Nicolae Ceausescu (...) ruled Romania according to orthodox Communist principles, causing food shortages by forcing the export of most of the country's agricultural products. The resulting unrest led to the collapse of Ceausescu's regime.
Romania's tyrant Nicolae Ceausescu ran one of Europe's most ruthlessly repressive dictatorships until 1989 when he and his wife Elena were overthrown by their captive subjects and executed on television. The country had been so thoroughly brutalized by its own government that it was still an emergency room case even years after its communist rulers were dispatched. Unlike some formerly Eastern bloc countries, its reputation still hasn't recovered entirely even though it belongs to the European Union and NATO.