RRI Live!

Listen to Radio Romania International Live

The Involvement of the Communist Political Police- the Securitate in Econom

After 1948, the Romanian communist state seized all enterprises and became the sole owner of Romanian economy

The Involvement of the Communist Political Police- the Securitate in Econom
The Involvement of the Communist Political Police- the Securitate in Econom

, 11.04.2016, 13:35

After 1948, the Romanian communist state seized all enterprises and became the sole owner of Romanian economy, in keeping with the Marxist — Leninist ideology. Moreover, the state became the producer, administrator, supplier and trader, and service provider, the single competitor on a practically non-existing market.



As the consolidation of the regime depended on the economy, the Romanian Communist Party, following the Soviet model, saw economy as its top priority, and the Securitate, the then political police, was assigned the task of monitoring the economy. In all decrees and laws issued by the state, the role of the Securitate was described as follows: “to learn about, prevent and eliminate any action meant to undermine the national economy and prejudice the state security.”



Liviu Taranu, a researcher with the National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives, will tell us now what the economic structures of the political police were: “Always in direct connection with the party apparatus, the Securitate received various missions related to the economy. The structure that supervised all economic activities between 1950 and 1970 was the Counter-Sabotage Directorate, which between 1970-1980 functioned as the 2nd Economic Counterintelligence Directorate. It was not the only structure with such responsibilities. There were many others, such as, for instance, the 1st Domestic Intelligence Directorate, the Foreign Counterintelligence Department, which became the Foreign Intelligence Centre after 1978, and other independent bodies, such as the Independent Foreign Trade Service or the famous Dunarea Foreign Trade Enterprise.”



The Securitate used its own methods to deal with economic matters, which were always closely linked with political strategies.



Liviu Taranu: “In 1989, in an article published in the Securitatea magazine, the head of the 2nd Economic Counterintelligence Directorate, general Emil Macri, said that the structure he was heading was quite active, and it was the clearest evidence that the Party used the Securitate in the economy as well, depending on the political priorities of the Communist Party and its leadership. The Securitate had its own modus operandi, using specific information and operation methods: the setting up of information networks, surveillance networks, searches, detaining, arrests, informative investigations, correspondence interception, phone tapping, etc. The Securitate met its economic obligations by using its own means. Between 1970 and 1980, the main goal of that activity was prevention, very important to dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and the Securitate chiefs. Preventive measures consisted mainly in warnings and the dismantling of various groups.”



Despite the actions carried out by the Securitate, Romania’s economy was going from bad to worse. Here is Liviu Taranu again: “Starting with the 1970s and predominantly in the 1980s, when the economic crisis started to deepen, the 2nd Directorate took over the responsibility to equally supervise Romania’s industrial and agricultural output, both with respect to quantity and quality. Most attention was being paid to export. In the 1980s, the authorities needed to know why the production goals had not been reached, or why certain installations were not properly used and who were the people responsible for those things. So, what happened was that in the 1980s, the Securitate became the main supervisor in the economy. It was also the supervisor of the cooperation relations that had to exist between the various industrial units, but which did not exist because of the existing deadlock. The lack of coordination between enterprises, the major delays in product delivery, the poor quality of most of the products, a blocked procurement process and the failure to meet the objectives set in the annual plan were top issues for the Economic Counterintelligence Directorate.”



Studies have revealed many flaws in the system and a psychological deterioration of human resources. Liviu Taranu: “There was also another side of the Economic Counterintelligence Directorate, namely that of supervising the technological modernization programs used by the large industrial companies. That included the surveillance of scientific research, design and technological engineering institutes, which were always blamed, in particular by the Securitate heads, for the flaws in the manufacturing of the Romanian products. It was not the manufacturing but the design of products that was considered bad. Officers with the 2nd Directorate knew that design flaws were the main reasons why the quality of products was bad, and bad manufacturing accounted for only 5 up to 10% of the problem.”



No matter how feared the Securitate was, that could not save the Romanian economy from collapsing in 1989. It was quite clear that the will of a tyrannical regime could not surpass the elementary logic of economic principles or the people’s wishes and expectations.

banner-Pro-Memoria.-960x540-1.jpg
The History Show Monday, 04 November 2024

The Spark(Scanteia) communist newspaper

The press was one of the communist regime’s most powerful weapons regarding propaganda. The freedom of expression and of the press was a right that...

The Spark(Scanteia) communist newspaper
RRI
The History Show Monday, 28 October 2024

Securitate and the KGB parting ways

The most feared institution of the Romanian communist state was the political police known as Securitate, created on the model of the NKVD, which...

Securitate and the KGB parting ways
Vasile Luca
The History Show Monday, 21 October 2024

Vasile Luca

From the end of World War II in 1945 until 1989, the Red Army imposed communist party regimes in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. They...

Vasile Luca
Gheorghe Gheorghiu –Dej şi Petru Groza /
The History Show Monday, 14 October 2024

The Romanian Communist Party and the Agrarian Reform

According to the Marxist-Leninist theses about means of production, property had to be common, owned by all those who used it and created added...

The Romanian Communist Party and the Agrarian Reform
The History Show Monday, 07 October 2024

The Romanian military fleet in WWII

The history of the Romanian military fleet begins in the middle of the 19th century, when, after the union of the two principalities of Moldova and...

The Romanian military fleet in WWII
The History Show Monday, 30 September 2024

Ana Pauker

Ana Pauker is one of the most conspicuous figureheads in the history of the communist regime in Romania. Ana Pauker played a crucial part in the team...

Ana Pauker
The History Show Monday, 23 September 2024

Nicolae Titulescu and the Romanian diplomacy in Europe in the 1930s

  The diplomacies of countries that gravitate around the powerful ones, always have the mission of being one step ahead of events. They must...

Nicolae Titulescu and the Romanian diplomacy in Europe in the 1930s
The History Show Monday, 16 September 2024

The early days of BBC’s Romanian-language broadcasting

In the world of radio broadcasting, the BBC needs no introduction. The BBC is one of the landmarks without which the history of radio broadcasting...

The early days of BBC’s Romanian-language broadcasting

Partners

Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român
Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS
Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online
Institului European din România Institului European din România
Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti
Muzeul Național de Artă al României Muzeul Național de Artă al României
Le petit Journal Le petit Journal
Radio Prague International Radio Prague International
Muzeul Național de Istorie a României Muzeul Național de Istorie a României
ARCUB ARCUB
Radio Canada International Radio Canada International
Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti” Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti”
SWI swissinfo.ch SWI swissinfo.ch
UBB Radio ONLINE UBB Radio ONLINE
Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl
creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti
italradio italradio
Institutul Confucius Institutul Confucius
BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți

Affiliates

Euranet Plus Euranet Plus
AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters
Digital Radio Mondiale Digital Radio Mondiale
News and current affairs from Germany and around the world News and current affairs from Germany and around the world
Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona

Providers

RADIOCOM RADIOCOM
Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company