High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Soviet occupation of Romania refers to the period from 1944 to August 1958, during which the Soviet Union maintained a significant military presence in Romania. The fate of the eastern territories of Romania occupied and eventually incorporated into the Soviet Union is treated separately at the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina article. During their Eastern Front offensive of 1944, Soviet troops occupied Romania. The northwestern part of Moldavia was occupied through fighting from May to August, while Romania was still an ally of Nazi Germany. The rest was occupied after Romania changed sides in the war, as a result of the royal coup launched by King Michael on August 23, 1944. On that date, the King announced that Romania had unilaterally ceased all military actions against the Allied forces, had accepted the Allied armistice offer, and had entered war against the Axis Powers. As no formal armistice offer existed, the Red Army occupied most of Romania as enemy territory prior to the signature of the Moscow Armistice of September 12, 1944.