Romania, a republic on the lower Danube River in southeastern Europe, is bounded by the Black Sea on the east, Ukraine and Moldova on the north and northeast, Hungary and Yugoslavia (Serbia) on the west, and Bulgaria on the south. The name Romania came into being in 1862, following the 1859 unification of the principalities of Moldavia and Walachia, then under Turkish suzerainty, and emphasizes Romania's Latin heritage as the Roman province of Dacia during the 2d and 3d centuries ¥. Romania won full independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877. The monarchy, established in 1881, was ended in 1947 when the Communists came to power.

Beginning in 1965 the Communist state was controlled by Nicolae Ceau&escu. Ceau&escu's 24-year rule was characterized by relative autonomy from the USSR, orthodox socialist social and economic policies, and an increasingly intensive reliance on Stalinist methods of coercion coupled with a ludicrous personality cult. In December 1989, Ceau&escu was overthrown and executed in a violent revolution that officially ended Communist rule. For the next several years the country was controlled by a government of ex-Communists under Ion Iliescu.

LAND AND RESOURCES

Romania may be divided into three regions. In the center is Transylvania, an area of hilly, fertile farmlands developed on beds of sand, marl, and clay overlain by deposits of loess and alluvium. Elevations in the Transylvanian basin range from 300 to 600 m (1,000 to 2,000 ft). Surrounding Transylvania is the second region, the Carpathian Mountains. The Eastern Carpathians, stretching southeast from the Ukrainian border toward their junction with the Southern Carpathians near Bra&ov, only rarely exceed 2,000 m (6,562 ft). The eastern reaches of the Eastern Carpathians constitute a region of significant seismic activity, the origin of frequent destructive earthquakes affecting Bucharest and other population centers. The higher and more rugged Southern Carpathians, or Transylvanian Alps, run west from Bra&ov to the Serbian border and reach 2,543 m (8,343 ft) at Mount Moldoveanu, the country's highest elevation. The Western Carpathians, a south-to-north line of three geologically complex massifs, extend from the Danube to the Some& River and average 645 m (2,115 ft) in elevation. Romania's third region is one of plains. They ring the entire country, except in the north, and are separated from the mountains by hilly piedmonts. The western plain, reaching to the Hungarian and Serbian borders, is an extension of Europe's mid-Danubian plain. In the south is the Walachian plain, a gently sloping area that descends southward from 300 m (1,000 ft) in the marshes, lakes, and wet meadowlands near the Danube River. In the northeast, extending from the piedmont to the Moldovan border, is the Moldavian plain, an area of undulating lowlands and tablelands. The marshy Danube delta spreads out downstream from Gala:i, and to the south, between the Danube and the Black Sea, is the Dobruja, a low plateau.

Soils

Agriculturally productive chernozem is found in the Moldavian plain and in parts of the Walachian plain and the Transylvanian basin where modified chernozems predominate. Brown forest soils are found on lower mountain slopes and provide abundant meadowland for Romania's important animal-husbandry sector. Along the Danube and its tributaries are belts of fertile alluvial soil.

Climate

Romania's warm summers and cold winters define a transitional temperate-continental climate. Lowland annual average precipitation decreases west to east, from 630 mm (25 in) in the western plain to 400 mm (15 in) in Dobruja. Mountain precipitation may average over 1,200 mm (47 in) annually. Precipitation is heaviest during the late spring and early summer and lightest during the late fall and early winter. The average temperatures are between ç3¡ and 5¡ C (27¡ and 41¡ F) in January and between 22¡ and 24¡ C (72¡ and 74¡ F) in July. Significantly cooler temperatures prevail at all seasons in the mountains; the warmest areas in summer are the Walachian plain and Dobruja. Climatic conditions have combined disastrously with environmentally irresponsible industrialization policies to produce severe air pollution problems in a number of southern locations, notably in Copsa Mic¢.

Drainage

Except for eastern Dobruja, which drains directly into the Black Sea, all of Romania is drained by the Danube River or its tributaries. The major tributaries are the Some&, Timi&, Mure&, Jiu, Olt, Arge&, D”mbovi:a, Ialomi:a, Siret, Bistri:a, and Prut rivers. Spring flooding of the rivers is a problem. Extensive marshlands are found in the Danube delta and along the northern bank of the Danube in the Walachian plain. Romania has about 2,500 small lakes.

Vegetation and Animal Life

Forests cover about one-quarter of Romania and most of the lower mountain slopes. Mountain coniferous forests of fir, spruce, pine, and larch support the country's lumber industry. At lower elevations stands of deciduous oak and beech predominate. Alpine pastures are found above the tree line between 1,525 and 1,830 m (5,000 and 6,000 ft), and tundra occurs at the highest elevations. Large animals include deer, bears, foxes, wolves, and boars. A wide variety of waterfowl frequent the Danube delta, one of Europe's most important wildlife areas. Danube carp and mountain trout are among the most important fish species.

Resources

Romania's major natural resources are its fertile soils and its rapidly descending waters, ideally suited for hydroelectric exploitation. Romania's once-important petroleum reserves are nearly depleted, although new fields are constantly being explored and tapped. Natural gas and coal deposits somewhat compensate for dwindling petroleum supplies. Lead, zinc, sulfur, and salt are sufficient for domestic needs. Approximately three-fifths of the land is suitable for agriculture, two-thirds of which is cultivated.

PEOPLE

In 1992, 89.1% of the population were estimated to be ethnic Romanians; 8.9% were ethnic Hungarians, and 0.4% were Germans. The Hungarian and German minorities are concentrated in Transylvania. Large numbers of the latter left the country in the early 1990s.

Language and Religion

Romanian, an eastern Romance language, is the official language. Hungarian is used by the Hungarian minority, and German and other languages by the relevant minorities. Most Romanians adhere to the Romanian Orthodox church. In 1990 the government relegalized the Uniate, or Eastern Rite Catholic church, which was forcibly merged with the Orthodox church in 1948 and which may claim as many as 1.5 million members, primarily in Transylvania. About half of Romania's Hungarians are Roman Catholics, and the remainder either Calvinists or Unitarians. Lutheranism is important among the German minority.

Demography

One-half of Romania's population live in rural areas, making it among the least urbanized European countries. The capital, Bucharest, is the largest city. Other cities with populations of more than 200,000 are Br¢ila, Bra&ov, Cluj-Napoca, Constan:a, Craiova, Gala:i, Ia&i, Ploie&ti, Timi&oara, and Oradea. Population is densest around Bucharest and Ploie&ti, along the Siret Valley in Moldavia, and in the Transylvanian lowlands.

Education and Health

Education is compulsory and free for Romanians from the ages of 6 to 16. The first eight years are spent in primary and junior secondary schools, and the last two to five years may be spent in a variety of secondary institutions. There are more than 100 postsecondary institutions, including the universities at Bra&ov, Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Craiova, Gala:i, Ia&i, and Timi&oara. Decentralization of the postsecondary educational system was among the first acts of the postÐCommunist government. While health care, in a network of hospitals, clinics, and sanatoriums staffed by trained professionals, is free, the facilities are overcrowded and suffer from a lack of equipment and medicines.

The Arts

The arts in Romania draw inspiration from both national folk traditions and general European culture. The postrevolutionary government has abjured the Communist regime's official socialist realist style and its policy of deprofessionalization of the arts. The decorative folk-art tradition, with its colorful geometric motifs expressed in wood carvings, textiles, pottery, and architecture, remains the quintessential Romanian style, even when syncretized with more universal genres. Renowned artists include Nicolae Grigorescu and Teodor Aman in the 19th century, and Constantin Brancusi, Stefan Luchian, and Nicolae Tonitza in the 20th. Brancusi, who lived most of his life abroad, was an outstanding sculptor and is probably the best-known Romanian artist outside his own country. Georges Enesco was the founder of the modern school of Romanian music and integrated lilting folk melodies into his compositions. Under the overthrown Communist regime cultural creativity was stifled and the arts relegated to political propaganda. (See Romanian literature.)

ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

The postrevolutionary governments pledged to steer toward a mixed economy with prices determined by the market, while retaining the characteristics of a social democratic welfare system. A four-year economic reform program was inaugurated in 1993, but its performance was disappointing. The gross domestic product, which had fallen steadily between 1989 and 1992, began to increase in 1993, but fell again after 1995. In 1998, only about 55% of the GDP was coming from the private sector.

The removal of price controls in 1993 has caused an ongoing series of significant price increases, which have been only partially matched by wage hikes.

Manufacturing

During the Communist era industry was nationalized, and heavy industry, particularly machine building, received the lion's share of state investments. During the 1970s and 1980s investments yielded relatively low increases in productivity, and aging fixed industrial assets became increasingly energy inefficient. The steel industry, dependent on ore and coal imports, is centered at Gala:i, Calara&i, and Re&i:a. Because of its petroleum industry, Romania has a developed petrochemical manufacturing capacity. Textile manufacture and food processing are important light industries.

Power

While hydroelectric power generation, especially from the shared (with Yugoslavia) Danube Iron Gate stations, is important (20% of the total), much of Romanian power is fueled by natural gas, which Romania possesses in abundance. Nevertheless, the country continues to import much of its energy.

Agriculture

During the Communist era more than 90% of Romania's agriculturally productive land was collectivized into state and cooperative farms. Agriculture employed more than a quarter of the workforce, but farm productivity was low due to lack of incentives, ill-advised investment priorities, bad management, and undermechanization. After the 1989 overthrow of the Communists, the government began breaking up the collective farms, and by 1995, about 80% of agricultural land had been privatized. Romania's principal crops are corn, wheat, rye, sugar beets, potatoes, oilseeds, vegetables, and fruit. Dairy products, wines and spirits, and prepared meats are also produced in significant amounts.

Forestry and Fishing

Careful harvesting of once-overexploited timber reserves is the basis for important lumber, paper, and furniture industries. Fish catches, primarily from the Danube and its delta, are also significant.

Transportation

While railroad transportation remains important, two-thirds of all goods and three-quarters of all passengers are now moved by road. Two-thirds of Romania's roads are paved. Ports include Constan:a, Br¢ila, Mangalia, and Gala:i. The DanubeÐBlack Sea Canal was completed in 1984, but it is too shallow to accommodate most oceangoing ships. Tarom, the national airline, serves domestic and international airports.

Trade

In 1990 the USSR was Romania's main trading partner; by 1995 a large share was with Western Europe. Half of Romania's imports are mineral fuels. Exports include machinery, fuels, chemicals, textiles, and food.

GOVERNMENT

A new constitution establishing a government with a strong presidency was adopted in 1991. The president is elected by popular vote. The legislature, called the National Assembly, consists of the Assembly of Deputies (343 seats) and Senate (143 seats). Ion Iliescu, a former Communist, was elected president in 1990 and was reelected in 1992. Parliamentary elections in 1992 did not yield a majority for any party, and a minority government was formed by the Party of Social Democracy (PSD; the new name of the National Salvation Front). In a second election held in November 1996 the PSD was ousted by the center-right Democratic Convention, and Iliescu was replaced as president by Emil Constantinescu.

HISTORY

Dacian tribes living in what is now Romania were defeated by the Roman emperor Trajan in ¥ 106, and for the next 165 years the country was the Roman province of Dacia. During that time the native population was Romanized and a proto-Romanian language developed from spoken Latin. The Romans abandoned the region toward the end of the 3d century, and in subsequent centuries Romania was invaded by Goths, Slavs, and Bulgars. Hungarians occupied Transylvania from the 11th century. The Romanian states of Walachia and Moldavia (known as the Danubian principalities) emerged in the 13th and 14th centuries, respectively. The Ottoman Turks established control in the 15th century, despite fierce resistance by Romanian princes. In the last decade of the 16th century Michael the Brave, Prince of Walachia, defeated the Turks and briefly united Walachia with Moldavia and Transylvania. From 1711 to 1821, Phanariot Greeks were appointed by the Turks to govern Moldavia and Walachia, while local power remained in the hands of the boyars, the feudal lords of large estates. In 1821 an anti-Phanariot revolt, led by Tudor Vladimirescu, broke out and, despite its defeat, succeeded in convincing the Ottoman sultan to appoint native governors (hospodars). During the Russo-Turkish War of 1828, Russia occupied the Danubian principalities, making them virtual Russian protectorates.

Nationalist liberals in all three of the Romanian lands participated in the failed revolutionary wave of 1848, which was directed against both foreign and boyar control. Following the Crimean War (1853Ð56), Russian troops vacated Moldavia and Walachia, which were then recognized by the European powers as autonomous principalities under Ottoman suzerainty. In 1859 the Moldavian patriot Alexandru Ion Cuza was elected hospodar of both principalities, and in 1862 the powers recognized the administrative union of the two states as Romania. Cuza carried out bold sociopolitical reforms. In 1866 he was forced to abdicate and was replaced by Prince Charles of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, who led Romania in its War of Independence (1877Ð78; see Berlin, Congress of). In 1881, Charles was crowned King Carol I of Romania.

During the next 35 years Romania gradually modernized; industrialization began, particularly the petroleum industry, and an oligarchical parliamentary government was established. Foreign policy aimed at the unification of all the Romanian lands. Romania participated in the second Balkan War (1913). Carol I was succeeded by his nephew Ferdinand in 1914. In 1916, Romania entered World War I against the Central Powers. Despite initial defeat and the occupation of the country by Austro-German forces, the eventual Allied victory enabled Romania to acquire the former Austro-Hungarian territories of Transylvania, Bucovina, and Banat. This, in addition to Bessarabia, taken from the disintegrating Russian empire, doubled the size of the Romanian kingdom.

Immediately following the war, extensive land reform and limited democratization of the political system took place. Romania became active in international affairs, particularly at the League of Nations and as a member of the Little Entente, an alliance with Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia dedicated to preserving the postwar territorial status quo.

In 1938, King Carol II established a royal dictatorship that lasted until 1940, when it was overthrown by the fascist Iron Guard and other right-wing elements. That same year Romania was forced to cede Bessarabia and Bucovina to the USSR, northern Transylvania to Hungary, and southern Dobruja to Bulgaria. Under Gen. Ion Antonescu, who had assumed dictatorial powers, Romania participated in the German-led invasion of the USSR. Faced with imminent defeat by the advancing Red Army, King Michael, the army, the three traditional parties, and the minuscule but well-organized Communist party overthrew Antonescu in August 1944. Romania then joined the Allies but still lost Bessarabia to the USSR in the postwar territorial settlement.

In March 1945, King Michael was forced to accept a Communist-dominated Soviet puppet government. In December 1947 the monarchy was abolished, and Romania was proclaimed a people's republic. Under Communist party boss Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, industry was nationalized, agriculture was collectivized, and political opposition was suppressed. Nevertheless, beginning in the late 1950s, Romania pursued a foreign policy often at odds with that of the USSR, culminating in a declaration of political and economic independence in 1964. In 1965, Nicolae Ceau&escu succeeded Gheorghiu-Dej. At first Ceau&escu's nationalist policies attracted widespread support, but during the 1970s and 1980s his regime was discredited by its abuse of human rights and economic mismanagement.

In December 1989 anti-Ceau&escu riots broke out in Timi&oara and quickly spread to Bucharest and other cities. In a brief but violent revolution, which pitted Ceau&escu's secret police against the rest of the nation, the regime was overthrown, and the dictator and his wife were executed. A coalition including former dissidents, Communist party members, and army officers, calling itself the National Salvation Front (NSF), took over. Front candidates won clear majorities against candidates of the opposition parties in the elections of May 1990. In 1990 thousands of miners from the Jiu valley invaded the capital to defend the government of NSF President Iliescu against its opponents. In 1991 the miners again staged demonstrations in Bucharest, this time to protest price increases triggered by the government's market-oriented reforms. After Iliescu was reelected in 1992, he slowed the pace of reform to ease the lot of the consumer, but he was defeated in the presidential election of 1996.

The new president, Emil Constantinescu, who took office soon after the signing of a Romanian-Hungarian friendship treaty (September 1996), instituted a new policy guaranteeing the rights of Romania's ethnic Hungarians, whose party was included in the center-right coalition that took office under Victor Ciorbea in November 1996. In 1997, Constantinescu and Ciorbea failed in their bid to have Romania included among first round of former Communist countries accepted for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union, and they had the same difficulties as their predecessors in trying to privatize the economy. In April 1998, Ciorbea was replaced as premier by Radu Vasile of the National Peasant party.

Walter M. Bacon, Jr.

Bibliography: Brinkle, L., Romania (1990); Hitchens, Keith, Romania, 1866Ð1947 (1994) and The Romanians, 1774Ð1866 (1996); Kellogg, Frederick, The Road to Romanian Independence (1995); Nelson, D., Romania after Tyranny (1992) and Romanian Politics in the Ceau&escu Era (1988); OECD Staff, Romania (1993); Otetea, A., and MacKenzie, A., A Concise History of Romania (1985); Seton-Watson, R. W., History of the Roumanians from Roman Times to the Completion of Unity (1934; repr. 1963); Treptow, Kurt, and Pope, Marcel, Historical Dictionary of Romania (1996).