Radio România Internațional

Tag: Bucharest

  • The Treaty of Bucharest

    The Treaty of Bucharest

    Romanias military campaign of 1916-1917 ended with the Treaty of Bucharest signed in Buftea in May 1918. Following the installation of the Soviet regime in Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution, the new power in Saint Petersburg denounced the war as an imperialist act and decided to end its involvement in the war.



    Left on its own on the entire eastern front, Romania was forced to request a peace deal as well, which translated into very harsh conditions. Russias leaving the war was a heavy blow to Romania, and was felt like a betrayal. The Romanian army was unable to face the German offensive on its own, due to the loss of human lives caused by typhus fever. This was made worse by the anarchy caused by the 1 million Russian soldiers supporting the Bolshevik revolution. Peace was therefore seen as the only means of salvaging what could still be salvaged.



    Historian Sorin Cristescu tells us more about the context in Europe in which Russia left the war and in which the two successive peace deals were signed:



    Sorin Cristescu: “Russias exiting the war following the Bolshevik coup of November 7th 1917 led to the start of peace talks. Lenin was brought from Switzerland by the Germans, via Sweden and Finland, for this very purpose: to stage a coup that would take over power and sign a separate peace deal so the Germans troops could move from Russia to France and win the war. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed on the 3rd of March 1918, followed by the signing of the Treaty of Bucharest with Romania on the 7th of May 1918. This was a bad deal for Romania, which lost control of its mountain borders to Austria-Hungary. Also, Dobrogea became a German-Bulgarian condominium, with Romania only maintaining an access path. Its oil wells were leased for 90 years, so indeed, this was an enslaving peace deal.



    Under the Treaty of Bucharest, Romania had to cede southern Dobrogea to Bulgaria and even part of northern Dobrogea, a region that had never belonged to Bulgaria. Also, Romania ceded control of the passes in the Carpathian Mountains to Austria-Hungary. In compensation, although this was not stated in the Treaty, the Central Powers agreed to the union of Bessarabia with Romania. The reason behind it was that the Central Powers did not want to spark too much hostility among the Romanian population over the territorial losses and the leasing of its resources.



    The Treaty was ratified by the Romanian Parliament in the summer of 1918, but it has never been promulgated by King Ferdinand I of Romania. Fortunately, the provisions of the Treaty were valid for six months alone, because at the end of October 1918, the government led by Alexandru Marghiloman declared them null, and Romania resumed hostilities. In spite of all appearances, Sorin Cristescu believes, the Treaty of Bucharest was a good one for Romania.



    Sorin Cristescu: No matter how enslaving the conditions were for Romania, the peace treaty signed in Buftea-Bucharest was a huge diplomatic victory for the Triple Entente, also acknowledged as such by the German Parliament. Some German MPs said that, “from this moment onwards, no one can sit at the negotiating table with us. It became obvious that the Central Powers, their leaders, more specifically, were a gang of thieves, criminals looting the countries they defeated, and never again could the diplomats of the Central Powers engage in negotiations with anyone else. The US had already entered the war and introduced a policy whereby “my enemy will never be my negotiation partner, my enemy is a petty criminal and if I lay hands on him, Ill bring him to justice. The idea that Central Power leaders could ever hold negotiations with anyone again was abandoned for good. Of course, posters were printed in France, reading “Look what a peace made by the Central Powers looks like! and “Do they want peace? Yes, but let us defeat them first! The more disastrous the peace conditions were for us, the bigger the diplomatic defeat and the blow on the credibility of the German diplomacy.



    Sorin Cristescu says the Germans had started losing credibility much earlier, even before 1918:



    Sorin Cristescu: This happened in 1918. But back in 1914, when newspapers quoted Bethmann-Hollweg, the German chancellor, as responding to Englands declaration of war with the words, “will you go to war over a scrap of paper? everyone said that the German diplomacy sees treaties as useless pieces of paper. The treaty that guaranteed Belgiums neutrality was signed in 1831 by the representatives of England, France and Prussia. After Bucharest was seized on December 6, 1916, on December 12 a rather vague peace offer was sent to the Entente by the Central Powers. The answer came several days later. The Entente said that peace was out of the question, that the offer had been made by people who first thought they would win the war in three months time but after 2 years of fighting realised they would never reach their goals. The final act was the signing of the two peace treaties, in Brest-Litovsk and Bucharest, respectively, which simply ruled out German diplomats as possible negotiation partners.



    Although the end of the war found Romania on the winners side, the peace treaty of Buftea-Bucharest remained a bad memory which has never been completely erased.


    (translated by: Cristina Mateescu, Diana Vijeu)

  • Romania opposes a multi-speed Europe

    Romania opposes a multi-speed Europe

    Romania does not want a multi-speed Europe, because such a reform of the EU would lead to the collapse of the European project, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday during his meeting in Bucharest with Joseph Muscatta, the Prime Minister of Malta, a country currently holding the six-month rotating presidency of the EU. President Iohannis made the announcement shortly after European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker presented his so-called White Paper on the future of the European Union after Brexit. The document outlines 5 possible scenarios, looking at the changes Europe will undergo over the next 10 years, from the social impact of new technologies and jobs, uncertainty linked with globalization, security threats and the rise of populism.



    According to one scenario, the EU will continue to implement the current agenda of reforms as stipulated by the Bratislava Declaration of 2016. A second scenario shifts the EU’s focus solely on the single market, meaning that member states will no longer tackle issues such as migration, security and defense with shared decision-making. The third scenario proposes a two-gear Europe allowing individual member states to cooperate in specific policy areas depending on the level of progress. The Schengen Area in this respect is a case in point.



    Scenario number four envisages a Europe that focuses on a number of priorities, such as security, the fight against terrorism or telecommunications so as to obtain faster results. Finally, under the heading “doing much more together”, the final scenario seeks to deepen European integration. The White Paper has already sparked heated reactions amongst MEPs.



    Romanian Social-Democrat MEP Victor Bostinaru has criticized the multi-speed EU format: “We are against a two-gear or multi-speed Europe, which is a dangerous concept. The timing of it being brought to the table couldn’t have been worse. This proposal is bound to generate further tension, concerns, frustration and even humiliation, including in societies that truly believe in the European project, such as Romania, and which are willing to fully cooperate for the consolidation of the EU”.



    In turn, EU Commissioner for Economic Affairs Pierre Moscovici has warned that the White Paper provides for the possibility to dismantle the EU altogether, an option that must be given due consideration just as the rest. The document will be transmitted to EU leaders at the Summit in Rome, on March 25, marking 60 years since the foundation of the European Union. The White Paper marks the beginning of a process by means of which the 27 countries that will remain in the EU will decide upon the future of the Union.

  • February 21, 2017

    February 21, 2017

    MPs VOTE– The government emergency decree no. 13 amending the Criminal Codes and the one repealing it, namely decree no. 14, are being debated and voted on today in the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, a decision-making body in this case. On Monday, decree no. 13 was rejected with a majority of votes by the plenum of the Senate. The government’s move to change the criminal law by an emergency decree brought hundreds of thousands of Romanians into the streets. The anti-government protests started on January 31, when decree no. 13 was passed, and have continued daily ever since, even after it was repealed by means of decree no. 14. In parallel with the anti-governmental protests, protests were also staged against president Klaus Iohannis who has been blamed for failing to fulfill his role of mediator in the political crisis and for siding with the anti-government protesters.



    COMMUNE MAYORS — The mayors of Romania’s communes have a 30-day deadline to present infrastructure projects. The national local development program has this year been allotted funds worth 30 billion lei, that is around 6.5 billion euros. The mayors met Monday in Bucharest to review the problems facing the local communities. At present, 47% of Romania’s population lives in the rural areas.



    GREECE– The Greek government agreed Monday in Brussels, at the meeting of the finance ministers of the euro zone, to apply measures set by the EU and IMF in exchange for the disbursement of the next installment worth 86 billion euros of the loan granted by international creditors, which is needed for Greece to avoid bankruptcy. The head of the euro group, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, has said that Greece has now a new outlook: less austerity and more reforms. Brussels officials will soon travel to Greece to discuss the new structure of reforms. According to statistics, the debt of Greece at present stands at 177.4% of the GDP.



    LONDON — The House of Lords in the British Parliament is today debating the draft law allowing the government to start the process of Great Britain leaving the EU. The bill has already been passed by the House of Commons. PM Theresa May has called on the House of Lords to take the example of the House of Commons and rapidly pass the bill. After last year’s historic vote in favor of Brexit, Mrs. May promised to start the Brexit procedure by the end of March. The negotiations with Brussels, which are going to be very tough, will last two years. nt stands at 177.4% of the GDP.



    WASHINGTON — The American President, Donald Trump, has appointed general Herbert R. McMaster (54) as national security advisor. He replaces Michael Flynn who has recently stepped down for failing to tell the truth about a conversation he had with the Russian ambassador to Washington. Herbert R. McMaster is one of the most appreciated generals of the American army and a strategist with a tremendous talent. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent, general McMaster criticized the way in which the former president George W. Bush intervened in Iraq, drafting a different strategy against terrorism. This strategy was used by general David Petraeus, a former commander of the American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it changed the fate of a war which the US was about to lose. (translation by L. Simion)

  • Herastrau Park in Bucharest

    Herastrau Park in Bucharest

    The northern part of Bucharest, which in the past had vast expands of greenery and lakes, used to be the favourite promenading place for the inhabitants of Bucharest. During the interwar period, Romania’s capital city began to expand following new constructions and town-planning works in the area stretching from today’s Victoria Square all the way down to the Baneasa forest. In the 1930s, Herastrau, one of the lakes in the north, and the surrounding plots of land covering a surface area of 110 hectares were drained so as to create a very large park. The initiative was linked to the urban transformation envisaged by King Carol II.



    Cesar Buiumaci, a museographer at the History Museum of Bucharest, tells us more about the history of Herastrau park: “Herastrau Park was created by Carol II to rival with the Carol I Park located in the southern part of the capital city. Initially it was named the National Park but shortly after its inauguration it was given the name of King Carol II. In 1935, the municipality, with the strong support of King Carol II, decided to hold a festival called The Month of Bucharest, an urban exhibition aimed at highlighting the achievements of the city. It was first held in the Carol I Park, but, since the park was linked to the name of the previous King, Carol II wanted to have his own park in Bucharest. It was there that a second edition of the Month of Bucharest was staged in 1936, and from that year on, it was held every year until 1940. The area was a popular promenading place for the city’s high society, who used to have their walk in the area north of the city populated by the lakes along the Colentina river. The area, today home to the House of the Free Press and the Romexpo exhibition centre, was at the time also home to the Baneasa Hippodrome and the Jockey Club.”



    In 1936, the Village Museum was also opened, also on the banks of the Herastrau Lake, being quite close if not merging with the new park. Architect Octav Doicescu was commissioned with the landscaping of the new promenading grounds. He designed the park as an immense garden with enough room for the celebrations and pavilions built for The Month of Bucharest festival.



    Cezar Buiumaci explains: “Octav Doicescu designed the Zodiac Fountain in front of Carol I Park. He also designed several pavilions, some of which can still be found today, such as the Royalty Pavilion, the Little Entente Pavilion, the Cultural Pavilion, the pavilion of the National League, of Small Industries, and of Social Assistance. Apart from the exhibitions hosted by these pavilions, the Month of Bucharest celebrations also saw other events, such as football matches, a chess championship, aviation demonstrations and a literary event called The Month of Books. “



    After the war the park was enlarged, inaugurated for the second time and transformed into the park we know today. However, many of the changes were not very inspired. Cezar Buiumaci tells us more: “Improvements were made every year. The Caryatid Alley ending with the Modura Fountatin was built at the park entrance in 1939. This was part of a propagandistic compound to celebrate the return of Carol II from his forced exile. This particular area was demolished when the communists took over to make way for a statue of Stalin. The entire park was in fact renamed the Josef Vissarionovich Stalin Culture and Relaxation Park. The main square in front of the park, today called Charles de Gaulle, was also named after Stalin. Everything was changed that was connected with the former regime. After the death of Stalin and the coming to power of the new Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, who accused Stalin of crimes, a de-Stalinisation process began across the entire communist bloc in an attempt to erase Stalin’s memory. In the early 1960s, the park was again renamed, this time as Herastrau Park. Stalin’s statue was demolished overnight, just like the communists had earlier destroyed the statues of political figures linked to the previous.”



    Today Herastrau Park is one of the most popular places of relaxation in Bucharest, even rivalling with the Botanical Gardens in terms of the diversity and rarity of its shrubs and tree species. For example, the park is home to a unique species, a variety of the Japanese pagoda tree with its drooping branches and its leaves with white spots. The park also has an area for flower exhibitions and other themed areas such as the Rose Island, the Poplar Island and the Japanese Garden. Sculptures are spread throughout the vegetation, the work of well-established artists such as Ion Jalea and Filip Marin. Herastrau Lake is also used for leisure, angling, nautical sports and sailing.

  • Rough sleeping through Bucharest’s winters

    Rough sleeping through Bucharest’s winters

    Sub-zero temperatures in winter, the blizzard and snow have always been serious issues for homeless people in Bucharest. Several NGOs, including Bucharest-based Samusocial, have consistently come to the support of these rough sleepers irrespective of the season. Here is Sabina Nicolae, executive director of the Samusocial Association with more on the issue.



    “In winter we provide them with sleeping bags, boots, gloves, hats as well as hot meals, such as soup and tea. We provide these people with social, medical and psychological assistance as well as professional retraining courses all throughout the year. We also try to find dwelling places for them or shelters. Frostbites are a common health issue among them in winter, mainly affecting those who refuse to go to shelters. We have been trying to bring more food for these people of late and there are also citizens who feed them.”



    Homeless people have been offered support to get new ID cards, since many no longer have such documents; they are encouraged to help themselves after having been offered a job. Cristian is one of these people. He’s 24 years old and came in Bucharest from Tulcea, a city in eastern Romania. As he had no relatives to help him out in Bucharest, Cristian had no alternative but hit the streets.



    “I’ve lived in Bucharest for the past 6 years, and have been rough-sleeping almost half this time. Winter is the most difficult time for the homeless. I keep thinking about those who are living on the streets now, either at their own will or because they don’t have an alternative. I had the experience of sleeping in the streets with only a blanket to wrap myself into. The cold becomes almost unbearable after midnight. I wasn’t starving during the day because I was offered temporary jobs by people and they fed me quite well.”



    Things started to improve for Cristian in late 2015, after Samusocial helped him get ID documents and a job.



    “I’ve got a job at an environmental protection agency; I am currently working in its paper-recycling department. I like the way they carry recycled paper, on cargo bikes. At first I didn’t see myself riding a bike, but after a while I got used to it and started to like the job. Now I live in an apartment, which also belongs to an NGO. I pay a small rent now, but the rent is rising gradually though. Fact is that people have to understand that they must work to support themselves.”



    But not all these stories involving homeless people have a happy ending. Calin Niculescu is 59 and has been homeless for the past 13 years. He lost his home after the divorce and subsequently tried to get a job in Germany. At present he is suffering from tuberculosis and although he is a metallurgical engineer, his age has prevented him from getting hired. But what’s it like to live on the streets of Bucharest? Here is Calin Niculescu.



    “I used to go mountaineering while I was young and learned how to survive in any conditions. I’ve been rough-sleeping in parks and even in a disaffected chapel. Sometimes I would commute between Bucharest and Videle and slept in the train carriages at night. Other times I would bef for food and money in cemeteries around Bucharest. Since November 2015 I have been living in a shelter for the homeless, which provides three meals a day. It has hot running water and it’s heated…It’s good…”



    This winter Calin Niculescu has been offered a job.



    “I didn’t expect to get an offer and instead I got a couple. It was a nice experience. I was hired to be Santa Claus for children. I was even hired by Coca Cola. I still have the equipment given by Samusocial, but I don’t have access to the Internet and the guys there can help me.”



    Overwhelmed by the situation they have found themselves in, weary and complacent, some of the homeless now lack the will and strength to change anything in their lives. Here is social worker Alina Mirea with more on these people’s mindset.



    “Most of them have a history of trauma and abuse as children in dysfunctional families. After hitting the streets they are very unlikely to improve their predicament. However, with patience, social and medical assistance we can improve the situation of these people. We cannot change the world, but as far as these people are concerned, there are a few things we can do. The fact is these people accept this assistance in various degrees, they take as much as they want. We have managed in some cases to take people off the streets and prove to them that life can be different. Others are happy they can have something to eat or could take a shower. They can change their condition to the extent they want.”



    That’s why homeless people often refuse to enter or leave a shelter. However, social workers keep on encouraging these people to make the change they need in their lives. (Translated by D. Bilt)

  • Fire safety in nightclubs – an unsolved issue

    Fire safety in nightclubs – an unsolved issue

    More than one
    year after the fire at a nightclub in Bucharest that killed 64 people, wounded
    over a hundred and sent shockwaves through Romanian society, a new tragedy was short of
    happening. On January 21, a fire razed to the ground one of Bucharest’s most
    popular nightclubs, Bamboo. Fortunately there were no victims. Still, 44 people
    received medical assistance for toxic fume poisoning, hypothermia and bone
    fractures, although no patient sustained any major burns. The list of wounded
    includes foreign nationals, mostly from Israel.




    Several
    eyewitnesses say they managed to get out of the club, some by jumping over a
    two-metre-high fence, while others by jumping straight into the nearby lake.
    Over 260 fire fighters struggled to contain the fire for a few hours. The
    authorities have opened a criminal investigation for aggravated destruction of
    property and are trying to ascertain what started the fire. An on-scene inquiry
    is underway while police officers are still getting statements. Representatives
    of local authorities have said that the club owners had neither a functioning
    permit nor a fire safety certificate, and had been fined several times for
    failure to observe the relevant legislation in force.




    After this new
    fire the authorities have launched a new series of inspections in clubs, both
    in the capital-city and nationwide. Inspectors have reported several
    irregularities and handed out fines. The Bamboo fire has brought to the public
    fore once again the issue of fire safety in buildings hosting high-attendance
    events, which remains an unsolved problem in Romania.

  • January 22, 2017 UPDATE

    January 22, 2017 UPDATE

    FIRE INVESTIGATION – The Romanian authorities have initiated criminal investigations, involving charges of wanton destruction of property, in relation to the fire that Friday night destroyed one of the best known nightclubs in Bucharest, Bamboo. According to the Healthcare Ministry, 44 people received assistance for smoke inhalation injuries, hypothermia, and fractures, but none of the patients reported burns. Only one person is currently in a serious condition. The victims include foreign citizens, most of them from Israel. The causes of the fire that destroyed the building are yet unknown. The owners of the nightclub had not yet obtained the premises license and the fire safety permit for the nightclub. Several witnesses have been heard and fresh inspections have been initiated in all buildings that host activities involving large attendance. We remind you that in October 2015, a fire taking place during a rock concert at the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest killed 64 people. The tragedy sparked large-scale protests to denounce corruption in the public administration.



    IMF – An International Monetary Fund delegation headed by the chief of the mission for Romania, Reza Baqir, is in Bucharest these days for a first meeting with the members of the new Cabinet. The delegation has discussed this years public budgets with the Finance Minister Viorel Ştefan. The mission carries on with technical talks at expert level, including at the National Bank of Romania, where a meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday. Romania does not have a loan agreement with the IMF at present.



    MOURNING – Hungary has announced a day of national mourning on Monday, to commemorate the victims of the crash that took place in Italy on Friday night and which killed 16 people and injured another 26. The coach was taking students and teachers from a Budapest high school back home from a ski holiday in France, and near Verona it crashed into a bridge pillar and burst into flames. The causes of the accident are still to be determined.



    TRUMP ADMINISTRATION – The US President, Donald Trump, is to receive the British Prime Minister Theresa May at the White House on Friday, the press secretary Sean Spicer confirmed on Sunday. The previous day Sean Spicer had announced May was the first foreign leader to visit Trump. Sean Spicer also announced that the President of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, will be received by the new President of the USA on January 31. Meanwhile, millions took part on Saturday in anti-Trump protests organised by women organisations around the world. Trump is criticised, among other things, for his anti-immigration rhetoric and sexist statements. In Los Angeles, organisers estimate 750,000 people took part, including dozens of Hollywood stars. 400,000 people took to the streets in New York, 200,000 in Boston, 150,000 in Chicago, and rallies were also held in New Zealand, Japan, Australia and major European cities. The largest protest took place in Washington, where nearly a million people attended the anti-Trump rally, including, among others, the former Secretary of State John Kerry.



    AUSTRALIAN OPEN – The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea (78 WTA) was outperformed on Sunday by Spains Garbine Muguruza Blanco (7 WTA), in two sets, in the eighth-finals of the Australian Open. Also on Sunday, the Romanians Horia Tecău and Florin Mergea, playing with separate partners, were eliminated from the eighth-finals of the mens doubles competition in Melbourne. Tecău and the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer, seeded 11, were defeated in 2 sets by the Australians Marc Polmans/Andrew Whittington. In turn, Florin Mergea and Britains Dominic Inglot, seeded 16, lost in 3 sets to the top seeds of the doubles event, the French Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • January 22, 2017

    January 22, 2017

    FIRE INVESTIGATION – The Romanian authorities have initiated criminal investigations, involving charges of wanton destruction of property, in relation to the fire that Friday night destroyed one of the best known nightclubs in Bucharest, Bamboo. According to the Healthcare Ministry, 44 people received assistance for smoke inhalation injuries, hypothermia, and fractures, but none of the patients reported burns. Only one person is currently in a serious condition. The victims include foreign citizens, most of them from Israel. The causes of the fire that destroyed the building are yet unknown. The owners of the nightclub had not yet obtained the premises license and the fire safety permit for the nightclub. Several witnesses have been heard and fresh inspections have been initiated in all buildings that host activities involving large attendance. We remind you that in October 2015, a fire taking place during a rock concert at the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest killed 64 people. The tragedy sparked large-scale protests to denounce corruption in the public administration.



    PROTESTS – Fresh protests against the Romanian Governments plans to table a pardons and amnesty law are announced for later today in the capital city Bucharest and other cities in Romania. Rallies are also planned abroad, such as in front of the Romanian Embassy in Paris, the Romanian Embassy in Copenhagen and in Haugesund Square in Norway. On Wednesday night, thousands took to the streets in Bucharest and other Romanian cities, to protest the Governments intention to pass an emergency order granting collective pardon and amending the provisions of the Criminal Code. The protesters fear that the amendments are designed to help influential politicians or public administration officers get away with corruption. Similar accusations were made by the Opposition parties, civil society organisations and magistrate associations. In turn, the Government claims the changes are necessary in order to solve the problem of penitentiary overcrowding and to bring the relevant legislation in line with rulings passed by the Constitutional Court.



    MOURNING – Hungary has announced a day of national mourning on Monday, to commemorate the victims of the crash that took place in Italy on Friday night and which killed 16 people and injured another 26. The coach was taking students and teachers from a Budapest high school back home from a ski holiday in France, and near Verona it crashed into a bridge pillar and burst into flames. The causes of the accident are still to be determined.



    TRUMP ADMINISTRATION – The US President, Donald Trump, is to receive the British Prime Minister Theresa May at the White House on Friday, the presidential spokesman Sean Spicer announced on Saturday. This is the first foreign leader to visit Trump after he has taken office. Sean Spicer also announced that the President of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, will be received by the new President of the USA on January 31. Meanwhile, millions took part on Saturday in anti-Trump protests organised by women organisations around the world. Trump is criticised, among other things, for his anti-immigration rhetoric and sexist statements. In Los Angeles, organisers estimate 750,000 people took part, including dozens of Hollywood stars. 400,000 people took to the streets in New York, 200,000 in Boston, 150,000 in Chicago, and rallies were also held in New Zealand, Japan, Australia and major European cities. The largest protest took place in Washington, where nearly a million people attended the anti-Trump rally, including, among others, the former Secretary of State John Kerry.



    AUSTRALIAN OPEN – The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea (78 WTA) has been outperformed today by Spains Garbine Muguruza Blanco (7 WTA), in two sets, in the eighth-finals of the Australian Open. Also today, the Romanians Horia Tecău and Florin Mergea, playing with separate partners, were eliminated from the eighth-finals of the mens doubles competition in Melbourne. Tecău and the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer, seeded 11, were defeated in 2 sets by the Australians Marc Polmans/Andrew Whittington. In turn, Florin Mergea and Britains Dominic Inglot, seeded 16, lost in 3 sets to the top seeds of the doubles event, the French Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Romania paralysed by cold

    Romania paralysed by cold

    After a mild December, January came with heavy snow, blizzards and extremely low temperatures. Under the circumstances, schools in Bucharest in 21 other counties, that is almost half of the country, did not open on Monday, and they will stay closed on Tuesday as well in Bucharest and 16 counties. A number of people, in particular pregnant women, sick people and elderly citizens, have requested medical assistance. Doctors have warned people with medical problems to avoid travelling if possible. To reach their patients in areas blocked by snow, tens of doctors and paramedics faced the snow and the blizzard, with journeys of a few tens of km taking them hours to complete. Special attention was given to the homeless.



    In Bucharest and other cities, hot meals, warm clothing and blankets have been distributed to the people without homes who refused to spend the night in social centres. 40 electronic panels put up by the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations in Bucharest warn the population about the cold weather. People are recommended to avoid long journeys, not to expose themselves to the cold, to drink hot tea and use suitable clothing and footwear, while also avoiding overheating the body and calling 112 in an emergency.



    The police have requested motorists to travel only if necessary and if they have no other available means of transport. The heavy snow that fell especially in the east, south and south-east also led to power cuts in many places and disrupted road, rail and naval travel. Roads have been closed, tens of trains cancelled and a number of domestic and international flights have been delayed. The Black Sea ports reopened on Sunday after being closed due to bad weather, including 12-m-high waves.



    There were also problems on the river Danube. Perseus, the biggest icebreaker in Romania, went in action on certain sections of the river, while a tugboat has been patrolling the river to break the floating ice. Because of bad weather, 15 cars registered in Romania were stranded in north-eastern Bulgaria. Their passengers, Romanian holidaymakers, should have been home on Friday, but the roads were closed in the neighbouring country. So they were stranded for three days only 30 km from the border. Many of them ran out of money, food and fuel. After being notified by the authorities in Bucharest, the Bulgarian authorities sent a police crew and a snow removal machine to unblock the road to the border, so the around 100 Romanian citizens stranded in Bulgaria were able to reach Romania. (Translated by C. Mateescu)

  • The Postal Service Palace in Bucharest

    The Postal Service Palace in Bucharest

    The central part of the city, delineated by the Lipscani
    Street, the old Princely Court, the Dambovita riverbank and Victoria Road would
    gradually change its appearance. Springing up next to old merchant houses and
    inns were monumental buildings such as the National Bank Palace, the Savings
    Bank headquarters and the Postal Service Palace across the road, whose front
    was overlooking Victoria Road and whose backside was on Stavropoleos Street,
    close to the monastery of the same name created on the site of a former inn.




    The Postal Service Palace, whose construction began in
    1894, was also built on the site formerly occupied by an inn. The latter’s
    history is illustrative of the tumultuous life of the city. The building of the
    inn itself was linked to Constantin Brancoveanu, whose long reign from 1688 to
    1714 left an unmistakable mark on the history of Bucharest and the whole of
    Wallachia. Historian Dan Falcan tells us more:




    This inn was built on the site where the
    home of Constantin Balaceanu had been located. Balaceanu was a very important
    figure in the early days of Brancoveanu’s reign because he was a sworn enemy of
    the latter. Balaceanu was the son-in-law of ruler Serban Cantacuzino, the uncle
    of Brancoveanu and the ruler who preceded him on the throne of Wallachia. He
    wanted Serban’s son and his brother-in-law to come to power instead of
    Brancoveanu. This never happened but Balaceanu continued to plot against the
    new ruler, fleeing to the Austrians and organising a confrontation that came to
    an end in the Battle of Zarnesti in 1690. The Austrians were defeated and
    Constantin Balaceanu was taken prisoner and beheaded, while his property was
    confiscated by Brancoveanu, including his houses located on what is today the
    site of the National History Museum. According to the chroniclers of the day,
    the decapitated head of Constantin Balaceanu remained for quite a while impaled
    on a pole in front of his home. Brancoveanu then demolished the houses and
    built an inn that would become famous and which survived well into the 19th
    century. This was one of the most important inns in Bucharest, together with
    Gabroveni Inn and Manuc Inn.




    However, inns started to disappear in the
    first half of the 19th century. It was then that the Constantin
    Brancoveanu inn, which had fallen into in ruin, was demolished. A modern, tall
    building, emblematic for new and less troubled times was built on the site of
    the old inn. The new palace hosted the central post, a vital institution at the
    time, as it was the major means of communication. The building was designed by
    one of the first Romanian architects who studied in Paris. Historian Dan Falcan
    has more:


    The architect who received the mission to
    design and make the blueprints for the building, Alexandru Savulescu, together
    with the then director of the Post Service travelled extensively across Europe
    to see how the headquarters of the central posts in more developed countries
    looked like. They travelled extensively for two three years until they finally
    decided to design a building similar to the Central Post Office in Geneva. The
    current Postal Service Palace looks very much like the postal service palace in
    Geneva. Construction works started in 1894. For 32 years, between 1862, when
    Brancoveanu’s inn was demolished, and 1894, that vacant plot of land was used
    by travelling circuses that arrived in Bucharest. The cornerstone was laid in
    1894, with the royal family, King Carol I and Queen Elisabeta, in attendance.
    Construction works were completed in 1900. It is a grandiose building, as we
    can see it today. It cost a lot. Alexandru Savulescu was part of the generation
    of Romanian architects who had studied in Paris. They copied the eclectic,
    neoclassical style, which was in fashion in the French capital city back then.
    The Postal Service Palace was also built in that style. 10 Doric columns, with 9
    vaults, guard the façade.




    Since its inauguration in 1900, the Postal
    Service Palace had kept its function until 1971, when Romania’s National
    History Museum was laid out inside the building. The museum was inaugurated in
    1972 and is still open to visitors.



  • Odeon Theatre Celebrates 70th anniversary

    Odeon Theatre Celebrates 70th anniversary

    Originally The Romanian Railways Workers Theatre, Odeon was open to the public in Bucharests Giulesti neighborhood in September 1946. It later on changed its name to Giulesti Theatre and in 1974 it was relocated to the well-known building on Victoria Road – the Comedia-Majestic Compound. In 1990, it was renamed Odeon Theater, at the initiative of stage director Vlad Mugur, its director at the time. According to historian Maria Magdalena Ionita, the name of the theatre was chosen, among other reasons, because initially, the architect who designed the building, Grigore Cerchez drew inspiration from the architecture of the Odeon Theatre in Paris. Furthermore, the repertory of the theatre was inspired form that of the Odeon Theatre in Paris.



    Bucharests Odeon Theatre has recently celebrated its 70th anniversary. On that occasion, two busts were unveiled: that of Elena Deleanu, who was the director of the theatre for 38 years, and that of actor Stefan Banica, who was a member of the Giulesti Theatre troupe and gained a local star status. Elena Deleanu was the one who went at all lengths to obtain a second hall for Giulesti Theatre, right at the heart of Bucharest, which is todays Majestic Hall.



    In order to mark Odeon Theatres seven decades of existence, an anniversary volume was launched, entitled “Odeon 70: A Historical Adventure and a Tribute. Its author is drama critic Miruna Runcan, the literary secretary of the theatre between 1991 and 1994. According to the author, the title was intended as a challenge for the reader:



    Miruna Runcan: I used the title as bait, because the book is not just an annotated database. It is a volume that celebrates the venerable age of Odeon Theatre, formerly Giulesti Theatre. On the other hand, the research process was a true adventure for me. There are scarce sources of information available. Some of them, especially reviews, can be found in the Odeon Theatre Archives. The most unusual period was between 1950 and 1960, right after the theatre was founded in 1946. I hardly found anything on the years 1946-1950, so I had to dig deep into the existing documentary material. But the title, I believe, was also an attempt to transfer, one way or another, the tone I strived to find, which is emotionally involved, given that I was born just across the street from the Giulesti Theatre. I took a keen interest in how theatre was born there, I was also interested in the whole story of the blend between the communist ideology which lay at the basis of the theatres overnight establishment, and the actual needs of the place it was born in, a place which has a tradition everyone has completely forgotten and that had to be retrieved.



    The text has a chronological structure, but the author took into account on one hand the political context of the moment, with the various distinct stages of the 45-year long communist period, so as to enable readers to set the activity of the theatre against that backdrop. On the other hand, the book underscores the successive aesthetic trends, the way the idea of stage direction developed in Romania. According to Miruna Runcan, the most representative moments in the history of Odeon Theatre, as they appear in the book, were the following:



    Miruna Runcan: One landmark was the 1956 moment. It is a turning point as regards aesthetic thinking and the outlook on stage directing. Actually, back then Giulesti Theatre was at the vanguard of redesigning the concept of theatre, with two young and very vocal directors, who were also very well-read on the topic, working there. They were Lucian Giurchescu and Horea Popescu. Later on, in the 1970s or thereabouts, there was a very good time for Romanian theatre in general. Dinu Cernescu was the director of Giulesti Theatre during those years. In the 1980s, there may have been a couple of high-quality shows, but all in all it was bad for Romanian theatre, just as it was for the entire Romanian people. The 1980s were terrible years. And of course, there was the period marked by a great personality, director Alexandru Dabija. Dating from this period is a series of absolutely extraordinary shows for the history of Romanian theatre, such as “And they put handcuffs on flowers, the first show by Alexander Hausvater in Romania, Mihai Maniutius version of “Richard III, “The Gypsy Girls, also stage-directed by Hausvater, some shows by Dragos Galgotiu …After that point, the choice is more difficult for me, because Odeon had a very steady progress. It is one of Romanias few theatres with a steady development after 1996. There was hardly any season without the theatre at least maintaining, if not improving its previous achievements.



    According to Miruna Runcan, the Odeon was the first theatre that after 1990 created a very diverse offer, going way beyond the repertory offer proper. It approached very recent plays, it came up with cycles of reading performances, staged exhibitions and initiated programs dedicated to children. For 20 years now, actress Dorina Lazar has been at helm of Odeon Theatre. Dorina Lazar has been a member of the troupe since 1969. Between 1996 and 2002 she was artistic director, and since 2003 Dorina Lazar has been the manager of the institution. Here she is now, speaking about the relationship the Giulesti/Odeon Theatre has had with the public all these years:



    Dorina Lazar: In Giulesti as well as here, the public is made up of people who love theatre. In Giulesti, it wasnt just the locals who came to the shows, there were also people coming all the way down from the city centre. That is precisely why a bus stop was created, which is still in place today at the Grant Bridge, so that people may get off the bus and come to the theatre. It is a faithful public. People who are now old have been coming to our theatre ever since they were young, they bring their grandchildren along. Fortunately, our shows are tailored for all age categories, and we see them coming, together with their grandchildren, for the music education performances, for instance. There are a lot of young people. Odeon has always been open to the young. We have not increased ticket prices either, so that everyone may come to our shows.“

  • The Savings’ Bank Palace in Bucharest

    The Savings’ Bank Palace in Bucharest

    The ascension to the throne by Carol I, in mid 19th century, brought along not only a fast paced modernisation of society but also the transformation of several towns, Bucharest in particular. In only a few decades, until WWI, tall, imposing buildings emerged in Bucharest, most of them works by foreign and Romanian architects who had studied abroad, embracing the prevailing trends and styles of the time, imposed mainly by the Parisian chic taste.



    One of the emblematic buildings of the time, which make you think of Paris, is the Savings Bank Palace, a landmark building of Bucharest, which still serves its initial function, that of housing the first Romanian bank. Situated on Calea Victoriei (Victory Road), close to the commercial centre near Lipscani Street, and the Dambovita River, the palace was built on an important site for the inhabitants of Bucharest, says historian Dan Falcan:



    Dan Falcan: “This imposing palace was built on the site of the Sf Ioan cel Mare monastery. Construction works started officially on June 8, 1897, with King Carol I and Queen Elisabeth attending the event. It was a 300 years old church. A first church having St John as its patron saint was attested in documents as early as the 17th century, but it was restored by ruler Constantin Brâncoveanu between 1703 and 1705. It was a very beautiful church and today, fragments of it are put on show at the ‘Curtea Veche Museum. Unfortunately, after the restoration of 1705, the church started degrading and subsequently had to be demolished in 1875. The ‘Sf. Ioan cel Mare monastery and church owned large properties, stretching from Dambovitas Bank to todays ‘Cercul Militar building.



    Since 1864, a wing of the monastery had been housing the Savings Bank, actually the first bank of the Romanian Principalities. It was set up under a decree issued by ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza. The banks headquarters were later moved to the current Palace, on the initial site of the monastery. The project drawn up by architect Paul Gottereau was chosen for the building. Historian Dan Falcan has further details:



    Dan Falcan: “Paul Gottereau was one of the official architects of the time. Many buildings in Bucharest were designed by him, and only the construction engineers differed. In the case of the Savings Bank Palace, the builder was Ion Socolescu. Among others, Paul Gottereau contributed to the refurbishment of the Royal Palace and the Cotroceni Palace. He was one of the foreign architects, mostly French, who came to Romania in the second half of the 19th century, alongside Theophile Bradeau, Albert Galleron and Swiss Louis Blanck. It is to them that Bucharest owes, at least to a certain extent, the nickname ‘Little Paris, as they came here and designed buildings just like they had been taught in the French capital city. Furthermore, all the Romanian architects active during that period of time, had studied in Paris and consequently built in the style they had learnt there. Due to that, Bucharest was called Little Paris, as the buildings erected between 1880 and 1914 were influenced by French architecture. Actually, the Savings Bank Palace is also reminiscent of Le Petit Palais in Paris. Paul Gottereau started its construction in 1897 and completed it in 1900. It is an imposing building, with an amazing semicircular fronton, above the entrance. It is supported by four pillars, and is built in the eclectic style. The two lateral cupolas were built in the Renaissance style. Although imposing, the palace is harmoniously built, being perfectly integrated in the environment. Opposite the Savings Bank Palace, there is the former Post Palace, which is now housing the national history museum, built in the same period, by architect Alexandru Săvulescu.



    The interior of the Savings Bank Palace is just as spectacular, with a huge and richly decorated hall housing the counters. In 2005, the Savings Bank Museum was set up inside the building of the Savings Bank, designed by Paul Gottereau. The museum has a collection of objects which mark the evolution of that bank along the years: original documents of financial-banking transaction made in the early years of the bank, banking products since 1880 to the present day, “deposits and safes from the inter-war period, as well as promotional items used by the bank along the years- stamps, commemorative medals, badges, postal cards.

  • November 8, 2016 UPDATE

    November 8, 2016 UPDATE

    US ELECTION – Over 145 million registered voters decide on Tuesday who the 45th president of the US will be: the Democrat Hillary Clinton (69) or the Republican Donald Trump (70). The winner will take office in January 2017. In the context of this presidential ballot, the Ambassador of the US to Bucharest, Hans Klemm, has said that over the past 70 years, since World War II, continuity has been a feature of the American foreign policy, and Romania is a strong ally and partner of the US within NATO. According to Hans Klemm, this partnership and alliance will continue, and his responsibility as an ambassador is to make efforts to this end. In turn, the Romanian Foreign Minister, Lazăr Comănescu, has pointed out that Bucharest has every reason to be certain that the American people will make the right choice and that the trans-Atlantic relationship will not only carry on, but will even get stronger.



    NATO MEETING – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, said that the meeting of 9 eastern NATO foreign ministers, held in Bucharest on Tuesday, was scheduled to take place at an important moment. The Alliance, the Romanian President explained, is implementing the decisions of the Warsaw Summit, against the background of a complex security context, marked by a lack of progress in resolving crises as well as by new tensions. Taking part in the meeting in Bucharest were the foreign ministers of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. This summit format was initiated last year, at the initiative of President Klaus Iohannis and his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda. Also attending was the NATO deputy secretary general, Rose Gottemoeller, who has recently taken over the post. In a meeting with President Iohannis, Rose Gottemoeller emphasised that Romania was held in high regard and thanked for the contribution in stabilising Afghanistan. In turn, Klaus Iohannis reiterated Romanias commitment to fulfilling all its obligations as a member of the Alliance.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Bucharest International Theater Platform

    Bucharest International Theater Platform

    “The Other/Migration, a topic of our day-to-day lives is also featured by the Bucharest International Theater Platform, which reached its third edition this year. The event was organized by ARPAS jointly with the Bucharest Municipality, through ARCUB, the Bucharest Municipality Cultural Center.



    The curator of the event, theater critic Cristina Modreanu said that, thanks to the guest performances from Germany, Great Britain, United States and Romania, the audience had the chance to get acquainted with ways to negotiate the relationship with the Other. “How we take in, in our own homes, those who are the strangers among us and how we can find ways to get accepted where we are the strangers among others – these are the issues sparked by the new migration wave, generated by the escalation of armed conflicts in the Middle East, says Cristina Modreanu.



    Cristina Modreanu: The migration wave encompasses people who are very different from each other, people who reach a new territory, somewhere in Germany, Great Britain and other European countries. Problems are also different in each of those places. And the systems where they seek for asylum, or where they try to somehow get integrated into society are very different. Consequently, it goes without saying that every time there are completely different problems. However, they are highly significant for us as well, as we, just like any other European country, also have a refugee distribution quota. We have those people who stay with us as well, lost in a system that does not quite know what to do with them. We have chosen the stage performances with the clear purpose to present as many of those stories as possible, of those cases, for people to realize they are all humans, just like us, humans who experience trying situations, who suffer, individuals whom we should understand better.



    Those stories were told during the Platform, in various ways: through voice, rhythm and music, through theater proper, without spoken words, through a discourse which was extremely similar to that of politicians, through a performance guided tour along the streets of Bucharest, or through radio drama.



    Opening the event was a performance from Germany, Asylum Monologues, written and directed by Michael Ruf. The show tells, in a minimalist way, three extremely impressive stories. It is the production of a special theater structure: “Bühne für Menschenrechte / “Actors for Human Rights. With details on that, here is assistant director Lara Chahal:



    Lara Chahal: “We have a network of different actors and musicians throughout Germany and we do performances in different cities, and, for example, if we do a performance in Munich we look for actors that are based around Munich so they come and do the performance or. If we are in other cities, then we look for different people. So its always different people who do the performances. The texts are based on interviews that we did with refugees who came to Germany. In those interviews they talk about their experiences with the European asylum system. We want to spread the voices of refugees so that more people become aware of the problems they are facing in Europe. Usually after every performance we have a public discussion with local supporters and also refugees, who live in that local area and we always engage people in the discussion about what can we do about this. The feedback is mostly that sometimes they are shocked by these stories, because they didnt know about what is going on or they are already engaged and they want to do more. And we really want to engage people in the discussion and also make them talk about what they heard and spread the word and talk to each other about how they can support refugees locally, and their local communities.



    An analysis of the migration issue and of the possible aftermath of the phenomenon has been achieved by playwright Matei Visniec in his text “Migraaaants or We are way too many people in the same boat.“ It was a reading-performance presented during the Platform. The show was a prequel to the radio drama directed by Mihai Lungeanu, to be produced by the National Radio Drama Department in early 2017.



    Mihai Lungeanu: Matei Visniec has selected a description of the events, and not an involvement in that. It is a description of the relationships between those who manage the arrival of those Arab people, those who are into doing trade, into doing business, those who are into politics…at all levels – cultural, political, administrative, human… There are several sensitive scenes, speaking about the universality of death, when bodies taken out on dry land have no ethnicity, no sex, no age…And then, aside from our capacity to welcome the living, we should deal with another problem, relative to the dead people. And this problem should be solved somehow. Matei Visniec looks at it in a humorous way, just like he usually does, with sensitivity, with poetry and loads of lucidity.



    Artists in Bucharest have recently started to take an interest in creating urban exploration projects. One such project is Bucharests Sensory Map, a performance guided tour which uses actors and special guests, whose memories are linked to houses with memorable stories. Audio and video installations are also used in the project. Bucharests Sensory map was part of Bucharest International Theater Platform project. With details on that, here is the curator of the project, theater critic Cristina Modreanu.



    Cristina Modreanu: ‘Bucharests Sensory Map is a project enabling us to get to know many facets of the city of Bucharest, in various periods of time. I have also included it in the Platform as ‘the other is a notion we have seen throughout history. Its amazing to see people taking the tour, who have previously been unaware of the existence of a Jewish district in the city of Bucharest, and of the fact that very little has been left of it. They did not know there was an Armenian neighborhood, either, or that other types of population used to live here. Remnants of all that still exist and this makes the diversity of the city of Bucharest.“



    As regards the company from Great Britain which participated in the Platform, the migration issue was broached from a psychological standpoint. Winner of the Best Fringe Show in 2014, “Confirmation tries to get us think: what if other arguments, which seem to differ so much from our own discourse and prejudices, are just as true?

  • October 22, 2016 UPDATE

    October 22, 2016 UPDATE

    CETA – Romania will carry on negotiations with Canada on lifting visa requirements for Romanians, irrespective of the decisions on the EU – Canada free trade agreement. President Klaus Iohannis said, at the end of the European Council meeting in Brussels, that talks on this topic would follow their appointed course and that there was no deadline for completing them. Negotiations on the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) were resumed in Brussels on Saturday, after the previous day they were suspended because of the opposition of the Belgian region of Wallonia, which is against a number of provisions in the text. Romania has pinned its hopes on CETA, on which the lifting of visa requirements for its citizens depended. More specifically, Bucharest had reached a deal with Ottawa to allow visa-free entry for its citizens as of December next year, in exchange for Romania giving up its objections to CETA. In fact, President Klaus Iohannis announced on Friday that an agreement had been reached on a gradual elimination of visas. Because of Wallonias veto, the EU-Canada trade agreement is currently suspended, and so is the issue of visa requirements for Romanians.




    RALLY – Some 1,500 people took part on Saturday in Bucharest in a rally supporting the Republic of Moldovas joining Romania. Many participants have come from the neighbouring ex-Soviet republic with a mostly Romanian-speaking population. They believe that, in the current geopolitical context, the union of the two countries is the only solution to ensure that the ethnic Romanians in Moldova will not be the victims of a Russian aggression similar to the one against Ukraine. Already a tradition in Bucharest, the pro-Bessarabia rallies started in 2012, with the commemoration of 200 years since this province was first annexed by Tsarist Russia. Todays Republic of Moldova has been established on part of the territory of Bessarabia, which had re-joined Romania after WWI and was re-annexed by the USSR in 1940.




    NATO – The Black Sea region is a geostrategic region where threats for NATO and for its eastern and southern partners overlap, including migration, terror groups and trafficking, said Gen. Nicolae Ciucă, Chief of general Staff of the Romanian Army. He represented Romania at the Strategic Military Partner Conference organised in Bucharest by NATOs Allied Command Transformation. Attending were representatives of 70 NATO member and partner countries. Columbia and Nigeria took part for the first time in talks in this context. The Strategic Military Partner Conference convenes every year and is the main NATO forum discussing the transformations and future challenges for the Alliance and its partners. The main topic of this years talks was the prospective enlargement of partnerships with the North-Atlantic Alliance.




    CINEMA – The feature film ‘Sieranevada’ by the Romanian director Cristi Puiu won two major awards at the Chicago Film Festival, the official site of the competition reports. ‘Sieranevada’ was awarded the Gold Hugo for the best film and the Silver Hugo for best director. Another Romanian feature film, “Graduation by Cristian Mungiu, won the Silver Plaque for best screenplay and Silver Hugo for best actor – Adrian Titieni. This year the Chicago International Film Festival has reached its 52nd edition.



    TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Monica Niculescu (51 WTA) Saturday won the Luxembourg tournament with 250,000 US dollars in prize money, after defeating seed no 1 Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) 6/4, 6/0. This is the third WTA tournament that Niculescu has won, after Florianopolis (Brazil) in 2013, and Guangzhou (China) in 2014. In other news, on Sunday, the Romanian Simona Halep plays against Madison Keys from the US, in her first match at the WTA Finals in Singapore, which has 7 million US dollars in total prize money. Halep, seeded 3rd in the competition, plays in the Red Group, which also includes top seed and world no 1 Angelique Kerber (Germany) and Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia). The White Group includes Polands Agnieszka Radwanska, Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic), Garbine Muguruza (Spain), with the last spot in this group to be filled by either Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova or Britians Johanna Konta. Simona Halep takes part for the third time in the WTA Finals, after having played the 2014 finals against Serena Williams, and leaving the competition last year in the group stage.

    (translated by: Ana Maria Popescu)