ACTORI INSTITUŢIONALI DIN SISTEMUL DE CONTROL ŞI CENZURĂ A PRESEI: BIROUL DE CENZURĂ DE PE LÂNGĂ LEGAŢIA SOVIETICĂ DIN BUCUREŞTI (1944-1947)
Institutional actors of the media control and the censorship system: censorship office of the Soviet legation in Bucharest (1944-1947)

Summary/Abstract: Between 1944 and 1947 there were both internal and external institutions to assure the control and censorship of the press. On the one hand, domestic institutional actors of the control system were: the Press Department of the Ministry of Propaganda / Ministry of Information and Press Service of the Military censorship. On the other hand, an external control apparatus was established, with the role of applying the terms of the Armistice Convention: the Soviet press office attached to the Soviet Legation in Bucharest and its representative within the territory. They acted on behalf of the Allied Control Commission (Soviet) that worked exclusively under the Soviet supervision in line with the agreements as for the partition of the spheres of influence between the great powers. In order to understand the evolution of the censorship system in Communist Romania, it is important to describe the organization and actions of this important institutional actor of the system during the 41 months of transition to the "people’s democracy", 1944-1947. The Soviet censorship manifested through: further measures of preventive censorship and post control; decisions to suspend or suppress newspapers which would have brought attacks on the Soviet Union or United Nations; the control of information and correspondence; entry permits for foreign journalists etc. All these aspects prove the Soviet authorities’ intention to impose a tight control over the Romanian press as main means of information and propaganda. Interrupting the flow of information through excessive censorship and stopping the publication of any material on the political crisis in the Romanian space were meant to facilitate the imposition of the Soviet-backed and illegitimate government and ultimately the Soviet line of internal governance.

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