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Extensible Markup Language | 1995-06-15 | 6KB | 19 lines

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> <!DOCTYPE card PUBLIC "-//Apple, Inc.//DTD card V 2.0//EN" "" > <card> <id>39764</id> <filler1>0</filler1> <cantDelete> <false /> </cantDelete> <showPict> <true /> </showPict> <dontSearch> <false /> </dontSearch> <owner>5472</owner> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheet_3106.css" /> <content> <layer>background</layer> <id>31</id> <text>ROMANIAOfficial name: R├┤maniaMember of: UN, OSCEArea: 237500 km2 (91699 sq mi)Population: 22789000 (1993 est)Capital: Bucharest (Bucuresti) 2351000 (1992 census)Other major cities: Constanta 351000, Iasi 343000, Timisoara 334000, Cluj-Napoca 328000, Galati 326000, Brasov 324000 (1990 census)Languages: Romanian (official; 89%), Hungarian (10%), GermanReligions: Romanian Orthodox (70%), Greek Catholic, Roman Catholic and Calvinist minoritiesGOVERNMENTThe President is elected by universal adult suffrage for four years. The 341-member National Assembly and 143-member Senate are directly elected under a modified system of proportional representation for four years. In both houses, seats are reserved for ethnic minorities. The President appoints a Prime Minister who, in turn, appoints a Council of Ministers.GEOGRAPHYThe Carpathian Mountains run through the north, east and center of Romania. The highest point is Moldoveanu at 2544 m (8346 ft). To the west of the Carpathians is the tableland of Transylvania and the Banat lowland. In the south the Danube Plain ends in a delta on the Black Sea. Principal river: Danube (Dun├ñria) 2850 km (1770 mi). Climate: Romania experiences cold snowy winters and hot summers. Rainfall is moderate in the lowlands but heavier in the Carpathians.ECONOMYState-owned industry ΓÇô which employs nearly 40% of the labor force ΓÇô includes mining, metallurgy, mechanical engineering and chemicals. Natural resources include petroleum and natural gas. Large forests support a timber and furniture industry. Major crops include maize, sugar beet, wheat, potatoes and grapes for wine, but agriculture has been neglected, and food supplies have fallen short of RomaniaΓÇÖs needs. Most farming land has been privatized. Economic mismanagement under Ceausescu decreased low living standards, and Romania faces severe economic difficulties. Much of industry remains unprivatized. Currency: Leu.HISTORYRomanians claim descent from the Dacians, a Thracian people, who were Romanized in the 2nd and 3rd centuries ad. They survived as a Latinate population by retreating to the highlands, and emerged to found the principalities of Walachia and Moldavia in the 14th century. Although compelled to accept Ottoman overlordship in the 15th century, they were never subjected to direct Turkish rule. Oppressive rule by Greek princes imposed by the Turks in the 18th century stimulated Romanian nationalism. Unity was achieved when Alexander Cuza was elected prince of both Walachia and Moldavia (1859). A German dynasty was chosen in 1866, and RomaniaΓÇÖs independence was internationally recognized in 1878.When both the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires collapsed at the end of World War I, Romania won additional territory with substantial Romanian populations from both. ΓÇÿGreater RomaniaΓÇÖ was beset with deep social and ethnic divisions, which found expression in the rise of the Fascist Iron Guard in the 1930s. King Carol II suppressed the Guard and substituted his own dictatorship, but he was forced by Germany to cede lands back to Hungary (1940), while the USSR retook considerable territories, including the present Moldova. Carol fled and Romania ΓÇô under Marshal Ion Antonescu ΓÇô joined the Axis powers (1941), fighting the USSR to regain lost territories. King Michael dismissed Antonescu and declared war on Germany as the Red Army invaded (1944), and a Soviet-dominated government was installed (1945). The monarchy was abolished in 1947. From 1952, under Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (1901ΓÇô65) and then under Nicolae Ceausescu (1918ΓÇô89), Romania distanced itself from Soviet foreign policy while maintaining strict Communist orthodoxy at home. Ceausescu ΓÇô and his wife Elena ΓÇô impoverished Romania by their harsh, corrupt and nepotistic rule. When the secret police put down demonstrations in Timisoara (1989), the leaders of an anti-Ceauscescu conspiracy within the army and the Communist Party took power, executing Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu on charges of genocide and corruption. A National Salvation Front (NSF) was formed and the Communist Party was dissolved. An international team of monitors judged multi-party elections in 1990 to be ΓÇÿflawedΓÇÖ but not fraudulent. The NSF split and its larger offshoot, the Party of Social Democracy, has formed the government since 1992. Power remains largely in the hands of former Communists.</text> </content> <name>Romania</name> <script></script> </card>