since 1958, with the exception of a September 1972 strike in the Jiu Valley—began not as an anti-Communist or even an anti-Ceaușescu movement but rather a socio-economic one in spontaneous reaction to the new pensions law, as confirmed by the miners' inexperience, which led them to improvisation and hasty decision-making. However, once the Communist leaders were sequestered, it moved in a political direction and, given the repression that followed, was interpreted as such by the authorities. Cesereanu believes the strike did have an intrinsically political character in the sense that the miners—thought of as essential components of the Communist working class—revolted against their ideological bosses and conditions created by the very political system that used them as part of its labour force. So while collective and unpremeditated, in Cesereanu's opinion the protest challenged the Communist leadership of the day and ultimately the regime itself. Footnotes References Ruxandra Cesereanu, "Greva minerilor din Valea Jiului, 1977" ("The Jiu Valley Miners' Strike, 1977"), in Revista 22, Nr.752, August 2004 Deletant, Dennis, Ceaușescu and the Securitate: Coercion and Dissent in Romania, 1965-1989, M.E. Sharpe, London, 1995, Florin Mihai, "Greva minerilor din Valea Jiului" ("The Jiu Valley Miners' Strike"), in Jurnalul Național, March 5, 2007 "Eroul din '77, azil politic in Anglia" ("The Hero of '77, Political Asylum in England"), in Jurnalul Național, April 11, 2007 "Dobre a fost declarat mort de Tismăneanu" ("Dobre Was Declared Dead by Tismăneanu"), in Jurnalul Național, April 12, 2007 Petrescu, Cristina in Dissent and Opposition in Communist Eastern Europe, ed. Detlef Pollack, Jan Wielgohs, Ashgate Publishing, London, 2004, Ramet, Sabrina. Social Currents in Eastern Europe: The Sources and Consequences of the Great Transformation, Duke University Press, Durham, 1995, Siani-Davies, Peter. The Romanian Revolution of December 1989, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 2005, Chronology of Dobre's life, from Ziua Socialist Republic of Romania 1977 in Romania Jiu Valley Labor disputes in Romania Miners' labor disputes 1977 labor disputes and strikes Protests in Romania Political repression in Romania