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Miron Constantinescu (13 December 1917 – 18 July 1974) was a
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
n
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
politician, a leading member of the
Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ro, Partidul Comunist Român, , PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that wo ...
(PCR, known as PMR for a period of his lifetime), as well as a
Marxist Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialecti ...
sociologist, historian, academic, and journalist. Initially close to
Communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, 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 Peop ...
's leader
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (; 8 November 1901 – 19 March 1965) was a Romanian communist politician and electrician. He was the first Communist leader of Romania from 1947 to 1965, serving as first secretary of the Romanian Communist Part ...
, he became increasingly critical of the latter's
Stalinist Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory ...
policies during the 1950s, and was sidelined together with Iosif Chișinevschi. Reinstated under
Nicolae Ceauşescu Nicolae may refer to: * Nicolae (name), a Romanian name * ''Nicolae'' (novel), a 1997 novel See also *Nicolai (disambiguation) Nicolai may refer to: *Nicolai (given name) people with the forename ''Nicolai'' *Nicolai (surname) people with the s ...
, he became a
member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...
of the
Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...
.


Biography


Early life

Constantinescu was said to be born in
Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the middle of the ...
,
Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds o ...
, at a time when the region was experiencing the aftermath of the
October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mom ...
. (During the same month, the
Moldavian Democratic Republic The Moldavian Democratic Republic (MDR; ro, Republica Democratică Moldovenească, ), also known as the Moldavian Republic, was a state proclaimed on by the '' Sfatul Țării'' (National Council) of Bessarabia, elected in October–Novemb ...
was proclaimed, leading to the union of Bessarabia with the
Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...
). According to fellow communist Alexandru Bârlădeanu, Constantinescu was born in
Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
.Bârlădeanu, in Diac Widely believed to be an illegitimate son of the
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...
Gheorghe Munteanu-Murgoci Gheorghe Munteanu Murgoci (July 20, 1872 – March 5, 1925) was a renowned Romanian geologist, founder of the South-Eastern European Studies Institute in Bucharest. In 1923, he was elected a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy. Munte ...
, Constantinescu retreated to a
Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates ...
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...
a short while after receiving his
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...
. According to Bârlădeanu, Constantinescu used this period to decide between siding with the
fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...
Iron Guard The Iron Guard ( ro, Garda de Fier) was a Romanian militant revolutionary fascist movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel Michael () or the Legionnaire Movement (). It was stron ...
and joining the PCR. In 1935, he joined the Union of Communist Youth, UTC (
youth wing A youth wing is a subsidiary, autonomous, or independently allied front of a larger organization (usually a political party but occasionally another type of organization) that is formed in order to rally support for that organization from members ...
of the PCR), and became involved in
agitprop Agitprop (; from rus, агитпроп, r=agitpróp, portmanteau of ''agitatsiya'', "agitation" and ''propaganda'', " propaganda") refers to an intentional, vigorous promulgation of ideas. The term originated in Soviet Russia where it referred ...
campaigns. During the 1930s, he attended the
University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princel ...
's Faculty of Letters and Philosophy, becoming one of sociologist
Dimitrie Gusti Dimitrie Gusti (; 13 February 1880 – 30 October 1955) was a Romanian sociologist, ethnologist, historian, and voluntarist philosopher; a professor at the University of Iaşi and the University of Bucharest, he served as Romania's Minister o ...
's most notable students. With Bârlădeanu, Grigore Preoteasa, Gheorghe Rădulescu,
Constanța Crăciun Constanța Crăciun (16 February 1914 – 2 May 2002) was a Romanian politician and educator. Biography She was born in Constanța. She studied literature and philosophy. She became a member of the Romanian Communist Party in 1935. She was ...
, and others, Constantinescu founded the
anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers wer ...
''Frontul Studențesc Democrat'' (FSD, the Students' Democratic Front) in 1935. The group was, in effect, an outlet of the Communist Party — its entire leadership continued to carry party work throughout the FSD's existence. The following year, as the UTC was dissolved, Constantinescu was among the few of its members to continue political activity in PCR ranks.Tismăneanu, p.161 In 1938, during the National Renaissance Front regime established by
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...
Carol II Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. The eldest son of Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I in 1914. He was the first of th ...
, the Communist Party ordered him to reestablish the UTC. He was among the few
intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator o ...
s at the forefront of party activities.


World War II and ''Scînteia''

In
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, authorities were alarmed by his alleged contacts with the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
and
NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...
agents, at the time when
Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and marshal who presided over two successive wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister and ''Conducător'' during most of World War II. A Romanian Army career officer who mad ...
's regime allied itself with
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and took part in
Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...
(''see
Romania during World War II Following the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939, the Kingdom of Romania under King Carol II officially adopted a position of neutrality. However, the rapidly changing situation in Europe during 1940, as well as domestic political up ...
'').Cioroianu, p.136 At the end of 1940 he was sent by the Communist Party's central leadership to
Galați Galați (, , ; also known by other alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the Danube River. It has been the only port for the most pa ...
in order to coordinate the local cells, comprising, among others, future
Securitate The Securitate (, Romanian for ''security'') was the popular term for the Departamentul Securității Statului (Department of State Security), the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. Previously, before the communist regime ...
operative Ionel Jora. Constantinescu was arrested there in January 1941, after a local communist was captured while distributing antifascist flyers. Eventually, he was interned, initially in the camp in
Târgu Jiu Târgu Jiu () is the capital of Gorj County in the Oltenia region of Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu. Eight localities are administered by the city: Bârsești, Drăgoieni, Iezureni, Polat ...
. Although, like Preoteasa, he was originally close to
Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu (; November 4, 1900 – April 17, 1954) was a Romanian communist politician and leading member of the Communist Party of Romania (PCR), also noted for his activities as a lawyer, sociologist and economist. For a while, he ...
(who was himself an intellectual isolated among PCR members), Constantinescu associated with Gheorghiu-Dej/ Emil Bodnăraș faction while in detention, endorsing successful moves against rival leader
Ștefan Foriș Ștefan Foriș (born István Fóris, also known as Marius; May 9, 1892 – summer of 1946) was a Romanian communist activist and journalist who served as general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR or PCdR) between 1940 and 1944. ...
. Kept alongside other prominent activists in the prison in
Caransebeș Caransebeș (; german: Karansebesch; hu, Karánsebes, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a city in Caraș-Severin County, part of the Banat region in southwestern Romania. It is located at the confluence of the River Timiș with the River Sebeș, th ...
, where he is believed to have been included in Gheorghiu-Dej's projected Soviet-backed government, he became the focus of attention from penal authorities after being caught while composing messages addressed to the outside (upon discovery, he attempted to swallow all the rolling papers he had written on).Diac Consequently, the administration separated Communist prisoners into two groups: Constantinescu's was sent to Lugoj prison. An editor in chief of the PCR's ''
Scînteia ''Scînteia'' (Romanian for "The Spark") was the name of two newspapers edited by Communist groups at different intervals in Romanian history. The title is a homage to the Russian language paper ''Iskra''. It was known as ''Scânteia'' until th ...
'' after the start of
Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...
, Constantinescu led the panel of journalists towards Stalinist guidelines, and encouraged a
personality cult A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create an id ...
around Gheorghiu-Dej, whose biography he helped falsify.Mihailov Chiciuc He was himself praised in the PCR press, and papers circulated the notion that he worked as much as 14 or 16 hours a day as a rule. In February 1945, during street clashes between pro-Communist forces and authorities (leading to the fall of the Nicolae Rădescu cabinet), ''Scînteia'' published a claim that its editor had been the target of an assassination attempt. Through his editorials of 1947, Constantinescu signaled an attack on
Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...
Gheorghe Tătărescu, leader of the National Liberal Party-Tătărescu and associate of the Communists in the Petru Groza government, who had criticized his allies' economic and social policies.


Politburo and Planning Committee

Taking a seat on the
Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contracti ...
, as its youngest member, in early 1945, Constantinescu, who lacked training in
economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...
, was also appointed head of the State Planning Committee in 1950, supervising the work of Soviet and Romanian politicians in creating the framework for a
planned economy A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, ...
in Romania. After the outbreak of PCR inner conflicts between
Ana Pauker Ana Pauker (born Hannah Rabinsohn; 13 February 1893 – 3 June 1960) was a Romanian communist leader and served as the country's foreign minister in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Ana Pauker became the world's first female foreign minister whe ...
's "Muscovite wing" and Gheorghiu-Dej's "prison faction", he kept a low profile, and did not take sides, before approving of Gheorghiu-Dej's victory and joining the official delegation that announced it in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
(he had also been the one to voice official accusations against
Vasile Luca Vasile Luca (born László Luka; 8 June 1898 – 23 July 1963) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian and Soviet communist politician, a leading member of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR) from 1945 and until his imprisonment in the 1950s. Not ...
in February 1952). Surviving Pauker's fall, he personally witnessed the 20th Congress of the
Soviet Communist Party "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...
and became interested in the Soviet call for
De-Stalinization De-Stalinization (russian: десталинизация, translit=destalinizatsiya) comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and the thaw brought about by ascension ...
, beginning talks on the topic with
Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist political party in Italy. The PCI was founded as ''Communist Party of Italy'' on 21 January 1921 in Livorno by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) ...
leader
Palmiro Togliatti Palmiro Michele Nicola Togliatti (; 26 March 1893 – 21 August 1964) was an Italian politician and leader of the Italian Communist Party from 1927 until his death. He was nicknamed ("The Best") by his supporters. In 1930 he became a citizen of ...
. In 1956, his Planning Committee reached an agreement with Soviet authorities regarding the dissolution of SovRoms (enterprises which had placed a strain on Romanian economy, having directed its resources to the Soviet Union). Constantinescu was also charged with carrying out Gheorghiu-Dej's program of partial
rehabilitation Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to: Health * Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished * Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be retur ...
offered to cultural figures such as the writer
Tudor Arghezi Tudor Arghezi (; 21 May 1880 – 14 July 1967) was a Romanian writer, best known for his unique contribution to poetry and children's literature. Born Ion N. Theodorescu in Bucharest, he explained that his pen name was related to ''Argesis'', th ...
, the philosopher Lucian Blaga, and the historian Constantin C. Giurescu. In the aftermath of the
1956 Revolution The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...
in
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
, he was sent to
Cluj ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Status , subdivision_name2 = County seat , settlement_type = City , ...
, in order to exercise tighter control over a region with significant Hungarian population.


1956 clash with Gheorghiu-Dej

In 1956, together with the pro-Soviet Iosif Chișinevschi, Constantinescu observed the increasingly hostile relations between
Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...
and Gheorghiu-Dej, and ultimately decided to attack the latter in public (identifying him with Stalinism and citing the history of
Securitate The Securitate (, Romanian for ''security'') was the popular term for the Departamentul Securității Statului (Department of State Security), the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. Previously, before the communist regime ...
political violence). The two had been probably encouraged by Khrushchev, and attempted in vain to rally
Alexandru Moghioroș Alexandru Moghioroș ( hu, Mogyorós Sándor; 23 October 1911 – 1 October 1969) was a Romanian communist activist and politician. Moghioroș was born in 1911 into an ethnic Hungarian family, in Nagyszalonta, Austria-Hungary, now Salonta ...
to their cause. Accused of "attempt to direct the party towards liberal anarchy and revisionism",Tismăneanu, p.162, 260 he was nonetheless convoked to express criticism of the writers Alexandru Jar, Mihail Davidoglu and Ion Vitner, all of whom had displayed similar support for reform. Constantinescu was purged by the Party Plenum in June 1957; he was marginalized, but kept his freedom and was allowed to work as a
lector Lector is Latin for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages it takes various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as french: lecteur, en, lector, pl, lektor and russian: лектор. It has various specialized uses. ...
for the Pedagogic Institute, and later as a researcher for the Romanian Academy's Institute for Economics and the Nicolae Iorga Institute of History in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...
(led by Andrei Oțetea at the time).Cioroianu, p.136; Tismăneanu, p.162, 260 Active in the revival of sociology studies after the Stalinist period, he was notably engaged with Henri H. Stahl on the ''
Bibliotheca Historica Romaniae Bibliotheca may refer to: * ''Bibliotheca'' (Pseudo-Apollodorus), a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends * ''Bibliotheca historica'', a first century BC work of universal history by Diodorus Siculus * ''Bibliotheca'' ( ...
'' research project. Countering earlier accusations, Gheorghiu-Dej eventually included Constantinescu and Chișinevschi on various lists of "Stalinists", as well as accusing them of having supported the "Muscovite wing" in its alleged actions against the PCR itself. During the 1957 Plenum, as well as in 1961,
Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ;  – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He ...
was fully endorsing Gheorghiu-Dej's theories on the subject, and, initially indicating that, unlike the two opponents, he held
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...
in esteem, alleged that Constantinescu had little understanding of Marxist principles (although his was, in all likelihood, much less significant).


Rehabilitation and later life

Following Gheorghiu-Dej's death, Ceaușescu's rise brought a wave of rehabilitations; Constantinescu's own name was cleared upon PCR inquiry which presented its results in April 1968. He was consequently reinstated to the top echelon, and served as Minister of Education for a short period, as well as being elected a member of the
Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party organizations, the ...
Secretariat and deputy member of the Executive Political Committee. He later became President of Academy of Social and Political Sciences, Rector of
Ștefan Gheorghiu Academy The Ștefan Gheorghiu Academy (Romanian: ''Academia Ștefan Gheorghiu'', in full: ''Academia de învăţămînt social-politic Ștefan Gheorghiu de pe lîngă CC al PCR'' - approx. ''Ștefan Gheorghiu Academy for Socio-Political Education in Rel ...
,. He was elected Vice-President of the State Council in November 1972, a position he will hold concurrently with the office of President of the Great National Assembly, succeeding Ştefan Voitec from 28 March until his death on 18 July. Until his death, he was forced to cede part of his party status to Ceaușescu, who was officially praised for having reorganized the Union of Communist Youth in 1938, a task which had actually been carried out by Constantinescu.


Personal life

His wife Sulamita, née Bloch, was herself a PCR activist. She died, in 1968, at the hands of Lena, their younger daughter (b. 1949) (sources do not agree on the method used in killing — Sulamita Constantinescu was either hit with a clothes iron or attacked with a knife or a hatchet). Constantinescu's daughter was diagnosed with
schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social w ...
, and interned at a
sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...
in
Câmpina Câmpina () is a municipiu, city in Prahova County, Romania, north of the county seat Ploiești, located on the main route between Wallachia and Transylvania. Its existence is first attested in a document of 1503. It is situated in the historical r ...
(a gifted artist, she was allowed to continue painting, and exhibited her works on hospital grounds).Ciachir According to one popular, but unconfirmed, rumor, the two women had been in love with the same unnamed man. Constantinescu's two sons, both named Horia,Tismăneanu, p.260 suffered tragic deaths in their youth — the first-born died during an
appendicectomy An appendectomy, also termed appendicectomy, is a surgical operation in which the vermiform appendix (a portion of the intestine) is removed. Appendectomy is normally performed as an urgent or emergency procedure to treat complicated acute appen ...
; the second-born froze to death while on a trip to the
Bucegi Mountains The Bucegi Mountains ( Romanian: ''Munții Bucegi'' ) are located in central Romania, south of the city of Brașov. They are part of the Southern Carpathians group of the Carpathian Mountains. At , '' Omu'' is its highest point. To the east, th ...
. Constantinescu and Sulamita also had an older daughter, Ana.


In fiction

Under the name ''Constant Mironescu'', Constantinescu appears in the semi-autobiographical novel ''Luntrea lui Caron'' ("
Charon In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon (; grc, Χάρων) is a psychopomp, the ferryman of Hades, the Greek underworld. He carries the souls of those who have been given funeral rites across the rivers Acheron and Styx, which separate the ...
's Boat"), written by Lucian Blaga years after he was reinstated by Gheorghiu-Dej (the book was only published posthumously).Tismăneanu, p.304 Miron Constantinescu's stay in
Caransebeș Caransebeș (; german: Karansebesch; hu, Karánsebes, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a city in Caraș-Severin County, part of the Banat region in southwestern Romania. It is located at the confluence of the River Timiș with the River Sebeș, th ...
prison and the subsequent investigation became a theme of official PCR
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
; the 1981 film ''Convoiul'' ("The Convoy"), directed by Mircea Mureșan and starring Ion Besoiu,
Emil Hossu Emil Hossu (; 24 November 1941 – 25 January 2012) was a Romanian actor. Hossu was born into a Greek-Catholic family in Ocna Sibiului, Sibiu County. He was a well-known actor of stage and screen in the 1980s and 1990s, having performed in ...
, and
Costel Constantin Costel is a Romanian male given name, a diminutive of Constantin (other Romanian diminutives of ''Constantin'' are Costin, Costi, Costinel, Costică, Titi). It is also a Spanish given name. Costel may refer to: * Costel Busuioc * Costel Câmpean ...
, was a romanticized depiction of the events.


Notes


References

*
Dan Ciachir Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...

"Crimele Bucureștiului comunist" ("Murders in Communist Bucharest")
in '' Ziua'', March 25, 2006 * Adrian Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii lui Marx. O introducere în istoria comunismului românesc'' ("On the Shoulders of Marx. An Incursion into the History of Romanian Communism"), Editura Curtea Veche, Bucharest, 2005
Cristina Diac, "Deținuți și temniceri" ("Detainees and Wardens")
in ''Jurnalul Național'', September 14, 2005 *Victor Frunză, ''Istoria stalinismului în România'' ("The History of Stalinism in Romania"), Humanitas, Bucharest, 1990 *Mircea Ioanid, "Oameni care mi-au fost dragi. H. H. Stahl" ("People I Cared For. H. H. Stahl"), in ''Magazin Istoric'', November 1995
Paula Mihailov Chiciuc, "Comunism – «Cui dăm votul și încrederea noastră?»" ("Communism – «To Whom Do We Award Our Vote and Our Confidence?»")
in ''
Jurnalul Național ''Jurnalul Național'' is a Romanian newspaper, part of the INTACT Media Group led by Dan Voiculescu, which also includes the popular television station Antena 1. The newspaper was launched in 1993. Its headquarters is in Bucharest Buchare ...
'', June 20, 2006 * Vladimir Tismăneanu, ''Stalinism for All Seasons: A Political History of Romanian Communism'',
University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by facul ...
, 2003, {{DEFAULTSORT:Constantinescu, Miron 1917 births 1974 deaths Politicians from Chișinău People from Kishinyovsky Uyezd Romanian communists Deputy Prime Ministers of Romania State Council of Romania Inmates of Târgu Jiu camp Romanian Marxist historians Romanian Marxist journalists Members of the Great National Assembly Presidents of the Great National Assembly Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Titular members of the Romanian Academy Romanian activists Romanian newspaper editors Romanian sociologists University of Bucharest alumni Socialist Republic of Romania rehabilitations 20th-century Romanian historians