Romania: why the nostalgia for Ceaușescu?
According to a recent survey, two-thirds of Romanians have a positive image of Nicolae Ceaușescu, the dictator who was overthrown in December 1989 after ruling the country with an iron fist for 24 years. With the help of the much-feared secret police, the Securitate, he systematically eliminated his political opponents. The national press looks at where this positive image hails from.
Russia's long shadow
For Spotmedia, Russia's hybrid war is behind this trend:
“The communist regime is not being portrayed as better than the present one, but rather the present is being made to look too difficult and is thus viewed negatively. We are at a particularly critical juncture in which hybrid warfare is advancing and increasingly gaining control over the truth and people's cognitive thinking. This is perhaps the clearest conclusion of this survey, which says less about Ceaușescu and genuine nostalgia than about cultural and political vulnerabilities that could also jeopardise Romania's national security.”
Traumas fade - the good old days remain
Evenimentul Zilei reassures readers:
“We are not facing a revolution of evil. We are merely witnessing a historical phenomenon that could be described as the Golden Age syndrome: the idealisation of historical periods or figures that occurs with the passing of time. As generations change, memories fade away and only impressions remain. In other words, the further we move away from the traumas of the past, the more we remember only the positive aspects. There is nothing extraordinary about this. But it seems that the new mantra of hybrid warfare is firing the imagination of many.”