title: DeSean Jackson

text: Jackson entered his junior season being considered a Heisman Trophy candidate. His season began promisingly, with a 77-yard punt return for a touchdown against Tennessee in the opening game of the season. Against eleventh-ranked Oregon, he caught 11 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bears to their first victory in Autzen Stadium since 1987. Jackson finished the 2007 season with 65 catches for 762 yards, and scored six touchdowns as a receiver. Jackson was named an All-American as a return specialist. Jackson suffered several minor injuries that limited his effectiveness at times during the season, along with a right thigh injury that forced him to miss most of the game against Washington and the Big Game against Stanford. He also missed the first quarter of the 2007 Armed Forces Bowl for violating undisclosed team rules.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: Jackson left Cal following the 2007 season and declared for the 2008 NFL Draft. He departed holding Pac-10 records for punts returned for a touchdown both in a season (four) and in a career (six). Jackson ranks third all-time at California for receiving yards with 2,423 and receiving touchdowns with 22. He is sixth in receptions (162). Jackson finished with 52 career plays of 20 yards or more, making up 23 percent of his 226 touches.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: Going to the 2008 NFL Draft, Jackson was considered one of the top 10 wide receivers available in a draft class with many talented wide outs. The only knock on Jackson was his small frame, being measured at 5'9¾ " and just over 170 pounds. During the pre-draft period, Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice was quoted saying that Jackson "has all the talent in the world. There's no reason he can't be everything he wants to be at the next level." At the 2008 NFL Combine, Jackson had an impressive showing, running an official 4.35 40-yard dash. He performed well in positional drills, running routes fluidly, and catching passes very well displaying his well-known agility and quickness. He also posted a standing broad jump of 10 feet.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: On April 26, 2008, Jackson was drafted in the second round (49th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He was the seventh wide receiver taken, the first time no wide receivers were drafted in the first round. On July 20, he agreed to terms on a four-year contract with the team.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: Jackson had a good preseason performance, which included a 76-yard punt return for a touchdown against the New England Patriots in the third preseason game. After the Eagles' roster was cut to its maximum 53-man limit for the season, he was listed as the starting punt returner and as a second-string wide receiver.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: Due to injuries sustained by Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown, Jackson was the first rookie to start opening day for head coach Andy Reid. On September 7, Jackson collected six catches for 106 yards in a 38–3 win over the St. Louis Rams. He also returned eight punts for a total of 97 yards, including a 60-yard punt return to set up a field goal. He had over 200 all-purpose yards, a record for a rookie wide receiver. During a "Monday Night Football" game against the Dallas Cowboys on September 15, Jackson celebrated prematurely before running into the end zone by flipping the football behind him at the one-yard line. This led to what would have otherwise been his first NFL touchdown to be challenged and overturned, with Brian Westbrook running in for a touchdown from the one-yard line on the next play. The Eagles lost the game to Dallas 41-37. Jackson finished the game with 110 yards on six receptions, becoming the only receiver in NFL history to have over 100 yards receiving in each of his first two games besides the Eagles' Don Looney in 1940.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: On September 28, Jackson recorded his first offensive touchdown against the Chicago Bears. During this game, he also fumbled a punt return that set up the Bears' go ahead score. The following week against the Washington Redskins on October 5, Jackson returned his first punt return for a touchdown 68 yards. Jackson scored his first rushing touchdown on November 9 on a direct snap in the wildcat formation with a nine-yard run against the New York Giants. A rematch against the Giants on December 7 which resulted in a 20-14 upset of the defending Super Bowl champions marked the first time in the season that Jackson did not have a reception. The following week, Jackson rebounded, recording 77 yards on five catches in a 30–10 victory over the Cleveland Browns. In the playoffs, Jackson recorded just 1 catch for 34 yards in the Eagles' wildcard victory over Minnesota, and four catches for 81 yards in a win over the New York Giants. Jackson's final touchdown of the season came in the on January 18, 2009 against the Arizona Cardinals, when he managed to haul in a 62-yard touchdown to cap a six-catch, 92-yard game. Jackson narrowly finished second to Curtis in postseason receiving yards with 207 to Curtis's 211.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: Jackson finished a successful rookie season with two receiving touchdowns and a team-leading 62 receptions (the most by an Eagles rookie wide-receiver, second only to tight end Keith Jackson's 81 in 1988, and joining Jackson and Don Looney as the only Eagles to lead the team in receptions their rookie seasons). His 912 receiving yards surpassed Keith Jackson's rookie record of 869. He also led the NFL with 50 punt returns (an Eagles' rookie record and 3rd all time) for 440 yards (third in the NFL, fifth ever by an Eagle, and an Eagles' rookie record).


title: DeSean Jackson

text: In Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers, Jackson had his second punt return for an 85-yard touchdown, the second longest in Eagles history. The following week, Kevin Kolb threw his first career touchdown pass to Jackson against the New Orleans Saints for 71 yards. Jackson had 149 receiving yards against the Kansas City Chiefs on September 27 which included a 64-yard touchdown reception. Against the Oakland Raiders on October 17 he caught six receptions for 94 yards, including a 51-yard diving fingertips catch, in a 13–9 loss.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: Jackson caught a 57-yard touchdown pass from Donovan McNabb that gave McNabb his 200th career touchdown and 30,000th career passing yards on October 26 against the Washington Redskins on "Monday Night Football". He also scored his first rushing touchdown of the season on a 67-yard reverse. Jackson injured his right foot during the game and had an x-ray during halftime, but returned to play during the third quarter. He was later named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: In a Week 11 matchup on "Sunday Night Football" against the Chicago Bears, Jackson caught eight passes for 107 yards and a touchdown as the Eagles won a close game, 24-20. On November 29 against the Redskins, Jackson had to leave the game after sustaining a concussion after a helmet-to-helmet hit by linebacker London Fletcher. Jackson recorded two receptions, including a 35-yard touchdown. Jackson missed the next game due to his concussion, but returned on December 13 against the New York Giants. Jackson had a career day, as he caught six passes for 178 yards including a 60-yard touchdown pass from McNabb and a 72-yard punt return for a touchdown (combined for 261 all purpose yards). The game would also put him at eight touchdowns of over 50 yards in a single season, tying an NFL record shared only by Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch and Devin Hester. For his performance against the Giants, Jackson was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: The following week against the San Francisco 49ers, Jackson went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season with 140 receiving yards, including a 19-yard touchdown reception as the Eagles clinched a playoff berth. On December 27, he had four catches for 33 yards and a two-yard touchdown, his shortest touchdown of the season, in a win against the Denver Broncos.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: Jackson was nearly shut down by the Dallas Cowboys in the regular season finale, with only two passes for 36 yards in a 24–0 rout of the Eagles. In a rematch the following week on January 3, 2010 against the Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card Game, he was held by Dallas to three catches for 14 yards, including a six-yard touchdown pass in the 34–14 loss.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: Jackson ended the season as the Eagles' leading receiver with 1,167 yards. He was selected to the 2010 Pro Bowl as a starting wide receiver and a kick returner, the first time in Pro Bowl history that a player was selected at two different positions. At the Pro Bowl, Jackson caught six passes for a team-high 101 yards and two touchdowns, including a 58-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass from McNabb. He was selected to the "Sporting News"' All-Pro team as a punt returner for the 2009 season, averaging 15.2 yards per punt return in 2009 as the league leader.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: After skipping voluntary camp in the spring, Jackson reported to training camp earlier than most veterans. However, he was not speaking to the media and was said to be frustrated about how the Eagles are unwilling to negotiate a contract extension with him. Jackson was carted off the field after he suffered a back injury during the second full team workout of training camp on July 31, but the injury was not serious.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: In a 35–32 victory over the Detroit Lions, Jackson had 135 receiving yards and a 45-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass. The following week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jackson caught a 61-yard touchdown and finished the game with five receptions for 153 yards. However, on October 3 and 10, Jackson caught only five passes for 43 total yards. He scored a pair of touchdowns on October 17 against the Atlanta Falcons, one on a 31-yard run and the second on a 34-yard reception from Kevin Kolb. During the game, he sustained a severe concussion after a collision with Atlanta cornerback Dunta Robinson, with both players assisted from the field. Jackson returned to play on November 7 against the Indianapolis Colts.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: On November 15, after an altercation with LaRon Landry, Jackson caught a then career long 88-yard touchdown pass from Michael Vick on the first play from scrimmage while Landry was covering him in 59-28 a "Monday Night Football" victory against the Washington Redskins. He surpassed this on December 12 when he had a 91-yard touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys and also finished the game with a personal best 210 receiving yards. Jackson again ended the regular season as the team's leading receiver with 1,056 yards. He was ranked 29th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2011.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: On December 19, 2010, Jackson returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown to lead the Eagles to a win against the New York Giants in the final 14 seconds of the game. The Eagles had trailed 31-10 with under eight minutes to play but had come back with three unanswered touchdowns. With 14 seconds left, the game was tied at 31-31 and Jackson received the punt. He fumbled at first, but then picked it up and ran 65 yards for the score, running parallel to the goal line when he reached it in order to wind out the time. This punt return is the first and only game-winning punt return on the final play from scrimmage in the history of the NFL.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: On July 28, 2011, Jackson failed to report to Eagles' training camp at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania as required in his contract. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, offered no immediate explanation for his absence. Jackson faced fines of $30,000-a-day until he reported to camp. His deadline to report was August 9 or he would have lost a year of service time toward free agency. Jackson's holdout ended on August 8 when he reported to training camp. On November 13, in a game against the Arizona Cardinals, Jackson was deactivated for missing a special teams meeting. The following week in a matchup against the New York Giants, Jackson flipped the ball at New York defensive coordinator Perry Fewell after making a 50-yard reception and was flagged for taunting, drawing a $10,000 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct. In a November 27 loss to the New England Patriots, he was benched for the entire fourth quarter after a performance that included drops of two potential touchdown passes. Jackson ended the season as the Eagles' leading receiver with 961 yards. He also had the lowest total punt return yards of his career with 114 and did not return a punt for a touchdown during the 2011 season. He was ranked 71st by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2012.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: Jackson received the Eagles' franchise tag on March 1, 2012. He was re-signed to a five-year contract worth up to $51 million on March 14. He had more than 100 yards receiving against Baltimore and New Orleans before fracturing his ribs in Week 12 against the Carolina Panthers. In 11 games, he had 45 receptions for 700 yards; his 77-yard touchdown catch against New Orleans was the longest by an Eagles player that season.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: Jackson began the 2013 season with 104 yards against Washington, and followed this with career-bests in receptions yards (nine and 193) against San Diego. After a 132-yard game 5 (for which he won offensive player-of-the-week honors), he had his first career multiple-receiving-touchdown game against Tampa Bay. In week 14 against Minnesota, he again set new career marks with 10 receptions for 195 yards. On the year, he led the team with 82 receptions for 1,332 yards (4th and 2nd most by an Eagle in a season). Though this was statistically the best season of his career, and led to his third Pro Bowl selection, Jackson was released by the Eagles on March 28, 2014. He left the Eagles with the franchise's 4th most receiving yards (6,117), 8th most receptions (356), 9th most receiving touchdowns (32), and tied for the 3rd most 100+ receiving-yard games (20). He was ranked 63rd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2014.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: On April 2, 2014, Jackson signed with the Washington Redskins to a reported three-year, $24 million contract with $16 million guaranteed.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: On September 14, 2014, Jackson suffered a bruised left shoulder against the Jacksonville Jaguars and was forced to leave the game in the first half. Despite the injury, he would play the following week against Eagles in his return to Philadelphia. In the game, he scored an 81-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kirk Cousins. The jersey that Jackson wore in that game would be featured at the Pro Football Hall of Fame after he became the third player in NFL history to record an 80-yard touchdown both for and against a team. On October 17, 2014, Jackson was fined $16,537 for a horse-collar tackle on Arizona Cardinals safety Rashad Johnson in Week 6. Jackson broke 100-yards receiving in six games that season, and ended with 56 receptions for a team-leading 1,169 and six touchdowns, and led the NFL for the second time in his career with 20.9 yards per catch. He was ranked 50th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2015.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: On August 6, Jackson suffered a shoulder injury that kept him sidelined for most of pre-season training, and then injured a hamstring in the first quarter of the season opener against Miami. Jackson did not return until November 8, and even then saw limited duty over the remaining 10 games of the season. While injured, Jackson's home in Tarzana, California was reportedly attacked and violently defended by guests while he was away. On December 20, Jackson caught a 77-yard touchdown pass from Cousins as part of his only 100 yard game of the season (6 catches for 153 yards). The next week, Jackson was booed by the Philadelphia crowd as he contributed to the Redskins' 38-24 division-clinching victory. He ended the season with 30 catches for 528 yards (career lows) and 4 touchdowns.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: Jackson appeared to return to form with 6 catches for 102 yards in a season-opening loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He caught at least one pass in each of the 16 games that season, though production was lower during the season's middle. In week 4, he was fined for wearing police caution tape on his shoes to protest the role of race in the American criminal justice system. He went over 100 yards in four-out-of-five games late in the season, including 3 catches for 102 yards, and a go-ahead 80-yard touchdown against his former team on December 11 in Philadelphia. Following a 7-reception, 111-yard effort the next week, Jackson was fined a second time in the season for the color of his cleats. Both he and teammate Pierre Garçon reached 1,000 yards receiving in a season-finale loss to the Giants, becoming the first Redskins tandem since 1999 to achieve this feat, and also becoming the 7th and 8th Redskins in history with multiple 1,000 yard receiving seasons. He ended the year with 56 receptions for 1,005 yards and 4 touchdowns, leading the NFL for the third time with 17.9 yards per catch.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: On March 9, 2017, Jackson signed a three-year, $33.5 million contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On September 24, Jackson caught his first touchdown as a Buccaneer against the Minnesota Vikings. On October 5, Jackson caught five passes for 106 yards in a 19-14 loss against the New England Patriots. Overall, in the 2017 season, he recorded 50 receptions for 668 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: On September 9, 2018, Jackson caught five passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns in the season-opening 48-40 win over defending NFC South champions New Orleans Saints. The performance was his second career game with two receiving touchdowns (58 and 36 yards), despite leaving the game with a concussion. His 58-yard touchdown reception was his 27th-career touchdown over 50 yards, which tied him for third most in NFL history, behind Randy Moss (29) & Jerry Rice (37). He also surpassed 100 yards in Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles (129 yards and a touchdown) and Week 4 against the Chicago Bears (112 yards), to enter Tampa Bay's bye-week seventh in the NFL in receiving yards and first in yards-per-reception at 24.9. His output significantly declined from this point, however. Over the next seven games, he averaged three receptions for 47 yards per game, and had only one touchdown reception (though he added a rushing touchdown in Week 7 against the Cleveland Browns), before an Achilles tendon injury sidelined him for all but one reception over the last five weeks of the season. The one receiving touchdown, a 60-yard reception in Week 8 against the Cincinnati Bengals, was Jackson's record-setting 24th NFL receiving touchdown of 60 yards or more, breaking a tie with Jerry Rice. The record came a week after Jackson became the 47th NFL player to reach 10,000 receiving yards.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: The 32-year-old Jackson ended the 2018 season with enough receptions (41 for 774 yards) to qualify as the league-leader in yards-per-reception (18.9) for the fourth time in his career.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: On March 13, 2019, Jackson and a 2020 seventh-round selection were traded to the Eagles in exchange for a 2019 sixth-round compensatory selection (Pick #208, used to draft Scotty Miller). Jackson made his return to the Eagles in Week 1 against another former team, the Washington Redskins. In the game, Jackson caught eight passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns as the Eagles won 32-27. Both touchdowns were long, putting him at 31 career touchdowns receptions over 50 yards, passing Randy Moss (29) for second in NFL history. He underwent core muscle surgery on November 5, and was subsequently placed on injured reserve.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: In the first three weeks of the 2020 season, Jackson caught 10 passes for 121 yards before missing the next three games due to a hamstring injury. He returned in Week 7, but suffered a lower body injury in the game and was placed on injured reserve on October 26, 2020. He was activated on December 26, 2020. In Week 16 against the Dallas Cowboys, Jackson caught an 81-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Hurts during the 37–17 loss. The touchdown was his record-extending 25th of 60 or more yards and his record-tying 5th of 80 or more yards, joining Jerry Rice, Lance Alworth, Bob Hayes and Derrick Alexander. He finished the 2020 season with 14 receptions for 236 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in five games. Jackson was released on February 19, 2021.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: Jackson signed with the Los Angeles Rams on March 21, 2021. Jackson recorded his first touchdown with the Rams in their Week 3 win against the Buccaneers, on a 75-yard pass from Matthew Stafford. On November 2, Jackson was released by the Rams upon request. With the Rams winning Super Bowl LVI, Jackson was awarded his first Super Bowl ring.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: On November 8, 2021, Jackson signed with the Las Vegas Raiders. In Week 12, against the Dallas Cowboys, he had three receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown in the 36–33 victory. In the 2021 season, Jackson had 20 receptions for 454 yards and two touchdowns.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: On October 18, 2022, Jackson was signed to the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad. He appeared for the first time in Week 9, and in Week 12 he caught a 62-yard pass to set up the go-ahead touchdown late in the 4th quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was signed to the active roster just after Week 13's game on December 5, 2022.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: Jackson is the son of Bill and Gayle Jackson, and his oldest brother, Byron, is a former San Jose State wide receiver who spent two seasons on the Kansas City Chiefs' practice squad. His father was hospitalized with pancreatic cancer during the Eagles run in the 2009 playoffs, and died on May 14, 2009. Jackson currently resides in Moorestown, New Jersey. Jackson was featured on the cover of the PlayStation 2 version of "NCAA Football 09". Jackson took part and won a competition of "Hole in the Wall" in April 2011.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: Jackson has also received media attention for plays that critics say show poor judgement on his part, and in particular, multiple premature celebrations which have resulted in lost touchdowns. In the movie Silver Linings Playbook, an otherwise-conservative psychotherapist encourages the protagonist (played by Bradley Cooper) to wear Jackson's jersey.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: In July 2020, Jackson posted an Instagram story featuring a quote falsely attributed to Adolf Hitler, espousing Black Hebrew Israelite ideology, that read: "because the white Jews knows ["sic"] that the Negroes are the real Children of Israel and to keep Americas ["sic"] secret the Jews will blackmail America. They will extort America, their plan for world domination won't work if the Negroes know who they were." The post also read "Hitler was right."


title: DeSean Jackson

text: Jackson posted several quotes from Louis Farrakhan on his Instagram account in which Farrakhan accused Dr. Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates of desiring to "depopulate the Earth" with a COVID-19 vaccine. Farrakhan has been labeled an antisemitic extremist by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Jackson later deleted the posts in question and apologized for his statements.


title: DeSean Jackson

text: After the incident, Jackson spoke with leading Philadelphia Jews including Rabbi Doniel Grodnitzky of Chabad Young Philly, Philadelphia 76ers co-owner, Michael G. Rubin, and David J. Adelman, Chairman of the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation. Jackson also talked with a Holocaust survivor Edward Mosberg and agreed to visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, a museum on the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian People's Republic (, RPR). The country was an Eastern Bloc state and a member of the Warsaw Pact with a dominant role for the Romanian Communist Party enshrined in . Geographically, RSR was bordered by the Black Sea to the east, the Soviet Union (via the Ukrainian and Moldavian SSRs) to the north and east, Hungary and Yugoslavia (via SR Serbia) to the west, and Bulgaria to the south.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: As World War II ended, Romania, a former Axis member which had overthrown the Axis, was occupied by the Soviet Union, the sole representative of the Allies. On 6 March 1945, after mass demonstrations by communist sympathizers and political pressure from the Soviet representative of the Allied Control Commission, a new pro-Soviet government that included members of the previously outlawed Romanian Workers' Party was installed. Gradually, more members of the Workers' Party and communist-aligned parties gained control of the administration and pre-war political leaders were steadily eliminated from political life. In December 1947, King Michael I was forced to abdicate and the People's Republic of Romania was declared.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: At first, Romania's scarce post-war resources were drained by the "SovRoms," new tax-exempt Soviet-Romanian companies that allowed the Soviet Union to control Romania's major sources of income. Another drain was the war reparations paid to the Soviet Union. However, during the 1950s, Romania's communist government began to assert more independence, leading to, for example, the withdrawal of all Soviet troops from Romania by 1958. Overall, from the 1950s to the 1970s, the country exhibited high rates of economic growth and significant improvements in infant mortality, life expectancy, literacy, urbanization, and women's rights, but then stagnated in the 1980s.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: In the 1960s and 1970s, Nicolae Ceaușescu became General Secretary of the Communist Party (1965), Chairman of the State Council (1967), and the newly established role of President in 1974. Ceaușescu's denunciation of the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and a brief relaxation in internal repression led to a positive image both at home and in the West. However, rapid economic growth fueled in part by foreign credits gradually gave way to an austerity and political repression that led to the violent fall of his totalitarian government in December 1989.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Many people were executed or died in custody during communist Romania's existence, most during the Stalinist era of the 1950s. While judicial executions between 1945 and 1964 numbered 137, deaths in custody are estimated in the tens or hundreds of thousands. Others were arrested for political, economical, or other reasons and suffered imprisonment or torture.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: The 1965 Constitution remained in effect after its dissolution and was amended to reflect Romania's transition to democracy. It was replaced by the current constitution on 8 December 1991, after a nationwide referendum abolished the socialist system of government completely and replaced it with a semi-presidential system.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: When King Michael, supported by the main political parties, overthrew Ion Antonescu in August 1944, breaking Romania away from the Axis and bringing it over to the Allied side, Michael could do nothing to erase the memory of his country's recent active participation in the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Romanian forces fought under Soviet command, driving through Northern Transylvania into Hungary proper, and on into Czechoslovakia and Austria. However, the Soviets treated Romania as a conquered territory, and Soviet troops continued to occupy the country on the basis of the Romanians having been active Nazi allies with a fascist government until very recently.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: The Yalta Conference had granted the Soviet Union a predominant interest in Romania, the Paris Peace Treaties did not acknowledge Romania as an allied co-belligerent, as the Romanian army had fought hard against the Soviets for the better part of the war, changing sides only when the tides started to turn. The Communists, as all political parties, played only a minor role in King Michael's first wartime government, headed by General Constantin Sănătescu, though their presence increased in the one led by Nicolae Rădescu. This changed in March 1945, when Dr. Petru Groza of the Ploughmen's Front, a party closely associated with the Communists, became prime minister. His government was broad-based on paper, including members of most major prewar parties except the fascist Iron Guard. However, the Communists held the key ministries, and most of the ministers nominally representing non-Communist parties were, like Groza himself, fellow travelers.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: The King was not happy with the direction of this government, but when he attempted to force Groza's resignation by refusing to sign any legislation (a move known as "the royal strike"), Groza simply chose to enact laws without bothering to obtain Michael's signature. On 8 November 1945, King Michael's name day, a pro-monarchy demonstration in front of the Royal Palace in Bucharest escalated into street fights between opposition supporters and soldiers, police and pro-government workers, resulting in dozens of killed and wounded; Soviet officers restrained Romanian soldiers and police from firing on civilians, and Soviet troops restored order.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Despite the King's disapproval, the first Groza government brought land reform and women's suffrage, the former gave the party widespread popularity among peasants from the South and East while the latter gained it the support of educated women. However, it also brought the beginnings of Soviet domination of Romania. In the elections of 19 November 1946, the Communist-led Bloc of Democratic Parties (BPD) claimed 84% of the votes. These elections were characterized by widespread irregularities, including intimidation, electoral fraud, and assassinations Archives confirm suspicions at the time that the election results were, in fact, falsified.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: After forming a government, the Communists moved to eliminate the role of the centrist parties; notably, the National Peasants' Party was accused of espionage after it became clear in 1947 that their leaders were meeting secretly with United States officials. A show trial of their leadership was then arranged, and they were put in jail. Other parties were forced to "merge" with the Communists. In 1946 and 1947, several high-ranking members in the pro-Axis government were executed as war criminals, primarily for their involvement in the Holocaust and for attacking the Soviet Union. Antonescu himself was executed 1 June 1946.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: By 1947, Romania remained the only monarchy in the Eastern Bloc. On 30 December that year, Michael was at his palace in Sinaia when Groza and Gheorghiu-Dej summoned him back to Bucharest. They presented him with a pretyped instrument of abdication and demanded that he sign it. With pro-Communist troops surrounding his palace and his telephone lines cut, Michael was forced to sign the document. Hours later, Parliament abolished the monarchy and proclaimed Romania a People's Republic. In February 1948, the Communists merged with the Social Democrats to form the Romanian Workers' Party. However, most independent-minded Socialists were soon pushed out. Meanwhile, many non-Communist politicians had either been imprisoned or fled into exile.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: The Communist regime was formalized with the constitution of 13 April 1948. The new constitution was a near-copy of the 1936 Soviet Constitution. While it guaranteed all manner of freedoms on paper, any association which had a "fascist or anti-democratic nature" was forbidden. This provision was broadly interpreted to ban any party not willing to do the Communists' bidding, and gave a legal façade to political repression.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Although the 1948 Constitution and its two successors provided a simulacrum of religious freedom, the regime in fact had a policy of promoting Marxist–Leninist atheism, coupled with religious persecution. The role of religious bodies was strictly limited to their houses of worship, and large public demonstrations were strictly forbidden. In 1948, in order to minimize the role of the clergy in society, the government adopted a decree nationalizing church property, including schools. The regime found wiser to use religion and make it subservient to the regime rather than to eradicate it. The Communist government also disbanded the Romanian Greek-Catholic Uniate Church, declaring its merger with the Romanian Orthodox Church.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: The early years of Communist rule in Romania were marked by repeated changes of course and by numerous arrests and imprisonments as factions contended for dominance. The country's resources were also drained by the Soviet's SovRom agreements, which facilitated shipping of Romanian goods to the Soviet Union at nominal prices.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: In the Communist leadership, there appear to have been three important factions, all of them Stalinist, differentiated more by their respective personal histories than by any deep political or philosophical differences. Later historiography claimed to identify the following factions: the "Muscovites", notably Ana Pauker and Vasile Luca, who had spent the war in Moscow and the "Prison Communists", notably Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, who had been imprisoned and went into hiding in Romania during the war.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Pauker and her allies were accused of deviating to the left and right. For instance, they were initially allied on not liquidating the rural bourgeoise, but later shifted their position. Ultimately, with Joseph Stalin's backing, Gheorghiu-Dej won out. Pauker was purged from the party (along with 192,000 other party members); Pătrășcanu was executed after a show trial.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Gheorghiu-Dej, a committed Stalinist, was unhappy with the reforms in Nikita Khrushchev's Soviet Union after Stalin's death in 1953. He also balked at Comecon's goal of turning Romania into the "breadbasket" of the East Bloc, pursuing an economic plan based on heavy industry and energy production. The government closed Romania's largest labor camps, abandoned the Danube–Black Sea Canal project, halted rationing and hiked workers' wages. These factors combined to put Romania under Gheorghiu-Dej on a relatively independent and nationalist route.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Gheorghiu-Dej identified with Stalinism, and the more liberal Soviet government threatened to undermine his authority. In an effort to reinforce his position, Gheorghiu-Dej pledged cooperation with any state, regardless of political-economic system, as long as it recognized international equality and did not interfere in other nations' domestic affairs. This policy led to a tightening of Romania's bonds with China, which also advocated national self-determination and opposed Soviet hegemonism.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Gheorghiu-Dej resigned as the party's general secretary in 1954 but retained the premiership; a four-member collective secretariat, including Nicolae Ceaușescu, controlled the party for a year before Gheorghiu-Dej again took up the reins. Despite its new policy of international cooperation, Romania joined the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact) in 1955, which entailed subordinating and integrating a portion of its military into the Soviet military machine. Romania later refused to allow Warsaw Pact maneuvers on its soil and limited its participation in military maneuvers elsewhere within the alliance.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: In 1956, the Soviet premier, Nikita Khrushchev, denounced Stalin in a secret speech before the Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). Gheorghiu-Dej and the leadership of the Romanian Workers' Party ("Partidul Muncitoresc Român, PMR") were fully braced to weather de-Stalinization. Gheorghiu-Dej made Pauker, Luca and Georgescu scapegoats for the Romanian communist past excesses and claimed that the Romanian party had purged its Stalinist elements even before Stalin died in 1953. In all likelihood, Gheorghiu-Dej himself ordered the violence and coercion in the collectivization movements, since he did not rebuke those who perpetuated abuses. In fact, Pauker reprimanded any cadre who forced peasants, and once she was purged, the violence reappeared.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: In October 1956, Poland's communist leaders refused to succumb to Soviet military threats to intervene in domestic political affairs and install a more obedient politburo. A few weeks later, the Communist Party in Hungary virtually disintegrated during a popular revolution. Poland's defiance and Hungary's popular uprising inspired Romanian students to organize meetings in București, Cluj and Timișoara calling for liberty, better living conditions, and an end to Soviet domination. Under the pretext that the Hungarian uprising might incite his nation's own revolt, Gheorghiu-Dej took radical measures which meant persecutions and jailing of various "suspects", especially people of Hungarian origin. He also advocated swift Soviet intervention, and the Soviet Union reinforced its military presence in Romania, particularly along the Hungarian border. Although Romania's unrest proved fragmentary and controllable, Hungary's was not, so in November Moscow mounted a bloody invasion of Hungary.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: After the Revolution of 1956, Gheorghiu-Dej worked closely with Hungary's new leader, János Kádár, who was installed by the Soviet Union. Romania took Hungary's former premier (leader of the 1956 revolution) Imre Nagy into custody. He was jailed at Snagov, north of Bucharest. After a series of interrogations by Soviets and Romanian authorities, Nagy was returned to Budapest for trial and execution.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Romania's government also took measures to reduce public discontent by reducing investments in heavy industry, boosting output of consumer goods, decentralizing economic management, hiking wages and incentives, and instituting elements of worker management. The authorities eliminated compulsory deliveries for private farmers but reaccelerated the collectivization program in the mid-1950s, albeit less brutally than earlier. The government declared collectivization complete in 1962, when collective and state farms controlled 77% of the arable land.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Despite Gheorghiu-Dej's claim that he had purged the Romanian party of Stalinists, he remained susceptible to attack for his obvious complicity in the party's activities from 1944 to 1953. At a plenary PMR meeting in March 1956, Miron Constantinescu and Iosif Chișinevschi, both Politburo members and deputy premiers, criticized Gheorghiu-Dej. Constantinescu, who advocated a Khrushchev-style liberalization, posed a particular threat to Gheorghiu-Dej because he enjoyed good connections with the Moscow leadership. The PMR purged Constantinescu and Chișinevschi in 1957, denouncing both as Stalinists and charging them with complicity with Pauker. Afterwards, Gheorghiu-Dej faced no serious challenge to his leadership. Ceaușescu replaced Constantinescu as head of PMR cadres.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: The cadres – anyone who was not a rank-and-file member of the Communist Party – were deemed the Party's vanguard, as they were entrusted with the power to construct a new social order and the forms of power that would sustain it. They still underwent extensive surveillance, which created an environment of competition and rivalry.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Once the Communist government became more entrenched, the number of arrests increased. The General Directorate of People's Security, or 'Securitate', was established in 1948 with the stated aim "to defend the democratic conquest and to ensure the security of the Romanian People’s Republic against the plotting of internal and external enemies".


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: All strata of society were involved, but particularly targeted were the prewar elites, such as intellectuals, clerics, teachers, former politicians (even if they had left-leaning views), and anybody who could potentially form the nucleus of anti-Communist resistance. According to figures, in the years between 1945 and 1964, 73,334 people were arrested.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: The existing prisons were filled with political prisoners, and a new system of forced labor camps and prisons was created, modeled after the Soviet Gulag. A decision to put into practice the century-old project for a Danube–Black Sea Canal served as a pretext for the erection of several labor camps, where numerous people died. Some of the most notorious prisons included Sighet, Gherla, Pitești, and Aiud, and forced labor camps were set up at lead mines and in the Danube Delta.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: One of the most notorious and infamous brainwashing experiments in Eastern Europe's history took place in Romania, in the political prison of Pitești, a small city about northwest of Bucharest. This prison is still infamous in Romania for the so-called 'Pitești experiment' or Pitești phenomenon, conducted there between 1949 and 1952. The prison in Pitești and the Pitești experiment aimed to 'reeducate' the (real or imagined) opponents of the regime. It involved psychological and physical torture of prisoners, and the submission of them to humiliating, degrading and dehumanizing acts. Tens of people died in this 'experiment', but its aim was not to kill the people, but to 'reeducate' them. Some of those who were thus 'reeducated' later became torturers themselves. Of those who survived Pitești, many either took their own lives or ended up in mental institutions.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: The Communist government also decided on the deportation of peasants from the Banat (south-west from Transylvania, at the border with Yugoslavia), started on 18 June 1951. About 45,000 people were forcibly "resettled" in lesser populated regions on the eastern plains (Bărăgan). The government decision was directed towards creating a "cordon sanitaire" against Tito's Yugoslavia, but was also used as an intimidation tactic to force the remaining peasants to join collective farms. Most deportees lived in the Bărăgan for 5 years (until 1956), but some remained there permanently.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Anti-communist resistance also had an organized form, and many people opposing the government took up arms and formed partisan groups, comprising 10–40 people. There were attacks on police posts and sabotage. Some of the famous partisans were Elisabeta Rizea from Nucșoara and Gheorghe Arsenescu. Despite the numerous secret police ("Securitate") and army troops massed against them, armed resistance in the mountains continued until the early 1960s, and one of the best known partisan leaders was not captured until 1974.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Another form of anti-communist resistance, non-violent this time, was the student movement of 1956. In reaction to the anti-communist revolt in Hungary, echoes were felt all over the Eastern bloc. Protests took place in some university centers resulting in numerous arrests and expulsions. The most-organised student movement was in Timișoara, where 3000 were arrested. In Bucharest and Cluj, organised groups were set up which tried to make common cause with the anti-communist movement in Hungary and coordinate activity. The authorities' reaction was immediate – students were arrested or suspended from their courses, some teachers were dismissed, and new associations were set up to supervise student activities.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Tens of thousands of people were killed as part of repression and agricultural collectivization in Communist Romania primarily under Gheorghiu-Dej.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Gheorghiu-Dej died in 1965 and, after a power struggle, was succeeded by the previously obscure Nicolae Ceaușescu. During his last two years, Gheorghiu-Dej had exploited the Soviet–Chinese dispute and begun to oppose the hegemony of the Soviet Union. Ceaușescu, supported by colleagues of Gheorghiu-Dej such as Maurer, continued this popular line. Relations with Western countries and many other states began to be strengthened in what seemed to be the national interest of Romania. Under a policy of de-Russification the forced Soviet (mostly Russian) cultural influence in the country which characterized the 1950s was stopped and Western media were allowed to circulate in Romania instead.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: On 21 August 1965, following the example of Czechoslovakia, the name of the country was changed to "Socialist Republic of Romania" ("Republica Socialistă România, RSR") and PMR's old name was restored ("Partidul Comunist Român, PCR"; "Romanian Communist Party").


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: In his early years in power, Ceaușescu was genuinely popular, both at home and abroad. Agricultural goods were abundant, consumer goods began to reappear, there was a cultural thaw, and, what was important abroad, he spoke out against the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. While his reputation at home soon soured, he continued to have uncommonly good relations with Western governments and with international capitalist institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank because of his independent political line. Romania under Ceaușescu maintained and sometimes improved diplomatic and other relations with, among others, West Germany, Israel, China, Albania, and Pinochet's Chile, all for various reasons not on good terms with Moscow.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Concerned about the country's low birthrates, Nicolae Ceaușescu enacted an aggressive natalist policy, which included outlawing abortion and contraception, routine pregnancy tests for women, taxes on childlessness, and legal discrimination against childless people. This period has later been depicted in movies and documentaries (such as "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days", "Children of the Decree"). To counter the sharp decline of the population, the Communist Party decided that the Romanian population should be increased from 23 to 30 million inhabitants. In October 1966, Decree 770 was authorized by Ceaușescu.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: These pro-natalist measures had some degree of success, as a baby boom resulted in the late 1960s, with the generations born in 1967 and 1968 being the largest in the country's history. The natalist policies temporarily increased birth rates for a few years, but this was followed by a later decline due to an increased use of illegal abortion. Ceaușescu's policy resulted in the deaths of over 9,000 women due to illegal abortions, large numbers of children put into Romanian orphanages by parents who couldn't cope with raising them, street children in the 1990s (when many orphanages were closed and the children ended up on the streets), and overcrowding in homes and schools.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Other restrictions of human rights included invasion of privacy by the secret police (the "Securitate"), censorship and relocation, but not on the same scale as in the 1950s.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: During the Ceaușescu era, there was a secret ongoing "trade" between Romania on one side and Israel and West Germany on the other side, under which Israel and West Germany paid money to Romania to allow Romanian citizens with certified Jewish or German ancestry to emigrate to Israel and West Germany, respectively.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Ceaușescu's Romania continued to pursue Gheorghiu-Dej's policy of industrialization. Romania made progress with the economy. From 1951 to 1974, Romania's gross industrial output increased at an average annual rate of 13 percent. Several branches of heavy industry were founded, including the machine-tool, tractor, and automotive industries; large-tonnage shipbuilding; the manufacture of electric diesel locomotives; and the electronics and petrochemical industries.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Prior to the mid-1970s, Bucharest, as most other cities, was developed by expanding the city, especially towards the south, east and west. High density residential neighbourhoods were built on the outskirts of the city, some (such as Drumul Taberei, Berceni, Titan or Giurgiului) of architectural and urban planning value. Conservation plans were made, especially during the 1960s and early 1970s, but all were halted after Ceaușescu embarked on what is known as "The Small Cultural Revolution" ("Mica revoluție culturală"), after visiting North Korea and the People's Republic of China and then delivering a speech known as the July Theses. In the late 1970s, the construction of the Bucharest Metro system was started. After two years, 10 km of network were already complete and after another 2 years, 9 km of tunnels were ready for use. By 17 August 1989, 49.01 km of the subway system and 34 stations were already in use.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: The earthquake of 1977 shocked Bucharest; many buildings collapsed, and many others were weakened. This was the backdrop that led to a policy of large-scale demolition which affected monuments of historical significance or architectural masterpieces such as the monumental Vǎcǎrești Monastery (1722), the "Sfânta Vineri" (1645) and "Enei" (1611) Churches, the Cotroceni (1679) and Pantelimon (1750) Monasteries, and the art deco "Republic's Stadium" (ANEF Stadium, 1926). Even the Palace of Justice – built by Romania's foremost architect, Ion Mincu – was scheduled for demolition in early 1990, according to the systematisation papers. Yet another tactic was abandoning and neglecting buildings and bringing them into such a state that they would require being torn down.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Thus, the policy towards the city after the earthquake was not one of reconstruction, but one of demolition and building anew. An analysis by the Union of Architects, commissioned in 1990, claims that over 2000 buildings were torn down, with over 77 of very high architectural importance, most of them in good condition. Even Gara de Nord (the city's main railway station), listed on the Romanian Architectural Heritage List, was scheduled to be torn down and replaced in early 1992.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Despite all of this, and despite the much-questioned treatment of HIV-infected orphans, the country continued to have a notably good system of schools. Also, not every industrialization project was a failure: Ceaușescu left Romania with a reasonably effective system of power generation and transmission, gave Bucharest a functioning subway, and left many cities with an increase in habitable apartment buildings.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Before austerity Romania had made considerable progress in many areas. Between 1950 and 1973 Romania joined Yugoslavia and Bulgaria in achieving average annual growth rates that were above both the Central European and the West European average. During the first 3 post-war decades Romania industrialized faster than Spain, Greece, and Portugal. The infant mortality rate plummeted from 139 per 1,000 during the interwar period to 35 in the 1970s. During the interwar period half the population was illiterate but under the communist government illiteracy was eradicated. The population became urbanized, women's rights greatly improved, life expectancy grew, among many other achievements.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Romania continued to make progress. High rates of growth in production created conditions for raising living standards of the people. From 1950 to the mid-1980s, average net wages increased more than eightfold. The consumption fund increased 22-fold, and a broad program of building cultural facilities and housing was carried out. Over 80 percent of the country's population had moved to new apartments during this period.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Despite all this, living standards in the country remained some of Europe's lowest and as early as 1981, there were clear signs of public discontent, such as riots and an angry mob throwing rocks at Ceaușescu's helicopter while it made a flight to Transylvania that October. Ceaușescu desired to repay Western loans, and thus enacted a harsh austerity policy, including rationing of food, gas, heating and electricity. People in cities had to turn to natural gas containers (""butelii"") or charcoal stoves, even though they were connected to the gas mains.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: With full-scale food rationing in place, the Communist Party published official guidelines on how Romanians could eat nutritiously while reducing their calorie intake by 25%. There was a shortage of available goods for the average Romanian. By 1984, despite a high crop yield and increased food production, wide-scale food rationing was introduced. The government promoted it as "rational eating" and "a means to reduce obesity". Most of what was available were export rejects, as most of the quality goods were exported, even underpriced, in order to obtain hard currency, either to pay the debt, or to push forward in the ever-growing pursuit of heavy industrialization.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Measures in the mechanization and chemicalization of farming helped to increase the output of agricultural products. In 1950, more than 300 kg of cereals was gathered per head of the population; by 1982 this amount had increased to 1 ton per person. Meat production increased from 29.5 to 100 kg.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: In spite of the Soviet-let boycott, Romania participated in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. At that time, it was the only Soviet-aligned country to participate in the Olympic Games.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: In the late 1980s, the United Nations Human Development report classified Romania as having had high human development. The life expectancy was 71 years, the literacy rate was 96%, and the Real GDP per capita was $3000.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: By 1985, despite Romania's huge refining capacity, petroleum products were strictly rationed with supplies drastically cut, a Sunday curfew was instated, and many buses used methane propulsion (they were mockingly named "bombs"); taxis were converted to burning methanol. Electricity was rationed to divert supplies to heavy industry, with a maximum monthly allowed consumption of 20 kWh per family (everything over this limit was heavily taxed). Only one in five streetlights was kept on, and television was reduced to a single channel broadcasting just 2 hours each day. All these policies combined led Romanians to have the lowest standard of living in Europe, with the possible exception of Albania.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Systematization () refers to the program of urban planning carried out under Ceaușescu's regime. After a visit to North Korea in 1971, Ceaușescu was impressed by the "Juche" ideology of that country, and began a massive campaign shortly afterwards.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Beginning in 1974, systematization consisted largely of the demolition and reconstruction of existing villages, towns, and cities, in whole or in part, with the stated goal of turning Romania into a "multilaterally developed socialist society". The policy largely consisted in the mass construction of high-density blocks of flats ("blocuri").


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: During the 1980s, Ceaușescu became obsessed with building himself a palace of unprecedented proportions, along with an equally grandiose neighborhood, Centrul Civic, to accompany it. The mass demolitions that occurred in the 1980s under which an overall area of eight square kilometres of the historic center of Bucharest were leveled, including monasteries, churches, synagogues, a hospital, and a noted Art Deco sports stadium, in order to make way for the grandiose Centrul Civic (Civic center) and the House of the Republic, now officially renamed the Palace of Parliament, were the most extreme manifestation of the systematization policy.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Control over society became stricter and stricter, with an East German-style phone bugging system installed, and with the Securitate recruiting more agents, extending censorship and keeping tabs and records on a large segment of the population. By 1989, according to CNSAS (the Council for Studies of the Archives of the Former Securitate), one in three Romanians was an informant for the Securitate. Due to this situation, income from tourism dropped substantially, the number of foreign tourists visiting Romania falling by 75%, with the three main tour operators that organized trips in Romania leaving the country by 1987. Ceaușescu also started becoming the subject of a vast personality cult, his portrait on every street and hanging in every public building.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: By 1988, with perestroika and glasnost policies in effect in the Soviet Union and China undergoing economic reforms, Romania's Stalinist sociopolitical system began to look increasingly out-of-place, but all attempts were made to keep the populace isolated from events going on outside the country. Also, while the West had been willing in the past to overlook Ceaușescu's human rights record in lieu of his independent, anti-Soviet stance, this was becoming less relevant with the Cold War winding down. As such, Romania started coming under fire from the United States and its allies, but such complaints were merely brushed off as "unwelcome interference in our nation's internal affairs".


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Another legacy of this era was pollution: Ceaușescu's government scored badly on this count even by the standards of the Eastern European communist states. Examples include Copșa Mică, with its infamous Carbon Powder factory (in the 1980s, the whole city could be seen from satellite as covered by a thick black cloud), Hunedoara, or the plan, launched in 1989, to convert the unique Danube Delta – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – to plain agricultural fields.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: December 1989 was the last act of a finale that had started in 1987, in Brașov. The anti-communist riot in Brașov on 15 November 1987 was the main political event that announced the imminent fall of communism in Romania.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: The revolt started at the enterprise of Trucks Brașov, as a strike that began on the night of 14 November, on the night-shift, and it continued the next morning with a march downtown, in front of the Council of the Romanian Communist Party.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: The population heard about this event through Radio Free Europe. As Emil Hurezeanu tells it: "I remember that Neculai Constantin Munteanu, the moderator of the show, started the broadcast: 'Brașov! So Brașov! Now it started!' This was the tone of the whole broadcast. We had interviews, information, interpretations of some political interpretations, older press articles announcing open street protests against Ceaușescu."


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: The reprisals against the strikers were rapid. The workers were arrested and imprisoned and their families were terrorized, but this act of courage on the part of the workers of Brașov set the stage for future mass revolts.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Hurezeanu continues: "... All these have been turned into an offensive. The reaction of the regime was expected.. Very soon it was seen that the regime wants to hide it, to cancel it, practically not to respond to claims, not to take measures, to change anything, not to turn this protest into a public debate or even inside the party, in the Political Executive Committee. And then, the recipe of street confrontations with the regime became the only...possible. It became the leitmotif of all the media analysis. [...] It was the beginning of an action against the system that comprises more items. It was a labor protest in a citadel of Ceaușescu, it was an antidictatorial message, it was a clear political context: the pressures of Moscow, Ceaușescu's refusal to accept the demands of Gorbachev, the breaking with the West, who changed the views towards the regime – all these have made us to believe that the beginning of the end was coming".


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: In March 1989, several leading activists of the PCR protested in a letter that criticized the economic policies of Nicolae Ceaușescu, but shortly thereafter Ceaușescu achieved a significant political victory: Romania paid off its external debt of about US$11 billion several months earlier than even the Romanian dictator had expected. Ceaușescu was formally reelected secretary general of the Romanian Communist Party—-the only political party of the Romanian Socialist Republic—-on 14 November at the party's XIVth Congress.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: On 11 November 1989, before the party congress, on Bucharest's Brezoianu Street and Kogălniceanu Boulevard, students from Cluj-Napoca and Bucharest demonstrated with placards that read "We want Reforms against the Ceaușescu government." The students–Mihnea Paraschivescu, Grațian Vulpe, the economist Dan Căprariu from Cluj and others–were arrested and investigated by the Securitate at the , accused of propaganda against the socialist society. They were released on 22 December 1989 at 14.00. There were other letters and other attempts to draw attention to the economic, cultural, and spiritual oppression of Romanians, but they served only to intensify the activity of the communist police and the Securitate.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: On 16 December, a protest broke out in Timișoara in response to an attempt by the government to evict the dissident pastor László Tőkés from his church flat. Tőkés had recently made critical comments against the regime to the Hungarian media, and the government alleged that he was inciting ethnic hatred. His parishioners gathered around his home to protect him from harassment and eviction. Many passers-by, including Romanian students, spontaneously joined the protest. Subsequently, police and "Securitate" forces showed up at the scene. By 7:30 pm, the protest had spread, and the original cause became largely irrelevant. Some of the protesters attempted to burn down the building that housed the District Committee of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR). The "Securitate" responded with tear gas and water jets, while the police attacked rioters and arrested many of them. Around 9:00 pm, the rioters withdrew. They regrouped eventually around the Romanian Orthodox Cathedral and started a protest march around the city, but again they were confronted by the security forces.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Riots and protests resumed the following day, 17 December. The rioters broke into the District Committee building. The army failed to establish order and chaos ensued, with gunfire, fighting, burning of cars, and casualties.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Unlike the Soviet Union at the same time, Romania had not developed a large, privileged elite. Ceausescu's family maintained all control of politics and Communist Party officials were paid poorly and often rotated from job to job, thus preventing any potential political rivals from developing a base of support. This prevented the rise of the Gorbachev-era reformist Communism found in Hungary or the Soviet Union. Ceausescu was so bitterly opposed to reform that he went as far as to call for a Warsaw Pact invasion of Poland after its Communists decided to treat with the opposition–a marked turn from his vehement opposition to the invasion of Czechoslovakia two decades earlier.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Similarly, unlike in Poland, Ceaușescu reacted to strikes entirely through a strategy of further oppression. Romania was nearly the last of the Eastern European communist governments to fall; its fall was also the most violent up to that time.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Protests and riots broke out in Timișoara on 17 December and soldiers opened fire on the protesters, killing about 100 people. After cutting short a two-day trip to Iran, Ceaușescu gave a televised speech on 20 December in which he condemned the events of Timișoara, saying he considered them an act of foreign intervention in the internal affairs of Romania and an aggression through foreign secret services on Romania's sovereignty, and declared National Curfew, convoking a mass meeting in his support in Bucharest for the next day. The uprising of Timișoara became known across the country, and on the morning of 21 December, protests spread to Sibiu, Bucharest and elsewhere.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Matters came to a head on 21 December, when Ceausescu's speech at the Central Committee Building (CC) in Bucharest turned into chaos. The crowd, in a reaction that would have been unthinkable for most of the previous quarter-century, openly booed and jeered Ceaușescu as he spoke. He was forced to hide himself in the CC Building after losing control of his own "supporters". The night of 21 December brought fighting between protesters and the Securitate, police and part of the army forces; more than 1100 protesters were killed during the fights over the next few days. On the morning of 22 December, it was announced that the army general Vasile Milea was dead by suicide. Believing that Milea had actually been murdered, the rank-and-file soldiers went over almost "en masse" to the budding rebellion. A second attempt at a speech the next day quickly failed. Soon, people were besieging the Central Committee Building, coming within a few meters of Ceaușescu himself; the Securitate did nothing to help him. Ceaușescu soon fled by helicopter from the rooftop of the CC Building, only to find himself abandoned in Târgoviște, where he and his wife Elena were finally tried by a drumhead court-martial, convicted after an hour and a half, and executed by firing squad moments after the verdict and sentence were announced on 25 December. The PCR dissolved soon afterward and has never been revived.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: For several months after the events of December 1989, it was widely argued that Ion Iliescu and the National Salvation Front (FSN) had merely taken advantage of the chaos to stage a coup. While, ultimately, a great deal did change in Romania, it is still a subject of contention among Romanians and other observers as to whether this was their intent from the outset, or merely pragmatic playing of the cards they were dealt. By December 1989 Ceaușescu's harsh and counterproductive economic and political policies had cost him the support of many government officials and even the most loyal Communist Party cadres, most of whom joined forces with the popular revolution or simply refused to support him. This loss of support from government officials ultimately set the stage for Ceaușescu's demise. The Romanian army also was a factor in the regime's fall as it suffered from severe budget cuts while vast sums were spent on the Securitate, leaving them severely discontented and unwilling to save Ceaușescu.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: RSR's political framework was a socialist republic run by a single party, the Romanian Communist Party. All of its legislative meetings took place in Bucharest.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Romania's foreign policy was aligned with all nations that were aligned with the Soviet Union. Under Ceaușescu it enjoyed strategic relations with the Western Bloc and the Non-Aligned Movement, and it was the only Eastern Bloc country not to boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Following the Sino-Soviet split, Romania also maintained relations with China and North Korea as well as the Chinese-backed Khmer Rouge-ruled Democratic Kampuchea.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Romania joined the United Nations on 14 December 1955 (see United Nations Security Council Resolution 109) as well as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in 1972. In July 1980, Romania signed a comprehensive trade agreement with the European Economic Community; which in turn became the European Union in 1993 when Romania joined in 2007.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: Despite the prolonged economic and social crisis between 1982 and 1989 and the following austerity measures; mostly due to the fast and stunning economic growth that was followed by the decline, many Romanians still view the Socialist era of their country positively, looking back nostalgically at an era of perceived stability and safety as opposed to the recent economic and political instability, and also the post-communist corruption that were resilient after 1989, being considered a major problem in the country. More than 53% of Romanians responded in polls that they would prefer to live once again under the Communist regime, and 63% think that their lives were better under it. The last and longest ruling leader of the Communist regime, Ceaușescu, also enjoys a high amount of approval in polls: In 2010, 41% of Romanians would vote for Ceaușescu, by 2014 this percentage reached 46%. In December 2018, 64% of people had a good opinion of Ceaușescu, making him the president with the highest amount of approval in the country.


title: Socialist Republic of Romania

text: On the other hand, after the fall of the communist regime, Romania began shifting its political and economic policies from support (albeit tepid) for Moscow to aligning itself with Brussels and Washington by joining NATO in 2004 and the European Union in 2007. Today, the "apologetic presentation" of Nazi and communists governments and denigrating their victims in the audio-visual media is forbidden by decision of the National Audiovisual Council. Dinel Staicu was fined 25,000 lei (approx. 9,000 United States dollars) for praising Ceaușescu and displaying his pictures on his private television channel ("3TV Oltenia").


title: Rafinha (footballer, born February 1993)

text: Rafael Alcântara do Nascimento (born 12 February 1993), commonly known as Rafinha (), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a attacking midfielder for Qatar Stars League club Al-Arabi.


text: He started his career with Barcelona, making his debut with the first team in 2011. After a loan at Celta, he played his first La Liga match for the former club in 2014. In October 2020, he signed with Paris Saint-Germain.


text: Rafinha represented both Spain and Brazil at youth level, before debuting with the latter as a senior in 2015.


text: Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Rafinha joined Barcelona's youth ranks at the age of 13. On 8 January 2011 he made his professional debut with the B team, coming on as a substitute for Jonathan dos Santos in the 55th minute of a 2–1 home loss against Girona in the Segunda División. A week later, again off the bench and in the same competition, he scored his first goal in a 3–2 win at Salamanca, also adding an assist.


text: Rafinha made his debut with the senior Barcelona squad on 9 November 2011, taking the place of Cesc Fàbregas for the last 15 minutes of a 1–0 away victory over Hospitalet in the Copa del Rey. He finished the league season with 39 games – 35 starts – and eight goals for the reserves, including two in a 4–0 defeat of Cartagena on 4 September of the same year.


text: On 27 June 2013, Rafinha extended his contract with "Barça", keeping him at the club until 2016. A few weeks later, he was loaned to fellow La Liga team Celta, and made his debut in the Spanish top flight on 19 August, helping the Galicians to a 2–2 home draw against Espanyol. He scored his first league goal 12 days later in another draw at the Balaídos (1–1, with Granada).


text: Rafinha netted a brace at Real Sociedad on 23 November 2013, but it amounted to nothing as the hosts won 4–3 with four goals from Carlos Vela. He was voted the league's Breakthrough Player of the Season, ahead of Real Madrid's Jesé and Rayo Vallecano's Saúl Ñíguez.


text: Rafinha made his league debut for Barcelona on 24 August 2014 in Luis Enrique's first match in charge, playing the first half of an eventual 3–0 win against Elche at the Camp Nou before being replaced by Marc Bartra. On 25 November, he assisted Lionel Messi's goal in a 4–0 group stage victory at APOEL, which made him the outright top scorer in the history of the UEFA Champions League; however, he was also sent off for two bookings later on in the match.


text: Rafinha scored his first goal for the "Blaugrana" on 3 December 2014, concluding a 4–0 away win against Huesca in the first leg of the Spanish Cup's last 32 (12–1 aggregate). The following 1 February, he recorded his first goal for the team in the domestic league, part of a 3–2 home defeat of Villarreal. They went on to win the treble, with the player being an unused substitute in the domestic and European finals.


text: With compatriot Neymar out through illness, Rafinha started on the left of Barcelona's attack in the 2015 UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla in Tbilisi, scoring the third goal in a 5–4 win. On 16 September he suffered a torn right anterior cruciate ligament during the 1–1 away draw to Roma in the Champions League group phase, leaving the game on a stretcher after being on the receiving end of a heavy challenge from Radja Nainggolan; after surgery, he was expected to be out for about six months.


text: Rafinha scored six times in only 18 appearances in the 2016–17 campaign, but also had to undergo surgery to an internal meniscus ailment following a match against Granada in April 2017, going on to be sidelined until the end of the year.


text: On 22 January 2018, Inter Milan announced the acquisition of Rafinha on a loan with an option to buy for €35 million. He made his debut for the club six days later by entering in the last moments of the 1–1 draw against S.P.A.L. He scored his first goal on 6 May, in the 4–0 away victory over Udinese.


text: On 24 November 2018, Rafinha ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee during a 1–1 draw at Atlético Madrid, being again sidelined for several months. On 2 September 2019, immediately after extending his contract until 2021, he rejoined Celta on a season-long loan.


text: Rafinha signed a three-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain on 5 October 2020. He made his Ligue 1 debut 11 days later in a 4–0 win at Nîmes, and assisted the opening goal scored by Kylian Mbappé.


text: On 27 December 2021, Rafinha joined Real Sociedad on loan for the remainder of the season. He scored his only goal the following 13 February, closing the 2–0 home defeat of Granada.


text: Rafinha played for Spain at youth level, earning 14 caps for three different teams. On 29 February 2012, he scored for the under-19s in the first minute of their 2–1 friendly win over France in Meaux.


text: Later that year, however, Rafinha switched allegiance to Brazil, going on to represent the under-20 side at the 2013 South American Youth Championship in Argentina. He was one of seven stand-by players named by Dunga for the senior team at the 2015 Copa América.


text: In September 2015, Rafinha was called up by Dunga for friendlies against Costa Rica and the United States. On 5 September, he entered the former game at New Jersey's Red Bull Arena in the 81st minute in place of Luiz Gustavo. Four days later, a minute after taking the field against the latter, he scored his first goal, then assisted clubmate Neymar in a 4–1 win.


text: Rafinha's father, Mazinho, was also a footballer and a midfielder, notably winning the 1994 FIFA World Cup with Brazil. His mother Valéria played volleyball, while his older brother, Thiago – another midfielder – also emerged through Barcelona's youth ranks, going on to represent its first team and the Spain national side.


text: Rodrigo, who played youth football with Real Madrid and went on to spend several seasons with Benfica and Valencia, is a lifelong friend who has erroneously been referred to as Rafinha's cousin.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: Excalibur is a 1981 epic medieval fantasy film directed, co-written and produced by John Boorman, that retells the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, based loosely on the 15th-century Arthurian romance "Le Morte d'Arthur" by Thomas Malory. It stars Nigel Terry as Arthur, Nicol Williamson as Merlin, Nicholas Clay as Lancelot, Cherie Lunghi as Guenevere, Helen Mirren as Morgana, Liam Neeson as Gawain, Gabriel Byrne as Uther and Patrick Stewart as Leondegrance. The film is named after the legendary sword of King Arthur that features prominently in Arthurian literature. The film's soundtrack features the music of Richard Wagner and Carl Orff, along with an original score by Trevor Jones.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: Boorman’s "Excalibur" began development as an unproduced adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings". The film was shot entirely on location in Ireland and at Ardmore Studios, employing Irish actors and crew. It has been acknowledged for its importance to the Irish filmmaking industry and for helping launch the film and acting careers of a number of Irish and British actors, including Liam Neeson, Patrick Stewart, Gabriel Byrne and Ciarán Hinds.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: Film critics Roger Ebert and Vincent Canby criticized the film's plot and characters, although they and other reviewers praised its visual style. "Excalibur" opened at number one in the United States, eventually grossing $34,967,437 on a budget of around US$11 million to rank 18th in that year's receipts. It won the award for Best Artistic Contribution at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival, and received an Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography and a BAFTA nomination for Best Costume Design.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: In the Dark Ages, the sorcerer Merlin retrieves the magical sword Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake for Uther Pendragon, who has lustful desire for Igrayne, the Duke of Cornwall's wife. Merlin agrees to help Uther seduce her in exchange for “what issues from your lust". With Merlin's magic, Uther tricks Igrayne into sleeping with him while Cornwall dies in battle. Her daughter Morgana, however, sees through Uther's illusion. Nine months later, Igrayne gives birth to Arthur, and Merlin comes for the boy. Furious, Uther chases after Merlin, but gets ambushed by Cornwall's surviving men. Before dying, Uther thrusts Excalibur into a large stone. Merlin declares that he who pulls the sword from the stone shall be king.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: Years later, Arthur pulls Excalibur from the stone, proving he is Uther's son, the rightful ruler. Arthur's bravery and prowess at combat make him earn the trust of knights Leodegrance and Uryens, who swear fealty to the young king. During this time, Arthur also meets Guinevere and is smitten by her.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: Later, the undefeated knight Lancelot blocks a bridge, seeking a king worthy of his sword. He defeats the king's knights and gets challenged by Arthur to a fight. With the aid of Excalibur and the Lady of the Lake, Arthur is victorious, and Lancelot swears allegiance to him. Arthur and his knights unify the land. Arthur creates the Round Table, commissions the building of his castle Camelot and marries Guinevere. Meanwhile, his half-sister Morgana becomes apprenticed to Merlin.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: Influenced by Morgana's magic, Gawain accuses Guinevere of treachery and a duel over her innocence is set. While Arthur is judge of the trial, Lancelot fights for her honor and wins. Guinevere is moved by this and the two make love. Arthur finds out about it and spitefully thrusts Excalibur into the ground between them. Merlin's magical link to the land impales him on the sword, and Morgana seizes the opportunity to trap him and steal his secret Charm of Making. Taking the form of Guinevere, she seduces the unknowing Arthur.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: She later births a son, Mordred, whose incestuous origin strikes the land with famine and sickness. Struck by a magical bolt of lightning, Arthur is reduced to a weakened state. He sends his knights on a quest for the Holy Grail in hopes of restoring the land and himself. While searching, many of them die or are bewitched by Morgana into entering her service. After reaching adulthood, Mordred demands for Arthur's crown, to no avail. Before coldly rebuking Arthur's attempt to recognize him as his son, Mordred vows to return with an army and take Camelot by force.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: Perceval resists Morgana's attacks and, before long, he is the final remaining knight questing for the Grail. Along the way, he nearly drowns and is transported to where the Grail is kept. He proves worthy, gains the Grail and takes it back to Arthur, who drinks from it and is revitalized, along with the land. Arthur calls upon his step-brother Kay to rally his remaining forces to battle Mordred and Morgana.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: Arthur finds Guinevere at a convent, and they reconcile. She gives him back Excalibur, which she had kept, and he rides off with his men. At Stonehenge, Arthur falls asleep, and his love liberates Merlin from Morgana's magical prison. After a final conversation with Arthur, Merlin appears to Morgana and tricks her into speaking the Charm of Making. This exhausts her magical powers and summons a mist that envelops her camp and the battlefield. Mordred discovers her aged, true self and murders her in disgust.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: Arthur and his men wage war on Mordred's forces, using the mist in their favour. During the battle, Lancelot arrives, reconciles with Arthur and dies fighting. Arthur manages to kill Mordred, but the fight leaves him mortally wounded. While slowly dying, he commands Perceval, the only other survivor, to throw Excalibur into a lake, knowing that one day the sword will rise again when a worthy king comes to power. Perceval complies, and the Lady of the Lake catches the sword, dragging it into the depths. Perceval returns to the battlefield in time to glimpse Arthur being carried away on a ship, sailing towards his rest on Avalon.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: John Boorman had planned a film adaptation of the Merlin legend as early as 1969, but when submitting the three-hour script written with Rospo Pallenberg to United Artists, they rejected it deeming it too costly and offered him J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" instead. Boorman was allowed to shop the script elsewhere, but no studio would commit to it. Returning to his original idea of the Merlin legend, Boorman was eventually able to secure deals that would help him do "Excalibur". Much of the imagery and set designs were created with his "The Lord of the Rings" project in mind, and it has been noted that certain scenes are reminiscent of Monty Python's 1975 comedy film, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".


title: Excalibur (film)

text: Boorman cast Nicol Williamson and Helen Mirren opposite each other as Merlin and Morgana, knowing that the two were on less than friendly terms due to personal issues that arose during a production of "Macbeth" seven years earlier. Boorman verified this on the "Excalibur" DVD commentary, saying he felt that the tension on the set would come through in the actors' performances.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: Even though he was 35 years old, Nigel Terry plays King Arthur from his teenage years to his ending as an aged monarch.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: Several members of the Boorman family appear in the cast: his daughter Katrine played Igraine, Arthur's mother, and his son Charley portrayed Mordred as a boy. Because of the number of Boormans involved with the film, it is sometimes called "The Boorman Family Project".


title: Excalibur (film)

text: "Excalibur" was filmed on-location in County Wicklow, County Tipperary, and County Kerry, with the interiors shot at Ardmore Studios.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: The early critical battle scene around a castle, in which Arthur is made a knight by Uryens while kneeling in a moat, was filmed in Cahir Castle, in Cahir County Tipperary, the Republic of Ireland, a well-preserved Irish castle. The castle's moat is the River Suir which flows around it. The fight with Lancelot was filmed at Powerscourt Estate's waterfall. Other locations included Wicklow Head as the backdrop to the battle over Tintagel, the Kerry coast as the place from which Arthur sails to Avalon, and a place called Childers Wood near Roundwood, County Wicklow, where Arthur comes on Excalibur in the stone. At the time, John Boorman was living just a few miles down the road, at Annamoe. According to Boorman, the love scene between Lancelot and Guenevere in the forest was filmed on a very cold night, but Nicholas Clay and Cherie Lunghi performed the scene nude anyway.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: According to Boorman, the film was originally three hours long; among the scenes that were deleted from the finished film, but featured in one of the promotional trailers, was a sequence where Lancelot rescued Guenevere from a forest bandit.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: Rospo Pallenberg and John Boorman wrote the screenplay, which is primarily an adaptation of Malory's "Morte d'Arthur" (1469–70) recasting the Arthurian legends as an allegory of the cycle of birth, life, decay, and restoration, by stripping the text of decorative or insignificant details. The resulting film is reminiscent of mythographic works such as Sir James Frazer's "The Golden Bough" and Jessie Weston's "From Ritual to Romance"; Arthur is presented as the "Wounded King" whose realm becomes a wasteland to be reborn thanks to the Grail, and may be compared to the Fisher (or Sinner) King, whose land also became a wasteland, and was also healed by Perceval. "The film has to do with "mythical" truth, not historical truth," Boorman remarked to a journalist during filming. The Christian symbolism revolves around the Grail, perhaps most strongly in the baptismal imagery of Perceval finally achieving the Grail quest. "That's what my story is about: the coming of Christian man and the disappearance of the old religions which are represented by Merlin. The forces of superstition and magic are swallowed up into the unconscious."


title: Excalibur (film)

text: In addition to Malory, the writers incorporated elements from other Arthurian stories, sometimes altering them. For example, the sword between the sleeping lovers' bodies comes from the tales of Tristan and Iseult; the knight who returns Excalibur to the water is changed from Bedivere to Perceval; and Morgause and Morgan Le Fay are merged into one character. The sword Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are presented as the same thing; in some versions of the legends, they are separate. In "Le Morte d'Arthur", Sir Galahad, the illegitimate son of Lancelot and Elaine of Carbone, is the Knight who is worthy of the Holy Grail. Boorman follows the earlier version of the tale as told by Chrétien de Troyes, making Perceval the grail winner. Some new elements were added, such as Uther wielding Excalibur before Arthur (repeated in "Merlin"), Merlin's 'Charm of Making' (written in Old Irish), and the concept of the world as "the dragon" (probably inspired by the dragon omen seen in Geoffrey of Monmouth's account of Merlin's life).


title: Excalibur (film)

text: According to linguist Michael Everson, the "Charm of Making" that Merlin speaks to invoke the dragon is an invention, there being no attested source for the charm. Everson reconstructs the text as Old Irish. The phonetic transcription of the charm as spoken in the film is . Although the pronunciation in the film has little relation to how the text would actually be pronounced in Irish, the most likely interpretation of the spoken words, as Old Irish text is:


title: Excalibur (film)

text: During The Undertaker's run in the World Wrestling Federation with the Ministry of Darkness in 1999, the first and third line of the chant would be used as him "speaking in tongues" during rituals and sacrifices.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: "Excalibur" was the number one film during its opening weekend of 10–12 April 1981, eventually earning $34,967,437 in the United States. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 73% "Certified fresh" rating based on 90 reviews. On Metacritic it has a score of 56% based on reviews from 10 critics.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: Roger Ebert called it both a "wondrous vision" and "a mess." Elaborating further, Ebert wrote that the film was "a record of the comings and goings of arbitrary, inconsistent, shadowy figures who are not heroes but simply giants run amok. Still, it's wonderful to look at." Vincent Canby wrote that while Boorman took Arthurian myths seriously, "he has used them with a pretentiousness that obscures his vision." In her review in "The New Yorker", Pauline Kael wrote that the film had its own "crazy integrity", adding that the imagery was "impassioned" with a "hypnotic quality". According to her, the dialogue was "near-atrocious". She concluded by writing that ""Excalibur" is all images flashing by... We miss the dramatic intensity that we expect the stories to have, but there's always something to look at."


title: Excalibur (film)

text: Others have praised the entire film, with "Variety" calling it "a near-perfect blend of action, romance, fantasy and philosophy". Sean Axmaker of "Parallax View" wrote "John Boorman's magnificent and magical Excalibur is, to my mind, the greatest and the richest of screen incarnation of the oft-told tale." In a later review upon the film's DVD release, "Salon's" David Lazarus noted the film's contribution to the fantasy genre, stating that it was "a lush retelling of the King Arthur legend that sets a high-water mark among sword-and-sorcery movies." A study by Jean-Marc Elsholz demonstrates how closely the film "Excalibur" was inspired by the Arthurian romance tradition and its intersections with medieval theories of light, most particularly in the aesthetic/visual narrative of Boorman's film rather than in its plot alone.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: Christopher John reviewed "Excalibur" in "Ares Magazine" #9 and commented that ""Excalibur" is a shockingly large film and an incredibly intricate and fascinating piece of cinema. It is a fine prologue for the spate of fantasy films waiting in the wings for release this year." The film featured many actors early in their careers who later became very well-known, including Helen Mirren, Patrick Stewart, Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne, and Ciarán Hinds. For his performance as Merlin, Nicol Williamson received widespread acclaim. "The Times" in 1981 wrote: "The actors are led by Williamson's witty and perceptive Merlin, missed every time he's offscreen".


title: Excalibur (film)

text: When first released in the United Kingdom in 1981, the film ran to 140m 30s, and was classified as a "AA" by the BBFC, restricting it to those aged 14 and over. In 1982, the BBFC replaced the "AA" certificate with the higher age-specific "15", which was also applied to "Excalibur" when released on home video. The 140-minute version was initially released in the United States with an R-rating. Distributors later announced a 119m PG-rated version, with less graphic sex and violence, but it was not widely released. When "Excalibur" first premiered on HBO in 1982, the R-rated version was shown in the evening and the PG-rated version was shown during the daytime, following the then-current rule of HBO only showing R-rated films during the evening hours.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: Neil Jordan directed a 1981 documentary on the making of "Excalibur", entitled "The Making of Excalibur: Myth Into Movie". Portions of this film appear in the 2013 documentary.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: A documentary entitled "Behind the Sword in the Stone" features interviews with director Boorman and many of the cast, such as Terry, Mirren, Stewart, Neeson, Byrne, Lunghi, and Charley Boorman. Distribution rights were later acquired by PBS International, and the title was changed to "Excalibur: Behind the Movie". As of June 2020, this documentary was made available in the United States through various online streaming services.


title: Excalibur (film)

text: In 2009, filmmaker Zack Snyder said "Excalibur" was his favorite film, calling it "the perfect meeting of movies and mythology". His superhero film "Batman v Superman" features homages to the film, such as Superman's death by impalement.


title: Seabiscuit

text: Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-horse special at Pimlico and was voted American Horse of the Year for 1938.


title: Seabiscuit

text: A small horse, at 15.2 hands high, Seabiscuit had an inauspicious start to his racing career, winning only a quarter of his first 40 races, but became an unlikely champion and a symbol of hope to many Americans during the Great Depression.


title: Seabiscuit

text: Seabiscuit has been the subject of numerous books and films, including "Seabiscuit: the Lost Documentary" (1939); the Shirley Temple film "The Story of Seabiscuit" (1949); a book, "" (1999) by Laura Hillenbrand; and a film adaptation of Hillenbrand's book, "Seabiscuit" (2003), that was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.


title: Seabiscuit

text: Seabiscuit was foaled in Lexington, Kentucky, on May 23, 1933, from the mare Swing On and sire Hard Tack, a son of Man o' War. Seabiscuit was named for his father, as hardtack or "sea biscuit" is the name for a type of cracker eaten by sailors.


title: Seabiscuit

text: The bay colt grew up on Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky, where he was trained. He was undersized, knobby-kneed, and given to sleeping and eating for long periods.


title: Seabiscuit

text: Initially, Seabiscuit was owned by the powerful Wheatley Stable and trained by "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons, who had taken Gallant Fox to the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. Fitzsimmons saw some potential in Seabiscuit but felt the horse was too lazy. Fitzsimmons devoted most of his time to training Omaha, who won the 1935 Triple Crown.


title: Seabiscuit

text: Seabiscuit was relegated to a heavy schedule of smaller races. He failed to win any of his first 17 races, usually finishing back in the field. After that, Fitzsimmons did not spend much time on him, and the horse was sometimes the butt of stable jokes. However, Seabiscuit began to gain attention after winning two races at Narragansett Park and setting a new track record in the second—Claiming Stakes race.


title: Seabiscuit

text: As a two-year-old, Seabiscuit raced 35 times (a heavy racing schedule), coming in first five times and finishing second seven times. These included three claiming races, in which he could have been purchased for $2,500, but he had no takers.


title: Seabiscuit

text: While Seabiscuit had not lived up to his racing potential, he was not the poor performer Fitzsimmons had taken him for. His last two wins as a two-year-old came in minor stakes races. The next season started with a similar pattern. The colt ran 12 times in less than four months, winning four times. One of those races was a cheap allowance race on the "sweltering afternoon of June 29," 1936, at Suffolk Downs. That was where trainer Tom Smith first laid eyes on Seabiscuit. His owners sold the horse to automobile entrepreneur Charles S. Howard for $8,000 at Saratoga, in August.


title: Seabiscuit

text: Howard assigned Seabiscuit to a new trainer, Tom Smith, who, with his unorthodox training methods, gradually brought Seabiscuit out of his lethargy. Smith paired the horse with Canadian jockey Red Pollard (1909–1981), who had experience racing in the West and in Mexico. On August 22, 1936, they raced Seabiscuit for the first time. Improvements came quickly, and in their remaining eight races in the East, Seabiscuit and Pollard won several times, including the Detroit Governor's Handicap (worth $5,600) and the Scarsdale Handicap ($7,300) at Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York.


title: Seabiscuit

text: In early November 1936, Howard and Smith shipped the horse to California by rail. His last two races of the year were at Bay Meadows racetrack in San Mateo, California. The first was the $2,700 Bay Bridge Handicap, run over . Despite starting badly and carrying the top weight of , Seabiscuit won by five lengths. At the World's Fair Handicap (Bay Meadows' most prestigious stakes race), Seabiscuit led throughout.


title: Seabiscuit

text: In 1937, the Santa Anita Handicap, California's most prestigious race, was worth over $125,000 ($ million in 2010) to the winner; it was known colloquially as "The Hundred Grander." In his first warm-up race at Santa Anita Park, Seabiscuit won easily. In his second race of 1937, the San Antonio Handicap, he suffered a setback after he was bumped at the start and then pushed wide; Seabiscuit came in fifth, losing to Rosemont.