How communism turned into history: Vladimir Tismăneanu as historian of Romanian communism

Abstract

Fifteen years after its collapse, communism has undoubtedly become part of Romania's recent past. Although this period is now the historians' field of research, its study remains indebted to the pre-1989 evaluations made by western political scientists. Among those who contributed to the understanding of Romanian communism, Vladimir Tismăneanu features prominently. This essay reviews the concepts coined by this author -such as national Stalinism or dynastic communism- and underlines the interpretations he proposed for some particular episodes – such as the power struggle based on three centers or the emergence of Marxism revisionism as the prerequisite for internal liberalization.