uj and through the continued urging of
contemporary artists to produce a national art based on folk traditions.

The various ethnic minorities have preserved their own cultural
traditions and forms of expression. Although these forms reflect the
same modern influences of foreign origins that have affected Romanian
forms, they show relatively little direct borrowing from each other or
from the Romanian majority.

Because artistic and intellectual activity is a very effective means of
protest and social criticism and, therefore, opposition to the
established order, the communist leadership has tried to keep such
expression under control and to use it for its own purposes. The degree
of cultural freedom and the content of cultural output have been
indicators of the political situation in the country.

Despite controls, artists and intellectuals continue to create. Not all
of their effort becomes public, and that which does is not necessarily
sincere or direct. Symbolism and allusion have been developed to a high
degree and are well understood by both the creator and his audience.

THE ROLE OF THE ARTS UNDER COMMUNISM

Since the communists took control of the government in 1947, artistic
and intellectual expression has been dominated by the cultural policy of
the Romanian Communist Party (Partidul Communist Roman--PCR), which
follows the model developed by the Soviet Union. The policy is based on
the concept known as Socialist Realism, whereby an artist must strive to
grasp the essence of human and social relations and depict them
truthfully in the light of socialist ideals. Art must be directed toward
the working man; therefore its style must be simple and straightforward.

Adherence to this concept in the formulation and execution of cultural
policy has varied, however, and generally reflects the political climate
of the time and the particular outlook of the men in power. During the
1950s, which has come to be known as the Dogmatic Period of cultural
life in post-World War II Romania, the content of the arts and of
intellectual expression was strictly controlled and restricted.
Socialist Realism was interpreted to mean the presentation of the
glories of communist ideals through the various forms of art and the use
of such forms to further these ideals. All cultural effort, therefore,
had to be directed to these goals, and no deviation was tolerated. The
merits of a book, painting, or play were judged only by how w