Dan Deșliu de pe aer", 1974). Starting in 1962 and particularly from 1970, he began to criticize the policies of the Romanian Communist Party, and as a result was placed under thorough surveillance by the Securitate secret police. In the 1980s, he turned toward open dissidence, repudiating his "revolutionary" past, quitting the party in 1980 and directly criticizing dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, whom he accused of behaving as if he were "the owner of Romania". In March 1989, he sent an open letter to Radio Free Europe decrying the domestic situation in his country, prompting his placement under house arrest. An excellent swimmer,
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,