 The penultimate issue ofScînteia, 21 December 1989. The headline reads: "ComradeNicolae Ceaușescu's speech for radio and television stations" (official answer to the outbreak of theRomanian Revolution) | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | A2 |
| Publisher | CC of thePCR |
| Editor | Miron Constantinescu (first) |
| Founded | August 15, 1931 (1931-08-15) |
| Ceased publication | 1989 (1989) |
| Political alignment | Far left |
| Language | Romanian |
| Headquarters | Bucharest |
| City | Bucharest |
| Country | Romania |
| Circulation | 1.1 million (as of 1976) |
| Part of a series on the |
| Communist movement in theKingdom of Romania |
|---|
 |
| Part of a series on the |
| Socialist Republic of Romania |
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Relationship with the USSR |
Relations with other states |
Scînteia (Romanian for "The Spark") was the name of twonewspapers edited byCommunist groups at different intervals inRomanian history. The title is a homage to theRussian language paperIskra. It was known asScânteia until the1953 spelling reform, which replaced the letter with the phonologically identicalÎ in all cases.
The first paper of that name was edited by Romanian revolutionaries inBolshevist Russia, appearing throughout 1919 in the city ofOdessa.
Scânteia reemerged as the official voice of theCommunist Party of Romania on August 15, 1931, being published clandestinely inBucharest until 1940, when the hostility between Romania and theSoviet Union grew to a level where a crackdown oncommunist propaganda became imminent.
In the wake ofKing Michael's Coup of 23 August 1944 and Romania's withdrawing from theAxis and joining theAllies,Scânteia was yet again being published, to remain the approved, sanctioning, body of communist politics. DuringCommunist Romania (since early 1948), the newspaper was the barometer of policy changes, and the main medium through which the regime indicated its aims (for example,Scînteia served as the tribune forslander campaigns against intellectuals such asTudor Arghezi). Moreover, in 1961, August 15, the date on which the newspaper had first been published in Romania 30 years previously, was declared theRomanian Press Day — indicative of the relationship between the official voice and other media.
The headquarters of the paper were the main feature of theSocialist RealistCombinatul Poligrafic Casa Scînteii "I.V. Stalin", a name later reduced toCasa Scînteii, after it dropped the reference toJoseph Stalin duringDe-Stalinization. Today, the building goes by the name of theHouse of the Free Press (Casa Presei Libere).
Scînteia was accompanied by a youth version, one edited by theUnion of Communist Youth (a branch of the Party that resembled the SovietKomsomol, up to a point).Scînteia Tineretului (orScânteia Tineretului; approximately "Youth's Spark") began its edition in November 1944. It was also published under the names ofTinerețea ("The Youth") andTînărul Muncitor (orTânărul Muncitor; "The Young Worker").
With the 1989overthrow of the Communist regime came the outlawing of all Communist Party institutions, including all its newspapers,Scînteia's assets were mostly taken over by the post-communistAdevărul.
