De-satellization of the Socialist Republic of Romania

The Warsaw Pact during the 1960s

The Romanian–Soviet relations were relations between two socialist countries. Romania, however, gradually managed to assert more independent policies, at least in international relations. Two other Eastern European countries: Albania and Yugoslavia are known for complete rupture with the USSR.

Soviet military withdrawal and proclamation of economic independence (1958–1964)

A long-standing ambition of Romanian Communist leader Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej had been the withdrawal of all Soviet troops from Romanian territory. This was finally achieved in 1958: that year, on 25 July, the Romanians announced that all Soviet troops left Romanian territory. The Soviet withdrawal of 1958 together with the Sino-Soviet split gave Romania the opportunity to realign its position within the Comecon. In April 1964, Romania formally declared its independence from the Soviet Union's control and its plans for Romania's future. These plans called for an agricultural and natural resource orientation for Romania's economy.

Further developments (1964–1984)

The Nicolae Ceaușescu era, which began in 1965, saw political power in Romania become nationalized and personalized. In 1962, the Soviet Union proposed to subordinate the Romanian economy to a supranational planning body of the Comecon. In its "declaration of independence" of 22 April 1964, Romania sharply criticised these proposals and stressed the right of each Communist Party to work out its own policies in all fields, based on national self-interest. Starting with 1964, the Romanian leadership's stance on international issues was frequently markedly different from that of the Soviet Union. Romania was neutral during the Sino-Soviet dispute, recognized West Germany in January 1967, continued to maintain diplomatic relations with Israel after the Six-Day War, publicly criticised the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 and refused to participate, formally approached the European Economic Community for trade preferences in 1972 and repeatedly took independent positions in the United Nations. Even though most of the Eastern Bloc countries broke their relations with Chile after the anticommunist coup in September 1973, Romania refused to sever diplomatic relations. In 1973, Romania became the first Warsaw Pact country to conduct most of its trade with non-Communist countries.

In 1967, Comecon adopted the "interested party principle", under which any country could opt out of any project they chose, still allowing the other member states to use Comecon mechanisms to coordinate their activities. In principle, a country could still veto, but the hope was that they would typically choose just to step aside rather than either veto or be a reluctant participant. This aimed, at least in part, at allowing Romania to chart its own economic course without leaving Comecon entirely or bringing it to an impasse. In 1979, following the Soviet-backed Vietnamese invasion of Democratic Kampuchea, Romania became the first Warsaw Pact member to cast an anti-Soviet vote in the United Nations General Assembly. Under Nicolae Ceaușescu, Romania plotted the most independent foreign policy of all Warsaw Pact countries. This independence was reflected in Romania's commercial, political and military relations. Unlike Poland and Hungary, Romania did not have Soviet troops on its soil. Starting with 1962, Romania also stopped participating in Warsaw Pact troop exercises. The least active member of the Comecon, Romania was a member of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Romania owed much of its economic leeway to oil and grain, which freed it from Soviet economic leverage.

In 1974, Romania denied a Soviet request to build a railway from Odessa across eastern Romania to Varna. This broad-gauge railroad could have been used to transport major army units to Bulgaria. Romania's stance was against the usage of its territory by allied forces. Between 700,000 and 1,000,000 troops would have been required to occupy Romania, a force difficult to maintain over a long period of time even for major powers. While being a Warsaw Pact country, Romania demonstrated its willingness and ability to diverge from many Soviet international policies. Romania condemned the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and was the only Warsaw Pact country to participate in the 1984 Olympics. In addition to not participating in Warsaw Pact maneuvers starting 1962 and sending athletes to compete in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, no Soviet bases were allowed within the borders of Romania. Romania was the only Warsaw Pact member that did not allow the stationing of foreign troops on its soil, Soviet or otherwise. Nicolae Ceaușescu maintained Romanian independence by separating the Romanian Army from Soviet indoctrination and training, ended its previously subservient role in the Warsaw Pact and prevented Soviet officers from interfering in the decisions of Romanian personnel. A neighbor of the USSR, Romania had no Soviet troops. Although it did participate in joint Warsaw Pact air and naval exercises, it did not allow such exercises on its own territory. Romania was "aligned but independent".

See also

• Romania–Russia relations
• Tito–Stalin split, or Soviet–Yugoslav split
• Albanian–Soviet split
• Sino-Soviet split