Habersack, Sabine - Puşcaş, Vasile - Ciubotă, Viorel (szerk.): Democraţia in Europa centrală şi de Sud-Est - Aspiraţie şi realitate (Secolele XIX-XX) (Satu Mare, 2001)

Ivan Vovkanych: Democracy and Totalitarianism in East European Countries: Transition Periods int he History of the 20th century

Democracy and Totalitarianism

the competitive party system and parliamentary democracy was eliminated, and the domination of leftist and communist ideas installed. In particular, the principle of inviolability of private property was attacked through largescale post-war economy nationalization and confiscation of property. The purposeful programming of economic development turned into administrative command management of national economies. All the above was accompanied by the formation of the system of repressive organs which, following the Soviet pattern, were put beyond the reach of democratic control. These organs became main tool of political terror and gradual seizure of absolute power by the communists.

However, even in such countries as Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, ruled by the Allied Control Boards and occupied by the Soviet Army troops the above mentioned and other anti-democratic destructions were guided by both Soviet “advisors” and local radical political elites. Until 1947, the Kremlin and Stalin demonstrated tolerant relation to the “national patterns” of socialism formation in East European countries and allowed certain degree of independence and initiative on the part of their vassals. But the regime of “people’s democracies” gradually descended to the level of unified Soviet-Stalinist social pattem, mostly due to internal non-democratic reasons, first and foremost for self-denial and refusal of observing the basic principles of democracy and civil rights and freedoms. Modern Czech researchers duly call this process “self-Sovietization” of East European countries.10 Ignoring the principles of democracy logically led to its absolute defeat in post-war Eastern Europe.

What history lessons could be absorbed by post-socialist countries, taking into account that on the threshold of the 20th and 21s1 centuries new European democracies have not so far reached the civilized standards of political, cultural, social and economic development, or, at least, some level of democratic values which would guarantee the impossibility of the revival of authoritarian, totalitarian society in any of its forms? The main conclusion to be made and the important lesson to be learned from the negative post-war evolution of East European societies is, in our opinion, the danger of any, whatever temporary, deviation from the principles of democracy in any of the countries. The misleading choice in

10 Prejian V. K., Interpretatzii Zorinovo prahskv korespondence s Moskvou v oporu 1948. Odpoved na dopis Galinv Muraskovv. in Soudoby dejnii, (Praha), 1999, nr. 1, p. lo7.

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