In communism, Romanians stood for hours in lines to get basic foods, petrol was rationed, foreign travel severely restricted, it was cold in people’s homes, and neighbors and colleagues were encouraged to spy on each other leading to an atmosphere of distrust.
Since the 1989 anti-communist revolt, Romania has transformed into a democratic society and a functioning market economy. It has joined NATO and the European Union with the advantages and responsibilities that come from membership of these elite clubs.
Despite this, a survey released this week shows that an astonishing two-thirds of Romanians consider that former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was a good leader, a trend Romanian President Nicusor Dan called “deeply worrying” on Tuesday.
After being in power for 24 years, Ceausescu and his detested wife Elena were executed on Christmas Day 1989 after a summary trial on charges of genocide against the Romanian people. The couple were so hated that Romania’s national radio headlined the news: “The Anti-Christ is dead on Christmas Day.”
Thirty-five years later, the head of the polling agency INSCOP, Remus Stefaneac, called the results of the poll “mind-boggling”, although they can partly be explained by older people’s nostalgia for their youth and frustration by those who felt they lived better under communism, he said.
But most attitudes are a result of a relentless hybrid war waged by foreign and domestic entities whose aim is to destabilize Romanian society, he explained. He did not mention the outside forces by name, but Russia has been engaged in a hybrid war against Romania and other European countries for years. Romania canceled last year’s presidential elections after intelligence reports of interference. Moscow denies the charges.
The survey on nostalgia for the communism era which ended in the 1989 revolution where more than 1,100 were killed was conducted by the INSCOP Research in partnership with the government Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes (IICCMER).
“The results of the research indicate a huge gap between reality and the perception of the Romanian population regarding the communist regime and paint a picture of … a fragile society contending with relentless disinformation and a hybrid war,” according the head of INSCOP Research, Remus Stefaneac.
Respondents were asked: “As far as you know or have heard, was Nicolae Ceaușescu a good leader or a bad leader for Romania?.
Some 66.2% of those surveyed said he was a good leader, while 24.1 % believe he was a bad leader. Some 7.8% said they didn’t know and two percent did not respond.
President Dan said: “In my opinion the main reason that many Romanians idealize communism is deep disappointment with the political class in the last three decades. Corruption, a lack of transparency, promises that aren’t respected, and a (general) feeling of injustice have weakened people’s trust in the present and future.”
The survey was entitled “The population’s perception of COMMUNISM. Nostalgia landmarks” and 1,500 respondents were questioned in July 2025. The poll had a +/-2.5% ,margin of error.
” The data is we collected is mind-boggling. (The views) reveal the foundations of a collective nostalgia that can seriously affect the stability of the democratic regime (if not already affected it) by feeding distorted values and myths constructed through distorted information or gross lies,” said Stefaneac.
Lies that have multiplied for over a decade through a complex of hybrid war propagated by domestic factors or external hostile entities with the aim of causing major social fractures, total polarization, endemic distrust and chronic insecurity in Romanian society,” he added.
In this editorial, Universul.net editor-in-chief, Laurentiu Mihu has called on Romanian leaders to take the results of the survey seriously and ensure Romanians are educated Romanians on the realities of the era, especially the last decade which was the harshest outside wartime in Romania’s history.
However, he also acknowledged that nostalgia for the communist era is a natural phenomenon, whether it is people who are nostalgic for their youth, or is fueled by uncertainty experienced vulnerable social groups whose lives were turned upside down by the sudden destruction of a regime that controlled everything.
VIDEO | Young Romanians rapped for chanting communist leader Ceausescu’s name at beach festival
