Nationalistic spy novels strike chord in Romania

A FORMER Romanian intelligence agent is making a fortune with novels that depict a world in which glamorous spies, endowed with superhuman qualities, defend Romania against Jewish, Russian and Hungarian enemies. The novels, six of which have appeared in the past year, can be interpreted as an effort to rehabilitate the Securitate, the secret police force that persecuted Romanians under the late dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.

The author, Pavel Corut, once served as the head of the counter- intelligence bureau of the Romanian army's intelligence service. After Ceausescu and his wife Elena were executed in the revolution of December 1989, Corut lost his job and turned to writing spy thrillers built around the theme of Romanian nationalism.

His heroes combine the extravagant talents of Darth Vader with the seductive charms of James Bond. The heroes possess parapsychological powers inherited partly from Zamolxis, the god of the pre-Christian Romanian people, and partly from the Geto- Dacians, an ancient folk portrayed as descendants of a galactic civilisation that guards Romania's glorious destiny.

The heroes work for a Securitate division called the Octagon whose task is to crush the 'bubuls', mortal foes who have launched an international conspiracy against Romania. By giving them names such as Cousin Yitsik, Ivan and Janos, the author makes clear his view that Romania's enemies are Jews, Russians and Hungarians. In one novel, Beyond The Frontiers, Corut even suggests that Adolf Hitler may return to earth as a Jew.

Corut pours scorn in his novels on President Ion Iliescu, who took power after the 1989 revolution. He implies that Iliescu manipulated the revolution for the benefit of the US, Russian, Israeli and Hungarian intelligence services. Such accusations may seem ludicrous, but they evidently strike a chord with a section of the Romanian public, who have turned Corut overnight into one of the country's best-selling authors.