City Challenge was an event organisation that holds motorsports, arts and entertainment events in major city centres. It had its headquarters in Berlin , Germany .
119-624: City Challenge CEO Hartmut Beyer started to plan a race circuit downtown Bucharest , Romania, in 2004. After fulfilling the role as organiser and promoter for the FIA GT Championship rounds in Bucharest 2007, 2008 (under the name of Bucharest Ring ) and Budapest, Hungary, in 2009, Mr. Beyer and his team performed negotiations with multiple cities around the world in order to establish its own GT championship that will take place from 2013 onwards. The inaugural Baku City Challenge event
238-510: A humid continental climate ( Dfa by the 0 °C isotherm), or a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen : Cfa by the -3 °C isotherm), with hot, humid summers and cold, snowy winters. Owing to its position on the Romanian Plain, the city's winters can get windy, though some of the winds are mitigated due to urbanisation. Winter temperatures often dip below 0 °C (32 °F), sometimes even to −10 °C (14 °F). In summer,
357-788: A " proletarian literature " was un-Marxist because the proletariat would lose its class characteristics in the transition to a classless society, however, did not prevail. Socialist realism became state policy in 1934 when the First Congress of Soviet Writers met and Stalin's representative Andrei Zhdanov gave a speech strongly endorsing it as "the official style of Soviet culture". It was enforced ruthlessly in all spheres of artistic endeavour. Form and content were often limited, with erotic, religious, abstract, surrealist, and expressionist art being forbidden. Formal experiments, including internal dialogue, stream of consciousness, nonsense, free-form association, and cut-up were also disallowed. This
476-510: A community police force ( Poliția Comunitară ), dealing with local community issues. Bucharest also houses the general inspectorates of the Gendarmerie and the national police . Bucharest's crime rate is rather low in comparison to other European capital cities, with the number of total offences declining by 51% between 2000 and 2004, and by 7% between 2012 and 2013. Bucharest, along with Cluj-Napoca , Timișoara , Brașov and Iași ,
595-611: A different purpose for art: wanting it functional, and Stalin built on that belief that art should be agitation. The term Socialist Realism was proclaimed in 1934 at the Soviet Writer's congress, although it was left not precisely defined. This turned individual artists and their works into state-controlled propaganda. After the death of Stalin in 1953, he was succeeded by Nikita Khrushchev who allowed for less draconian state controls and openly condemned Stalin's artistic demands in 1956 with his " Secret Speech ", and thus began
714-470: A different time or place. This sentiment created what would later be dubbed "revolutionary romanticism". Revolutionary romanticism elevated the common worker, whether factory or agricultural, by presenting his life, work, and recreation as admirable. Its purpose was to show how much the standard of living had improved thanks to the revolution, as educational information, to teach Soviet citizens how they should be acting and to improve morale. The ultimate aim
833-590: A failed attempt by German troops to regain the city. After the establishment of communism in Romania , the city continued growing. New districts were constructed, most of them dominated by tower blocks . During Nicolae Ceaușescu 's leadership (1965–89), a part of the historic city was demolished and replaced by ' Socialist realism ' style development: (1) the Centrul Civic (the Civic Centre) and (2)
952-499: A famous article titled "Socialist Realism" in 1933. During the Congress of 1934, four guidelines were laid out for socialist realism. The work must be: The purpose of socialist realism was to limit popular culture to a specific, highly regulated faction of emotional expression that promoted Soviet ideals. The party was of the utmost importance and was always to be favorably featured. The key concepts that developed assured loyalty to
1071-470: A figure in the foreground sacrificing himself for his sufferers, followed by the central group of determined comrades through whose courage and fearlessness is encouraged. The German Democratic Republic used these sculptures to reaffirm its claim to the historical and political legacy of the anti-fascist struggle for freedom. Claudia Cobizev was a Moldovan sculptor, whose work was known for its sensitive portrayals of women and children. Her most notable work
1190-457: A fisherman, a shepherd or a hunter, according to different legends. In Romanian , the word stem bucurie means 'joy' ('happiness'), hence the city Bucharest means 'city of joy'. Other etymologies are given by early scholars, including the one of an Ottoman traveller, Evliya Çelebi , who claimed that Bucharest was named after a certain 'Abu-Kariș', from the tribe of ' Bani-Kureiș '. In 1781, Austrian historian Franz Sulzer claimed that it
1309-522: A level of authority that had not existed since the early 20th century. In the decade immediately after the fall of the USSR, artists represented socialist realism and the Soviet legacy as a traumatic event. By the next decade, there was a unique sense of detachment. Western cultures often do not look at socialist realism positively. Democratic countries view the art produced during this period of repression as
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#17327829460331428-638: A lie. Non-Marxist art historians tend to view communism as a form of totalitarianism that smothers artistic expression and therefore retards the progress of culture. In recent years there has been a reclamation of the movement in Moscow with the addition of the Institute of Russian Realist Art (IRRA), a three-story museum dedicated to preserving 20th-century Russian realist paintings. Hanns Eisler composed many workers' songs, marches, and ballads on current political topics such as Song of Solidarity , Song of
1547-482: A new privileged stratum...[which] has strangled artistic creation with a totalitarian hand...Even under absolute monarchy art was based on idealization, but not on falsification , whereas in the Soviet Union official art—and none other exists there—is sharing in the fate of official justice; its purpose is to glorify the "Leader" and to manufacture officially a heroic myth...The style of official Soviet painting
1666-493: A reversal in policy known as " Khrushchev's Thaw ". He believed that artists should not be constrained and should be allowed to live by their creative talents. In 1964, Khrushchev was removed and replaced by Leonid Brezhnev , who reintroduced Stalin's ideas and reversed the artistic decisions made by Khrushchev. However, by the early 1980s, the Socialist Realist movement had begun to fade. Artists to date remark that
1785-522: A roughly round shape, with the centre situated in the cross-way of the main north–south/east-west axes at University Square . The milestone for Romania's Kilometre Zero is placed just south of University Square in front of the New St. George Church (Sfântul Gheorghe Nou) at St. George Square (Piața Sfântul Gheorghe). Bucharest's radius, from University Square to the city limits in all directions, varies from 10 to 12 km (6 to 7 mi). Until recently,
1904-528: A single aesthetic model for Soviet artists to follow, he developed a system of aesthetics based on the human body that would later help to influence socialist realism. He believed that "the sight of a healthy body, intelligent face or friendly smile was essentially life-enhancing." He concluded that art had a direct effect on the human organism and under the right circumstances that effect could be positive. By depicting "the perfect person" ( New Soviet man ), Lunacharsky believed art could educate citizens on how to be
2023-473: A socially disadvantaged area. Although the presence of street children was a problem in Bucharest in the 1990s, their numbers have declined in recent years, now lying at or below the average of major European capital cities. As stated by the Mercer international surveys for quality of life in cities around the world, Bucharest occupied the 94th place in 2001 and slipped lower, to the 108th place in 2009 and
2142-618: A study published by the United Nations, Bucharest placed 19th among 28 cities that recorded sharp declines in population from 1990 to the mid-2010s. In particular, the population fell by 3.77%. The city's population, according to the 2002 census, was 1,926,334 inhabitants, or 8.9% of the total population of Romania. A significant number of people commute to the city every day, mostly from the surrounding Ilfov County, but official statistics regarding their numbers do not exist. Bucharest's population experienced two phases of rapid growth,
2261-467: A type of art that realistically depicts subjects of social concern and was popularized in the United States during the 1930s, or other forms of "realism" in the visual arts . Socialist realism was made with an extremely literal and obvious meaning, usually showing an idealized Soviet society . Socialist realism was usually devoid of complex artistic meaning or interpretation. Socialist realism
2380-545: A unique habitat. In May 2016, the lake was declared a national park, the Văcărești Nature Park . Dubbed the 'Delta of Bucharest', the area is protected. Bucharest is situated in the center of the Romanian Plain, in an area once covered by the Vlăsiei Forest, which after it was cleared, gave way for a fertile flatland. As with many cities, Bucharest is traditionally considered to be built upon seven hills, similar to
2499-546: A unique status in Romanian administration, since it is the only municipal area that is not part of a county . Its population, however, is larger than that of any other Romanian county , hence the power of the Bucharest General Municipality ( Primăria Generală ), which is the capital's local government body, is the same as any other Romanian county council. The Municipality of Bucharest, along with
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#17327829460332618-581: A working-class woman as its heroine. He battled against the enemies of socialism in the books Two Worlds , and Hands Off! . Bruno Apitz 's novel Nackt unter Wölfen , a story that culminates in the vivid description of the self-liberation of the detainees, was deliberately chosen to take place on the same day as the formal opening of the Buchenwald Monument in September 1958. The novels of Louis Aragon , such as The Real World , depict
2737-773: Is Cap de moldoveancă which was exhibited at the Paris International Exhibition to wide acclaim. In conjunction with the Socialist Classical style of architecture, socialist realism was the officially approved type of art in the Soviet Union for more than fifty years. In the early years of the Soviet Union, Russian and Soviet artists embraced a wide variety of art forms under the auspices of Proletkult . Revolutionary politics and radical non-traditional art forms were seen as complementary. In art, Constructivism flourished. In poetry,
2856-561: Is a city of high population density : 8,260/km (21,400/sq mi), as most of the population lives in high-density communist era apartment blocks ( blocuri ). However, this also depends on the part of the city: the southern boroughs have a higher density than the northern ones. Of the European Union country capital-cities, only Paris and Athens have a higher population density (see List of European Union cities proper by population density ). In addition to blocks of flats built during
2975-410: Is administratively known as the 'Municipality of Bucharest' ( Romanian : Municipiul București ), and has the same administrative level as that of a national county , being further subdivided into six sectors , each governed by a local mayor. The Romanian name București has an unverified origin. Tradition connects the founding of Bucharest with the name of Bucur , who was a prince, an outlaw,
3094-478: Is being described as "socialist realism"- the label could have been invented only by a bureaucrat at the head of an Arts Department." The impact of socialist realist art can still be seen decades after it ceased being the only state-supported style. Even before the end of the USSR in 1991, the government had been reducing its practices of censorship. After Stalin 's death in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev began to condemn
3213-421: Is governed by a local mayor, as follows: Sector 1 – Clotilde Armand ( USR , since 2020), Sector 2 – Radu Mihaiu ( USR , since 2020), Sector 3 – Robert Negoiță (PRO B, since 2012), Sector 4 – Daniel Băluță ( PSD , since 2016), Sector 5 – Vlad Popescu Piedone (former mayor Cristian Popescu Piedone's son) (PUSL, since 2024), Sector 6 – Ciprian Ciucu ( PNL , since 2020). Like all other local councils in Romania,
3332-412: Is guiding all the creative working energies of the country. One of the most famous authors during this time was Alexander Fadeyev . Fadeyev was a close personal friend of Stalin and called Stalin "one of the greatest humanists the world has ever seen." His most famous works include The Rout and The Young Guard . Stalin's adversary, Leon Trotsky , was highly critical of this rigid approach towards
3451-586: Is headed by a general mayor ( Primar General ). Since 29 October 2020 onwards, it is Nicușor Dan , currently an independent politician previously backed by the PNL - USR PLUS centre-right alliance at the 2020 Romanian local elections . Decisions are approved and discussed by the capital's General Council ( Consiliu General ) made up of 55 elected councilors. Furthermore, the city is divided into six administrative sectors ( sectoare ), each of which has its own 27-seat sectoral council, town hall, and mayor. The powers of
3570-550: Is listed as 'endangered' by the World Monuments Watch (as of 2016). Although many neighbourhoods, particularly in the southern part of the city, lack sufficient green space, being formed of cramped, high-density blocks of flats, Bucharest also has many parks . In 2024, Bucharest was ranked by the digital publication Freaking Nomads as the 9th best city in the world for digital nomads , due to its elaborate and diverse architecture, an arts scene featuring some of
3689-610: Is located in the Lithuanian Art Museum . Martin Andersen Nexø developed socialist realism in his own way. His creative method featured a combination of publicistic passion, a critical view of capitalist society, and a steadfast striving to bring reality into accord with socialist ideals. The novel Pelle, the Conqueror is considered to be a classic of socialist realism. The novel Ditte, Daughter of Man had
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3808-406: Is located in the southern part of the city. Over 190 hectares, including 90 hectares of water, host 97 species of birds, half of them protected by law, and at least seven species of mammals. The lake is surrounded by buildings of flats and is an odd result of human intervention and nature taking its course. The area was a small village that Ceaușescu attempted to convert into a lake. After demolishing
3927-463: Is more common, particularly in the form of pickpocketing , which occurs mainly on the city's public transport network. Confidence tricks were common in the 1990s, especially in regards to tourists, but the frequency of these incidents has since declined. Theft was reduced by 13.6% in 2013 compared to 2012. Levels of crime are higher in the southern districts of the city, particularly in Ferentari ,
4046-548: Is the capital and largest city of Romania . The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater metropolitan area of 2.3 million residents, which makes Bucharest the 8th most-populous city in the European Union . The city area measures 240 km (93 sq mi) and comprises 6 districts ( Sectoare ), while
4165-605: Is usually considered to have been the first socialist-realist novel. Gorky was also a major factor in the school's rapid rise, and his pamphlet, On Socialist Realism , essentially lays out the needs of Soviet art. Other important works of literature include Fyodor Gladkov 's Cement (1925), Nikolai Ostrovsky 's How the Steel Was Tempered (1936) and Aleksey Tolstoy 's epic trilogy The Road to Calvary (1922–1941). Yury Krymov 's novel Tanker "Derbent" (1938) portrays Soviet merchant seafarers being transformed by
4284-471: The Afro-Romanians ), Iranians, Vietnamese, Filipinos, Nepalis, Afghans, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, and Indians. 226,943 people did not declare their ethnicity. Socialist realism Socialist realism was the official cultural doctrine of the Soviet Union that mandated an idealized representation of life under socialism in literature and the visual arts . The doctrine
4403-558: The Constitutional Court of Romania . Bucharest has a municipal police force, the Bucharest Police ( Poliția București ), which is responsible for policing crime within the whole city, and operates a number of divisions. The Bucharest Police are headquartered on Ștefan cel Mare Blvd. in the city centre, and at precincts throughout the city. From 2004 onwards, each sector city hall also has under its administration
4522-700: The Grand Prize at the 1st Cannes Film Festival , and Bimal Roy 's Two Acres of Land (1953), which won the International Prize at the 7th Cannes Film Festival . The painter Aleksandr Deineka provides a notable example for his expressionist and patriotic scenes of the Second World War, collective farms, and sports. Yuriy Ivanovich Pimenov, Boris Ioganson and Geli Korzev have also been described as "unappreciated masters of twentieth-century realism". Another well-known practitioner
4641-620: The Gymkhana Drift Series acted as support races of the Baku event. The evening show programme included the “CoGo show”, featuring international artists, and on-stage performances by, among others, DJ Pancho and Rafet el Roman . A total of 13 teams, 24 cars of the makes BMW, McLaren, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Chevrolet participated during the City Challenge event on the 2,144-metre-long racetrack that
4760-676: The Mastercard Global Index of Urban Destinations. As for the past two consecutive years, 2018 and 2019, Bucharest ranked as the European destination with the highest potential for development according to the same study. Economically, Bucharest is the most prosperous city in Romania and the richest capital and city in the region, having surpassed Budapest since 2017. The city has a number of large convention facilities, educational institutes, cultural venues, traditional 'shopping arcades' and recreational areas. The city proper
4879-524: The New Economic Policy , there was a certain amount of private commercial enterprise, allowing both the futurists and the traditionalists to produce their art for individuals with capital. By 1928, the Soviet government had enough strength and authority to end private enterprises, thus ending support for fringe groups such as the futurists. At this point, although the term "socialist realism" was not being used, its defining characteristics became
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4998-712: The Palace of the Parliament , for which an entire historic quarter was razed to make way for Ceaușescu's megalomaniac plans. On 4 March 1977, an earthquake centred in Vrancea , about 135 km (83.89 mi) away, claimed 1,500 lives and caused further damage to the historic centre. The Romanian Revolution of 1989 began with massive anti-Ceaușescu protests in Timișoara in December 1989 and continued in Bucharest, leading to
5117-561: The Russian Empire at the time, Znamierowski was of Polish descent and Lithuanian citizenship, a country where he lived for most of his life and died. He excelled in landscapes and social realism, and held many exhibitions. Znamierowski was also widely published in national newspapers, magazines and books. His more notable paintings include Before Rain (1930), Panorama of Vilnius City (1950), The Green Lake (1955), and In Klaipeda Fishing Port (1959). A large collection of his art
5236-735: The Stakhanovite movement . Thol , a novel by D. Selvaraj in Tamil is a standing example of Marxist Realism in India. It won a literary award ( Sahithya Akademi ) for the year 2012. Sculptor Fritz Cremer created a series of monuments commemorating the victims of the National Socialist regime in the former concentration camps Auschwitz , Buchenwald , Mauthausen and Ravensbrück . His bronze monument in Buchenwald, depicting
5355-609: The homicide rate of Bucharest was 0,8 per 100,000 people. Crime in Bucharest is combated by national forces, such as the Romanian Police and Romanian Gendarmerie , and by local forces, such as the Local Police of Bucharest. Although in the 2000s, a number of police crackdowns on organised crime gangs occurred, such as the Cămătaru clan, organised crime generally has little impact on public life. Petty crime, however,
5474-411: The urban area , the proposed metropolitan area of Bucharest would have a population of 2.3 million people. In 2020, the government used 2.5 million people as the basis for pandemic reports. Bucharest is the eighth largest city in the European Union by population within city limits. In 2017, Bucharest was the European city with the highest growth of tourists who stay over night, according to
5593-465: The 107th place in 2010. Compared to it, Vienna occupied number one worldwide in 2011 and 2009. Warsaw ranked 84th, Istanbul 112th, and neighbours Sofia 114th and Belgrade 136th (in the 2010 rankings). Mercer Human Resource Consulting issues yearly a global ranking of the world's most livable cities based on 39 key quality-of-life issues. Among them: political stability, currency-exchange regulations, political and media censorship, school quality, housing,
5712-549: The Bucharest Tribunal ( Tribunalul Bucureşti ), the city's municipal court. The Bucharest Court of Appeal ( Curtea de Apel Bucureşti ) judges appeals against decisions taken by first-instance courts and tribunals in Bucharest and in five surrounding counties (Teleorman, Ialomița, Giurgiu, Călărași, and Ilfov). Bucharest is also home to Romania's supreme court, the High Court of Cassation and Justice , as well as to
5831-417: The Bucharest sectoral councils, the capital's general council , and the mayors are elected every four years by the population. Additionally, Bucharest has a prefect , who is appointed by Romania's national government. The prefect is not allowed to be a member of a political party and his role is to represent the national government at the municipal level. The prefect is acting as a liaison official facilitating
5950-578: The Communist Party, and the poputchicks (such as Boris Pasternak and Andrei Bely ). In August 1934, the union held its first congress where Gorky said: The Writers' Union is not being created merely for the purpose of bodily uniting all artists of the pen, but so that professional unification may enable them to comprehend their corporate strength, to define with all possible clarity their varied tendencies, creative activity, guiding principles, and harmoniously to merge all aims in that unity which
6069-847: The McLaren MP4-12C GT3 for HEXIS Racing. Frank Kechele and Mathias Lauda driving the BMW Z4 GT3 for Vita4One Racing Team were ranked second and the podium was concluded by Yelmer Buurman and Nicolaus Mayr-Melnhof, also driving a BMW Z4 GT3 for Vita4One Racing Team. City Challenge would have the ambition to grow to a stable event calendar that would contain a minimum of five events in Europe, Middle East, America and Asia. Bucharest Bucharest ( UK : / ˌ b uː k ə ˈ r ɛ s t / BOO -kə- REST , US : / ˈ b uː k ə r ɛ s t / -rest ; Romanian : București [bukuˈreʃtʲ] )
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#17327829460336188-557: The Russian Social Realist movement as the most oppressive and shunned period of Soviet Art. The Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia ( AKhRR ) was established in 1922 and was one of the most influential artist groups in the USSR. The AKhRR worked to truthfully document contemporary life in Russia by utilizing "heroic realism". The term "heroic realism" was the beginning of the socialist realism archetype. AKhRR
6307-524: The Russian departure (remaining in the city until March 1857). On 23 March 1847, a fire consumed about 2,000 buildings, destroying a third of the city. In 1862, after Wallachia and Moldavia were united to form the Principality of Romania , Bucharest became the new nation's capital city. In 1881, it became the political centre of the newly proclaimed Kingdom of Romania under King Carol I . During
6426-400: The Soviet Union against foreign invaders: Alexander Nevsky by Eisenstein , Minin and Pozharsky by Pudovkin , and Bogdan Khmelnitsky by Savchenko. Soviet politicians were the subjects in films such as Yutkevich 's trilogy of movies about Lenin. Socialist realism was also applied to Hindi films of the 1940s and 1950s. These include Chetan Anand 's Neecha Nagar (1946), which won
6545-465: The Stalin period, they produced numerous heroic portraits of Stalin to serve his cult of personality —all in the most realistic fashion possible. The most important thing for a socialist realist artist was not artistic integrity but adherence to party doctrine, thus creating a singular utopian aesthetic. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines socialist realism as "a Marxist aesthetic theory calling for
6664-635: The United Front , and Song of the Comintern . He was a founder of a new style of revolutionary song for the masses. He also composed works in larger forms such as Requiem for Lenin . Eisler's most important works include the cantatas German Symphony , Serenade of the Age and Song of Peace . Eisler combines features of revolutionary songs with varied expression. His symphonic music is known for its complex and subtle orchestration. Closely associated with
6783-466: The arts. He viewed cultural conformity as an expression of Stalinism in which "the literary schools were strangled one after the other" and the method of command extended across various areas from scientific agriculture to music. Overall, he regarded socialist realism to be an arbitrary construct of the Stalinist bureaucracy. "In that victorious revolution, there is not only the revolution, but also
6902-512: The average high temperature is 29.8 °C (85.6 °F) (the average for July and August). Temperatures frequently reach 35 to 40 °C (95 to 104 °F) in midsummer in the city centre. Although average precipitation in summer is moderate, occasional heavy storms occur. During spring and autumn, daytime temperatures vary between 17 and 22 °C (63 and 72 °F), and precipitation during spring tends to be higher than in summer, with more frequent yet milder periods of rain. Bucharest has
7021-417: The beauty of work, the achievements of the collective and the individual for the good of the whole. The artwork would often feature an easily discernible educational message. The artist could not, however, portray life just as they saw it because anything that reflected poorly on Communism had to be omitted. People who could not be shown as either wholly good or wholly evil could not be used as characters. Art
7140-405: The characteristics of socialist realism in an ironic fashion. This was completely different from what existed only a couple of decades before. Once artists broke from the socialist realist mould, there was a significant power shift. Artists began including subjects that could not exist according to Soviet ideals. Now that the power over appearances was taken away from the government, artists achieved
7259-484: The city has been experiencing an economic and cultural boom. It is one of the fastest-growing high-tech cities in Europe, according to the Financial Times , CBRE , TechCrunch , and others. In 2016, the historical city centre was listed as 'endangered' by the World Monuments Watch . In January 2023, there were 1.74 million inhabitants living within the city limits, and adding the satellite towns around
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#17327829460337378-614: The city was hit by Caragea's plague . The city was wrested from Ottoman influence and occupied at several intervals by the Habsburg monarchy (1716, 1737, 1789) and Imperial Russia (three times between 1768 and 1806). It was placed under Russian administration between 1828 and the Crimean War , with an interlude during the Bucharest-centred 1848 Wallachian revolution . Later, an Austrian garrison took possession after
7497-622: The city was the scene of the Legionnaires' rebellion and Bucharest pogrom . As the capital of an Axis country and a major transit point for Axis troops en route to the Eastern Front , Bucharest suffered heavy damage during World War II due to Allied bombings . On 23 August 1944, Bucharest was the site of the royal coup which brought Romania into the Allied camp. The city suffered a short period of Nazi Luftwaffe bombings, as well as
7616-655: The communist era, there are also older interwar ones, as well as newer ones built in the 1990s and in the 21st century. Although apartment buildings are strongly associated with the communist era, such housing schemes were first introduced in Bucharest in the 1920s. About 97.3% of the population of Bucharest for whom data are available is Romanian . Other significant ethnic groups are Romani , Hungarians, Turks, Jews , Germans (mostly Regat Germans ), Chinese, Russians, Ukrainians, and Italians. A relatively small number of Bucharesters are also Greeks , Armenians, Kurds, Bulgarians, Albanians, Poles, French, Arabs, Africans (including
7735-488: The didactic use of literature, art, and music to develop social consciousness in an evolving socialist state". Socialist realism compelled artists of all forms to create positive or uplifting reflections of socialist utopian life by utilizing any visual media, such as posters, movies, newspapers, theater and radio, beginning during the Communist Revolution of 1917 and escalating during the reign of Stalin until
7854-473: The early 1980s. Vladimir Lenin , head of the Russian government 1917–1924, laid the foundation for this new wave of art, suggesting that art is for the people and the people should love and understand it, while uniting the masses. Artists Naum Gabo and Antoine Pevsner attempted to define the lines of art under Lenin by writing "The Realist Manifesto" in 1920, suggesting that artists should be given free rein to create as their muse desired. Lenin, however, had
7973-472: The early settlements in antiquity until its consolidation as the national capital of Romania late in the 19th century. First mentioned as the ' Citadel of București' in 1459, it became the residence of the ruler of Wallachia, Voivode Vlad the Impaler . The Old Princely Court ( Curtea Veche ) was erected by Mircea Ciobanul in the mid-16th century. Under subsequent rulers, Bucharest was established as
8092-483: The early twentieth century. Leon Trotsky argued that cinema is a valuable means for propaganda and education and that it could be used to supplant the influence of the Orthodox Church in Russia . In the early 1930s, Soviet filmmakers applied socialist realism in their work. Notable films include Chapaev , which shows the role of the people in the history-making process. The theme of revolutionary history
8211-704: The environment, and public safety. Mercer collects data worldwide, in 215 cities. The difficult situation of the quality of life in Bucharest is confirmed also by a vast urbanism study, done by the Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism . In 2016, Bucharest's urban situation was described as 'critical' by a Romanian Order of Architects (OAR) report that criticised the city's weak, incoherent and arbitrary public management policies, its elected officials' lack of transparency and public engagement, as well as its inadequate and unsustainable use of essential urban resources. Bucharest's historical city centre
8330-484: The first beginning in the late 19th century when the city was consolidated as the national capital and lasting until the Second World War, and the second during the Ceaușescu years (1965–1989), when a massive urbanization campaign was launched and many people migrated from rural areas to the capital. At this time, due to Ceaușescu's decision to ban abortion and contraception, natural increase was also significant. Bucharest
8449-646: The gardens are the main recreational facility in the city centre. Bucharest parks and gardens also include Herăstrău Park , Tineretului Park and the Botanical Garden . Herăstrău Park is located in the northern part of the city, around Lake Herăstrău, and includes the site the Village Museum . Grigore Antipa Museum is also near in the Victoriei Square. One of its best known locations are Hard Rock Cafe Bucharest and Berăria H (one of
8568-416: The houses and building the concrete basin, the plan was abandoned following the 1989 revolution. For nearly two decades, the area shifted from being an abandoned green space where children could play and sunbathe, to being contested by previous owners of the land there, to being closed for redevelopment into a sports centre. The redevelopment deal failed, and over the following years, the green space grew into
8687-469: The implementation of national development plans and governing programs at local level. The prefect of Bucharest (as of 2024) is Mihai Mugur Toader. The city's general council has the following political composition, based on the results of the 2024 local elections : Bucharest's judicial system is similar to that of the Romanian counties. Each of the six sectors has its own local first-instance court ( judecătorie ), while more serious cases are directed to
8806-521: The interwar years, Bucharest's urban development continued, with the city gaining an average of 30,000 new residents each year. Also, some of the city's main landmarks were built in this period, including Arcul de Triumf and Palatul Telefoanelor . However, the Great Depression in Romania took its toll on Bucharest's citizens, culminating in the Grivița Strike of 1933 . In January 1941,
8925-518: The largest beer halls in Europe). Tineretului Park was created in 1965 and designed as the main recreational space for southern Bucharest. It contains a Mini Town which is a play area for kids. The Botanical Garden, located in the Cotroceni neighbourhood a bit west of the city centre, is the largest of its kind in Romania and contains over 10,000 species of plants (many of them exotic); it originated as
9044-545: The liberation of this concentration camp by detainees in April 1945, is considered one of the most striking examples of socialist realism in GDR sculpture for its representation of communist liberation. Each figure in the monument, erected outside the campsite, has symbolic significance according to the orthodox communist interpretation of the event. Thus communists were portrayed as the driving force behind self-liberation, symbolized by
9163-428: The local government over a certain area are, therefore, shared both by the Bucharest municipality and the local sectoral councils with little or no overlapping of authority. The general rule is that the main capital municipality is responsible for citywide utilities such as the water and sewage system, the overall transport system, and the main boulevards, while sectoral town halls manage the contact between individuals and
9282-425: The local government, secondary streets and parks maintenance, schools administration, and cleaning services. The six sectors are numbered from one to six and are disposed radially so that each one has under its administration a certain area of the city centre. They are numbered clockwise and are further divided into sectoral quarters ( cartiere ) which are not part of the official administrative division: Each sector
9401-485: The logical development of the store of knowledge mankind has accumulated under the yoke of capitalist, landowner, and bureaucratic society." Modern art styles appeared to refuse to draw upon this heritage, thus clashing with the long realist tradition in Russia and rendering the art scene complex. Even in Lenin's time, a cultural bureaucracy began to restrain art to fit propaganda purposes . Leon Trotsky 's arguments that
9520-544: The metropolitan area covers 1,811 km (699 sq mi). Bucharest is a beta global city , a major cultural, political and economic hub, and the country's seat of government. Bucharest was first mentioned in documents in 1459. The city became the capital in 1862 and is the centre of Romanian media, culture, and art. Its architecture is a mix of historical (mostly Eclectic , but also Neoclassical and Art Nouveau ), interbellum ( Bauhaus , Art Deco , and Romanian Revival architecture ), socialist era , and modern . In
9639-781: The mid-2000s. In 2015, 64 people were killed in the Colectiv nightclub fire . Later the Romanian capital saw the 2017–2019 Romanian protests against the judicial reforms, with a 2018 protest ending with 450 people injured. The following treaties were signed in the city: The city is situated on the banks of the Dâmbovița River , which flows into the Argeș River, a tributary of the Danube. Several lakes – the most important of which are Lake Herăstrău, Lake Floreasca, Lake Tei, and Lake Colentina – stretch across
9758-631: The nickname of 'Paris of the East' ( Parisul Estului ), with the Calea Victoriei as its Champs-Élysées . Between 6 December 1916 and November 1918, the city was occupied by German forces as a result of the Battle of Bucharest , with the official capital temporarily moved to Iași (also called Jassy), in the Moldavia region. After World War I, Bucharest became the capital of Greater Romania . In
9877-399: The non-traditional and the avant-garde were often praised. These styles of art were later rejected by members of the Communist Party who did not appreciate modern styles such as Impressionism and Cubism . Socialist realism was, to some extent, a reaction against the adoption of these "decadent" styles. It was thought by Lenin that the non-representative forms of art were not understood by
9996-606: The norm. According to the Great Russian Encyclopedia , the term was first used in press by chairman of the organizing committee of the Union of Soviet Writers , Ivan Gronsky in Literaturnaya Gazeta on May 23, 1932. The term was approved in meetings that included politicians of the highest level, including Joseph Stalin . Maxim Gorky , a proponent of literary socialist realism, published
10115-574: The northern parts of the city, along the Colentina River , a tributary of the Dâmbovița. In addition, in the centre of the capital is a small artificial lake – Lake Cișmigiu – surrounded by the Cișmigiu Gardens . These gardens have a rich history, having been frequented by poets and writers. Opened in 1847 and based on the plans of German architect Carl F.W. Meyer,
10234-599: The overthrow of the Communist regime . Dissatisfied with the postrevolutionary leadership of the National Salvation Front , some student leagues and opposition groups organised anti-Communist rallies in early 1990, which caused the political change. Since 2000, the city has been continuously modernised. Residential and commercial developments are underway, particularly in the northern districts; Bucharest's old historic centre has undergone restoration since
10353-421: The party were partiinost' (party-mindedness), ideinost (idea and ideological content), klassovost (class content), pravdivost (truthfulness). Ideinost was an important concept: not only was the work to embody an approved idea, but its content was more important than its form. This allowed the identification of formalism , a work in which the formal aspects of a work of art commanded more importance than
10472-484: The perfect Soviets. There were two main groups debating the fate of Soviet art: futurists and traditionalists. Russian Futurists , many of whom had been creating abstract or leftist art before the Bolsheviks, believed communism required a complete rupture from the past and, therefore, so did Soviet art. Traditionalists believed in the importance of realistic representations of everyday life. Under Lenin 's rule and
10591-475: The period between the two World Wars, the city's elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite earned Bucharest the nicknames of Little Paris ( Romanian : Micul Paris ) or Paris of the East ( Romanian : Parisul Estului ). Although buildings and districts in the historic city centre were heavily damaged or destroyed by war, earthquakes, and even Nicolae Ceaușescu 's program of systematization , many survived and have been renovated. In recent years,
10710-411: The pleasure park of the royal family. Besides them, there are many other smaller parks that should be visited, some of them being still large. Alexandru Ioan Cuza Park, Kiseleff Park, Carol Park , Izvor Park, Grădina Icoanei , Circului Park and Moghioroș Park are a few of them. Other large parks in Bucharest are: National Park, Tei Park, Eroilor Park and Crângași Park with Morii Lake . Lake Văcărești
10829-417: The previous regime's practice of excessive restrictions. This freedom allowed artists to begin experimenting with new techniques, but the shift was not immediate. It was not until the ultimate fall of Soviet rule that artists were no longer restricted by the deposed Communist Party. Many socialist realist tendencies prevailed until the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s. In the 1990s, many Russian artists used
10948-502: The proletariat and could therefore not be used by the state for propaganda. Alexander Bogdanov argued that the radical reformation of society to communist principles meant little if any bourgeois art would prove useful; some of his more radical followers advocated the destruction of libraries and museums. Lenin rejected this philosophy, deplored the rejection of the beautiful because it was old, and explicitly described art as needing to call on its heritage: " Proletarian culture must be
11067-543: The regions surrounding Bucharest were largely rural, but after 1989, suburbs started to be built around Bucharest, in the surrounding Ilfov County . This county , which has experienced rapid demographic growth in the 21st century, being the fastest growing Romanian county between 2011 and 2021, had a population of 542,686 people at the 2021 Romanian census . In the 21st century, many of Ilfov county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns , which act like suburbs or satellites of Bucharest. Bucharest has
11186-478: The rise of the labor movement was the development of the revolutionary song , which was performed at demonstrations and meetings. Among the most famous of the revolutionary songs are The Internationale and Whirlwinds of Danger . Notable songs from Russia include Boldly, Comrades, in Step , Workers' Marseillaise , and Rage, Tyrants . Folk and revolutionary songs influenced the Soviet mass songs . The mass song
11305-514: The second half of the 19th century, the city's population increased dramatically, and a new period of urban development began. During this period, gas lighting , horse-drawn trams , and limited electrification were introduced. The Dâmbovița River was also massively channelled in 1883, thus putting a stop to previously endemic floods like the 1865 flooding of Bucharest . The Fortifications of Bucharest were built. The extravagant architecture and cosmopolitan high culture of this period won Bucharest
11424-513: The seven hills of Rome. Bucharest's seven hills are: Mihai Vodă, Dealul Mitropoliei , Radu Vodă, Cotroceni , Dealul Spirii , Văcărești , and Sfântu Gheorghe Nou. The city has an area of 226 km (87 sq mi). The altitude varies from 55.8 m (183.1 ft) at the Dâmbovița bridge in Cățelu, southeastern Bucharest and 91.5 m (300.2 ft) at the Militari church. The city has
11543-436: The subject matter, or content. There was a prevailing sense of optimism, as socialist realism's function was to show the ideal Soviet society. Not only was the present glorified, but the future was also supposed to be depicted in an agreeable fashion. Because the present and the future were constantly idealized, socialist realism had a sense of forced optimism. Tragedy and negativity were not permitted, unless they were shown in
11662-595: The summer residence of the royal court. During the years to come, it competed with Târgoviște on the status of capital city after an increase in the importance of Southern Muntenia brought about by the demands of the suzerain power – the Ottoman Empire . Bucharest finally became the permanent location of the Wallachian court after 1698 (starting with the reign of Constantin Brâncoveanu ). The city
11781-521: The surrounding Ilfov County, is part of the București – Ilfov development region project, which is equivalent to NUTS-II regions in the European Union and is used both by the EU and the Romanian government for statistical analysis, and to co-ordinate regional development projects and manage funds from the EU. The Bucharest-Ilfov development region is not, however, an administrative entity yet. The city government
11900-566: The utopianism of communism and the Soviet state. Art became more than an aesthetic pleasure; instead it served a very specific function. Soviet ideals placed functionality and work above all else; therefore, for art to be admired, it must serve a purpose. Georgi Plekhanov , a Marxist theoretician, states that art is useful if it serves society: "There can be no doubt that art acquired a social significance only in so far as it depicts, evokes, or conveys actions, emotions and events that are of significance to society ." The themes depicted would feature
12019-469: The working class as a rising force of the nation. He published two books of documentary prose, The Communist Man . In the collection of poems A Knife in the Heart Again , Aragon criticizes the penetration of American imperialism into Europe. The novel The Holy Week depicts the artist's path toward the people against a broad social and historical background. Maxim Gorky 's novel Mother (1906)
12138-453: The world’s best galleries, museums, and theatres, and its tranquil parks. As per the 2021 census , 1,716,961 inhabitants lived within the city limits, a decrease from the figure recorded at the 2011 census. This decrease is due to low natural increase, but also to a shift in population from the city itself to its smaller satellite towns such as Popești-Leordeni , Voluntari , Chiajna , Bragadiru , Pantelimon , Buftea and Otopeni . In
12257-601: Was Fyodor Pavlovich Reshetnikov . Socialist realist art found acceptance in the Baltic nations, inspiring many artists. One such artist was Czeslaw Znamierowski (23 May 1890 – 9 August 1977), a Soviet Lithuanian painter, known for his large panoramic landscapes and love of nature. Znamierowski combined these two passions to create very notable paintings in the Soviet Union, earning the prestigious title of Honorable Artist of LSSR in 1965. Born in Latvia , which formed part of
12376-522: Was a leading genre in Soviet music, especially during the 1930s and the war. The mass song influenced other genres, including the art song, opera, and film music. The most popular mass songs include Dunaevsky 's Song of the Homeland , Isaakovsky 's Katiusha , Novikov's Hymn of Democratic Youth of the World , and Aleksandrov's Sacred War . Discussions of film as a tool of the Soviet state began in
12495-564: Was a marked shift in artistic styles. There had been a short period of artistic exploration in the time between the fall of the Tsar and the rise of the Bolsheviks. Shortly after the Bolsheviks took control, Anatoly Lunacharsky was appointed as head of Narkompros , the People's Commissariat for Enlightenment. This put Lunacharsky in the position of deciding the direction of art in the newly created Soviet state. Although Lunacharsky did not dictate
12614-573: Was being held in Baku , Azerbaijan , during 26–28 October 2012. The event attracted 42,000 spectators over the weekend, about 150 national and international journalists were reporting about the event and 100 crew members of the TV production provided the footage either live or as highlight in over 120 countries, reaching a total of 650 million households. On day time, the Historic Grand Prix and
12733-574: Was developed by many thousands of artists, across a diverse society, over several decades. Early examples of realism in Russian art include the work of the Peredvizhnikis and Ilya Yefimovich Repin . While these works do not have the same political connotation, they exhibit the techniques exercised by their successors. After the Bolsheviks took control of Russia on October 25, 1917, there
12852-414: Was developed in films such as The Youth of Maxim by Grigori Kozintsev and Leonid Trauberg , Shchors by Dovzhenko, and We are from Kronstadt by E. Dzigan. The shaping of the new man under socialism was a theme of films such as A Start Life by N. Ekk, Ivan by Dovzhenko, Valerii Chkalov by M. Kalatozov and the film version of Tanker "Derbent" (1941). Some films depicted the part of peoples of
12971-569: Was disbanded April 23, 1932 by the decree "On the Reorganization of Literary and Artistic Organizations" serving as the nucleus for the Stalinist USSR Union of Artists . Studio of military artists was created in 1934. The creation of Union of Soviet Writers was partially initiated by Maxim Gorky to unite the Soviet writers of different methods, such as the "proletarian" writers (such as Fyodor Panfyorov ), praised by
13090-426: Was filled with health and happiness: paintings showed busy industrial and agricultural scenes; sculptures depicted workers, sentries, and schoolchildren. Creativity was not an important part of socialist realism. The styles used in creating art during this period were those that would produce the most realistic results. Painters would depict happy, muscular peasants and workers in factories and collective farms. During
13209-543: Was first proclaimed by the First Congress of Soviet Writers in 1934 as approved method for Soviet cultural production in all media . In the aftermath of World War II , socialist realism was adopted by the communist states that were politically aligned with the Soviet Union . The primary official objective of socialist realism was "to depict reality in its revolutionary development" although no formal guidelines concerning style or subject matter were provided. It
13328-406: Was homologated with FIA grade 3. Among the drivers were five times DTM champion Bernd Schneider, former Formula 1 driver and 2008 Le Mans class winner Jos Verstappen , 1997 F1 World Champion and Indy 500 winner Jacques Villeneuve and Mathias Lauda , son of three-time F1 World Champion Niki Lauda . The City Challenge GT main race was won by drivers Frédéric Makowiecki and Stef Dusseldorp, driving
13447-409: Was partly destroyed by natural disasters and rebuilt several times during the following 200 years. The Ottomans appointed Greek administrators ( Phanariotes ) to run the town ( Ottoman Turkish : بكرش , romanized : Bukreş ) from the 18th century. The 1821 Wallachian uprising initiated by Tudor Vladimirescu led to the end of the rule of Constantinople Greeks in Bucharest. In 1813–14
13566-405: Was ranked among the top 100 safest cities in the world in a list compiled by Numbeo. The study found Bucharest to be very safe with regard to aspects such walking alone, home invasions, muggings, cars being stolen, assault, insults, assault due to skin color, ethnic origin, or gender, drug dealing, and armed robberies, with the only crimes in the high category being corruption and bribery. In 2015,
13685-487: Was related to bucurie (joy), bucuros (joyful), or a se bucura (to be joyful), while an early 19th-century book published in Vienna assumed its name to be derived from 'Bukovie', a beech forest. In English , the city's name was formerly rendered as Bukarest . A native or resident of Bucharest is called a 'Bucharester' (Romanian: bucureștean ). Bucharest's history alternated periods of development and decline from
13804-590: Was sponsored by influential government officials such as Leon Trotsky and carried favor with the Red Army . In 1928, the AKhRR was renamed to Association of Artists of the Revolution (AKhR) in order to include the rest of the Soviet states. At this point the group had begun participating in state promoted mass forms of art like murals, jointly-made paintings, advertisement production and textile design. The group
13923-414: Was the predominant form of approved art in the Soviet Union from its development in the early 1920s to its eventual fall from official status beginning in the late 1960s until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. While other countries have employed a prescribed canon of art, socialist realism in the Soviet Union persisted longer and was more restrictive than elsewhere in Europe. Socialist realism
14042-417: Was to create what Lenin called "an entirely new type of human being": The New Soviet Man . Art (especially posters and murals) was a way to instill party values on a massive scale. Stalin described the socialist realist artists as "engineers of souls". Common images used in socialist realism were flowers, sunlight, the body, youth, flight, industry, and new technology. These poetic images were used to show
14161-463: Was usually characterized by unambiguous narratives or iconography relating to the Marxist–Leninist ideology , such as the emancipation of the proletariat . Despite its name, the figures in the style are very often highly idealized, especially in sculpture, where it often leans heavily on the conventions of classical sculpture . Although related, it should not be confused with social realism ,
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