Is it true that the rating of Nikolai Chausko a week before his execution was 99%?

Many sources write about the unprecedented high ranking of the Romanian dictator in the last days of his life. We checked how correct such information is.

In 2014, a member of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, journalist Boris Vishnevsky, discussing the high popularity in the country of Russian President Vladimir Putin, declaredthat “Rating Nikolai Chausko was 99% A week before the shooting. " Such information can be read on resources such as "Radio Liberty", "Companion", "Censor.net", "Picabu". The publicist also referred to it Glory to Rabinovich, satirist writer Victor Shenderovich, journalist Dmitry Gordon, politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, entrepreneur Mikhail Khodorkovsky And many other celebrities. At the same time, a wide range of support figures is striking - from 90% to 100% (including 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%). The situation with a term is ambiguous - in other cases, not a week is mentioned, but month or, for example, Two days.

December 25, 1989 President of Socialist Romania Nicholas Chausko and his wife Elena were shot The elite unit of the Romanian troops. A week before, the dictator went on a visit to Iran, believing that with the demonstrations that began on December 17, the secret police secret police will cope in Timisoar. However, upon return (December 20), he discovered that the excitement was ongoing. Chalus made a television to the nation, in which he hinted at "the intervention of external forces in the internal affairs of Romania" and "aggression in relation to the Romanian sovereignty." The next day Chausky Turned To the participants of the thousands of thousands in their support, but the reaction of the crowd turned out to be unexpectedly inhospitable. December 22, he and his wife made an attempt to appeal to the masses from his roof giant palace, however, as a result, under the aim of the chambers of the world media Saved from the reprisal Only thanks to the helicopter. This was followed by two days of flights from one residence to another, arrest, court and execution in the city of Tyrgovishta.

Already these facts say that in a week or even a month before the shooting, the real popularity of Chausko was unlikely to reach such serious indicators. Of course, we can assume that the dictator simply reported the numbers that he wanted to hear (as it was with an individual newspaper For the elderly Portuguese leader of Salazar), but it cannot be said that sociological surveys in totalitarian countries in the 1980s were generally a popular instrument. This is these days in democratic Romania can conduct a survey and suddenly Find outthat the deceased Nikolai Chausko has support for 64% of potential voters, which is much higher than that of the current president of the country. However, until the mid-2010s, information about the unprecedented rating of Chausko before the execution is not found on Russian-speaking resources, not to mention Romanian-speaking.

It remains to assume that such an idea could be based on the results of more large -scale events: elections and referenda. The latter in the republic is really periodically carried out. For example, on November 23, 1986, the country's population is virtually unanimous (the turnout is 99.99%, for 100%, 228 people did not appear) voted for reducing the number of army and reducing expenses in service by 5%. As for the elections, in the socialist era, the president was elected for a five -year term not by popular vote, but by parliament - the Great National Assembly (VSS) - on the recommendation of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Romania and the Front of Democracy and Socialist Unity. Chausko was the only senior official within the framework of such a system - he was unanimously elected parliament in 1974 and re -elected in 1980 and 1985. Thus, the scale of popular popularity or support of Chausko in 1989 by these data cannot be judged. Of course, the parliamentary elections were held in Romania (usually shortly before the presidential), and the party led by Chayesu always won them, namely 1975 (98.8%), 1980 (98.5%) and 1985 (97.7%) years, which is also chronologically enough from 1989.

The only event of 1989 at which the candidacy of Nicholas Chausko was considered, became XIV Congress of the Communist Party of Romaniaheld on November 20-24, 1989. November 20 Chausko Read his six -hour report, and four days later was unanimously (3308 of 3308) re -elected To the post of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Romania. It was just a month before the revolution and the execution of the Ceausescu couple, which, perhaps, became many years later the reason for the appearance of rumors about the “99 percent support” of the Romanian leader at that time. However, given the miserable of parliamentary votes and the anticipation of such votes, it would be incorrect to talk about the popular support of Chauser.

Interestingly, in 2019, five years after the replicated message, Boris Vishnevsky corrected his own formulation. In his publications In VKontakte, dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the dictator’s execution, he wrote: “A month before, in November 1989, at the congress of the Romanian Communist Party, he was applauded 62 times. Its rating, if it had been measured then, probably would have been 99%. ” Thus, Vishnevsky, in fact, in direct text, said that no measurement of the popularity of Chausko was carried out in the last month of his life.

Most likely not true

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