Nicolae Cristea (communist) Nicolae Cristea (communist) Nicolas or Nicolae Cristea (also known under the "nom de guerre" Joseph Copla; November 26, 1906 – March 1943) was a Romanian communist, a volunteer in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War and in the French Resistance during World War II. Cristea was born in a poor workers family in Galaţi. During the Great Depression he participated in the protests organized by the Romanian Communist Party in Bucharest, afterwards being forced by the Siguranţa Statului (Romania's secret police) to move back to his native town. He returned to Bucharest in 1931, and in 1933 was
Hunting in Romania record book of Rowland Ward mentions Romanian lands as provider of world records for stag (by local and foreign sportsmen), chamois (by Frederick Selous) and Eurasian lynx (by the Prince of Liechtenstein). Between World War II and the fall of the communism, big game hunting was extremely limited, and permits were granted almost entirely to the Communist Party members, particularly after 1972. The most famous of all was none other than Romanian former dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu. For years, he was dubbed as "country's first hunter", a title he acquired after claiming many trophy animals including world record European brown bear,