The Romanian Revolution (Romanian: Revoluția Română) was a period of violent civil

unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that
occurred in several countries around the world.[5] The Romanian Revolution started
in the city of Timișoara and soon spread throughout the country, ultimately
culminating in the show trial and execution of longtime Romanian Communist Party
(PCR) General Secretary Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena, and the end of 42
years of Communist rule in Romania. It was also the last removal of a Marxist–
Leninist government in a Warsaw Pact country during the events of 1989, and the
only one that violently overthrew a country's leadership and executed its leader.

Early protests occurred in the city of Timișoara in mid-December on the part of the
Hungarian minority in response to an attempt by the government to evict Hungarian
Reformed Church pastor László Tőkés. In response, Romanians sought the deposition
of Ceaușescu and a change in government in light of similar recent events in
neighbouring nations. The country's ubiquitous secret police force, the Securitate,
which was both one of the largest in the Eastern Bloc and for decades had been the
main suppressor of popular dissent, frequently and violently quashing political
disagreement, ultimately proved incapable of stopping the looming, and then highly
fatal and successful revolt.[6]

Social and economic malaise had been present in the Socialist Republic of Romania
for quite some time, especially during the austerity years of the 1980s. The
austerity measures were designed in part by Ceaușescu to repay the country's
foreign debts.[7] Shortly after a botched public speech by Ceaușescu in the capital
Bucharest that was broadcast to millions of Romanians on state television, rank-
and-file members of the military switched, almost unanimously, from supporting the
dictator to backing the protesters.[8] Riots, street violence and murder in several
Romanian cities over the course of roughly a week led the Romanian leader to flee
the capital city on 22 December with his wife, Elena. Evading capture by hastily
departing via helicopter effectively portrayed the couple as both fugitives and
also acutely guilty of accused crimes. Captured in Târgoviște, they were tried by a
drumhead military tribunal on charges of genocide, damage to the national economy,
and abuse of power to execute military actions against the Romanian people. They
were convicted on all charges, sentenced to death, and immediately executed on
Christmas Day 1989, and were the last people to be condemned to death and executed
in Romania; capital punishment was abolished in Romania on 7 January 1990.

Present-day Romania has unfolded in the shadow of the Ceaușescus along with its
Communist past, and its tumultuous departure from it.[9][10] After Ceaușescu was
toppled, the National Salvation Front (FSN) quickly took power, promising free and
fair elections within five months. Elected in a landslide the following May, the
FSN reconstituted as a political party, installed a series of economic and
democratic reforms,[11] with further social policy changes being implemented by
later governments.[12][13] Since that point, Romania became far more integrated
with the West as opposed to its former, albeit tepid, relations with the Soviet
Union. Romania became a member of NATO and the European Union in 2004 and 2007,
respectively. Democratic reforms have proven to be moderately successful,[14][15]
[16] though issues with corruption remain.[17] Economic reforms continue, with
Romania still possessing one of the highest child poverty rates in the developed
world.