SovRoms
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The SovRoms (plural of SovRom) were economical enterprises established in Romania following the Communist takeover at the end of World War II, in place until 1954-1956 (when they were dissolved by the Romanian authorities).
In theory, SovRoms were joint Romanian-Soviet ventures aimed at generating revenue for reconstruction;[1] however, they were mainly designed as a means to ensure resources for the Soviet side, and generally contributed to draining Romania's resources (in addition to the war reparations demanded by the armistice convention of 1944 and the Paris Peace Treaties,[2] which had been set at 300 million United States dollars[3] - see Romania during World War II). The Soviet contribution in creating the SovRoms lay mostly in reselling leftover German equipment to Romania, which was systematically overvalued.[4]
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[edit] History
[edit] Creation, structure, and effects
An agreement between the two countries regarding the establishment of common enterprises was signed in Moscow on May 8, 1945,[5] at a time when Romania found itself in economic isolation.[6]
The first SovRom to be created (July 17, 1945), was Sovrompetrol, which had as its objective the exploitation of petroleum in Prahova County areas and the oil refineries in Ploieşti.[7] By 1947, it was responsible for 37% of the total drilling,[8] ca. 30% of the total production of crude oil, and over 36% of refined oil,[9] controlling 37% of internal oil supplies and 38% of external ones.[10]
Sovrompetrol was followed by Sovromtransport and Tars (operators in transport), and later by Sovrombanc (banking and commercial monopoly), Sovromlemn (wood processing), Sovromgaz (natural gas), Sovromasigurare (insurance), Sovromcărbune (coal exploitation in the Jiu Valley and other areas), Sovromchim (chemical industry), Sovromconstrucţii (construction materials), Sovrommetal (iron extraction — around Reşiţa), Sovromtractor (future Tractorul, in Braşov), Sovromfilm (importing Soviet cinema productions), Sovrom Utilaj Petrolier (producing oil refining equipment), Sovromnaval (shipbuilding in Constanţa, Giurgiu, and Brăila), and Sovromcuarţ (officially exploiting quartz, but also involved in the secret exploitation of uranium used in the Soviet atomic bomb project).[11]
The total number of goods passed by Romania to the Soviet Union surpassed by far the demanded war reparations, being estimated at around 2 billion dollars.[12] By 1952, 85% of Romanian export was directed at the Soviet Union.[13]
Special circumstances also enhanced the negative effects of SovRoms on Romanian economy: the severe drought and famine outbreaks of 1946,[14] coupled with the severe devaluation of the Romanian leu — culminating in a forced stabilization through monetary reform (1947).[15]
[edit] Ending
The SovRoms' end, evidence of the Romanian Communist Party's relative emancipation from Soviet control, ran parallel to the De-Stalinization process; it was approved by Nikita Khrushchev and carried out by Miron Constantinescu (head of the Planning Board).[16]
The first measure was taken in 1954 (through accords signed in March and September):[17] Soviet shares in 12 of the total 16 enterprises were taken over by the Romanian state, in exchange for a sum to be payed in installments of merchandise exports (in 1959, the debt was set at over 35 billion lei).[18] Payments were completed in 1975.[19] The initial sum at which the Soviet side estimated its contribution was 9,6 billion lei, in contrast to the 2,9 billion at which it had been valued by Romanian sources;[20] discussions on the matter reduced to sum to a total of 5,3 billion lei, which was convened by the two sides not as a corrected result, but as a concession owed to past irregularities in SovRom activities.[21] At the same time, the Soviet Union announced that it gave up interests in formerly German-owned enterprises and equipment on Romanian soil, for which Romania payed 1,5 billion lei as compensation (deducted from the total 5,3 billion).[22]
The gesture was used by General Secretary Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, who had previously ensured their efficiency,[23] as a means to gain popularity with Romanian citizens and, in parallel, to advertise the fact that Romania had developed the majority of Marxian requirements for Socialism after completing nationalization.[24]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Cioroianu, p.68, 70
- ^ Cioroianu, p.68, 71, 73
- ^ Cioroianu, p.73
- ^ Alexandrescu, p.40-41
- ^ Alexandrescu, p.39
- ^ Alexandrescu, p.39
- ^ Cioroianu, p.68
- ^ Alexandrescu, p.39
- ^ Alexandrescu, p.39
- ^ Alexandrescu, p.39
- ^ Alexandrescu, p.39-40; Cioroianu, p.69-70
- ^ Roper, p.18
- ^ Cioroianu, p.372-373
- ^ Cioroianu, p.71-72
- ^ Cioroianu, p.72-74
- ^ Cioroianu, p.208
- ^ Alexandrescu, p.39
- ^ Alexandrescu, p.40
- ^ Alexandrescu, p.40
- ^ Alexandrescu, p.41
- ^ Alexandrescu, p.41
- ^ Alexandrescu, p.41
- ^ Roper, p.22
- ^ Cioroianu, p.71, 74-76
[edit] References
- "Soviet-Rumanian Relation in the Light of Recent Events in Hungary and Poland", November 1956, at Open Society Archives
- Ion Alexandrescu, "1945-1956: Din «cleştele» german — în braţele «fratelui» de la răsărit. Societăţile mixte sovieto-române (Sovrom)" ("1945-1956: From the German «Tongs» — into the Arms of the Eastern «Brother». Mixed Soviet-Romanian Societies (Sovrom)"), in Dosarele Istoriei, 3/1996
- Adrian Cioroianu, Pe umerii lui Marx. O introducere în istoria comunismului românesc ("On the Shoulders of Marx. An Incursion into the History of Romanian Communism"), Editura Curtea Veche, Bucharest, 2005. ISBN 9736691756
- Stephen D. Roper, Romania: The Unfinished Revolution, Routledge, London, 2000. ISBN 9058230279
[edit] External links
- (Romanian) Grecu Dan, Salvate de la coşul de gunoi ("Rescued from the Garbage Bin") — Sovroms in postal history
