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The Romanian rural systematization program was a
social engineering Social engineering may refer to: * Social engineering (political science), a means of influencing particular attitudes and social behaviors on a large scale * Social engineering (security), obtaining confidential information by manipulating and/or ...
program undertaken by Nicolae Ceaușescu's
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...
primarily at the end of the 1980s. The legal framework for this program was established as early as 1974, but it only began in earnest in March 1988, after the Romanian authorities renounced most favoured nation status and the American human rights scrutiny which came with it. The declared aim of this program was to eliminate the differences between urban and rural, by the means of razing half of Romania's 13,000 villages and moving their residents into hundreds of new "agro-industrial centers" by 2000. The program gained notoriety in Europe, with protests from multiple countries – chiefly Hungary – as well as a Belgian-led initiative to save the Romanian villages by "adopting" them. Within a year, on 18 April 1989, the first batch of 23 new agro-industrial towns was completed. Only one new town was created between 1974 and 1988, as Ceaușescu focused his attention on other projects. Although cut short by the
Romanian Revolution The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred ...
in December 1989, at least three more rural settlements in an advanced state of systematization were, ultimately, transformed into towns as well.


Background

Nicolae Ceaușescu's 1988 idea to raze about half of Romania's 13,000 villages and rebuild others into "agro-industrial centers" was not new. It had been written into law in 1974. At that time, about 3,000 villages were scheduled to die out gradually, while 300–400 more were to be transformed into towns. However, industrial construction assumed priority, overshadowing the rural reconstruction and resettlement program, which was not pursued with any vigor. In the spring of 1988, however, the rural systematization program reemerged as a top priority on Ceaușescu's agenda. The concept was first developed by
Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev ...
, aiming to raise the standard of rural life by amalgamating villages in order to stop the migration of younger people from rural to urban. However, the project was forgotten while Ceaușescu focused on other projects, such as the
Centrul Civic Centrul Civic (, ''the Civic Centre'') is a district in central Bucharest, Romania, which was completely rebuilt in the 1980s as part of the scheme of systematization under the dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, which included the construction of new ...
and the Danube–Black Sea Canal, but it was relaunched in March 1988. The 1974 law for urban and rural territorial reorganization provided for the development of the countryside by focusing on the more viable villages while the rest would be gradually starved of investment. However, momentum was lost in the late 1970s, and of the 140 new towns promised by 1985, only one – Rovinari – was completed in 1981. No explanation was ever given, but likely Ceaușescu transferred his attention to the aforementioned projects.


Details of the plan

The villages most likely to be phased out were those with minimal prospects for growth. By the year 2000, 85% of communes were to have piped drinking water and 82% modern sewage. According to a statement by the regime, by the year 2000, Romania expected "to eradicate basic differences between villages and cities and to ensure the harmonious development of all sections of the country". Ceauşescu's declared aim - based on an original idea in the ''
Communist Manifesto ''The Communist Manifesto'', originally the ''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (german: Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei), is a political pamphlet written by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Commissioned by the Comm ...
'' - was "to wipe out radically the major differences between towns and villages; to bring the living and working conditions of the working people in the countryside closer to those in the towns". He thought that by gathering people together into apartment buildings so that "the community fully dominates and controls the individual", systematization would produce Romania's "new socialist man". Ceaușescu was determined to revolutionize agriculture by increasing the cultivation area, while also stifling individual initiative and increasing centralization. The peasants were to receive derisory compensation for their demolished homes and then be charged rent for their new blocks, in which there was no accommodation for animals. As Romanian historian
Dinu Giurescu Dinu C. Giurescu (15 February 1927 – 24 April 2018) was a Romanian historian and politician. Biography He was born in Bucharest in 1927, the son of historian Constantin C. Giurescu. After attending the Saint Sava High School, he graduated f ...
put it: "The ultimate goal is the proletarianization of our society. The final step in this process is the loss of the individual house.". It was an all-out effort at social engineering: kitchens and bathrooms were communal space in the government-owned and controlled apartments. The number of villages was to be reduced to 5,000–6,000 (grouped in 2,000 communes), implying that 7,000–8,000 would be destroyed. Workers and intellectuals were to be settled in 3–4 storey buildings, with small blocks of 4 apartments or individual two-storey houses for the farmers. The countryside would be urbanized through 558 new agro-industrial towns. Although aspects of the program were absolutely necessary (improvement of services, diversification and stabilization of the workforce), it allowed little scope for local consultation and its implementation timespan was far too short (hence compulsory resettlement) with no realistic compensation for the required expropriation.


The last stop: MFN status

Between 3 August 1975 and 3 July 1988, Romania was accorded most favoured nation status from the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
. In 1988, Ceaușescu renounced Romania's MFN status with the United States, just as the latter was about to suspend it over human rights violations. In July 1987, the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washi ...
voted to suspend Romania's MFN status. Although the suspension was meant to last at least 6 months, in order to avoid further humiliation, Ceaușescu renounced his country's MFN status. More than 85 oral testimonies and 995 written statements were submitted to support the suspension of Romania's MFN status. On 26 February 1988, in order to save face, Romania announced that it did not need MFN status. The House and Senate votes were rejected as unacceptable "interference in the internal affairs" of Romania. To underline this rejection, the village-bulldozing program was made public in April 1988. Romania's renunciation of MFN status in February 1988 resulted from Ceaușescu's growing irritation with American pressure over Romania's human rights situation, such as Ceaușescu's treatment of his opponents. Ceaușescu's renunciation of MFN made its suspension by the United States Congress meaningless. His action showed that he would not submit to pressure from either side, East or West.


Implementation and results

Ceaușescu felt fed-up by continuous United States Congressional scrutiny of Romania's human rights record, a scrutiny hindering his long-cherished "grand design". Shortly after his "cocky" gesture on MFN, Ceaușescu announced the most sweeping and ominous plan of his regime up to that point, involving the liquidation of up to 8,000 villages. On 3 March 1988, speaking at an official conference, Ceaușescu announced: by the year 2000, 7,000 - 8,000 of Romania's 13,123 villages would be "modernized", as in transformed into 558 "agro-industrial" centers. The Ilfov Agricultural Sector around Bucharest was chosen by Ceaușescu as a showpiece (to be completed by 1992-1993), as a model for emulation by the rest of the country. The first evictions and demolitions took place in August 1988. Only 2-3 days were given before shops were closed down and bus services were stopped, forcing the inhabitants into the selected villages. Whole communities were moved to blocks in Otopeni and Ghermănești, where as much as 10 families had to share one kitchen and the sewage system had not been completed. In other villages across the country, "ugly" concrete Civic Center buildings began to emerge in the centers of the planned new towns. Around 18 villages had suffered major demolitions by the end of 1989 while 5 others were completely razed. According to the ''
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'': "In the countryside, smashed hamlets and villages are making way for the same prefabricated housing blocks of Orwellian Bucharest.". The systematization program encountered resistance from villagers and local authorities alike. Local revolts against systematization were reported in the villages of Petrova, Monor and Parva. Local officials were threatened, while in other places officials refused to carry out orders. The director of the
Miercurea Ciuc Miercurea Ciuc (; hu, Csíkszereda, ; german: Szeklerburg) is the county seat of Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, a mainly Hungarian-speaking ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, and is situated in the Olt ...
County A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
Savings Bank resigned in protest over pressure to designate his native village of Păuleni-Ciuc a street of the nearby town of Frumoasa. The systematization program was terminated on 26 December 1989, the day after the
trial and execution of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu The trial of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu was held on 25 December 1989 by an Exceptional Military Tribunal, a drumhead court-martial created at the request of a newly formed group called the National Salvation Front. Its outcome was pre-determ ...
.


Towns created under Systematization

The program fell behind schedule, with only 24 new towns declared in 1989 out of the 100 expected by 1990. These 24 agro-industrial towns are listed below: *
Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the ...
** Bihor County *** Valea lui Mihai - Although agriculture remained predominant, small-scale industries were being developed. Around 30 apartment blocks were built in the center. ** Hunedoara County *** Aninoasa - A mining center in the upper Jiu Valley. ** Maramureș County *** Seini - Main industries: agriculture, animal breeding and fruit growing. **
Mureș County Mureș County (, ro, Județul Mures, hu, Maros megye) is a county ('' județ'') of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania, with the administrative centre in Târgu Mureș. The county was established in 1968, after the administrative ...
***
Iernut Iernut ( hu, Radnót, ) is a town in Mureș County, central Transylvania, Romania. It administers eight villages: Cipău (''Maroscsapó''), Deag (''Marosdég''), Lechința (''Maroslekence''), Oarba de Mureș (''Marosorbó''), Porumbac (''Porumb ...
** Sibiu County *** Avrig - The Mechanical Works at Mârșa () was the most important industrial plant in the area. *** Tălmaciu - Several timber factories and a textile plant. Blocks totalling 480 apartments were built. *
Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...
** Argeș County *** Colibași - Location of Automobile Dacia, Romania's first car manufacturing plant. Two national research institutes - for automotive engineering and nuclear technology - were also located there. ** Brăila County *** Ianca - A model for agro-industrial towns in flat regions. ***
Însurăței Însurăței (formerly known as ''Pârdăleni'') is a town located in Brăila County, Muntenia, Romania. The town administers three villages: Lacu Rezii, Măru Roșu, and Valea Călmățuiului. The latter was called ''Rubla'' during Communist ...
- Blocks totalling 330 apartments were built, of which 200 were located in the center. ** Buzău County *** Nehoiu - A model for agro-industrial towns in mountainous regions. *** Pogoanele - Blocks totalling 200 apartments were built in the center. ** Călărași County ***
Budești Budești (Romani: ''Budeshti'') is a small provincial town in Călărași County, Muntenia, Romania. Three villages are administered by the town: Aprozi, Buciumeni, and Gruiu. It officially became a town in 1989, as a result of the Romanian rur ...
***
Lehliu Gară Lehliu Gară is a small town in the middle of the Bărăgan region in Călărași County, Muntenia, Romania, with a railway station and a national road linking the seaside Constanța Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенд� ...
- Its main industrial plant was a subsidiary of a clothes factory based in Bucharest. ***
Fundulea Fundulea is an agricultural town in Călărași County, Muntenia, Romania. It is on the Bărăgan Plain, approximately 30 km east of the capital Bucharest, in the historical region of Wallachia. It has a population of 7.851. The A2 freewa ...
- Three important agricultural research institutes were based there, most of their staff commuting from Bucharest. ** Giurgiu County *** Bolintin-Vale - A satellite of Bucharest. *** Mihăilești - Most of the former village razed and rebuilt to make way for the Danube–Bucharest Canal. Visited by Ceaușescu multiple times. Blocks totalling 3,500 apartments were built. ** Gorj County *** Bumbești-Jiu *** Rovinari - Already a town as of 9 December 1981. **
Olt County Olt County () is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (the regions are separated by the Olt river). The capital city is Slatina. History On 24 August 2017, the Olt Co ...
*** Piatra Olt *** Scornicești - The town with the most impressive record of medals, distinctions and titles in Socialist Romania, including that of "Hero of the New Agrarian Revolution". The new town had a factory making automobile spare parts, a clothes factory, a brewery, a dairy plant and a poultry farm. *
Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...
** Constanța County ***
Basarabi Murfatlar () is a town in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. It officially became a town in 1989, as a result of the Romanian rural systematization program. Etymology The name of the town originates from the Turkish word of Arabic o ...
- An
inland harbor An inland harbor (or inland harbour) is a harbor that is quite far away from the ocean or sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The w ...
for the Danube–Black Sea Canal. There were also two large wineries. *** Negru Vodă - Blocks totalling 341 apartments were built. *** Ovidiu *
Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centra ...
**
Bacău County Bacău County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with its capital city at Bacău. It has one commune, Ghimeș-Făget, in Transylvania. Geography This county has a total area of . In the western part of the county ther ...
***
Dărmănești Dărmănești (; hu, Dormánfalva) is a town in eastern Romania, in Bacău County Bacău County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with its capital city at Bacău. It has one commune, Ghimeș-Făget, in Transylvani ...


Other rural settlements decisively impacted by Systematization which later became towns

Bragadiru Bragadiru is a town in the southwestern part of Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania. It is located on the banks of the river Ciorogârla, in the southwestern part of the county, at a distance of from Kilometer Zero in downtown Bucharest. Demograp ...
, Cornetu, Balotești and Otopeni were likewise to become agro-industrial towns. Two hundred dump trucks were required to carry the rubble resulted from the demolition of many private houses in Otopeni, Dimieni and Odăile. In Bragadiru, Măgurele, Otopeni and 30 Decembrie blocks totalling thousands of apartments were built. Otopeni became a town on 28 November 2000. Bragadiru and Măgurele became towns on 29 December 2005.


International reactions


Hungary

In Hungary, the program is called "''romániai falurombolás''" (lit. "Romanian village destruction"). After May 1988, Transylvanian "atrocity stories" abounded in the Hungarian press. The Romanian regime drew unfavorable world opinion and came under increasing attack from the global press. In June 1988, 50,000 people protested in
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
because the thousands of villages proposed for destruction by the Romanian Government included 1,500 ethnic Hungarian ones. That demonstration, taking place on 27 June, was the largest organized in Hungary after 1956. The plan was also criticised by leading members of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party. In retaliation for the 27 June protest rally held in Budapest, Ceaușescu closed the Hungarian consulate in Cluj. To address these issues, and to comply with Mikhail Gorbachev's request, Károly Grósz met with Ceaușescu in Arad on 28 August 1988. The talks were fruitless, with Ceaușescu unwilling to concede or compromise on any point. He simply used the fact that talks were being held at all as a means to win time and regain some of his lost credibility. The meeting was seen in
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...
as a capitulation of the country's national interests and significantly damaged Grósz's own prestige.


''Opération Villages Roumains''

The scale of the potential destruction caused an international outcry to such an extent that it led to the creation of organizations such as the Belgian-based ''Opération Villages Roumains'', which provided for the twinning of threatened Romanian villages with Western communities. Few of the villages were actually destroyed, systematization only really succeeding in "imprinting Romania onto the consciousness of Europe". ''Opération Villages Roumains'' was founded on 22 December 1988 in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, being officially launched on 3 February 1989. By the beginning of May 1989, Romanian villages had been adopted by 231 communes in
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
, 95 in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
, and 42 in Switzerland. The Belgian effort was almost exclusively Walloon. In its March 1989 session, the Council of Europe strongly condemned the liquidation of the villages, asking the authorities to cease the campaign. Shortly afterwards, in a speech broadcast by the BBC, the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...
publicly criticized this policy.Susana Andea, Romanian Cultural Institute, 2006, ''History of Romania: Compendium'', p. 665
/ref>


References

{{reflist Socialist Republic of Romania Society of Romania Urban planning in Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu Social engineering (political science)