By doing so, King Michael declared the ceasefire from the Romanian side, but the Soviet forces were not interested and entered the rest of the country. The Russians captured around six hundred thousand soldiers. The Germans did not recognize the authority of the new government and attacked the capital. A few days later, the Soviets occupied Bucharest, and the peace treaty was only signed on September 12, 1944.
In May 1946, Antonescu, under trial by the communist government, was found guilty of enticing the Romanian people with the benefits of Nazi Germany, political and economic subjugation by Germany, murder of political opponents, mass murder of civilians, crimes against peace, and participating in the invasion of the Soviet Union. Antonescu was sentenced to death and executed on June 1, 1946.
Regarding the Soviet occupation, the armistice convention and later the Paris Peace Treaties of 1947 provided a legal basis for the Soviet military presence in Romania, which lasted until 1958, with approximately 615,000 soldiers present in 1946.
From 1947 until 1965, the country was called the People's Republic of Romania. It became a satellite state of the Soviet Union, with the Russians pushing for the inclusion of the insignificant Romanian Communist Party in the post-war government, while non-communist political leaders were systematically eliminated from political life, including King Michael, who abdicated under pressure in December 1947 and went into exile.
