advocated to be applied inside the Eastern Bloc. In 1987, after sending an anti-Ceaușescu declaration to the foreign press (to the BBC, the International Herald Tribune, and United Press International), a relatively mild criticism for the violent repression of the Braşov Rebellion, he was sentenced to house arrest. At the time, Brucan had won the approval of Soviet authorities, which had already engaged in Perestroika policies and had been extended informal protection by the Soviet embassy in Bucharest, allowing him a relevant degree of freedom. With the help from , the chief of the Securitate, he was issued a passport, and in 1988, despite being expelled from the party, he spent six months in the United States, where he was in contact with the United States Department of State, headed by George P. Shultz. Brucan also claimed to have been invited to Moscow by Soviet politicians Mikhail Gorbachev and Anatoly Dobrynin, who endorsed criticism of Ceaușescu and a Romanian version of Glasnost. Based on the personal testimonies of Gorbachev's adviser, scholar Vladimir Tismăneanu has disputed all of Brucan's account. The fact that Ceaușescu allowed Brucan freedom of movement shows that Ceaușescu was not subjecting him to the same restrictions as to common dissidents, especially because of the interest about the safety of Brucan by both the Soviet Union (by making sure that the Pravda correspondent in Bucharest would keep close contact with him) and the governments of Great Britain and the United States by inviting him as a special guest in their countries. Letter of the Six In March 1989, together with five other Communist dignitaries (Gheorghe Apostol, Alexandru Bârlădeanu, Grigore Răceanu, Corneliu Mănescu and Constantin Pîrvulescu), he signed the open letter known as Scrisoarea celor șase("The Letter of the Six"). The document, which was immediately broadcast on Radio Free Europe and Voice of America, was a left-wing critique of Ceauşescu's policies, and it led to the swift arrest and interrogation of the signatories by the Securitate and then to their exile and house arrest at various locations. The Securitate depicted Brucan as one of several "hostile, inveterate elements" and "the agent of foreign imperialist secret services". Although lacking in actual popular support, the letter was argued to be the among most important and influential acts of opposition and a notorious break with the traditions of strict obedience and party discipline. Brucan was sent to a location on the outskirts