Analele Universității din Craiova, Seria Istorie, Anul XIX.r. 2(26)72014 [614002]

Analele Universității din Craiova, Seria Istorie, Anul XIX/.\r. 2(26)72014
ADMINISTRATIVE-TERRITORIAL ^RGANIZATION OF ROMANIA
UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OPTVlCOLAE CEAUȘESCU
Lucian Dindirică *
Abstract
The establishment of the communist regime in Remania was a complete
rupture, an uprooting of the o!d frames and obvious pattems of everyday life in all its
aspectSLsocial, economic, administrative and private.
In the latter report, the text presents administrative policies that have
produced legal effects on the național territory, especially during the leadership of
Nicolae Ceaușescu. If initially, the first stage of romanian communism, the
administrative-temtorial organisation of Romania will be a faithful copy of specific
organization of Russian territory, Nicolae Ceaușescu’s rise to power coincided with a
distancing in relation to the pressure exerted by Moscow, the measures adopted by
the Romanian leader eliminate the administrative foreign developments of our
historical evolution(abolition of regions and districts), restoring gradually and with
parțial success, the old administrative-territorial paradigm: the reestablishment of
counties and municipalities, units with a long tradition in the Romanian space.
Key words: Nicolae Ceaușescu, Communist Regime, Administrative-territorial
Organization, Romania
The institution of the communist regime brought along a rupture from
the past in almost every aspect of the social life and, more painfully, even
private.
The administrative organization couldn't be an exception. The
abandonment of the existing general framework in the Romanian space from
almost a century and the implementation of a new one, according to the Soviet
model, seem to be represented by one of the priorities of the new power, if we
think to the fastness with which the changes were made.
As a whole, the transformation through which the administrative
organization passed, trustfully reflects the political climate from Romania and
even its International attitude, especially the reports with Moscow. If, firstly,
the division of the country into regions and districts – with the absolute news
represented by the creation of an Autonomous Magyar Region – can be also
interpreted as an act of obedience for USSR, during the next decades we can
Assistant Lecturer, Ph.D., University of Craiova, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences,
Departament of Social Sciences, no. 13, A.I, Cuza Street, Dolj County, tel. 0040251418515,
e-mail: [anonimizat]
101

Analele Universității din Craiova. Seria Istorie. Anul XIX. Nr. 2(26)/2014
notice a gradual spacing, having as guiding moment the year 1960 and
culminating with the Soviet model and the apparent retum to the Romanian
tradițional model, in 1968, when the rupture from Kremlin was already public.
A very important aspect to be seized is the discrepancy between theory.
legal framework and administrative practice. Strict declaratively, the purpose of
the communism was to bring the administration as close as possible to the
citizens and to make it more efficient. Juridically, this idea was meant to be
reflected in the creation of several administrative entities: localities (of various
types), districts, regions, all of these as legal personal ities, with own
deliberative (chosen) bodies – councils, conceived according to the Soviet
model – and own executive bodies. This represented a premiere in the
Romanian space. That is why, getting only through the normative documents,
without following the administration functioning practice, we could have the
impression of a decentralization without precedent. But, in fact, the hierarchy
was very narrow, the administrative units had a decision freedom extremely
reduced, being submitted to a very strict control from the center.
Despite the statements, the real purpose wasn't to decentralize – so to
democratize – but, on the contrary, to establish a more rigorous hierarchy. It
seemed that, in epoch, through rationalization one would have understood the
rigorous exercise of the control from the center on the entire territory, of all
bodies and of all its actions.
Herewith, we shouldn't ignore the fact that the bodies of local
administration were always under the authority de facto – and sometimes even
jure – of party bodies. Therefore, the situation was bizarre, each body being
submitted to a double control: of the corresponding party body and of the
superior administrative body,
Another aspect we shall take into account is the difficulty to institute a
satisfying administrative organization, even under the conditions of a
totalitarian regime, which could institute it in a discretionary way. Several
changes from the '50-'60s prove that the regime, although it could do anything,
didn't know what to do. Romanian administration was in a permanent
transformation, this being, as a matter of fact, the only similitude with the epoch
of constituțional monarchy.
The decisive action of Nicolae Ceaușescu, from 1968, with retum to the
ancient organization in counties, shall be understood in the wide context of its
internai and International policy. The abandonment of the Soviet model
represented, first of all, except the spacing from Moscow and an internai
liberalization form. But, in time, as the regime became more frozen, within the
administrative framework of '70-'80s, the practices from the '50-'60s were
noticed.
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Analele Universității din Craiova. Seria Istorie, Anul XIX, Nr. 2(26)/2014
The communist regime destroyed the fragile Roman ian administrative
tradition without putting anything in its place. It didn't succeed to impose a
funcțional model. The fact that the administration functioned is explaincd
through the authority practices of the regime, not through the coherence of the
organization model. Once fallen the strong hand which held it tight, the
Romanian administration entered in a disorder status, being needed more than
two decades of searching in order to remedy the situation.
The “premature” disappearance of Stalin and the internai fights for the
appointment of his descendant (the winer was Nikita Sergheevici Hrușciov)
produced, in domino system, reactions and troubles in all European South-East
States under the Moscow control. Hrușciov, in war with Stalin's heritagc,
prefers to unmask the atrocities of the regime so presenting himself in a
favorable, providențial light, attacking all the figures imposed and supported by
Stalin in different functions, not only inside USSR, but also at the level of the
communist parties managed by faithful men of the defunct leader. Țhis thing
was obvious once with the destalinization start given after the presentafion of
the Secret Report of Hrușciov at the 20* Congress of the Communist Party
from the Soviet Union. Feeling himself aimed by the roller of changes from
Moscow, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej reorientates himself towards the Occident,
aiming a consolidation of his internai position. After the unsuccessful
revolution from Hungary, in 1958, enjoying the “prgștige obtained in the eyes
of Hrușciov”, the Romanian leader succeeded the retirement of Soviet troops
statioiîed from Romania'.
1 The Chino-Soviet divergences, the escalation of tensions between USSR
and China and the positioning of Romania as mediator, allowed our country to
'_j -^^show its independeiice inside the communist block without repercussions from
outside. Known in historiography as “The statement from April”, this claimed
that any communist party couldn't impose to another “its model and that the
relationships between the communist countries shall be based on the respect of
the independence and on the non-interference in the internai affairs”^.
The distance from Moscow policy and the ideological changes also
forced the change of the constituțional framework and its adaptation to thenjew
political realițieș^ ' "
~^j^ThCTîreat National Assembly chosen on 7* of March 1965 represc'nted
^a commission for the review of the constitution from 1952.
The plenary session of the party approved the review project of the \
.O \fundamental law on 28*’’ of June, the operation followed shortly by voting and
assuming the policy changes in the constituțional order. This episode
Gheorghe Sbâmă, coord., Constituțiile României: studii, Târgoviștc, Cetatea de Scaun, 2012,
p. 90-93.
șș Ibidem, p. 93.
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/)Analele Universității din Craiova. Seria Istorie, Anul XIX, Nr. 2(26)/2014
significantly bind and rename operation, the rebranding of the Roman ian
Workers'Party becomes, thus, the Romanian Communist Party, changing the
entitle being set within the framework of the IV* Congress of the PMR, which >
now becomes the IX* Congress of the Romanian Communist Party. Gheorghe
Gheorghiu-Dej was dead (19* of March) and at the head of the party was
chosen Nicolae Ceaușescu, his protected.
The new Constitution is voted_on 2C' of August 1965 and promulgated
in the same day. Again, the denomination of the slate is changed in the Socialist
RepuElic oTRomănia. Regarding the local administration, the Title V reiterated
the attributions and the obligations of the local administration, of people's
councils, composed forward from president, vice-president and members.
In the administrative field, on 16* of February 1968 takes place the first
change made through the Law-no. 2/1968jyThis, after the Plenary Session CC
of PCR from 5-6* of October 1967 proposed heW princip'les'TbrThe
admîhîstfatIVe-ferrîtorial “ reorganizați on of the country, the changes being_
adopted at the National Conference of PCR from 6-8* of DecemberlP^.””
tJnce adopted, the law brih^”signi'ficant7;hanges.The People's Councils
are renamed Popular Councils, but the most important change is that which
abolish the regions and the districts^' returning îoTiaSffiîSHSf'c^Wfies. In respect
to townships and towns, these were managed by mayors and the municipalities
were refunded.
Thus, the administrative units of Romania became the county, the town
and the township, Bucharest municipality was organized on sectors and the
important towns, “with a particular importance in the economic, social-political
and cultural-scientific life of the country”, became municipalities.
The people's councils were replaced with popular councils, which had
the role to manage and to guide the activity of local specialty bodies of state
administration. The Romania^șJggjigm^as divided. in 27G6-.iawuiships. 189
47 municipairties7"^9 counties ano^BTOfflmsTmunicipalitywW^T’ towns,
\_y I sectors.
ș“ The counties, formed by townships and towns, were defined as
“fundamental units of administraîive-territonal organization of the country –
depending on the geographical, economic and social-political, ethnic conditions
and on the cultural and tradițional relations of the population” (art. 3).
According to the art. 9, their counties and rcsidencies’ were;
1. Alba with the residence in Alba lulia municipality
2. Arad with the residence in Arad municipality
' “Monitorul Oficial” al Republicii Socialiste România, Partea 1, an IV, nr. 17-18, 17 februarie
1968.
’ Towns where the goveming bodies of the county have the head offices – art. 4 from Law no.
2/1968.
104
4

JOURNAL of Humanities, Ciiiturc and Social Sciences, VolTl, No. 1, 2015
ISSN 2393 – 5960; ISSN – L 2393-5960, pp. 71-85
he regionalization process in Peoples
Republic of Romania
Lucian Dindirică, Ph.D.
Manager of County Library Alexandru and Aristia Aman Dolj
lucian. dindirica@\' ahoo .corn
–––Abstract
/ After the 1944 coup d'etat, set ting of the communist
I government on the of March 1945 and the pseudo-elections
' organized in 1946, the year 1947 represents the terminus of
communism instauration epos in Romania. Throughout this
period, the communist leaders were assisted, coordinated,
y controlled and manipulated from Moscow. They were dictated
'' orders and "suggestions" from Kremlin, all executed without
hesitation. j,The end of 1947 brought to Romania a complete
ș'change of regime both political and constituțional. More
precisely, unconstitutional. The Constitution of 1923 was
suppressed, the king had no longer any role, than the former
king of Romania; historical parties were already history, the
Parliament was now consisting of a single room and was called
the House of Representatives, where the communists controlled
any decision and the executive management of the state was
exercised by a five-member Presidium, totally subservient to
the new regime. Romania was no longer a kingdom, but a
popular republic. Concerning the administrative – territorial
division, the new constitution stipulates a new delimitation of
local authorities' competences and of the territories under their
administration. The new constitution passed unanimously in
the Grand National Assembly on September 24®‘ 1952. This
constitution brings substanțial changes on administrative level
as well. It was the turn of new realignment, after all the

Tlie regionalization process in Peaples Republic of Romanic | 83
/Decree no. 177/1964 brings several changes to the annex of Law
no. 3/1960 by dissolving a part of the comniunes"\ /
The "premature" disappearance of Stalin and internai struggles to
designate a successor (the winner being Nikita Sergheevici Hrușciov)
caused, as a domino effect, reactions and disorders in all Eastern
European countries under Moscow control. Hrușciov, in a war with
Stalin's legacy, prefers to expose the regime's atrocities in order to
portray himself in a positive light, a providențial one, launching a
furious attack against all the characters enforced by Stalin in various
positions not only within the USSR but also in the communist parties
led by loyal leaders. This fact became obvious along with the start of
de-Stalinization process opened by the presentation of Hrușciov's
secret report to the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union. Feeling concerned by the changes initiated in Moscow,
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej turns towards the Western countries
adopting several național strategies in order to strengthen his internai
position. The Romanian leader manages to negotiate the withdrawal
of Soviet troops stationed in Romania enjoying "the prestige he had
obtained in the eyes of Hrușciov" after the fail of the Hun gări an
Revolution in 1958^’'.
The Chinese-Soviet differences, the tensions between the USSR
and China, and Romania's position as a mediator in this conflict have
' made possible the independence manifestations of our country
within the Communist bloc without fear of repercussions coming
from outside. The Declaration of April, as it is known in history,
claimed that no other Communist Party could impose "its model and
that relations between the communist countries should be based on
respect for the independence and non-interference in internai
affairs"^^.
The estrangement of Moscow's policy and ideological changes
to the change the constituțional framework and its adapting to the
24Idem, year XIII, Nr. 5/20 April 1964.
25Gheorghe Sbârnă, op. cit., pp. 90-93.
2*’Ibidem, p. 93.

VV
Q84 I Lucian DindiricS
new politica] realitie'^^rand National Assembly elected on March 7**'
1965 ordered the establishment of a commission that would revise tl)e
Constitution of 1952.
The Party Plenum approved the Constitution revision project on
June 28. The constituțional project is assumed and voted at the 4*
Congress of PMR, which becomes the 9* Congress of PCR, the Party
changing its name into Romanian Communist Party (PCR). Gheorghe
Gheorghiu-Dej had already died (19* of March), and the leader of the
party was elected Nicolae Ceausescu, his protege.
The New Constitution is voted on the 21®^ of August 1965 and
I 6promulgat£dJh£^arQe_dav. The name of the state is changed again
* into the Socialist Republic of Romania (RSR). Conceming the local
administration, the 5* Title reiterates the powers and duties of local
administration, of people's councils, still composed of a president,
vice nresidents and members.—
r— în the administrative the first change is made on February
16*, 1968 in Law no. 2/19682^^he Central Committee Plenary of
I PCR held between 5*-6* of October 1967proposed new principles for
the administrative – territorial reorganization of the counfry, the
changes being adopted at the National Conference of PCR held
between 6*-8*of December 1967.
Once adopted, the law brought along important changes; but the
most important change of all is the dissolution of regions' and
dîstncts7r^rgan???^P^S’’îraditional counties. The villages and cities
would be led by mayors and municipalities are reinstated. The_
territory of Romania was divided into 2706 communeș, T89_aties, 47
municipalities, 39 counties and Bucharest with 8 districts.
Amended several times during 1948-1965, Romanian territorial-
administrative system was one of the most difficult issues that
interested the leaders of People's Republic of Romania. Modelled on
Soviet standards, the provisions of the laws in this field have
introduced politica! and administrative realities for constituțional
^^uletinul Oficial al Marii Adunări Naționale [Official Gazette of National
Assembly], Part I, year IV, no. 17-18/17 February 1968.

The regionalizatmn process in Peoples Republic ofRomania | 85
tradition in our country. The implementation of the regions and
districts as administrative units and the creation of the Hungarian
Autonomous County Region (1952) represented foreign legislative
innovations of the previous Romanian political and administrative
before the installation cornmunist regime. Amended and updated
several times, the political and administrative structure of the country
reflected the relationship that our state has with the USSR. When
these relations were normal, Romanian legislators faithfully
transposed Soviet organization, and when relations worsened,
leading ultimately to a genuine distancing, certain provisions are
abandoned. Thus, up to Law no. 2/1968 Romania remained faithful
to the model outlined by the USSR. This law represents the
foundation for the large-favourable trend, close to our spirit and
tradition in terms of administrative-territorial organization.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
BULETINUL OFICIAL AL MARII ADUNĂRI NAȚIONALE
[Official Gazette of National Assembly], year V, no. 1/ 10* of January
1956; year IX, no. 17/ 26 August 1960; no. 18/ 8 September 1960; no.
27/27 December 1960; year XIII, no. 5/20 April 1964; Part I, year IV,
no. 17-18/17 February 1968.
MONITORUL OFICIAL [The Official Monitor], Part I, No, 12/15
January 1949.
MARKHAM, Reuben H., România sub jugul sovietic [Romania
under Soviet yoke], Bucharest, Civic Academy Foundation.
OROVEANU, Mihai T., Organizarea administrativă și
sistematizarea teritoriului Republicii Socialiste România
[Administrative-territorial zoning of the territory of Socialist Republic
of Romania], Bucharest, Scientific and Encyclopedic Publishing
House, 1986.
SBÂRNĂ, Gheorghe (coord.), ConstituțiileRomâniei: studii
[Romania's Constitutions: studies], Târgoviște, Cetatea de Scaun,
2012.%