“What is it with us that we can’t unlock ourselves from this infectious syndrome called communist?” – asks actor Alex Bogdan. He dismantles one of the most widespread clichés of those nostalgic for communism: “in Ceaușescu’s time there was humanity, people were people”.
Nostalgia for Communism is fueled heavily on social media, and it’s paying off. In the last survey regarding the level of nostalgia for communism present in Romanian society, published in July 2025, it is shown that more than half of Romanians see communism as “rather good” or that life was better before 1989.
One of the main conclusions of the representative survey carried out by INSCOP Research (on behalf of the Institute for the Investigation of the Crimes of Communism and the Memory of the Romanian Exile) is that “the negative perception of Romania’s current direction it catalyzes nostalgia: Over 63% believe that Romania is going in the wrong direction. This chronic dissatisfaction with the present creates fertile ground for the idealization of the communist past, being more intense among those with low incomes and primary education. The narrative structure of communist nostalgia incorporates selective elements of collective memory (eg job security, controlled prices, free access to culture) and consciously excludes repressive aspects.”
The results are difficult to understand considering that the Ceaușescu regime was the most oppressive and harsh in the former Soviet bloc: 66.2% believe that Nicolae Ceaușescu was a good leader for Romania; 48.4% believe that life was better under communism; 85.1% think food was healthier under communism; 66.4% state that the state took better care of the citizen; 80.4% believe that people helped each other more; 77.2% believe that, before 1989, Romania was a richer country than today;
Alex Bogdan on communist nostalgia: “Where the hell was this humanity, that they were all casters, everything was a struggle for survival”
The actor Alex Bogdan spoke on the “Vin de-o poveste” podcast about Romanians’ nostalgia for communism.
“When I get home, I looked on a Facebook page about the nostalgia of communism. There are all kinds of people who say from the old days, and during this time I was muttering to myself: “well, such a thing is not possible. It means that we have not succeeded, in fact, to break away from communism. We are much closer, we as a people, as a structure, as a nation, to Russia, although it is this torture to be after Europe. We need a daddy, we need someone to tell us, we need someone to give us, we need someone to fill our mouth”says the actor.
He is amazed how people do not bother to challenge a regime in which freedom of expression, thought was restricted. The actor deals with some people’s arguments with irony: “Yes, but everyone was busy. If you were walking down the street, the police would stop you and for the first time ask to see where you work. That if you didn’t work, they would take you to the Militia for being a vagabond. There is, mother, a respect for people. It was humanity.”
Bogdan says that he can no longer bear to hear these arguments: “Once upon a time, people were people.” Where there were people, that they were all casters. Everyone was making all kinds of moves, everything was a fight for survival. Where the hell was this humanity? What’s wrong with us that we can’t unblock ourselves from this infectious syndrome called communist and called this fear, this laziness, this puddle, this suffocation of our being Romanians.”
“It scares me when I see how uncritical we are”
The actor also discussed the danger of artificial intelligence manipulation: “It scares me how bogus we are as a people and how stupid, in a way, and lacking in reason and a critical sense and a discernment in sifting through information and verifying from multiple sources. The first thing you see, repeat share, share. During the glorious rider on the white horse, and after that, you know there’s all kinds of pages like that that featured a picture of, I don’t know, or an old lady, or a child, whom no one appreciates. And I understood that these things are done randomly, but it is a system through which you can select your clientele”.
Commenters on such posts are “the perfect victims” of propaganda, he says. “I mean, if I comment there and say, ‘oh, poor kid,’ even though that picture screams AI, the text, everything, if you look closely it has maybe an extra finger. I mean, everything screams of prefabricated stuff by an artificial system and you say, “oh, poor thing, we’re not doing well as a country anymore”, “woe is us”. That is a target audience in which I can throw my next propaganda ideas”.
Bogdan reported on a story posted on a Facebook page about a taxi driver taking gifts to orphaned children, made with AI to gather a specific type of audience. “There are many stories like this”he says. Radu Țibulcă, the host of the podcast, claims that this page in a short enough time will become one of the models “we support CG 11”. “It will be activated when needed. Now it is building up a maneuver mass and then it will be used”said Bogdan.
He claims that the technology will become so good that it will be very difficult to tell the difference from reality. “Over time, I think that once the mechanism gets better and better, they will also produce among us, those who consider ourselves capable of distinguishing the truth from a lie, a kind of blurring, we won’t really know what reality is anymore. With others, it’s been “bye” for a long time. goodbye”he concluded.
Alex Bogdan is a Romanian film, theater and television actor, born on January 24, 1986 in Târgu Ocna. He graduated from the “C. Negri” National College, then the Hyperion University (acting, 2008) and a Master’s in Actor’s Art at UNATC “IL Caragiale” in Bucharest. He is known for his theatrical work at Teatrul Mic in Bucharest and for roles in films such as “Ana, mon amour”, “Hârtia va fi ablastra”, “5Gang: Un altelle de Crăciun” and “Tati part-time”, but also for appearances in TV series such as “Mondenii”. In addition to acting, he has also participated as a judge or contestant in television shows such as Masked Singer and I’m Famous, Get Me Out of Here!.
