bucharest, romania

Bucharest was once referred to as "little paris"


the lonely planet now calls it the "wild west of eastern europe"


Nicolae Ceauşescu was the leader of Romania from 1965 - 1989. during this time Romania became a communist-ruled country.


in the 1980s secret police maintained control over speech and the media;


a rampant AIDS epidemic is said to have been created by the regime's refusal to acknowledge the existence of the disease, and its unwillingness to allow for any HIV test to be carried out;


Ceauşescu exported the country's agricultural and industrial products to pay for foreign debts, citizens had to fight for survival, this went on till late 1989.


over one fifth of central Bucharest was demolished in the 1980s, in order to rebuild the city in Ceauşescu's own style.


a revolution removed him from power in December 1989, he was sentenced to death for crimes against the state, genocide, and "undermining the national economy."


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Ceau%C5%9Fescu