The People’s Republic of Bulgaria Bulgaria Under Communist Rule, 1944-1989.

The People’s Republic of

BulgariaBulgaria Under Communist Rule,

1944-1989

Rise to Power Several factors aided the Bulgarian Worker’s

Party (BWP) rise to power: 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 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. Communists controlled both the Ministry of

the Interior and the Ministry of Justice 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. 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

Referendum on the monarchy resulted in the declaration of a republic

Undemocratic elections resulted in communist dominance over the new Grand National Assembly (GNA)

Fatherland Front: 364 sears, of which 277 were given to communists; Opposition: 101 seats

Opposition and the Agrarians 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)

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 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 Policies against the bourgeoisie

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

Nomenklatura – lists of people considered trustworthy enough to hold key administrative positions

Integrated Bulgaria within the Stalin’s system of political and economic alliances 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 The scale of persecution in Bulgaria was extreme. The

People’s Courts handed down sentences on 11,000 defendants 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 On 3rd March 1953, Stalin died, and the

communist regime in Bulgaria had to adapt to new Soviet attitudes 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 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 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 A new constitution was developed in 1971

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 Bulgaria began manufacturing low-quality magnetic disks and

computer parts for the Eastern European market

The Zhivkovshtina, 1965-1981 Communists encouraged nationalism to

enhance its own legitimacy 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 Became the head of the committee for art

and culture in 1975 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 Resistance against the state was weaker during the 1950s-

1970s 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 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, 1981-1989 Several scandals tarnished Bulgaria’s

image at home and abroad Economic problems

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, 1981-1989 The New Economic Mechanism was applied to the economy

in 1982 in an attempt to address these problems Its goal was to raise productivity and improve quality, but faced

serious obstacles, including: 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 The forced assimilation of the Turks

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 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 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

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