I back them 100%. The problem in Romania was mostly Ceausescu, who was truly demented, and the IMF loans, which bled the country dry. The other problem was the legacy of hundreds of years of colonial and feudal servitude (Ottoman empire) and the habits and consciousness these engendered.
Joanna --- This is why I don't get all hot and bothered about, e.g., the WWP being called "Stalinists." "Stalinism" is a word. How people actually live is what matters. I know nothing about the WWP, but if the "Stalinism" they defend is that of Brezhnev, big fucking deal. People in the USSR lived much better under Brezhnev than under Gorbachen. BTW, people he released from the Gulag still put flowers on Khrushchev's grave. A real oaf, but he did a lot of good. I think history will treat him kindly.