 In August 1944, King Michael's Coup ended Romania's alliance with Germany, and inaugurated a brief period of political liberalism, with communism looming on the horizon.Tudor and other Kulygin-inspired Romanians joined together in the "Burning Pyre" ("Rugul Aprins"), a prayer group which sought to register as a citizens' association.The authorities rejected their first application, in 1944, but Tudor persisted