In 1947 the Socialist Republic of Romania was proclaimed and Ana Pauker assumed power. In 1952, it was succeeded by Petru Groza, who ruled until 1958, when he was succeeded by Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej. During his rule, a period of some independence began with respect to the Soviet Union and a certain Romanian nationalist feeling resurfaced. After the government of Chivu Stoica, in 1967 he assumed the presidency of the council of ministers Nicolae Ceauşescu. His deviation towards a personalist and autarchic dictatorial policy, won him at first the friendship of Western governments to promote the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and criticize the Soviet interventions of Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan in 1968 and 1979, respectively. In addition, the standard of living in the country was good, and had full employment. However, Ceauşescu became isolated from the West and copied the cult of personality from North Korea. The era of socialism in Romania was a time of persecution of representatives of the Romanian Orthodox Church (and of other confessions), and any religious manifestation was prohibited.
In the 1980s Ceauşescu initiated a policy aimed at ending the external debt, an objective that was met in March 1989. The method was called "rationalization" (a drastic reduction) of basic necessities such as meat, milk , eggs, running water and electric light. The first anti-communist demonstrations took place in Braşov, in 1987, being repressed. In response to the situation in the country, the Romanian Revolution of 1989 broke out in Timişoara and, later, in Bucharest and in all major cities, in December 1989. Nicolae Ceauşescu had lost the support of the army and was arrested, tried and executed with his wife and counselor Elena Ceauşescu, on Christmas day. Some Orthodox sectors later criticized the execution on Christmas Day.
