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Romania was the only country where the leader (dictator) didn't step down when he was asked to by Moscow. The leader was also obsessed that Romania would be in

Romania was the only country where the leader (dictator) didn't step down when he was asked to by Moscow. The leader was also obsessed that Romania would be invaded by Russia, like Czech was in 1968, so he had specialized guerilla army units to fight back. This can explain why the army was fighting itself, and why it took so long for the shooting to stop.

rini17 7y ago
None of eastern bloc leaders was "asked to by Moscow" to step down - or do you have any sources for that claim? Gorbachev merely assured everyone that USSR won't intervene like it did in 1956 or 1968, that everyone is on their own. He also encouraged (not enforced) reforms "perestroika" and transparency "glasnost".
- kioieiure 7y ago
  > Visiting Berlin in early October, Gorbachev cautioned the East German leadership of the need to reform, and confided in his advisors that East German leader Erich Honecker had to be replaced. Two weeks later, Honecker was forced to resign, while hundreds of thousands marched in protest throughout major East German cities https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/fall-of-communism https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/fall-of-commu...
  - rini17 7y ago
    Nowhere I could find he was directly forced to resign by Moscow. Some sources say it was Stasi, others that it was his own party because of general political situation (there was mass exodus to West Germany underway). I am from Czechoslovakia, communists there similarly refused any reforms but I don't know of any initiative from Moscow to replace them.
    - kioieiure 7y ago
      I'm from Romania, there was a lot of talk that Gorbachev asked Ceausescu to resign, and offered him asylum in Russia, but I can't find a source for that. But look here, a soviet source says that Moscow would have intervened militarily to prevent Ceausescu's return: > “This victory will be a hundred times more valuable if it is won by the Romanian people themselves,” a senior Soviet official said. “We would definitely act to prevent Ceausescu’s return--by now, that has been made clear to all--but the victory belongs to the Romanian people and must be protected and developed by them. In this, they can count on our firmest support, but let the actions be theirs.” https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-12-24-mn-2156-story.html https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-12-24-mn-2156-s... > In reality, it may have been a carefully planned coup aided by the Soviet Union -- Mikhail Gorbachev's way of eliminating the troublesome despot Nicolae Ceausescu. > Through our sources cultivated in Bucharest and access to highly classified Central Intelligence Agency reports, we have learned that Moscow had a much more direct hand than previously revealed in the creation of the ruling Romanian party to replace the Ceausescu government, the National Salvation Front. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1991/09/22/soviet-hand-in-bucharest/b306c11f-df27-4c05-a63d-b6b37b00ea72/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1991/09/22/s...
      - brokenkebab 7y ago
        It's quite possible that USSR made overthrowing Ceausescu more probable (by clandestine negotiations rather), because after all in spite of being fellow socialists, Romanian regime had unfriendly relations with Kremlin in 80s. It however doesn't support the idea about Gorbi asking anybody to step down.

rini17 7y ago

None of eastern bloc leaders was "asked to by Moscow" to step down - or do you have any sources for that claim? Gorbachev merely assured everyone that USSR won't intervene like it did in 1956 or 1968, that everyone is on their own. He also encouraged (not enforced) reforms "perestroika" and transparency "glasnost".

kioieiure 7y ago
> Visiting Berlin in early October, Gorbachev cautioned the East German leadership of the need to reform, and confided in his advisors that East German leader Erich Honecker had to be replaced. Two weeks later, Honecker was forced to resign, while hundreds of thousands marched in protest throughout major East German cities https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/fall-of-communism https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/fall-of-commu...
- rini17 7y ago
  Nowhere I could find he was directly forced to resign by Moscow. Some sources say it was Stasi, others that it was his own party because of general political situation (there was mass exodus to West Germany underway). I am from Czechoslovakia, communists there similarly refused any reforms but I don't know of any initiative from Moscow to replace them.
  - kioieiure 7y ago
    I'm from Romania, there was a lot of talk that Gorbachev asked Ceausescu to resign, and offered him asylum in Russia, but I can't find a source for that. But look here, a soviet source says that Moscow would have intervened militarily to prevent Ceausescu's return: > “This victory will be a hundred times more valuable if it is won by the Romanian people themselves,” a senior Soviet official said. “We would definitely act to prevent Ceausescu’s return--by now, that has been made clear to all--but the victory belongs to the Romanian people and must be protected and developed by them. In this, they can count on our firmest support, but let the actions be theirs.” https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-12-24-mn-2156-story.html https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-12-24-mn-2156-s... > In reality, it may have been a carefully planned coup aided by the Soviet Union -- Mikhail Gorbachev's way of eliminating the troublesome despot Nicolae Ceausescu. > Through our sources cultivated in Bucharest and access to highly classified Central Intelligence Agency reports, we have learned that Moscow had a much more direct hand than previously revealed in the creation of the ruling Romanian party to replace the Ceausescu government, the National Salvation Front. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1991/09/22/soviet-hand-in-bucharest/b306c11f-df27-4c05-a63d-b6b37b00ea72/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1991/09/22/s...
    - brokenkebab 7y ago
      It's quite possible that USSR made overthrowing Ceausescu more probable (by clandestine negotiations rather), because after all in spite of being fellow socialists, Romanian regime had unfriendly relations with Kremlin in 80s. It however doesn't support the idea about Gorbi asking anybody to step down.