Charismatic politics and particracy have staged a momentous comeback over the past two decades, says Vladimir Tismaneanu. To prevent such phenomena taking root permanently, the region must overcome the two most grievous legacies of the communist past.
After widespread protests in Moldova last week, historian Vladimir Tismaneanu argues that we are witnessing the beginning of a revolutionary movement, which is "characterized by a liberal anticommunism centered on honoring and actualizing individual human rights."
I grew up listening to Radio Free Europe. In a Bucharest pervaded by official lies, with newspapers dominated by sycophantic poems and hagiographic articles celebrating the "triumphant march of Marxism-Leninism" and the infinite genius of the general secretary, Radio Free Europe was indeed the "spoken newspapers of all Romanians."
There was a time when many regarded Romanian leader Nicolae Ceausescu as a proponent of socialism with a human face. Nothing could be further from the truth.
