''Scînteia'' ( Romanian for "The Spark") was the name of two

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

s edited by

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groups at different intervals in

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n history. The title is a homage to the

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paper '' Iskra''. It was known as ''Scânteia'' until the 1953 spelling reform, which replaced the letter ''Â'' with the phonologically identical ''Î'' in all cases.

History

1919 in Odessa

The first paper of that name was edited by Romanian revolutionaries in Bolshevist Russia, appearing throughout 1919 in the city of

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

In Romania (1931–1989)

''Scânteia'' reemerged as the official voice of the Communist Party of Romania on August 15, 1931, being published clandestinely in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

until 1940, when the hostility between Romania and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

grew to a level where a crackdown on communist propaganda became imminent. In the wake of

King Michael's Coup King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by ...

of 23 August 1944 and Romania's withdrawing from the

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and joining the Allies, ''Scânteia'' was yet again being published, to remain the approved, sanctioning, body of communist politics. During

Communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was ...

(since early 1948), the newspaper was the barometer of policy changes, and the main medium through which the regime indicated its aims (for example, ''Scînteia'' served as the tribune for

slander Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making wikt:asserti ...

campaigns against intellectuals such as Tudor Arghezi). Moreover, in 1961, August 15, the date on which the newspaper had first been published in Romania 30 years previously, was declared the ''Romanian Press Day'' — indicative of the relationship between the official voice and other media. The headquarters of the paper were the main feature of the Socialist Realist ''Combinatul Poligrafic Casa Scînteii "I.V. Stalin"'', a name later reduced to ''Casa Scînteii'', after it dropped the reference to

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

during

De-Stalinization De-Stalinization () comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and Khrushchev Thaw, the thaw brought about by ascension of Nik ...

. Today, the building goes by the name of the House of the Free Press (''Casa Presei Libere''). ''Scînteia'' was accompanied by a youth version, one edited by the Union of Communist Youth (a branch of the Party that resembled the Soviet Komsomol, up to a point). '' Scînteia Tineretului'' (or ''Scânteia Tineretului''; approximately "Youth's Spark") began its edition in November 1944. It was also published under the names of ''Tinerețea'' ("The Youth") and ''Tînărul Muncitor'' (or ''Tânărul Muncitor''; "The Young Worker").

Fate after December 1989

With the 1989 overthrow of the Communist regime came the outlawing of all Communist Party institutions, including all its newspapers, ''Scînteia'' assets were mostly taken over by the post-communist ''

Adevărul (; meaning "The Truth", formerly spelled ''Adevĕrul'') is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published during the Kingd ...

''.

Post-1944 editors in chief

* Miron Constantinescu (1944–1947) * Sorin Toma (1947–1960) * Theodor Marinescu (1960–1965) *Dumitru Popescu (1965–1968) * Alexandru Ionescu (1968–1978) * Constantin Mitea (1978–1981) * Ion Cumpănașu (1981–1984) * Ion Mitran (1985–1989)

Other staff

* Dic Baboian * Silviu Brucan * Constantin Chiriță * Leonte Răutu

References

"''Scânteia'', ziarul cu două fețe" ("''Scânteia'', the Two-Faced Journal")
in '' Evenimentul Zilei'', 14 January 2006

External links

Archives
of ''Scînteia'' (1944–1989) via . {{DEFAULTSORT:Scinteia 1931 establishments in Romania 1989 disestablishments in Romania Communist newspapers Daily newspapers published in Romania Defunct newspapers published in Romania Eastern Bloc mass media Newspapers published in Bucharest Newspapers established in 1931 Publications disestablished in 1989 Socialist newspapers published in Romania Romanian Communist Party