Present-day Romania is just slightly smaller in area than Great Britain (or about the size of New York and Pennsylvania combined), with a population of about 23 million. Separated from the Balkan Peninsula to the south by the Danube River, Romania shares borders today with Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Ukraine, and Moldova. Its southeastern frontier follows the Black Sea. The Romanian people descended from the ancient Romans and the Dacians, an ancient Thracian tribe native to the land now called Romania. The majority of Romania's citizens are ethnic Romanians, but there are also many minorities. Hungarians, Saxons, and Gypsies are the largest ethnic minority groups. Most Romanians follow the Christian Orthodox religion, even through the Communist years when religious practice was outlawed.
Romania in its present form has been in existence only since 1859, but can trace its history to the era around 2000 B.C.E. Over its four thousand years, Romania's geographical location between western Europe and the East has forced its citizens to defend their land through almost continual wars, invasions, occupations, oppressions, and massacres. For more than 50 years following World War II, Romania was ruled by a succession of Communist leaders. From 1965 to 1989, the Romanians were subjected to arguably the worst despotic regime among the Soviet Bloc countries: that of Nicolae Ceausescu who, along with his wife Elena, destroyed historical villages and buildings, confiscated essentially everything of value, and literally stole the food from his own people. The Ceausescus were overthrown during a violent revolution in December 1989, and executed shortly thereafter. Questions still linger about whether the revolution was instigated and orchestrated by forces in Moscow...or by Cea ...