The Romanian "elections" of November 19, 1946, were staged by the Soviet Union to manufacture support for their supposedly "democratic-popular" regime. The techniques used to secure the vote were echoed all over Europe: bands of goons disrupting opposition meetings; blackmail, violence, and assassinations of top leaders; the monopolization of radio broadcasts; censorship of the press; the wide distribution of propaganda; and the direct forging of results.

Dinu C. Giurescu follows the electoral process as it developed from January to December of 1946. Her work uses testimony that was...