Romania and Russia are the only two countries which made a violent transition from communism to democracy. The famous American historian John Lukacs, now in his nineties, explains this with the geographical isolation of the two countries: "The cathedrals of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Baroque, the Illuminist Period - all these did not occur in Russia, Romania and its provinces of Moldova, Oltenia, Walachia, and Basarabia," Lukacs wrote. In other words, Romania was not part of Europe.

I am one of the staunch admirers of Lukacs, but also of my native land. The Kingdom of Romania I was born into was one of the centers of European culture, and its capital was nicknamed Little Paris for a reason.

Gheorghe Sincai, the founder of Romanian modern education, set up over 300 schools in Romanian language in the 19th century and is one the leading members of the Illuminist Period, along Voltaire, Diderot and Herder.

Nicolae Balcescu, the soul and engine of the 1848 Revolution in Romania, was influenced by the French Revolution.

While George Enescu, Constantin Brancusi and Traian Vuia, titans of the 20th century European music, art and science, respectively, were educated and fully trained in Romania.

In 1945, however, Romania was engulfed by a feudal giant - Russia - who killed tens of thousands of its citizens to enforce the "samoderzhaviye," traditional form of Russian totalitarian which means that a dictator rules a country with help from his political police.

In December 1989 the Romanian people freed itself from the communist rule and brought down the wall that separated the country from the rest of the world. A new generation of Romanians is striving now to create a new national identity able to compete in the contemporary Western world.

Lukacs is one of the most prolific and widely read contemporary historians. The list