The People’s
Republic of
Bulgaria
Bulgaria Under Communist Rule,
1944-1989
Rise to Power
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Several factors aided the Bulgarian Worker’s
Party (BWP) rise to power:
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Initially, they were popular among the urban intelligentsia
Close association with the Russians appealed to Bulgaria’s
traditional russophilia
Soviets controlled the Allied Control Commission
The Red Army was to remain in Bulgaria until a peace treaty
was made
Winston Churchill agreed that Bulgaria was to be part of the
Soviet sphere of influence
Kimon Georgiev
Kimon Georgiev, Sofia 1946
Consolidating Power
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Placed political commissars in the army and
removed eight hundred officers considered
politically unreliable
Controlled the radio and distribution of
newspapers
Local FF committees harassed, arrested, and
murdered priests, policemen, teachers and others
The General Workers’ Trade Union and local
Workers’ Councils monitored businesses and
industrial production
Consolidating Power, cont.
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Communists controlled both the Ministry of
the Interior and the Ministry of Justice
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Created a new police force, the People’s Militia
Created a secret political police with Soviet
advisors
The new people’s courts were responsible for
punishing the political elites and the intelligentsia
 In February 1945, police arrested former regents, royal
advisors, all members of the subraine and all who had
served in government since 1941. This eliminated the
old right and center of Bulgarian politics.
Consolidating Power, cont.
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Created splits and divisions within other parties,
including the BANU and the Social Democrats
Transferred control of the military from the
Ministry of War to the cabinet
Elections and referendums
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Referendum on the monarchy resulted in the declaration
of a republic
Undemocratic elections resulted in communist dominance
over the new Grand National Assembly (GNA)
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Fatherland Front: 364 sears, of which 277 were given to
communists; Opposition: 101 seats
Opposition and the Agrarians
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Most of the peasants, who made up 4/5ths of the population,
remained loyal to the BANU.
Communists were losing support both domestically and
internationally due to falling standards of living and opposition
to their policies.
In 1945, BANU leader Nikola Petkov resigned from the
cabinet and formed his own group, the BANU – Nikola
Petkov (BANU-NP)
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Protested communist incompetence, boycotted undemocratic
elections, and demanded a return to the Turnovo constitution
In June 1947 he was arrested and put to death, breaking the
opposition
Peasant resistance to collectivization of the land continued
for a few more years, but resistance ceased by 1951
Dimitrov Constitution
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Drafted in the USSR
Ratified by the GNA in December 1947
Declared Bulgaria a “people’s republic”
Created a Soviet-style system in which all
power was concentrated in the hand of the
communist party
BANU allowed to exist, but was powerless.
It remained a coalition party until 1989.
Nikola Petkov on trial, 1947
Georgi Dimitrov
Communist Policies
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Policies against the bourgeoisie
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Nomenklatura – lists of people considered trustworthy
enough to hold key administrative positions
Integrated Bulgaria within the Stalin’s system of political and
economic alliances
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Restrictions on profits, limited the amount of living space,
required the rapid repayment of arrears, currency reform
disadvantaged those with savings, and taxes were levied on
savings
Instigated the first five year plan in 1949
Key decisions were made by the Politoburo, which were
implemented by local party cell, which oversaw all factories
and places of work
Purges and Persecution
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The scale of persecution in Bulgaria was extreme. The
People’s Courts handed down sentences on 11,000
defendants
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2,000 death sentences were carried out
Purges of the army led to the removal of thousands of
officers
The Exarch Stefan was forced to a monastery, and the clergy
was forced to choose between subjugating themselves to the
state or being sent to work camps
Within the Communist Party, over 100,000 party members
were expelled, mostly to labor camps, in the late 1940s
Rise of Todor Zhivkov, 1953-1965
Rise of Todor Zhikov, 1953-1965
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On 3rd March 1953, Stalin died, and the
communist regime in Bulgaria had to adapt
to new Soviet attitudes
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Led to improved relations with Yugoslavia, the
USA, Greece, West Germany, and France
Terror relaxed
Then-prime minister Vulko Chervenko
stepped down from position of General
Secretary, giving it to Todor Zhikov
Rise of Todor Zhivkov, 1953-1965
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Khrushchev’s rehabilitation of Tito and denouncing of Stalin
were fatal political blows to Chervenkov, and he resigned as
Prime Minister in April 1956.
Replaced by Anton Yugov; Zhivkov remained loyal to
Khrushchev
Despite Zhivkov’s terrible mismanagement of the economy, in
1962 Moscow engineered his victory over Yugov
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Zhivkov was slavishly loyal to Khrushchev, but he had managed
to build enough support within the politiburo to survive his
patron’s downfall
The Zhivkovshtina, 1965-1981
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A new constitution was developed in 1971
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Despite the creation of a new political body and a new party
program, it did not change much about Zhivkov’s rule
The main aspect of his regime was still complete obedience to
the Soviet Union
New diplomatic and economic links were made with Germany
and Africa
Looked toward the scientific and technological revolution to
create “intensive growth” and create wealth
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Bulgaria began manufacturing low-quality magnetic disks and
computer parts for the Eastern European market
The Zhivkovshtina, 1965-1981
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Communists encouraged nationalism to
enhance its own legitimacy
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In the early ’70s, Turkified Pomaks were required
to adopt Slav names and those who resisted
were imprisoned
Increased immigration among the Turks was
encouraged
Turkish and Roma textbooks, theater,
newspaper, and magazines were oppressed
Nationalism and Liudmila Zhivkova
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Became the head of the committee for art
and culture in 1975
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Responsible for radio, television, and the press
In 1980, she was responsible for the
politburo on science, art, and culture
Stressed Bulgaria’s long cultural traditions
and the uniqueness of those traditions
Died in 1981 at the age of 39
Liudmila Zhivkova
Apathy and Opposition
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Resistance against the state was weaker during the 1950s1970s than elsewhere in Eastern Europe
Lack of an independent church to provide leadership
Rise in the standards of living compared to the beginning of
communist rule
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Terror had been relaxed
Economically, Bulgaria benefitted from economic specialization
schemes introduced by the Comecon
These agreements provided Bulgaria with a market for its goods
as well as cheap prices for imported oil from the Soviet Union
Decline and Fall of Zhivkov, 19811989
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Several scandals tarnished Bulgaria’s
image at home and abroad
Economic problems
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Bulgaria’s reliance on western goods inflated the
national debt
The planned economy could not keep up with the
rapid changes in computer technology
The low quality of Bulgarian goods meant the
country had little to trade with the rest of Europe
Decline and Fall of Zhivkov, 19811989
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The New Economic Mechanism was applied to the economy
in 1982 in an attempt to address these problems
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Its goal was to raise productivity and improve quality, but faced
serious obstacles, including:
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Need to tackle foreign debt deprived Bulgarians of the best quality
goods
Energy imports were becoming more expensive
Most importantly, Bulgarian managers were not trained to operate
in a western-style economy that stressed self-reliance and
economic-driven decisions
As a result, there was no hope for a rise in living standards
for the first time in twenty years, and at the same time
Bulgarians were being exposed to living standards elsewhere
The Regenerative Process
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The forced assimilation of the Turks
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Forcing Bulgarian Turks to take Slavic names
Closed Turkish newspapers and radio
broadcasts
The speaking of Turkish in public was outlawed
Prohibited Islamic customs, like the washing of
the dead and circumcision
Bulgaria was internationally condemned,
including Moscow
Rise of Gorbachev
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Gorbachev was content to allow each East
European state to conduct its own affairs
Zhivkov was slow to realize that the Kremlin was
now indifferent to what happened to him
Gorbachev himself was now the source of
subversive ideas; Soviet control of the media now
served to introduce these ideas to the Bulgarian
public
These three factors combined to severally
damage Zhivkov’s regime
The End
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In the mid-80s, the Communist Party attempted to transition the
economy to one that was more self-managing
In August 1987, reforms abolished several ministries, extended the
power of local governments, and economic reforms that only served
to dislocate economic administration
Meanwhile, discontent began to spread throughout the Bulgarian
intelligentsia
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Environmental degredation and pollution created agitation among the
Bulgarian public
Oppositionist groups and independent trade unions began to spring
up in 1988
In 1989 Zhivkov announced that the Turks were free to emigrate;
about 344,000 Turks left Bulgaria
Zhivkov resigned on 10 November 1989, after Petur Mladenov, a
member of the politburo led a successful opposition against him