The Romanian people are very proud of their cultural heritage and of the artistic and intellectual expression that it has inspired. Artists and intellectuals have always occupied a favored position in society as transmitters of the aspirations of the people. They continue to feel an identity as the social class that is responsible for the spiritual well-being of the nation. The communist government has promoted this pride in the cultural heritage by devoting considerable funds and effort to the restoration and preservation of antiquities. It has also fostered the preservation of folk art and folk traditions through the establishment of the Village Museums in Bucharest and Cluj and through the continued urging of contemporary artists to produce a national art based on folk traditions. The various ethnic minorities have preserved their own cultural traditions and forms of expression. Although these forms reflect the same modern influences of foreign origins that have affected Romanian forms, they show relatively little direct borrowing from each other or from the Romanian majority. Because artistic and intellectual activity is a very effective means of protest and social criticism and, therefore, opposition to the established order, the communist leadership has tried to keep such expression under control and to use it for its own purposes. The degree of cultural freedom and the content of cultural output have been indicators of the political situation in the country. Despite controls, artists and intellectuals continue to create. Not all of their effort becomes public, and that which does is not necessarily sincere or direct. Symbolism and allusion have been developed to a high degree and are well understood by both the creator and his audience. THE ROLE OF THE ARTS UNDER COMMUNISM Since the communists took control of the government in 1947, artistic and intellectual expression has been dominated by the cultural policy of the Romanian Communist Party (Partidul Communist Roman--PCR), which follows the model developed by the Soviet Union. The policy is based on the concept known as Socialist Realism, whereby an artist must strive to grasp the essence of human and social relations and depict them truthfully in the light of socialist ideals. Art must be directed toward the working man; therefore its style must be simple and straightforward.