ROMANIA

also spelled Rumania, Romanian Romnia country lying in the eastern half of the Balkan Peninsula. It is the largest country of the peninsula, having an area of 91,699 square miles (237,500 square kilometres). Its boundaries total 1,959 miles (3,153 kilometres), with Ukraine on the north, Moldova on the northeast, the Black Sea on the east, Bulgaria on the south, Serbia on the southwest, and Hungary on the west. The capital is Bucharest (Bucuresti). There is a certain symmetry in the physical structure of Romania. The country forms a complex geographic unit centred on the Transylvanian Basin, around which the peaks of the Carpathian Mountains and their associated subranges and structural platforms form a series of crescents. Beyond this zone, the extensive plains of the south and east of the country, their potential increased by the Danube and its tributaries, form a fertile outer crescent extending to the frontiers. There is great diversity in the topography, geology, climate, hydrology, flora, and fauna, and for millennia this natural environment has borne the imprint of a human population. The Romanian people derive much of their ethnic and cultural character from Roman influence, but this ancient identity has been reshaped continuously by Romania's position astride major continental migration routes. Since the late 19th century, in particular, Romania has undergone an economic and social transformation from an agricultural society to an urbanized, industrial society. also spelled Rumania Romanian Romnia country in southeastern Europe. Romania is about 300 miles (480 km) from south to north and about 420 miles (680 km) at its widest extent from west to east. It is bordered by Ukraine (north), Moldova (northeast), the Black Sea (east), Bulgaria (south), Yugoslavia (southwest), and Hungary (west). The capital is Bucharest. Area 91,699 square miles (237,500 square km). Pop. (1993 est.) 22,789,000. Additional reading Geography Information on the physical geography of the Romanian territory may be found in Victor Tufescu, Romnia (1974); and Lucian Badea et al., Geografia Romniei, 3 vol. (198387), with volumes on physical geography, on human and economic geography, and on particular regions. The Atlas Republica Socialista Romnia (197479), issued in fascicles, includes text and legends in Romanian, English, French, and Russian. Economic, political, and social aspects are discussed in David Turnock, An Economic Geography of Romania (1974), and The Romanian Economy in the Twentieth Century (1986); Trond Gilberg, Modernization in Romania Since World War II (1975), and Nationalism and Communism in Romania: The Rise and Fall of Ceausescu's Personal Dictatorship (1990); John W. Cole (ed.), Economy, Society, and Culture in Contemporary Romania (1985); Steven L. Sampson, The Planners and the Peasants: An Anthropological Study of Urban Development in Romania (1982), and National Integration Through Socialist Planning: An Anthropological Study of a Romanian New Town (1984); and Katherine Verdery, Transylvanian Villagers: Three Centuries of Political, Economic, and Ethnic Change (1983). Michael Shafir, Romania: Politics, Economics, and Society (1985), analyzes the nature of the Ceausescu regime. Vasile S. Cucu David Turnock History The most recent general survey of Romanian history in English, with emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries, is Vlad Georgescu, The Romanians: A History, ed. by Matei Calinescu (1991; originally published in Romanian, 1984). Dumitru Berciu, Romania (1967), covers the prehistory of the Carpathian-Danube region. Dumitru Berciu and Bucur Mitrea, Daco-Romania (1978; originally published in French, 1976), describes the origins and continuity of the Daco-Romans in Dacia. On the modern period, Barbara Jelavich, Russia and the Formation of the Romanian National State, 18211878 (1984), follows the vicissitudes of Russo-Romanian relations. Keith Hitchins, The Rumanian National Movement in Transylvania, 17801849 (1969), is concerned with the political and intellectual elite, and his Rumania: 18661947 (1994), analyzes modern Romanian nation building. Frederick Kellogg, The Road to Romanian Independence (1995), covers the period from the ascension of Prince Charles in 1866 to independence in 1878. Still useful for political and diplomatic history up to 1918 is R.W. Seton-Watson, A History of the Roumanians: From Roman Times to the Completion of Unity (1934, reissued 1963). Henry L. Roberts, Rumania: Political Problems of an Agrarian State (1951, reissued 1969), is a comprehensive account of the period between World War I and the communist takeover. Robert R. King, A History of the Romanian Communist Party (1980), traces the evolution of communism from insignificance to dominance. Mary Ellen Fischer, Nicolae Ceausescu: A Study in Political Leadership (1989), analyzes the formation and nature of the communist dictatorship. Keith Arnold Hitchins Administration and social conditions Government Following the collapse of communism in 1989, a constituent assembly drafted a constitution that was approved by referendum in December 1991. This document established a parliament consisting of a Chamber of Deputies and a Senate. Members of both houses are elected to four-year terms from each of the country's 41 administrative counties under a system of proportional representation: the number of seats allotted to each county is determined by the number of votes cast within the county, and the seats allotted to each county are divided among political parties according to their share of the vote. The president, who also serves a four-year term, is elected directly by a majority of a nationwide vote. The president is commander of Romania's armed forces and chairman of the Supreme Defense Council of the Country; he has the power to declare martial law or national emergencies, with the subsequent approval of parliament. The president also nominates the prime minister after consulting the dominant parties in parliament. The prime minister and the cabinet ministers are responsible for implementing the domestic and foreign policy of the state. The constitution provides for a separation of the executive branch from the judiciary. The judicial system comprises the Supreme Court of Justice (with members appointed by the president), county courts, local courts (whose decisions may be appealed to county courts), and military courts. Political parties Before the 1989 revolution, the Communist Party of Romania was enshrined as the only legal political party and the leading force in Romanian society. The 1991 constitution replaces single-party rule with a democratic and pluralist system, but former communists have maintained prominence in politics through the formation of such parties as the National Salvation Front and the Democratic National Salvation Front. Parties dating from before World War II have been revived, particularly the National Liberal Party and the National Peasant Party. There are also parties representing environmentalists, Romanian nationalists, and the Hungarian minority. Cultural life Institutions of mass cultural education put on performances, often in remote regions and sometimes in the languages of minority ethnic groups. Performances include theatres and puppet shows, operas, music hall shows, song and dance ensemble productions, and musical performances ranging from folk music to symphony concerts. The institutions in which they take place are village clubs, culture clubs, and clubs run by trade unions and other mass organizations. The number of museums has dramatically increased. The film industry, present in Romania since 1912, was controlled by the state. Studios in the Bucharest area produce documentaries and some feature-length films. There are thousands of cinemas in the country; a special feature is the village film festival of the winter months. In spite of these modern developments, Romania still offers a variety of customs, traditions, and forms of folk art. Wood carvings, brightly ornamented costumes, skillfully woven carpets, pottery, and other elements of traditional Romanian culture remain popular and, with the onset of tourism, have become known internationally. Folk art is characterized by abstract or geometric designs and stylized representations of plants and animals. In embroidery and textiles, designs and colour schemes can be associated with particular regions of the country. Special folk arts of Romania are the decoration of highly ornamental Easter eggs and painting on glass, which, however, is becoming a lost skill. Folk music includes dance music, laments and ballads, and pastoral music. Major instruments are the violin, the cobza (a stringed instrument resembling a lute), the tambal (a dulcimer played with small hammers), and the flute. Folk melodies are preserved in the music of modern Romanian composers such as Georges Enesco. The Romanian language, although developing over the centuries in difficult historical conditions, is as Latin as any other Romance language and, like the culture as a whole, continues to exhibit a remarkable vitality. This fact is perhaps paralleled by some of the Modernist tendencies in the Romanian fine arts: the sculptor Constantin Brancusi, a promoter of absolute Modernism coupled with a firm sense of classical Mediterranean values, had great international influence early in the 20th century. Romanian poets and writers, too, have operated in a cultural tradition somewhat different from that in neighbouring countries; in architecture, the Bucharest television centre is but one example of another Modernist trend. The press consists of more than a thousand newspapers and magazines that cater to regional and minority interests or express the views of national organizations and political parties. However, access is complicated by paper shortages and distribution inefficiencies, so that readers in rural areas especially have only a limited choice. These problems are most acute for publications that are critical of the government. State-owned Romanian Television is invaluable to the government for getting its message across, although satellite television is also available. Romanian Radio broadcasts domestic radio programs as well as programs in many foreign languages. Vasile S. Cucu David Turnock