The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was the most spectacularly violent and remains today the most controversial of all the East European upheavals of that year. Despite (or perhaps because of) the media attention the revolution received, it remains shrouded in mystery. How did the seemingly impregnable Ceausescu regime come to be toppled so swiftly and how did Ion Iliescu and the National Salvation Front come to power?
Ten years after the Revolution, the Romanian media is about to be once again legally controlled by repressive laws. Freedom of the press is very shaky at the moment, as journalists face the threat of violent reprisal and are highly vulnerable to draconian laws, including criminal charges of insult, libel or defamation of the country.