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Under Ceaușescu, Romania experienced a brief period of liberalization, but soon economic crises and oppressive policies overshadowed his earlier reforms. Ceaușescu’s foreign policy straddled the line between East and West, refusing to follow Soviet leaders’ directives while simultaneously seeking Western loans that ultimately plunged the country into economic peril.
Authoritarian Rule and Repression
Ceaușescu and his wife Elena became emblematic figures of a corrupt and oppressive regime. Elena, with little education yet immense ambition, rose to a position of significant power within the country. Together, they established a brutal state apparatus, especially through their secret police, the Securitate, which sought to suppress dissent by instilling fear among the populace.