White Regency
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The White Regency was the ruling body of Oltenia from 1948 through 1989. Its avowed purpose was to select a new prince from among the competing claims of various members of the Florea family could be complete. That this process took generations was anything but accidental.
History
GW2 saw Oltenia conquered by Russia under the SNOR although they referred to it as "liberation." Radu, the previously installed Prince, had died under captivity by the White Army in 1941. Russian advisors installed the Regency Council, which was soon dubbed "white" in honor of their true masters. Although several Oltenians did in fact serve in the body over the years, most Regency members were Serbian or Hungarians.
During their rule, the White Regency caused much ethnic tension by favouring the Serbian population over the Romanian, and by using members of the Hungarian minority for the dirty work (secret police, etc.) in order to direct the population's hostility against the Hungarians and distract it from the Serbs and the SNOR itself.
While much of the nation's resources were allocated for internal security, the four decades of Snor-ist rule did see considerable repair and expansion of Oltenia's infrastructure. Several train systems were put into place while air travel was encouraged. Education, especially of the sciences, improved dramatically.
Crimes
By any defintion, the Regency was repressive. Censorship was rigorously enforced, with any criticism of the government or of Russia stifled. Advancement in certain careers--such as teaching--was determined from Timişoara, with "loyalty" the determining factor.
Imprisonment without trial was not the rule, but it was very common. Oltenian prisons were rightly feared--poor food, little sanitation, no medical help and hard labor were the norm, while guards were often selected for their brutality. Many preferred to be executed, which typically involved hanging.
Apart from general repression, there were also acts that could be considered atrocities. A synagogue certain dissidents were known to frequent was burned to the ground in 1963 while services were being held. The White Regency's secret police the Securitate were widely blamed, not least because the fire brigade did not appear to battle the flames. Over twenty people died. Given how many records were destroyed in the final days before the Restoration, the truth may never be proven. But certainly throughout the Regency enemies of the regime could sometimes find themselves the victims of extremely violent, even grotesque crimes that would go unsolved.
Yet despite the deliberate policy of terror, there was surprisingly little doctrine behind it. Implied criticism of the Regime, call for greater freedoms and criticism of Russia were stamped out with brutal efficiency but rarely was anything specific offered to counter such. The White Regency had no real ideology other than progress for Oltenia and maintaining the current leadership. Historians speculate this was one reason Oltenia managed to be first nation to throw off the Snor-is yoke.
Structure
In practice, the Council functioned as a cabinet with a leader called the Lord Protector, but the actual leadership depended upon the position of individuals and the power such position bestowed. At least once a change of leadership was facilitated through assasination and once there was what amounted to an internal coup.
Positions in the Council even resembled a Cabinet, with Ministers appointed by the leadership to head government departments. Actual numbers varied between a dozen and thirty.
The Lord Protectors were:
- Viktor Ionescu (1948-1953)
- Petru Gheorghe Maurer (1953-1964)
- Mihai Pauker-Dej (1964-1968)
- Ion Onătescu (1968-1979)
- Istvan Gheorghiu (1979-1987)
- Theodor Vadim (1987-1988)
Viktor Ionescu
Petru Maurer
Mihai Pauker-Dej
Ion Onătescu
Istvan Gheorghui
Theodor Vadim
