Coup Atlas Research Database
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36003052025ConspiracyDissident coup

Romania, 2025 — dissident coup conspiracy

Romania (ROU)Eastern Europe, EuropeMarch 5, 2025

Event Summary

This entry is coded 5 March 2025, corresponding to a separate alleged Russia-linked coup plot in Romania, distinct from the Georgescu case. On 5 to 6 March 2025 Romanian authorities announced they had arrested six people accused of forming a group that aimed to remove the constitutional order, dissolve political parties, and install a new government formed by its members, even proposing to introduce a new flag, national anthem, and change the country's name. According to the domestic intelligence agency SRI, the group sought support from officers at the Russian Embassy, and two suspects had travelled to Moscow in January 2025 to meet people willing to back a takeover of power.

Prosecutors said the group had a military-type structure, and judicial sources named the 101-year-old former army major-general Radu Theodoru, a Holocaust denier, as a suspect. The detentions coincided with Romania declaring two Russian military attaches personae non gratae. Prosecutors said this investigation was unrelated to Georgescu, who faced his own separate charges.

The 5 March 2025 coding matches the detentions.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Romania's government said it broke up the Russia-linked plot
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Romania's constitutional order (target)
101-year-old ex-Major-General Radu Theodoru (named suspect)
alleged Russian Embassy contacts

Sources

Romania arrested six people over an alleged Russia-linked coup plot, with police saying the group aimed to install a new government and dissolve the current constitutional order, introducing a new flag, national anthem, and changing the country's name.
SOURCE REVIEWED Al Jazeera: Romania arrests six over alleged Russia-linked coup plot open source ↗
The domestic intelligence agency SRI said the group actively requested support from officers within the Embassy of the Russian Federation, and two of the suspects travelled to Moscow in January where they met people willing to support the group's takeover of power.
SOURCE REVIEWED Al Jazeera: Romania arrests six over alleged Russia-linked coup plot open source ↗
The suspects were detained on Wednesday, the same day Romania declared the Russian embassy's military attache and his deputy personae non gratae, and prosecutors said the group had a military-type structure, with judicial sources naming 101-year-old former army Major-General Radu Theodoru as a suspect.
SOURCE REVIEWED Al Jazeera: Romania arrests six over alleged Russia-linked coup plot open source ↗
The investigation was unrelated to Georgescu, who was himself under investigation on six charges, all of which he denied, amid political tensions after the top court voided the December presidential election over accusations of Russian interference.
SOURCE REVIEWED Al Jazeera: Romania arrests six over alleged Russia-linked coup plot open source ↗

Editorial Note

Coded 5 Mar 2025 matches the detentions (announced 6 Mar). Verified as a distinct March 2025 Russia-linked coup plot, explicitly stated by prosecutors to be unrelated to the separate Georgescu case (coded 7 Dec 2024). Second Romania record in the run.

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
36003052025

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Romania's government said it broke up the Russia-linked plot.

Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

Al-Jazeera

“Romania Arrests Six Over Alledged Russia-linked Coup Plot,” March 6, 2025

Associated Press

“Romania Detains 6 on Suspicion of Plotting a Coup in Collusion with Russia,” by Stephen McGrath and Vadim Ghirda, March 6, 2025

Politico

“Romania Foils ‘Revolution’ of Pro-Russia Group Featuring 101-year-old Man,” by Ketrin Jochevov´a, March 6, 2025

Newsweek

“Nato Ally Charges Go Up With Treason Over Pro-Russian‘Coup’Plot,”by shane cour cher and maya Mehrara, March 6, 2025

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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