The First Years Of Post-Communism: Transitions And Legacies

This was a one-day conference at the end of November (26th) that discussed the nature and legacies of the immediate aftermath of communism’s demise in East-Central Europe. The year 1990 was crucial for the evolution of post-communist countries, setting the pace of their evolution towards democracy and market economy. The conference aimed at taking the stock of the transformations starting in 1990 and placing the evolution of the different countries in a regional comparative framework, outlining both the similarities and the different factors & options which led to divergences during the 1990s.

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The Monica Lovinescu Conferences. October-November 2010

The second series of the Monica Lovinescu Conferences took place in the interval 14 October-15 November 2010, as follows:

14 October, Prof. Augustin Ioan (The “Ion Mincu” Architecture and Urbanism University, Bucharest): Grave, Monument, Memorial: Architecture for Controversial Histories

26 October, Prof. Sanda Cordoş (The “Babeş-Bolyai University”, Cluj-Napoca): The Ideology of Socialist Realism in Romania

2 November, Prof. Andrei Ujică (The Art and Design University, Karlsruhe): Non-Fictional Cinema: Ceauşescu and the Film of History

15 November, Prof. Levente Salat (The “Babeş-Bolyai University”, Cluj-Napoca): The Heritage of Communism within Romanian-Hungarian Relationships in the aftermath of 1989

International Conference Transitional Criminal Justice in Post-Dictatorial Societies – 29 - 30 October 2010

The Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile, together with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, and in collaboration with the Faculty of Political Science (University of Bucharest) organized the international conference Transitional Criminal Justice in Post-Dictatorial Societies – 29-30 October 2010.

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Programme
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Abstracts
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Workshop: My Profession: Torture. The Investigators of the Securitate: the Case of Gheorghe Enoiu

The foregoing workshop took place at the headquarters of the IICCMER, on 28 June 2010. Mr. Vladimir Tismăneanu, University of Maryland, president of the Scientific Council of the IICCMER, Mr. Adrian Cioflâncă,director of the Society, Economics and Institutions Department, Mr. Dumitru Lăcătuşu, expert, Society, Economics and Institutions Department, and Mr. Mihai Burcea, expert, Society, Economics and Institutions Department participated as discussants.

Gheorghe Enoiu was a Securitate colonel and director of the Penal Investigations Department in the interval 1963-1967.

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Workshop: The Methodology of Studying Communism. The Social Science Perspective

On 23 June 2010, Mr. Dragoş Paul Aligică (George Mason University, SUA) participated as lecturer in the workshop entitled The Methodology of Studying Communism. The Social Science Perspective. The event took place at the IICCMER’s headquarters. Professor Vladimir Tismăneanu (University of Maryland, SUA), president of the Scientific Council of the IICCMER, and Mr. Mihail Neamţu, scientific director of the IICCMER, contributed as well to the works of the Conference.

Conference: “The Perils of Historical Forgetting and Whitewashing: The Former Soviet Bloc in Comparative Perspective”

On 24 June 2010, the IICCMER organised the Conference entitled The Perils of Historical Forgetting and Whitewashing: the Former Soviet Bloc in Comparative Perspective. Professor Mark Kramer, Harvard University, was invited to speak on the foregoing topic. Professor Vladimir Tismăneanu, University of Maryland, president of the Scientific Council of the IICCMER, had the opening remarks; Mr. Stephen Ruken (Second Secretary, USA Embassy) had the final speech within the works of the Conference.

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The Monica Lovinescu Conferences – June 2010

The Monica Lovinescu Conferences, organised by the IICCMER, are a tribute to the anti-totalitarian fight led by Monica Lovinescu and Virgil Ierunca as co-ordinating editors of well-known cultural broadcasts of Radio Free Europe, starting with the 1960s.

The first Conference within the series took place on 2 June 2010, at the headquarters of the IICCMER. Professor Eugen Negrici, from the University of Bucharest, delivered a speech entitled The Consequences of the Complete Ideologisation of Romanian Literature during Communist Totalitarianism.

On 11 June, Ms. Ruxandra Cesereanu, professor at the Babeş-Bolyai University of Cluj, delivered a speech entitled The Memory Tombola. Romanian Post-Communism: Secret Files Disputes, Lustration &Co.

The third Conference of the series took place on 16 June. Professor Vladimir Tismăneanu, University of Maryland, president of the Scientific Council of the IICCMER gave a speech entitled About Communism: the Destiny of a Secular Religion.

On 22 June, Ms. Ioana Bot, professor at the Babeş-Bolyai University of Cluj, delivered the last speech of the Monica Lovinescu Summer Conferences, entitled Reconsidering the History of Romanian Literature: Stories of the Recent Past.

The 1990 Mineriade: Street Violence and Civic Resistance

Twenty years have passed since the 1990 Mineriade. On 14 June 2010, the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile organised the debate entitled The 1990 Mineriade: Street Violence and Civic Resistance.

Mr. Cătălin Avramescu (Romanian Presidency), Mr. Andrei Cornea (University of Bucharest), Ms. Rodica Culcer (Romanian Television), Ms. Andreea Pora (22 Weekly), Mr. Ioan Stanomir (IICCMER), Mr. Dan Tapalagă (Hotnews.Ro), and Mr. Vladimir Tismăneanu (University of Maryland) were invited to the event. The discussions of the debate were chaired by the well-known journalist Robert Turcescu (Realitatea FM).

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The International Conference "Crimes of the Communist Regimes"

In the interval 24-26 February 2010, the International Conference Crimes of the Communist Regimes took place in Prague (The Czech Republic). The event was organised by the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes and  partner institutions from the working group on the Platform of European Memory and Conscience.

The Conference aimed at presenting an overview of the crimes committed by the communist regimes behind the Iron Curtain, evaluating them from a legal point of view and searching for possible solutions to the situation today. The main purpose of the reunion was centred on the reconciliation within post-communist societies and a strengthened European integration across the former East-West divide.

The Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile was represented by Marius Oprea and Raluca Grosescu, coordinator of the Documentation and Reseach Office.

Programme of the Conference
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