I cleaned with REALLY hot soapy water, and yes by soaking a patch and passing it down the bore. Then brushed. Then swabbed dry. Still crud. Then poured a small amount of the hot soapy water down the bore. Then brushed, then swabbed dry, still dirty. Then I sprayed in some hoppes 9. Then scrubbed. Then swabbed. Patch still dirty. Rinse and repeat, using several different cleaners (from ATF to ammonia). Maybe it didn't take quiet 2 hours, but it was the longest time I've ever spent on cleaning a bore. And it was well over 1 hour.
It's really not that bad these days actually. That was when the rifle was fairly new, so maybe I didn't get all of the cosmoline out of the barrel and it held the gunk in? It did indeed happen, and romanian ammo (in my experience) is definately serviceable but it isn't clean at all.