanian army troops on the
streets of Bucharest.
As the hours passed, many more people took to the streets. Later,
observers claimed that even at this point, had Ceauescu been willing
to talk, he might have been able to salvage something. Instead, he
decided on force. Soon the protesters unarmed and unorganized
were confronted by soldiers, tanks, TABs, USLA troops (Unitatea
Special pentru Lupta Antiterorist, anti-terrorist special squads), and
armed plain-clothes Securitate officers. The crowd was soon being
shot at from various buildings, side streets, and tanks.
There were many casualties, including deaths, as victims were shot,
clubbed to death, stabbed, and crushed by armored vehicles (one TAB
drove into the crowd around the InterContinental Hotel, crushing
people a French journalist, Jean Louis Calderon, was killed; a street
near University Square was later named after him, as well as a high
school in Timioara).
Belgian journalist Danny Huw was shot and killed on 23 or 24
December 1989 by a sniper who thought that Huw was loyal to
Nicolae Ceauescu.
Firefighters hit the demonstrators with powerful water jets and the
police continued to beat and arrest people. Protesters managed to build
a defensible barricade in front of the Dunrea ("Danube") restaurant,
which stood until after midnight, but was finally torn apart by
government forces. Intense continuous shooting continued until after
03:00, by which time the survivors had fled the streets.
Records of the fighting that day include footage shot from helicopters
sent to raid the area and to record evidence for eventual reprisals as
well as by tourists in the high tower of the centrally located
InterContinental Hotel, next to the National Theater and across the
street from the University.
It is likely that in the early hours of 22 December the Ceauescus made
their second mistake. Instead of fleeing the city under cover of night,
they decided to wait until morning to leave. Ceauescu must have
thought that his desperate attempts to crush the protests had succeeded,
because he apparently called another meeting for the next morning.
However, before 07:00, his wife Elena received the news that large
columns of workers from many industrial platforms (large
communist-era factories or groups of factories concentrated into industrial zones) were heading towards downtown
Bucharest to join the protests. The police barricades that were meant to block access to Piaa Universitii
(University Square) and Palace Square proved useless. By 09:30, University Square was jammed with protesters.
Security forces (army, police and others) re-entered the area, only to join with the protesters.
By 10:00, as the radio broadcast was announcing the introduction of martial law and of a ban on groups larger than
five persons, hundreds of thousands of people were gathering for the first time, spontaneously, in central Bucharest
(the previous day's crowd had come together at Ceauescu's orders). Ceauescu attempted to address the crowd from
the balcony of the Central Committee of the Communist Party building, but his attempt was met with a wave of
disapproval and anger. Helicopters spread manifestos (which did not reach the crowd, due to unfavourable winds)
Romanian Revolution
10
instructing people not to fall victim to the latest "diversion attempts," but to go home instead and enjoy the Christmas
feast. This order, which drew unfavorable comparisons to Marie Antoinette's haughty (but apocryphal) "Let them eat
cake", further infuriated the people who did read the manifestos; many people at that time had trouble procuring such
basic foodstuffs as cooking oil.
Military defection and Ceauescu's fall
At approximately 09:30 on the morning of 22 December, Vasile Milea, Ceauescu's minister of defense, died under
suspicious circumstances. A communiqu by Ceauescu stated that Milea had been sacked for treason, and that he
had committed suicide after his treason was revealed. The most widespread opinion at the time was that Milea
hesitated to follow Ceauescu's orders to fire on the demonstrators, even though tanks had been dispatched to
downtown Bucharest that morning. Milea was already in severe disfavour with Ceauescu for initially sending
soldiers to Timioara without live ammunition. The rank-and-file soldiers believed that Milea had actually been
murdered, and went over virtually en masse to the revolution. The senior commanders wrote off Ceauescu as a lost
cause and made no effort to keep their men loyal to the regime. For all intents and purposes, this ended any chance
of Ceauescu staying in power.
Accounts differ about how Milea died. Milea's family and several junior officers believed he had been shot in his
own office by the Securitate, while another group of officers believed he had committed suicide. In 2005, an
investigation concluded that the minister killed himself by shooting at his heart, but the bullet missed the heart, hit a
nearby artery, and led to his death shortly afterward.
Upon learning of Milea's death, Ceauescu appointed Victor Stnculescu as minister of defense. He accepted after a
brief hesitation. Stnculescu, however, ordered the troops back to their quarters without Ceauescu's knowledge, and
moreover persuaded Ceauescu to leave by helicopter, thus making the dictator a fugitive. At that same moment,
angry protesters began storming the Communist Party headquarters; Stnculescu and the soldiers under his command
did not oppose them.
By refusing to carry out Ceauescu's orders (he was still technically commander-in-chief of the army), Stnculescu
played a central role in the overthrow of the dictatorship. "I had the prospect of two execution squads: Ceauescu's
and the revolutionary one!" confessed Stnculescu later. In the afternoon, Stnculescu "chose" Ion Iliescu's political
group from among others that were striving for power in the aftermath of the recent events.
Helicopter extraction
Following Ceauescu's second failed attempt to address the crowd, he and Elena fled into an elevator headed for the
roof. A group of protesters managed to force their way into the building, overpower Ceauescu's bodyguards and
make their way through his office before heading onto the balcony. They didn't know it, but they were only a few
meters from Ceauescu. The elevator's electricity failed just before it reached the top floor, and Ceauescu's
bodyguards forced it open and ushered the couple onto the roof.
At 11:20 on 22 December 1989, Ceauescu's personal pilot, Lieutenant-Colonel Vasile Malutan, received
instructions from Lieutenant-General Opruta to proceed to Palace Square to pick up the president. As he flew over
Palace Square, he saw it was impossible to land there. Malutan landed his white Dauphin, no. 203, on the terrace at
11:44. A man brandishing a white net curtain from one of the windows waved him down.
[8]
Malutan said, "Then Stelica, the co-pilot, came to me and said that there were demonstrators coming to the terrace.
Then the Ceauescus came out, both practically carried by their bodyguards ... They look as if they were fainting.
They were white with terror. Manea Mnescu (one of the vice-presidents) and Emil Bobu were running behind them.
Mnescu, Bobu, Neagoe and another Securitate officer scrambled to the four seats in the back ... As I pulled
Ceauescu in, I saw the demonstrators running across the terrace ... There wasn't enough space, Elena Ceauescu and
I were squeezed in between the chairs and the door .. We were only supposed to carry four passengers .. We had six."
Romanian Revolution
11
According to Malutan, it was 12:08 when they left for Snagov. After they arrived there, Ceauescu took Malutan into
the presidential suite and ordered him to get two helicopters filled with soldiers for an armed guard, and a further
Dauphin to come to Snagov. Malutan's unit commander replied on the phone, "There has been a revolution You
are on your own Good luck!". Malutan then said to Ceauescu that the second motor was now warmed up and they
needed to leave soon but he could only take four people not six. Mnescu and Bobu stayed behind. Ceauescu
ordered Malutan to head for Titu. Near Titu, Malutan says that he made the helicopter dip up and down. He lied to
Ceauescu, saying that this was to avoid anti-aircraft fire, since they would now be in range. Ceauescu panicked and
told him to land.
[9]
He did so in a field next to the old road that led to Piteti. Malutan then told his four passengers that he could do
nothing more. The Securitate men ran to the roadside and began to flag down passing cars. Two cars were flagged
down, one of a forestry official and one a red Dacia of a local doctor. However, the local doctor was keen not to get
involved and, after a short time driving the Ceauescus, faked engine trouble. A car of a bicycle repair man was then
flagged down and he took them to Trgovite. The driver of the car, Nicolae Petrior, convinced them that they could
hide successfully in an agricultural technical institute on the edge of town. When they arrived, the director guided the
Ceauescus into a room and then locked them in. They were arrested by the local police at about 15:30, then after
some wandering around transported to the Trgovite garrison's military compound, and held captive for several
days, until their trial.
[10]
Trial and execution
Main article: Trial of Nicolae and Elena Ceauescu
On 24 December, Ion Iliescu, head of the newly formed Council of the National Salvation Front signed a Decree on
the establishment of the Extraordinary Military Tribunal, a drumhead court-martial to try the Ceauescus for
genocide and other crimes. The trial was held on 25 December, lasted for about 2 hours, and delivered death
sentences to the couple. Although nominally the Ceauescus had a right of appeal, their execution followed
immediately, on the spot, being carried out by three paratroopers with their service rifles.
Footage of the trial and of the executed Ceauescus was promptly released in Romania and to the rest of the world.
The actual moment of execution was not filmed since the cameraman was too slow, and he managed to get into the
courtyard just as the shooting ended.
[11]
In footage of the trial, Ceauescu is seen answering the "tribunal" judging him and referring to some of its
members among them Army General Victor Atanasie Stanculescu and future Romanian Secret Service head Virgil
Mgureanu as "traitors". In this same video Ceauescu dismisses the "tribunal" as illegitimate and demands his
constitutional rights to answer to charges in front of a legitimate tribunal.
Romanian Revolution
12
New government
Main articles: National Salvation Front (Romania) and List of members of the National Salvation Front Council
Ion Iliescu at the Romanian Television during the
Romanian Revolution of 1989.
Petre Roman speaking to the crowd in Bucharest.
After Ceauescu left, the crowds in Palace Square entered a celebratory
mood, perhaps even more intense than in the other former Eastern Bloc
countries because of the recent violence. People cried, shouted, and
gave each other gifts mainly because it was also close to Christmas
Day which was a long suppressed holiday in Romania. The occupation
of the Central Committee building continued.
People threw Ceauescu's writings, official portraits, and propaganda
books out the windows, intending to burn them. They also promptly
ripped off the giant letters from the roof making up the word
"comunist" ("communist") in the slogan: "Triasc Partidul Comunist
Romn!" ("Long live the Communist Party of Romania!"). A young
woman appeared on the rooftop and waved a flag with the coat of arms
torn out.
At that time, fierce fights were underway at Bucharest Otopeni
International Airport between troops sent against each other under
claims that they were going to confront terrorists. Early in the morning,
troops sent to reinforce the airport were fired upon. These troops were
from the UM 0865 Campina military base, and were summoned there
by Gen. Ion Rus, the commander of the Romanian Airforce.
The result of this confrontation lead to 40 soldiers being killed, as well
as the death of 8 civilians. The military trucks were allowed entrance
into the airport's perimeter, passing several checkpoints. However, after passing the last checkpoint, being on their
way to the airport, they were fired upon from multiple directions. A civilian bus was also fired upon during the
firefight. After the firefight the remaining surviving soldiers were taken prisoner by the troops guarding the airport,
who seemed to think that they were loyal to Ceausescu's regime.
However, the seizure of power by the new political structure National Salvation Front (FSN), which "emanated"
from the second tier of the Communist Party leadership with help of the plotting generals, was not yet complete.
Forces considered to be loyal to the old regime (spontaneously nicknamed "terrorists") opened fire on the crowd and
attacked vital points of socio-political life: the television, radio, and telephone buildings, as well as Casa Scnteii
(the centre of the nation's print media, which serves a similar role today under the name Casa Presei Libere, "House
of the Free Press") and the post office in the district of Drumul Taberei; Palace Square (site of the Central Committee
building, but also of the Central University Library, the national art museum in the former Royal Palace, and the
Ateneul Romn (Romanian Athaeneum), Bucharest's leading concert hall); the university and the adjoining
University Square (one of the city's main intersections); Otopeni and Bneasa airports; hospitals, and the Ministry of
Defence.
During the night of 2223 December, Bucharest residents remained on the streets, especially in the attacked zones,
fighting (and ultimately winning, even at the cost of many lives) a battle with an elusive and dangerous enemy. With
the military confused by contradictory orders, true battles ensued, with many real casualties. At 21:00 on 23
December, tanks and a few paramilitary units arrived to protect the Palace of the Republic.
Romanian Revolution
13
Military fighting against unidentified attackers
believed to be loyalists of the regime (served with
cakes by a civilian).
Meanwhile, messages of support were flooding in from all over the
world: France (President Franois Mitterrand) ; the Soviet (President
Mikhail Gorbachev); Hungary (the Hungarian Socialist Party); the new
East German government (at that time the two German states were not
yet formally reunited); Bulgaria (Petar Mladenov, General Secretary of
the Communist Party of Bulgaria); Czechoslovakia (Ladislav Adamec,
leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and Vclav Havel,
the dissident writer, revolution leader and future president of the
Republic); China (the Minister of Foreign Affairs); the United States
(President George H. W. Bush) ; West Germany (Foreign Minister
Hans Dietrich Genscher); NATO (Secretary General Manfred Wrner);
the United Kingdom (Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher); Spain; Austria; the Netherlands; Italy; Portugal; Japan (the
Japanese Communist Party); and the Moldavian SSR.
USAF C-130 Hercules unloads medical supplies
at the Bucharest airport on 31 December.
In the following days, moral support was followed by material support.
Large quantities of food, medicine, clothing, medical equipment, and
other humanitarian aid were sent to Romania. Around the world, the
press dedicated entire pages and sometimes even complete issues to the
Romanian revolution and its leaders.
On 24 December, Bucharest was a city at war. Tanks, APCs, and
trucks continued to go on patrol around the city and to surround trouble
spots in order to protect them. At intersections near strategic
objectives, roadblocks were built; automatic gunfire continued in and
around University Square, the Gara de Nord (the city's main railroad
station), and Palace Square. Yet amid the chaos, some people were seen to be clutching makeshift Christmas trees.
"Terrorist activities" continued until 27 December, when they abruptly stopped. Nobody ever found who conducted
them, or who ordered their termination Wikipedia:Citation needed.
Casualties
Corpses lying in a morgue
The total number of deaths in the Romanian Revolution was 1,104, of
which 162 were in the protests that led to the overthrow of Nicolae
Ceauescu (1622 December 1989) and 942 in the fighting that
occurred after the seizure of power by the new political structure
National Salvation Front (FSN). The number of wounded was 3,352, of
which 1,107 occurred while Ceauescu was still in power and 2,245
after the FSN took power.
[12][13]
Burning of the Central University Library
The Central University Library was burned down in uncertain circumstances and over 500,000 books, along with
about 3,700 manuscripts, were destroyed.
[14][15]
Romanian Revolution
14
Aftermath
Prosecution and trial
To this day, no person has been prosecuted for the 1989 events. All theories regarding the events can be considered
pure speculation.
Political changes
The Revolution brought Romania vast attention from the outside world. Initially, much of the world's sympathy went
to the National Salvation Front government under Ion Iliescu, a former member of the Communist Party leadership
and a Ceauescu ally prior to falling into the dictator's disgrace in the early 1980s. The National Salvation Front,
composed mainly of former members of the second echelon of the Communist Party, immediately assumed control
over the state institutions, including the main media outlets, such as the national radio and television networks. They
used their control of the media in order to launch attacks against their political opponents, newly created political
parties that claimed to be successors to those existing before 1948.
Much of that sympathy was squandered during the Mineriad. Massive protests were born in downtown Bucharest as
political rallies organized by the opposition parties during the presidential elections, with a small part of the
protesters deciding to stand ground even after Iliescu was re-elected with an overwhelming score of 85%. Police's
attempt to evacuate the remaining protesters resulted in attacks on state institutions, prompting Iliescu to appeal to
the country's workers for help. In the following days a large mass of workers, mainly miners, entered Bucharest and
brutalized anti-government protesters as well as innocent bystanders.
Iliescu remained the central figure in Romanian politics for more than a decade, being re-elected for the third time in
2000, after a term out of power between 19962000.
While other former ruling Communist parties in the Soviet bloc reconfigured themselves into social democratic or
democratic socialist parties, the PCR melted away in the wake of the revolution. No party claiming to be its
successor has ever won seats in the Grand National Assembly.
Economic reforms
The National Salvation Front chose between the two economic models that political elites claimed were available to
post-Communist Eastern European countries: shock therapy or gradual reforms. The NSF chose the latter, slower
reforms, because it would have not been possible to convince the people who were already "exhausted" after
Ceauescu's austerity to undergo further sacrifices.
[16]
Nevertheless, the neoliberal reforms were implemented, although not all at once: by the end of 1990, the prices were
liberalized and a free currency exchange rate, devaluing the leu by 60%. The land of the state-owned collective farms
was distributed to private owners
[17]
and a list of 708 large state-owned enterprises to be privatized was devised.
[18]
In 1991, Romania signed an agreement with the IMF and it began the privatization of state-owned enterprises, with
the first privatization law being passed in 1991.
[19]
In 1992, the Stolojan government began an austerity plan,
limiting wages and further liberalizing prices. The economic situation deteriorated and inflation as well as
unemployment increased substantially.
[20]
The austerity measures, which by 1995 included a decrease in social
spending, led to an increase in poverty.
[21]
The neoliberal reforms were accelerated after the Democratic Convention won the 1996 elections, the government
using its prerogatives to pass a package of laws, removing subsidies, passing reforms on unemployment benefits and
greatly increasing the number of privatized companies.
[22]
Romanian Revolution
15
A Romanian
sub-officer gives the
victory sign on New
Year's Eve 1989. He
has removed the
insignia of communist
Romania from his
headwear.
"Empty" Romanian flags, from an exhibit at
the Military Museum, Bucharest
Memoral of Rebirth,
Revolution Square,
Bucharest
Notes
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?title=Template:Socialist_Republic_of_Romania& action=edit
[2] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?title=Template:History_of_Romania& action=edit
[3] [3] Roper, p. 55-56
[4] Craig S. Smith, "Eastern Europe Struggles to Security Services" (http:/ / www. nytimes. com/ 2006/ 12/ 12/ world/ europe/ 12spooks. html),
The New York Times, 12 December 2006
[5] [5] Roper, p.59
[6] Brubaker, Rogers: Nationalist politics and everyday ethnicity in a Transylvanian town. Princeton University Press, 2006, page 119. ISBN
0-691-12834-0
[7] Der Grenzer am Eisernen Vorhang. Part 4. A film by Sylvia Nagel. LE Vision GmbH. Mitteldeutsche Rundfunk (MDT), 2008. Broadcast by
YLE Teema, 3 Jan 2012.
[8] George Galloway and Bob Wylie, Downfall: The Ceauescus and the Romanian Revolution, p. 168169. Futura Publications, 1991
[9] George Galloway and Bob Wylie, Downfall: The Ceauescus and the Romanian Revolution, p. 170
[10] George Galloway and Bob Wylie, Downfall: The Ceauescus and the Romanian Revolution, p. 171
[11] George Galloway and Bob Wylie, Downfall: The Ceauescus and the Romanian Revolution, p. 199
[12] Revolution (http:/ / timisoara. com/ timisoara/ revoluti.htm), Timioara.
[13] Marius Mioc, Revoluia din Timioara aa cum fost, 1997.
[14] The Central University Library of Bucharest (http:/ / www. bcub. ro/ home/ istoric), official site: "the History".
[15] "Legea recunotinei, made in Romania" (http:/ / www. evz. ro/ detalii/ stiri/
legea-recunostintei-made-in-romania-agentii-represiunii-ceausiste-au-ajuns-luptatori-remarca. html), Evenimentul Zilei, 03 June 2010.
[16] Roper, p.8889
[17] Roper, p.8990
[18] [18] Roper, p.95
[19] [19] Roper, p.91
[20] [20] Roper, p.93
[21] Roper, p.9597
[22] [22] Roper, p.100
Romanian Revolution
16
References
Stephen D. Roper, Romania: The Unfinished Revolution, Routledge, 2000, ISBN 978-90-5823-028-7
Further reading
(Romanian) , "Sinucidere un termen acoperitor pentru crim" (http:/ / www. jurnalul. ro/ index.
php?section=rubrici& article_id=56381& action=print) ("Suicide a term to cover up a crime") in Jurnalul
Naional (retrieved from web site 30 December 2004; no date indicated for original publication); on the death of
Vasile Milea. (in Romanian)
(Romanian) The series of 3 articles in the Romanian newspaper Adevrul, 2003 ( see archives (http:/ / www.
adevarulonline. ro)) entitled "Eu am fost sosia lui Nicolae Ceauescu" ("I was Ceauescus double"). These are
about Col. Dumitru Burlan, who also wrote a book Dupa 14 ani Sosia lui Ceauescu se destinuie ("After 14
Years The Double of Ceauescu confesses"). Editura Ergorom, 31 July 2003.
Mark Almond, Uprising: Political Upheavals that have Shaped the World, 2002. Mitchell Beazley, London.
Nicolae Ceauescu, Nicolae Ceauescus speech (http:/ / www. infotim. ro/ memorial89/ articole/ articole/ art001.
01. htm), condemning the protests of Timioara, broadcast on 20 December 1989 (in Romanian)
Dennis Deletant, Romania under communist rule (1999). Center for Romanian Studies in cooperation with the
Civic Academy Foundation, (Iai, Romania; Portland, Oregon), ISBN 973-98392-8-2. Gives a detailed account of
the events in December 1989 in Timioara.
George Galloway and Bob Wylie, Downfall: The Ceauescus and the Romanian Revolution, 1991, Futura
Publications, London. ISBN 0-7088-5003-0
(Romanian) Marius Mioc, Revoluia din Timioara (http:/ / timisoara. com/ timisoara/ revoluti. htm), aa cum a
fost, 1997, Brumar Publishing House, Timioara (in Romanian)
(Romanian) Marius Mioc, The anticommunist Romanian Revolution (http:/ / procesulcomunismului. com/
marturii/ fonduri/ mmioc/ anticomrev/ default. asp. htm) of 1989, Marineasa Publishing House, Timioara 2002
(Romanian) Marian Oprea, "Au trecut 15 ani Conspiraia Securitii" ("After 15 years the conspiracy of
Securitate"), Lumea Magazin Nr 10, 2004 (http:/ / www. lumeam. ro/ nr10_2004/ index. html): (in Romanian;
link leads to table of contents, verifying that the article exists, but the article itself is not online).
(Romanian) Viorel Patrichi, " Eu am fost sosia lui Nicolae Ceauescu (http:/ / www. lumeam. ro/ nr12_2001/
politica_si_servicii_secrete. html)" ("I was Ceauescu's double"), Lumea Nr 12, 2001
Siani-Davies, Peter (2005 (2007)). The Romanian Revolution of December 1989. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University
Press. ISBN0-8014-4245-1.
(Romanian) Victor Stanculescu, " Nu v fie mil, au 2 miliarde de lei n cont (http:/ / www. jurnalul. ro/ articole/
59331/ victor-stanculescu:-nu-va-fie-mila& -au-doua-miliarde-de-lei-in-cont& )" "Show no mercy, they have two
billion lei [33 million U.S. dollars] in their bank account") in Jurnalul Naional) 22 Nov 2004
(Romanian) Domnia tefnescu, Cinci ani din Istoria Romniei ("Five years in the history of Romania"), 1995.
Maina de Scris, Bucharest.
(Romanian) Mihai Voinea, Crimele Revoluiei: Masacrul de la Otopeni ("Murders of the Revolution: The
Otopeni Massacre") in Adevarul 15 Dec 2009
Romanian Revolution
17
External links
Article on justice failing for 942 killed in Revolution on eve of 20th anniversary (http:/ / www. thediplomat.ro/
articol. php?id=758)
Video of Nicolae Ceauescu's final speech (http:/ / www. ceausescu. org/ ceausescu_media/ ultima-video. html) in
Republican Square
Anonymous Photo Essay about the Romanian Revolution of 1989 (http:/ / hulubei. net/ tudor/ photography/
RomanianRevolution. html)
TV broadcasts (http:/ / www. silencio. ro/ revolutie/ documentary/ ) from 22 and 23 December 1989
The Romanian Revolution of December 1989 (http:/ / romanianrevolutionofdecember1989. com)
Article Sources and Contributors
18
Article Sources and Contributors
Romanian Revolution Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=602828588 Contributors: A young communist, A2Kafir, ADude, Abi79, AdrianTM, Aetil, Ahangar-e-Gaz,
Aivazovsky, Alex:D, Alexandrujuncu, Alleborgo, Altenmann, Anamathes, Andreidude, Andrwsc, AnkhMorpork, Anonimu, Apalsola, Apanuggpak, Arab Hafez, Arado, Arie Inbar, Ariwalker,
Arjayay, Ashley Pomeroy, Asimo1989, Asimoki, AstroHurricane001, Audaciter, Axeman89, BAICAN XXX, BD2412, BDD, Barbatus, Barbesz, BeckiGreen, Bellerophon5685, Ben Ben, Biot,
Biruitorul, Blakut, Blue Elf, Bobblehead, Bogdangiusca, Bogdantudor, Bonaparte, Bongwarrior, BorgQueen, Bowdook, Brentdax, Bryan Derksen, Bucifal, Builtiger, BurtAlert, Camulod,
CapitalElll, CaptainFugu, Charles Essie, Chopstickkitty, Cimbalistu, Cjthellama, Coagulans, Coin945, CommonsDelinker, Cor Ferrum, Corneliu-d, Craigy144, Criztu, DJac75, Da Joe,
DagosNavy, Dahn, Dancapri, Dancingpizzapie, Danjoplin, Darrelljon, Davecrosby uk, David Edgar, Ddung, De Administrando Imperio, Dead Horsey, Delirium, Denisutku, Desiphral,
Dewritech, Dinomite, Dirkbb, Discovery4, DocWatson42, Donreed, Dorin.lazar, Dpotop, DrFlo1, DrKaoliN, Dwo, ES Vic, EddyVadim, Edivorce, Ego White Tray, Egospoon, Ejensyd, El C,
Emines, English Bobby, Enwilson, Everyking, Evlekis, Exteric, Fram, Frappyjohn, FreeKnowledgeCreator, GagHalfrunt, Gagugantu, Gareth E Kegg, Gazpacho, Gilgamesh, Good Olfactory,
Gothbag, Grantsky, Greier, Greudin, HangingCurve, HanzoHattori, Heavenlyblue, Hibernian, Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, HughesJohn, Hugo999, Hvn0413, Idaltu, Ivan Bajlo, Ivan Bogdanov, IvanLanin,
JHCC, JSquish, Jamc2, Jaraalbe, Jaranda, Jmabel, Joemelendez, John, Jokes Free4Me, Jonkerz, Jonnyhabenero, Jpgordon, Junkyardsparkle, Kapitan84, Kartasto, Khazar, Khazar2, Khoikhoi,
Killerman2, KittySaturn, KolyaFrankovich, Kr1st1deejay97, Krashski35, Kurt Leyman, Lapsed Pacifist, Leandrod, Lemsjerina, Lightmouse, Lockers1234, Lockesdonkey, Lothar von Richthofen,
Lotje, MarchOrDie, Marek69, MariusM, Mariusmiti, MaxSem on AWB wheels, Mazarin07, Mcc1789, Mentatus, MiLo28, MihaiC, Mnh123, Mr A, Mtaylor848, MuAlphaTheta, Mx3,
Myownworst, Mbarek-Demokrasi, Naddy, Neilc, Neo-Jay, NerfOne, Nergaal, Nikodemos, Nothingbutmeat, Nunamiut, Nv8200p, O.Koslowski, OSborn, Oanabay04, Ohconfucius, One,
Orioane, Patrickneil, Pavel Vozenilek, Pcap, Pearle, Peitro1b, PericlesofAthens, Petri Krohn, Pierre75, Pjones27, Pristino, ProhibitOnions, Qbli2mHd, Quale, RZimmerwald, Radwaddle,
RainCity471, Random user iooi23ialdjkjk4, RandomCritic, Ratza, Rcoving1, Realdevilman, Retired username, Revolutionary, Rhatsa26X, Rhollenton, Rich Farmbrough, Rjwilmsi, Ronline,
Routlee, Rubens26, Sam Hocevar, Scottmsg, Seabhcan, Sennen goroshi, Severino, Sfuerst, ShawnML2, Shii, Shuipzv3, Sietse Snel, Signalhead, Silverhorse, Smallfixer, Socrates2008, Sonictruth,
Srinivasasha, Stannered, Stefanomione, SuperTank17, Svimp, Tabletop, Tec15, Ten-pint, ThatPeskyCommoner, Thathnka yotake, The Anome, The King Of Gondor, Tilion, TomH,
TraceySwans, Tudor hulubei, Turgidson, TypoDotOrg, UDSS, Ucucha, Uk-Kamelot, Ulkomaalainen, Underwaterbuffalo, Valenciano, Valentinian, Vashti, Vgy7ujm, Vidor, Vlad, Warfare utf,
Webclient101, Wideangle, Wirespot, Woohookitty, XerKibard, Xnuala, Yalens, Yerevantsi, Zeisseng, DA - DP, 459 anonymous edits
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
File:Romanian Revolution 1989 Demonstrators.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Romanian_Revolution_1989_Demonstrators.jpg License: Creative Commons
Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: Denoel Paris and other photographers
File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_Romania_(1965-1989).svg License: Public Domain Contributors: Alex:D (talk)
File:Flag of PCR.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_PCR.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: Alex:D
File:Romania flag 1989 revolution.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Romania_flag_1989_revolution.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Traced by
User:Stannered
File:Skull and crossbones.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Skull_and_crossbones.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: Andux, Andy0101, Bayo, Coyau,
D0ktorz, Derbeth, Eugenio Hansen, OFS, Franzenshof, Ies, J.delanoy, JMCC1, Jahoe, Juliancolton, Karelj, Ksd5, MarianSigler, Natr, Sarang, Silsor, Stepshep, Str4nd, Sven Manguard, The Evil
IP address, Tiptoety, Trelio, W!B:, Wknight94, 21 anonymous edits
File:Coat of arms of the Socialist Republic of Romania.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Coat_of_arms_of_the_Socialist_Republic_of_Romania.svg License: Public
Domain Contributors: Alex:D
File:Coat of arms of Romania.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Coat_of_arms_of_Romania.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: User:Alex:D
File:Flag of Romania.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_Romania.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: AdiJapan
File:Revolutie Bucuresti1.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Revolutie_Bucuresti1.JPG License: unknown Contributors: Not credited
File:PozeRevolutia1989clujByRazvanRotta13.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:PozeRevolutia1989clujByRazvanRotta13.jpg License: Creative Commons
Attribution 2.5 Contributors: Rzvan Rotta
File:Romanian Revlution 1989 3-2.png Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Romanian_Revlution_1989_3-2.png License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0
Contributors: Romanian_Revlution_1989_3.jpg: Denoel Paris and other photographers derivative work: Itzuvit (talk)
File:Romanian Revolution 1989 1.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Romanian_Revolution_1989_1.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0
Contributors: Denoel Paris and other photographers
File:Mass on the street 1989.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Mass_on_the_street_1989.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors:
Denoel Paris and other photographers
File:Romanian Revlution 1989 2.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Romanian_Revlution_1989_2.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0
Contributors: Denoel Paris and other photographers
File:1989 Iliescu television.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:1989_Iliescu_television.jpg License: unknown Contributors: Not credited
File:Revolutia Bucuresti 1989 019.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Revolutia_Bucuresti_1989_019.JPG License: unknown Contributors: Not credited
File:Romanian Revolution 1989 5.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Romanian_Revolution_1989_5.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0
Contributors: Denoel Paris and other photographers
File:C-130 unloading at Bucharest 1989.JPEG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:C-130_unloading_at_Bucharest_1989.JPEG License: Public Domain Contributors:
SSGT Perry Heimer
File:Romanian Revolution 1989 Corpses.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Romanian_Revolution_1989_Corpses.jpg License: Creative Commons
Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: Denoel Paris and other photographers
File:Romanian AKM Soldier.JPEG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Romanian_AKM_Soldier.JPEG License: Public Domain Contributors: Original uploader was
Koalorka at en.wikipedia (Original text : SSGT PERRY HEIMER)
File:Empty Romanian Flags.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Empty_Romanian_Flags.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
Contributors: Joe Mabel
File:Monument n cinstea eroilor Revoluiei din Decembrie 1989.jpg Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Monument_n_cinstea_eroilor_Revoluiei_din_Decembrie_1989.jpg License: unknown Contributors: User:Stratoreaper
License
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/