STEPS TAKEN TOWARDS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SOVIET DOMINATION OVER ROMANIA AFTER AUGUST 23, 1944. A RETROSPECTIVE AFTER 80 YEARS (MARCH 1945)
STEPS TAKEN TOWARDS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SOVIET DOMINATION OVER ROMANIA AFTER AUGUST 23, 1944. A RETROSPECTIVE AFTER 80 YEARS (MARCH 1945)

Summary/Abstract: The coup of August 23, 1944, which overthrew Antonescu’s dictatorship, spared Romania from immediate Soviet takeover but soon brought the country under Red Army occupation. With the entry of Soviet troops into Bucharest on August 31, Romania lost autonomy, and the small Communist Party, supported by Moscow, became the main tool for dismantling existing institutions and preventing a democratic restoration. The army, police, and judiciary were systematically weakened, while propaganda, often framed in inclusive terms for minorities, sought to create a mass base. Churchill’s “percentage agreement” of October 1944 tacitly acknowledged Soviet dominance, and subsequent Western inaction left Romania vulnerable. Soviet pressure drastically reduced the Romanian armed forces, while the Groza government consolidated communist control, placing key ministries under loyal cadres. King Michael’s appeals to Britain and the United States gained little support, and the democratic opposition was silenced through show trials and repression. Despite his symbolic resistance, the king faced mounting isolation as communist influence expanded. In December 1947, under threat of civil war, Michael was forced to abdicate, and the People’s Republic of Romania was proclaimed. This marked the definitive end of Romania’s independence and exposed the failure of Western powers to uphold the principles of the Yalta Declaration, leaving force and distortion as the foundations of the postwar order in Eastern Europe.

• Details
• Contents