Language: Romanian, also Hungarian and German

Capital: Bucharest (2,100,000)

Flag: Adopted Dec. 1989; the pre-revolutionary flag had contained the communist coat of arms

Population: 22,317,730

Area: 237,500 sq km (slightly smaller than Oregon)

Natural Features: Carpathian Mountains; Transylvanian Alps; Black Sea

President: Ion ILIESCU (since Dec. 2000)

Type of Government: Republic; President is elected by popular vote for a 4-year term, with runoff between the top two candidates; Prime Minister appointed by the president; Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister; Constitution adopted Dec. 1991

Religion: Eastern Orthodox 87%, Protestant 6.8%, Catholic 5.6%, other (mostly Muslim) 0.4%, unaffiliated 0.2%

Currency: Leu (Lei = plural)

Economy: One of the poorest countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the country began the transition from Communism in 1989 with a largely obsolete industrial base. Eonomic restructuring over the past decade has lagged behind most other countries in the region. As a result, living standards have continued to fall and real wages are down about 40%. Construction and agriculture are areas of strong domestic activity. Average income is 1730 USD.

According to the “inyourpocket” guides, “Romania is still not considered by the EU as a functioning market economy. Corruption is legendary – from bottom to top constant bribes need to be paid to oil the wheels, bureaucracy is stifling (though, credit where it is due, progress is being made here) and any chance Romania had of becoming a member of the EU in 2007 is now long gone. 2012 is now a more realistic entry date.”

Life Expectancy: 70.39 years (one of Europe’s lowest)

Infant Mortality Rate: 18.88 deaths/1,000 live births

Education: Duration of compulsary education:8 years 125th of 174> Duration of education – primary level:4; Duration of education – secondary level:8; Enrollment ratio – secondary level:79.6%; Literacy: 97%

Food: Mititei (grilled sausage made from ground beef, pork, and seasoning); eggplant salad; bread (major staple, often homemade); rakija (prune or plum brandy); soups; grilled fish, especially along the Black Sea Coast and the Delta region; Prunes (found in jam, stew, cakes); omelets (for breakfast)

History:
The Romanians descend from the Geto-Dacian peoples and the Romans. The Geto-Dacıan people appeared in the region between the Carpathian Mountains and the Danube River about 4000 years ago. They were invaded regularly, and eventually conquered by the Goths, and then the Huns, Mongols, Hungarians, and Turks. Only the Slavic and Bulgarian peoples stayed permanently. Around the end of the 13th century, the Romes (gypsies), who originated from India, arrived in Romania. They were to be enslaved for almost five centuries.

After conquering Constantinople of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, the Ottomans menaced the regions of Wallachia and Moldavia. By the following century, they were ruled under the Turkish administration, largely exploited but guarding some autonomy and freedom of religion. At the end of the 17th century, the administration of these provinces passed directly under Ottoman rule. The imposition of heavy tributes led to numerous rebellions. During the same time period, the Austrians pushed the Turks back across the Carpathian Mountains and occupied Transylvania, requiring the Roman Orthodox population to convert.

Around 1812, the Russian Empire positioned themselves as the protector of Orthodox populations, occupying a part of Moldavia and Bessarabia. In 1848, there was a nationalist insurrection in Bucharest, and the slavery of gypsies was ended. Eight years later, the Roman provinces gained autonomy in the framework of the Ottoman Empire. The Union took the name of “Romania” in 1861, and schooling became public and mandatory in 1864. In 1878, during the Russian-Ottoman conflict, the independence of Romania is officially recognized. The country goes through a long period of modernization.

Romania entered WWI on the side of the Allies and gained the regions of Bucovine, Bessarabia, and Transylvania at the end of the war. The first two regions were occupied by the Soviet Union during WWII, and as a satellite of Hitler, Romania entered into the war against the Soviet Union. The Jews and gypsies were sent to concentration camps. An Anti-Nazi group formed in 1944, and Romania switched to the Allied side.

In 1945, the government announced free elections, and the communists were voted as a majority into government. The following year, the elections took place in a climate of intimidation, and the election is considered fixed. By the end of the decade, Romania had become a popular democracy, nationalizing the mines, industries, and banks, enrolling in planning programs, and collectivizing the land. Combined Romanian-Soviet industries were created and a long string of tortures, imprisonments, and assassinations began. The following 15 years saw thousands of Romanians who resisted the new government assassinated. The cruelty of the new regime was reputed to be the worst in Europe, outside of the Soviet Union.

Nicolae Ceausescu became leader of the Communist party in 1965 and transformed Romania from a “popular democracy” into a Socialist Republic. Romania had the largest economic increase in Europe during the 60’s, developing especially the electrical and chemical sectors. Ceausescu freed most of the political prisoners. Then, after a trip to China in 1971, the Romanian president, who was strongly influence by the Chinese cultural revolution, announced a more rigorous fight against bourgeois influence and ideas. He tried to homogenize the country so that there would be neither country nor city, let alone the individual house. The idea of the “new socialist man” emerged, and then in 1984, he began the destruction of the old quarters of Bucharest in the name of “homogenization.” He was assassinated in 1989 during the “December revolution.”

The Romanians voted again in 1990, after a half century without true democracy. They voted for Iliescu, a communist who had been trained in Moscow by the KGB. Despite maintaining privileges for the elite, he engaged in remarkable foreign politics. Amongst other things, he succeeded in convincing the European Union to accept Romania’s candidature for adhesion to the Union in 1995. They are still a candidate.

Despite the arrival of democracy in their country, many Romanians seems to have nostalgia for the Communist era, when they were aided by the government and had less responsibilities. Even if life was sad, it was simple. Bureaucracy, government, and business is corrupt and discourages citizens from taking the initiative in business and private affairs, therby slowing down the development of the country. Because those that have been arrested for corruption have not been punished, the ordinary citizen feels that the system is unjust. Alongside these negative developments, there has also been an openness of exchange.

The European Union has dispensed large sums of money in every sector in Romania: industry, legistlative, training, tourism, student and professional exchanges, roads. While it is waiting to become a member of the EU, Romania had a piece of good news: it officially became a member of NATO in April of 2004.