In April 1964, in furtherance of its independent stance, the PCR Central Committee issued a statement concerning the rights of all communist parties and socialist states to choose their own methods of development according to "the concrete historic conditions prevailing in their own countries." This statement, which has been referred to as Romania's declaration of independence, was directed primarily to the leaders of the Soviet Union and, in effect, was a warning to them to cease their interference in the domestic and foreign affairs of Romania. It was a declaration of sovereign rights and self-determination by which the Romanian Communists asserted that they were the masters of their country's destiny rather than a puppet state to be manipulated by and for outside interests. The reasons that the Soviet Union did not crack down on its former subservient satellite are both obscure and complex. One factor operating in favor of the Romanians was the rift that had developed between the two communist giants--the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. The rift had become very deep, and the Soviets were striving to gain adherents to their position in the struggle and probably were reluctant to use force against Romania because of the danger of alienating other communist parties. It is probable that dissension within the Moscow leadership, which shortly ended the career of Premier Nikita Khrushchev, also inhibited action against Romania. In their drive to establish rights of autonomy and free choice for their country, Romania's leaders have not tried to withdraw from the Soviet alliances, nor have they changed the basic nature of their communist government. Their actions have demonstrated that their goals have been to lessen the influence of the Soviet Union in Romania's domestic and foreign affairs, at the same time they themselves maintained an absolute, single-party monopoly of power. After issuing their declaration of independence, the Romanians in subsequent years earned a reputation for opposition to the Soviet Union within the Warsaw Pact and COMECON as well as in the conduct of their relations with noncommunist states. Pursuit of these goals has sometimes led the Romanians into situations that have been considered dangerous by outside observers, and the leadership has often expressed fears of Soviet retaliation against Romania's independent line.