The party leader held the office of General Secretary and, after 1945, held significant influence over the government. Between 1974 and 1989, the General Secretary also held the office of President of Romania. Ideologically, the PCR was committed to Marxism–Leninism, a fusion of the original ideas of German philosopher and economic theorist Karl Marx, and Lenin, was introduced in 1929 by the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, as the party's guiding ideology and would remain so through much of its existence. In 1948, the Communist Party absorbed the Romanian Social Democratic Party and attracted various new members. In the early 1950s, the group around Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, with support from Stalin, defeated all other factions and achieved full control over the party and country. After 1953, the party gradually theorized a "national path" to communism. At the same time, however, the party delayed the time to join its Warsaw Pact brethren in de-Stalinization. The PCR's nationalist and national communist stance was continued under the leadership of Nicolae Ceaușescu. Following an episode of liberalization in the late 1960s, Ceaușescu again adopted a hard line by imposing the "July Theses", re-Stalinizing the party's rule by intensifying the spreading of communist ideology in Romanian society and at the same time consolidating his grip on power whilst using the Party's authority to brew a persuasive cult of personality. Over the years, the PCR massively increased to become entirely submitted to Ceaușescu's will. From the 1960s onward, it had a reputation for being far more independent of the Soviet Union than its brethren in the Warsaw Pact. However, it also became the most hardline party in the Eastern Bloc, which harmed its relationship with even the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It collapsed in 1989 in the wake of the Romanian Revolution, but Romania kept its socialist-era constitution until 1991. Romania also retained its membership in the Warsaw Pact until its dissolution on 1 July 1991; that role had been largely symbolic since the late 1960s. The PCR co-ordinated several organizations during its existence, including the Union of Communist Youth, and organized training for its cadres at the Ștefan Gheorghiu Academy (future SNSPA). In addition to Scînteia, its official platform and main newspaper between 1931 and 1989, the party issued several local and national publications at various points in its history (including, after 1944, România Liberă). History Establishment The party was founded in 1921 when the