Among the democratic, anti-totalitarian revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Europe, the Romanian revolution stood out for its radical character and cruelty. The first President of democratic Romania I. Iliescu (1990-2004) believed that there was no chance to make a «velvet revolution» in Romania. The continuously deteriorating quality of people’s life led to the situation where protest against N. Ceausescu and his clan became ubiquitous. In the 1980s, living standards degraded twofold, nobody believed in promises to improve them. By the beginning of Perestroika in the Soviet Union, Romania found itself in international isolation, although Ceausescu was not going to leave the Warsaw Pact. In an effort to avoid the collapse of the economy, the Romanian leadership went to the early payment of external debt, which was achieved by incredible efforts in the spring of 1989. The Romanians tried to establish contacts with the Soviet Union to gain access to the export market and oil. N. Ceausescu pursued a double-standard policy - on the one hand, he criticised Gorbachev for Perestroika, for concessions to the Americans, but, at the same time, asked to double the volume of Romanian-Soviet trade. The events in Timisoara, that took place on December 14-18, were a catalyst for the revolution. The population comprised not only of Hungarians, but Romanians too defended the disgraced priest L. Tokes, Hungarian by nationality, and demanded the removal of N. Ceausescu. As for the Romanian revolution, there is no consensus amongst historians. The author of this article believes that it was due to a spontaneous civil uprising backed by a conspiracy of politicians and civil servants, supported by the army and security institutions.