(WIKIPEDIA) - The 1989 Romanian Revolution (Romanian: Revoluția Română) was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during Dec 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Eastern European countries.
The Romanian Revolution began in the city of Timișoara on 16 Dec 1989 and soon spread throughout the country, ultimately culminating in the show trial and execution of longtime Communist Party General Secretary Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena, and the end of 42 years of Communist rule in Romania.
It was also the last removal of a Marxist-Leninist government in a Warsaw Pact member state during the events of 1989, and the only one that violently overthrew a country's government and executed its leader.
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(WIKIPEDIA) - On the morning of 21 Dec 1989, Ceaușescu addressed an assembly of approximately 100,000 people to condemn the uprising in Timișoara.
Party officials took great pains to make it appear that Ceaușescu was still immensely popular. Several busloads of workers, under threat of being fired, arrived in Bucharest's Piața Palatului (Palace Square, now known as Piața Revoluției – Revolution Square) and were given red flags, banners and large pictures of Ceaușescu.
They were augmented by bystanders who were rounded up on Calea Victoriei.
The speech was typical of most of Ceaușescu's speeches over the years. Making liberal use of Marxist-Leninist rhetoric, he delivered a litany of the achievements of the "socialist revolution" and Romanian "multi-laterally developed socialist society".
He blamed the Timișoara uprising on "fascist agitators". However, Ceaușescu was out of touch with his people and completely misread the crowd's mood.
The people remained unresponsive, and only the front rows supported Ceaușescu with cheers and applause.
About two minutes into the speech, some in the crowd actually began to jeer, boo, whistle and yell insults at him, a reaction unthinkable for most of his rule.
Workers from a Bucharest power plant started chanting "Ti-mi-șoa-ra! Ti-mi-șoa-ra!", which was soon picked up by others in the crowd.
In response, Ceaușescu 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 200 lei per month (about 9 U.S. dollars at the time, yet a 5%–10% 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 Ceaușescu 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 much feared Securitate 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 nationwide. Censors attempted to cut the live video feed and replace it with Communist propaganda songs and video praising the Ceaușescu regime, but parts of the riots had already been broadcast and most of the Romanian people realised that something unusual was in progress.
Ceaușescu and his wife, as well as other officials and CPEx members, panicked; Ceaușescu's bodyguard hustled him back inside the building.
The jeers and whistles soon erupted into a riot; the crowd took to the streets, placing the capital, like Timișoara, in turmoil. Members of the crowd spontaneously began shouting anti-Ceaușescu 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"), "Ceaușescu cine ești?/Criminal din Scornicești" ("Ceaușescu, who are you? A criminal from Scornicești").
Protesters eventually flooded the city centre area, from Piața Kogălniceanu to Piața Unirii, Piața Rosetti and Piața Romană.
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 Cogălniceanu 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.
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#Romania
#Bucharest
#Ceausescu
