ARHIVELE OLTENIEI - Universitatea din Craiova

PROTOCHRONISM AND NATIONALISM UNDERCEAUŞESCU’S BRAND IN TOTALITARIAN ROMANIAMĂDĂLINA ABAGIUPolitical propaganda, as it is known today, represents undoubtedly, oneof the pillars on which the history of the 20 th century was built upon. Disposingof this tool, the totalitarian regimes managed to undertake power on theEuropean continent and impose domination through terror and indoctrination.Bearing the influence of the Soviet Union after World War II, Romania had anevolution similar to all the countries under Bolshevik occupation.By power undertaking and eliminating any other political formation, theUnique Party will continue with the one and the same application of the policieslaunched by the URSS. Thus, the communist nomenclature will appeal to twodevices: propaganda and constraint, each of them with its own well definedobjectives.The main propaganda device in totalitarian Romania was represented bythe mass media system. Party press, but also other publications at the time, aswell as radio-television were permanently at the disposal of the communist partyand of its leaders. Without a powerful mass-media back-up, the communistpolicies would not have had the wanted effect. It is well known that the means ofmass information have a special influence on the public; this is exactly why theywere turned into a propagandist weapon to aim at masses’ indoctrination andmanipulation.Besides the mass-media propaganda, PCR appealed to other means ofgaining citizens’ adhesion and especially to consolidate leader’s popularitywithin masses: public manifestations, meetings, parades, organized on differentoccasions such as national holidays, or other important event.Such an important role in creating and supporting Nicolae Ceauseşcu’scult of personality belonged to artists. They were to have a unique mission:dedicating works, odes, poems, songs to the PCR leader, which led to creatingnumberless mystic facets of the leader. Lots of poets eulogized him incessantly,being so-called the God from the Carpathians.It is inherently understood that famous writers, scientists, artists,sportsmen play an extremely important part in gathering social capital by apolitical character. “The public who admires them pleasantly abandonthemselves, most of the time in a blindly way, impressed by their political views(…). Intellectuals’ adhesion is one of the favourable means the propagandaemploys in order to gain credit. It engages masses’ affinity, a much more affinityARHIVELE OLTENIEI, Serie nouă, nr. 21, 2007, p. 117–122