History·4 February 2026·4 min read
1990s inflation in Romania — millions for a loaf
After 1990, prices in Romania exploded, and salaries were measured in millions of lei. Why it happened.
In the 1990s, after the transition from communism, Romania experienced very high inflation. Prices rose from month to month, and the leu lost value — a salary reached millions.
From millions to the heavy leu
This eventually led to the 2005 denomination, when four zeros were cut. Many Romanians still remember the "millions" of those days. A lived lesson in what high inflation concretely means.
