Scînteia

"Scînteia" ("The Spark"; a new spelling of the name in Romanian would be "Scânteia") was the name of two newspapers edited by Communist groups at different intervals in Romanian history. The title was a borrowing from the Russian "Iskra".

History

The very first paper of that name was edited by Romanian revolutionaries in Bolshevist Russia, appearing throughout 1919 in the city of Odessa.

"Scînteia" reemerged as the official voice of the Communist Party of Romania on August 15 1931, being published clandestinely in Bucharest until 1940 (when the hostility between Romania and the Soviet Union grew to a level were a crackdown on communist propaganda became imminent).

With Romania withdrawing from the Axis and joining the Allies in August 1944, "Scînteia" was yet again being published, to remain the approved, sanctioning, body of communist politics. During Communist Romania (since early 1948), it was the barometer of policy changes, and the main medium through which the regime indicated its aims (for example, "Scînteia" served as the tribune for slander campaigns against intellectuals such as Tudor Arghezi and Pamfil Şeicaru). Moreover (indicative of the relations between the official voice and other media), in 1961, August 15 was declared the "Romanian Press Day".

The headquarters of the paper were the main feature of the Socialist Realist "Combinatul Poligrafic Casa Scînteii "I.V.Stalin", a name later reduced to "Casa Scînteii" (after it dropped the reference to Joseph Stalin). Today, the building goes by the name "Casa Presei Libere" ("The House of the Free Press").

"Scînteia" was accompanied by a youth version, one edited by the Union of Communist Youth (a branch of the Party that resembled the Soviet Komsomol up to a point). "Scînteia Tineretului" (or "Scânteia tineretului"; approximately "The Youth Spark") began its edition in November 1944. It was also published under the names of "Tinereţea" ("The Youth") and "Tînărul Muncitor" (or "Tânărul Muncitor"; "The Young Worker").

With the Romanian Revolution of 1989 came the outlawing of all Communist Party institutions, including all its newspapers. "Scînteia"'s assets were mostly taken over by the post-communist "Adevărul".

Post-1944 editors in chief

*Miron Constantinescu (1944-1947)
*Sorin Toma (1947-1960)
*Theodor Marinescu (1960-1965)
*Dumitru Popescu (1965-1968)
*Alexandru Ionescu (1968-1978)
*Constantin Mitea (1978-1981)
*Ion Cumpănaşu (1981-1984)
*Ion Mitran (1985-1989)

Other staff

*Dic Baboian
*Silviu Brucan
*Constantin Chiriţă
*Leonte Răutu

References

*ro icon [http://www.evz.ro/article.php?artid=208601 "Scânteia", ziarul cu două feţe" ("Scânteia", the Two-Faced Journal")] , in "Evenimentul Zilei", January 14, 2006