The culture of workers’ internationalism made its mark on Romanian culture in the years of the dark decade. Stalinist ideological censorship had catastrophic effects on the Romanian cultural environment. The elites either took refuge in a painful exile or accepted the conventions of the dark era. The most prolific writers had to accept Marxist ideology and adopt its language. The rest were expelled from universities and had to survive the best they could. Humiliating public trials, having sculptors, painters, film makers, writers as victims had the purpose of defeating the opposition of local intellectuals. Prison and house arrest sentences shaped a bleak destiny for important cultural figures. Very few intellectuals managed to get the favors of the new government.