The Romanian revolution of December 1989, the only violent one, the only one where the regime and its successors resorted to massacres against the civilian population (over 1,100 dead), was undoubtedly anti-communist in nature, even if some of the profiteers denied it at the crucial moment and still do. Born out of social desperation and moral rebellion, the Revolution quickly acquired a categorical and open focus of rejection not of vaguely defined totalitarianism, but of communism in Romania, in all its guises, including “reformist” ones.

I quote the conclusions of the final report of the Presidential Commission for the Analysis of the Communist Dictatorship: “Since N. Ceaușescu and his clique began to identify communism as a regime and as an ideology (PCR-Party, Ceaușescu, Romania), it was normal that this popular uprising quickly acquired an anti-communist character . No less predictable was the panicked and aggressive reaction of the revived (actually not destroyed) nomenclature. …The hijacking of the anti-communist character of the December 1989 revolution was a deliberate act of stifling democratic pluralism and an attempt to establish an authoritarian, dictatorial regime.” (Humanitas edition, p. 777) I am not debating here how much of what happened that bloody December was a spontaneous uprising (real) and how much was a conspiracy (also real). I do not underestimate the danger of vigilante groups ready to protect a dictator whatever happens. But these were criminal actions without a future. What was important was the polarization of the forces that condemned the symbols and messages of the Revolution.

There was a fierce struggle for legitimacy. Control over television and radio ensured the hegemony of the unspontaneous FSN. A new censorship was born, the truth was distorted, adapted to the interests of the Fessenist rulers. It is not only about Ion Iliescu, Silvia Brucan and Petre Roman. The secretary of the FSN Council was Marcian Dan, former First Secretary of the UTC Central Committee and Minister of Youth, a long-time communist politician. He was not a joker. One evening in Washington we had a long talk. He wanted to know me. We talked about the fate of socialism and the incompatibility of Bolshevism, the terrorist regime and democracy. He looked at me confused. We were from completely different films. Read the whole article and comment on Contributors.ro