I was doing some research for something else when I found an old (previously secret) telegram in the archives of the American State Department that made me laugh. In August of 1976, the “Stejar of Scornicesti”, Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceasescu made a rare trip to Chisinau, which was then part of the Soviet Union. He then went to Russia to meet the Soviet leader Brezhnev … Continue reading The Ancient Romanian Art
Right now the number one show in Britain is Channel 4’s “Benefits Street”, which allegedly focuses on people receiving “benefits” or government money. Episode 2 heavily featured immigrant Romanians (often pronounced Rumanians on the show), one a gypsy family from Romania and the second a group of 14 agricultural workers from Romania. Despite the fact that neither the workers nor the gypsy family were receiving … Continue reading Benefits Street
Well this week Romanian journalists haven’t had to resort to stealing videos and photos because there’s been non-stop coverage of a domestic incident, the crash of a plane (link in English) in the Apuseni Mountains near Cluj. This story is still ongoing and I’ve been closely monitoring the media but I’ve decided to hold off on a lengthy article because it seems like every hour … Continue reading Frozen Tears
A few weeks ago on a Saturday I went to the main downtown post office here in Cluj, which ironically bills itself as being the number one post office in town, and discovered that there was only a single, highly frustrated worker on duty. She had her hands full and was quite grumpy and had to be persuaded to get her keyring out and open … Continue reading The Hardest Working Bureaucrats in Romania
I saw the most extraordinary drama unfold over the past few days here in Romania and I knew I would have to comment on it. It all started with the American government deciding to implement certain aspects of its foreign policy. Exactly why this happened and what prompted it is a little too much inside baseball for me to get into at the moment (Kerry … Continue reading Victor Hides While Victoria Gently Chides
All Things Romania 