The Splendors and Miseries of Intellectuals in Socialist Romania

Following the Soviet model, scientific research in Romania was centralized and rigorously planned under the auspices of the new Romanian People’s Republic Academy, which was established under the authority of the Council of Ministers in 1949. The official propaganda stated that the “new intellectual” must be “at the service of the people,” that he or she must fight for the “great ideals of humanity”, without being “subservient” to capitalist circles with their imperialist, militaristic, and fascist interests. In the “name of the people”, intellectuals were deployed in the so-called world campaign for peace and in the offensive of Soviet science, which was described by the propaganda as the most advanced science in the world. After Stalin’s death, engaging with new Soviet policy, Gheorghiu-Dej’s regime had to skillfully navigate the country between the Scylla of de-Stalinization and the Charybdis of de-Satellization.