Twenty five years after the regime change, Romanians feel they don't know the truth about the Revolution in December 1989 and about 49.5% of them think that the events were initiated within Romania, reveals an INSCOP - Adevarul survey published on Monday, December 22.

About 78.3% of the Romanians think that they don't know the truth about the 1989 events, 16.8% of them believe they do know the truth, while 4.9% didn't answer, according to the survey.

One in three Romanians believe that the events represented Romanian people's will, who revolted against the communist system, while one in three believe that it was rather a coup initiated by persons who tried to remove Ceausescu. About 21% believe that the events were a consequence of the great powers' decision to abolish the communist system in Eastern Europe.

Romanians over 50 are the most convinced that the events represented a true revolution, with over 36.4% of them considering it was the people's will. Those aged 31-50 (34.7% of them) and those over 50 year-old (35.8% of them) are the most confident about the coup version.

The Romanian Revolution started on December 16, 1989, in Timisoara. Dictator Nicolae Ceausescu ordered the protests to be repressed by force, but this determined an escalation of the protests which spread to other cities. On December 21, Ceausescu addressed the masses in Bucharest, but the crowd started booing him.

On December 22, Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena, fled Bucharest in a helicopter. The revolutionary forces took over the headquarters of the national television and announced that the dictator had left and that Romania was free.

The presidential couple were taken to Targoviste, where they were arrested by the revolutionary forces. They were tried by an extraordinary military tribunal and convicted for genocide and others. They were executed on December 25 (Christmas Day) of 1989.

More than 1,100 people were killed and 3,300 were injured during the December 16-25, 1989 events. The criminal case of the Romanian Revolution hasn’t been finished to this day.

Diana Mesesan, diana@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Wikipedia)